Don’t worry about names, Juliet says to Romeo. They don’t mean anything; or so I paraphrase that famous monologue of hers that Romeo overhears. She tells him a rose would smell as sweet no matter what its name, and he would still be the same man she loves with another patronymic; but would he be? I can’t… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Sidney Stark
Associations
Lately I’ve found myself paying a lot more attention to words. Of course that started in earnest when I returned to creative writing in a serious way. But I don’t mean just the words I or someone else uses to bring a scene or character to life, or even to give rise to their inner… Continue Reading
Coming Soon
Sharp green spears pierce frozen crust with power of entitlement. I see what they will be. Clean, strong, graceful color heads, these forceful shoots are harbingers of what I know is…coming soon. Cold breath riding on the ether all around, a chorus of the natural world sings out with shocking joy. First these, then… Continue Reading
Tangled Web
Some difficult ideas are presented by other writers, either up close and personal, in a collaborative workshop, or on the page during an essay or interview, and these thoughts may be in direct opposition to one’s own beliefs, needing time to settle into a more comfortable place of acceptance or at least a wary coexistence.… Continue Reading
Reading Excerpt from ‘Certain Liberties’
Introduction– Robert Haussmann was a German immigrant who came to New York as a young man in the early 1800s, and supported himself giving private music lessons to children of wealthy families. He understood his profession put him somewhere between the serving and privileged class. Haussmann developed a fondness for one of his gifted students, Emily… Continue Reading
Pulp Fiction
I can imagine your breath catching when you first saw the title of this blog post. That’s not like Sidney, critiquing the racy stuff, commenting on…well who knows what? If you were born, or just became a young adult after WW II, your reaction to the label ‘Pulp Fiction’ is predictable, and undoubtedly much the… Continue Reading