The Civil Rights and South African anti-apartheid movement carried forward with purpose and joy. Though they faced dire circumstances, they did not fester in dejection and depression. While angry, leaders did not give into resentment. In 2016, I saw John Lewis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Keith Ellison speak at the Civil Rights Museum in Philadelphia. Relaying … More We all have this one life together. Make it count.
On Thursday, the Local Climate Action Program was awarded the Ryan Moser Reilly Award from the Engagement Scholarship Consortium. The Award “recognizes a campus or an entity on campuses (e.g. college, department, school, unit, program) that has made a significant contribution to transforming institutional culture that promotes community-engaged scholarship…[lifting up] institutions or units within that … More Local Climate Action Program wins national recognition and we are so grateful.
Delta, founded as the Alternative Program in 1974, has been a community focused on democracy, imagination, and inclusivity for 50 years. Last year, the idea of turning Delta into a school sparked controversy. As the decision looms, questions about the program’s unique identity have emerged. The community’s deep ties to Delta and concerns about potential changes have led to robust discussions. Despite this, Delta’s future remains uncertain, with the possibility of becoming a school being carefully considered. The community’s commitment to maintaining Delta’s essence remains strong. … More Delta will survive. Delta will thrive.
“If we can pause, we can see that our anger or fear have been born of a wrong perception or may have its roots in the large seeds of anger or fear within us.” Thich Nhat Hahn, How We Fight In The New York Times, David Brooks recently wrote, “Everywhere I go, people are coping … More Coping with anger & resentment in a frayed democracy
VESPERS IN THE BARRENS [Revised] These hills were carved by Carnegie’s and Thompson’s full ferrous might. The jack and pitch pine’s brown paper needles and rigid brawny cones… I have submitted this poem to a journal so it is incomplete here.
POTD #5: The Flood (revised) The flood strips soil, roils brown waters saturated with brine and invective. The flood yanks boulders, heaves and hews them. The flood rises, tears hemlocks, uproots rhodies and a stern sycamore that bursts the door. The flood pours through windows across the floor and sweeps away the heartwood, our bed … More POTD #5: The Flood (revised)
THE FLOOD the flood, this giant flood, it’s flooding everything and throwing sandstones coated in gray-brown water the flood, this giant flood, it’s flooding everything and stripping soil, yanking stone, heaving and hewing, and roiling, the dark waters carry brines of invective, glances and sneers gouging bark of the trees we planted by the cold … More POTD #2: The Flood
Executive Mansion, Washington, August 13, 2017. Dear Madam,– I have just been notified by the findings of the Justice Department and a statement of the Attorney General that you are the mother of a daughter who joined men and women, black and white, who gloriously marched for the equality and dignity of their brothers and … More Abraham Lincoln’s consolation to Mrs. Heyer
I was appalled by the alleged “Unite the Right” gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia. What organizers claimed was an event to bring people together about white plight, was a thinly veiled threat against all who disagree with them. It didn’t take long for that veil to be pulled away and their true colors to show. Like … More In Ferguson Township, we stand for justice & love.
In January, I read from Heartwood at Webster’s Bookstore and Cafe. Here are some videos that my publisher, Penny Eifrig, took. J. Harlan Ritchey’s art is at my feet in the videos. He drew the cover and internal art in Heartwood. “The Omega Rite” is the opening poem in the book, a sort of overture … More Reading at Webster’s: The Omega Rite, The Fox, Open for Business, and Hume at the Melting Places
Peter Walks for Democracy 