Lesley Schneider is a resident of Florence in Hampshire County. She writes and edits technical manuals for a living and was surprised and delighted to have this poem emerge from her pen. In Between In between the dying, I cook. In between the crying, I plant. In between the outrages, I smell flowers. In between Read More
Straw Dog Writers Guild
Exhausted by Michael A. Roche
Michael Allen Roche is an author from Hampden county. He is an active member of Write-Up Springfield. He shares his life and home with his husband, Earskin Sloan. His short stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies. He also enjoys writing memoirs, essays, and prose. Exhausted A pandemic is no time for a civil Read More
Steps by Diane Hicks
Diane Hicks lives and quarantines in Ashfield with her husband, two children and their mixed-up chihuahua. She has worked as a writer, teacher, activist and currently is a therapist. In lockdown she has felt the call of her pen and the stir of storytelling. Steps When my children were young, the idea of being Read More
Bouquet of Lilies by Susan Middleton
Susan Middleton, a Straw Dog Writers Guild member living in Franklin County, writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She is a co-founder of Slate Roof Press, which published her chapbook, Seed Case of the Heart, in 2007. In 2018 she won first prize in the Beals Prize for Poetry. Bouquet of Lilies Because washing chapped hands Read More
Quarantine as Refuge by Cherryl Jensen
Cherryl Jensen: I am a writer and Straw Dog member living in Amherst. I’m in my last semester of the MFA program in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I’m writing a memoir. In my other life, I published several articles in newspapers and magazines. I’ve had several poems published. Quarantine as Read More
Is it real? by David Ferland
David Ferland earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Colorado State University. Since then, he has baked bagels, driven the bookmobile and currently teaches orientation and mobility to people who are blind. Throughout, he has continued to write poetry and fiction. He lives in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Is it real? my son asks as the Read More
Raining Fish by Madelaine Zadik
Madelaine Zadik, a Straw Dog member, lives in the wooded hills of Hampshire County. She is currently working on a memoir about her relationship with her Aunt Helga, whom she never knew except through letters Helga wrote from prison in Nazi Germany. A short excerpt has been published in DoveTales. Raining Fish Fish were falling from the sky. Read More
Mr. Big Stuff by CE Whiting
CE Whiting is an artist/writer who lives and works in Hampshire County. She is a Straw Dog member. Mr. Big Stuff God damn, we had it good in the hood, (We didn’t call it that) expats from the ‘burbs no curbs no gutters. Butterflies fluttered. Hey, Mr. Big Stuff, a mistake, a misstep. Who do Read More
Boiling Over by Nancy Smith
Nancy Smith: I live in Ashfield with my husband. Together we raised three wonderful children who have flown our coop. I began writing seriously with Genie Zeiger in 2007. In 2009 I was trained to be an AWA workshop leader and now run my own writing groups. I am a Straw Dog Member. Boiling Over Read More
Tumbling Down by Laura Wetzler
Laura Wetzler is a touring singer-songwriter-guitarist who also writes poetry, essays, theater monologues, and reviews. She has released 5 CDs (laurawetzler.com & iTunes) and her work has been published in The Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jewish Currents Magazine, and SingOut! Laura is a Straw Dog member and lives up in the hills in Cummington, Ma. Tumbling Read More