Karen L Traub lives in the woods of Shutesbury and is a new member of Straw Dog Writers Guild. A student in the Newport MFA, Karen’s first published essay appeared in Brevity Online. She serves on the Editorial Board of Quabbin Quills and is writing a memoir about her local library. The View from the Read More
Pandemic Poetry & Prose Project
It Goes On by Rebecca Rice
Rebecca Rice is the author of A Time to Mourn: One Woman’s Journey through Widowhood. She has published in The New York Times, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan. She is working on a second memoir about divorce. A resident of Hampshire County, she has recently joined Straw Dog Writers Guild. It Goes On Everything is the virus. Read More
Sudden Wedding: March 27, 2020 by Sarah Pirtle
Sarah Pirtle was a founding member of a traveling feminist poetry troupe in the 1970’s. Sixty songs from her nine recordings are free on Sarah Hope Sings. Her five books include An Outbreak of Peace, a novel which received the Olive Branch Award for outstanding book on world peace. Sudden Wedding: March 27, 2020 The Read More
Refuge by Randi Stein
Randi Stein: I am a Straw Dog member and live in Amherst, MA (Hampshire County). I am a visual artist and writer, and often combine the two in mixed-media collages. Refuge In 1978, I spent three weeks underground, in a bomb shelter in northern Israel. The kibbutz where I lived, high in the mountains of Read More
Covid Tanka by William J. Jackson
William J. Jackson: Born, Rock Island, Illinois. Studied acting, Goodman Theatre, Chicago. Lived in N.Y.C., Vermont, India (3&1/2 years). B.A. degree, Lyndon State College. Forest fire lookout watchman, Bald Mountain, Vermont. Wrote “Walk Through a Hill Town.” PhD, Harvard University, 1984. Professor, IUPUI, Indiana. Writer and translator, living in Leverett. https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/10004144/posts/41 Covid Tanka When we Read More
So I Get to Reflect… by John Bos
John Bos lives in Shelburne Falls. He is a contributing writer for Green Energy Times, Citizen Truth, a regular My Turn contributor to the Greenfield Recorder and a columnist for the Shelburne Falls West County Independent. So I Get to Reflect… It is a time of deep reflection. My iPhone calendar constantly reminds me Read More
GRIEF AND ANGER IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 by David Entin
David Entin: I am a retired educational administrator who lives in Northampton. I am not a member of the Straw Dogs Writers Guild and will turn 80 in July. My career has included anti-poverty and civil rights work and serving as an administrator in higher education. GRIEF AND ANGER IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 May, Read More
The Virus by Dorothy Riehm
Dorothy Riehm: I live in Hampshire county. I live in a co-housing community in Florence with my spouse and have been retired from my work as a social worker/therapist for many years. I have recently gained the title of octogenarian. The Virus There is a virus in the air and it’s determined to spread everywhere Read More
Already Lepers by Deborah Dill
Deborah Dill writes poetry, memoir, non-fiction, and is a public health nurse, urban habitat gardener, and Straw Dog member living in Middlesex County. Her poems have been published in Compass Roads, Peregrine, and anthologies. Her memoir, Believe the Bird: An End of Life Love Story is looking for a publisher. Already Lepers The wind pulls Read More
Grateful for What Wasn’t by Eva Thomson
Eva Thomson, Founder of Thomson Financial, Northampton, Hampshire County resident and member of Straw Dog. Two years ago Eva sold her firm to younger professionals. Released from the relentless demands of entrepreneurship Eva is now nurturing the other half of her brain with words, art, movement, nature, quiet and beauty. Grateful for What Wasn’t As Read More