It's snowing in Pittsburgh today, the first real snow of the season, and enough for the public schools to call off, universities to delay. A "proper snow day," I called it on Facebook this morning. Not a move to online learning as we all got so used to during the first days (years) of the … Continue reading Is It Real or Is It Imagined?
WE'RE BACK WITH ANOTHER INSTALLMENT OF FOOD YOU (STILL) DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH, IN WHICH YOU SEND ME YOUR CULINARY CONUNDRUMS AND MY SON, RUDY, AND I HANG OUT TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN, TALK ABOUT STUFF AND TRY TO MAKE SOME SENSE OF THEM FOR YOU. This time, the conundrum comes from Rudy's pal, … Continue reading Condensed Milk
In 2012 I had (among many other things) a love of food, two small kids and a memoir I was trying to write about a father I had lost who liked to eat. I also had the suspect knowledge that sometimes writers could get the attention of readers and publishing bigwigs by keeping an interesting … Continue reading Food You (Still) Don’t Know What to Do With
In just over two months from now, this website will be fifteen years old. My first post, on August 5, 2008, entitled "Sustenance," introduced myself this way: I am a poet and essayist and have been working on a memoir about food and my father, who died sixteen years ago, for almost four years, plus … Continue reading Sustenance, Redux
I'm so happy to share that my debut essay collection, All Things Edible, Random and Odd: Essays on Grief, Love and Food, is now available for pre-order through CLASH Books! The official release date will be November 28, 2023 and I'll be using this space and others to share information as the date approaches. For … Continue reading All Things Book News!
I took Josie to Target yesterday for some stealth Father's Day shopping. She takes holidays seriously. She starts to plan months ahead of time, thinks carefully about the person being celebrated, and chooses or makes lovely, thoughtful gifts. She gets almost excited about giving presents as she does getting them. I call her "The Keeper … Continue reading Father’s Day: An Excerpt
Today is June 20th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I think I can finally say, with no hesitation, that winter is over. Doesn't the calendar say this happens in late March? Doesn't it feel like it happens in late April or early May? Hasn't it been green here for two solid months already? For the love … Continue reading Putting Away the Winter Clothes
I think I need to put my memoir away for a while. This is not an easy thing to do. When you write a book that you believe in, that you love, you want to do everything you can to see it thrive in the world. There's the writing itself, of course, first. The eight … Continue reading Lay it Fallow
Part 1 I had so hoped to be able to announce here the good news that Paul and I were both awarded 2-week residencies this summer to work on our projects. Or at least that one of us had. But alas. Rejections all around. I knew that the probability was low given how competitive these … Continue reading Plan B in Two Parts
I've just added a new page to this blog: a place to keep the "things" of my dad's life. The stuff he liked (or didn't), or the things I most associated with him. This serves a functional purpose for my writing; it helps me remember him more clearly. But I also like the project of … Continue reading Reliquary
Sheila squillante 