I have been keeping the book of poetry by Mary Oliver,  “The Leaf and the Cloud,”  for a while now, open, on my kitchen counter, on my dining room, and on my night stand. I turn its pages, read them, and re-read them daily, like a prayer. I ask myself, Could it really be true, that I am […]

During this pandemic, I have been painting on paper and canvas. A lot of exciting things happened when I was watching the paint on my canvas dry. Acrylic paint drys really fast. They are actually not really my favorite because of the plastic texture and feeling to it. Oil paint, on the other hand, takes time to dry, is rich, has depth, […]

MAHVASH MOSSAED In Mahvash Mossaed’s paintings, the viewer can witness the complex and yet simple relationship between darkness and light as an attempt to look through the energy and the motion of what is around, beneath, and beyond us here as a physical matter. In her paintings, the artist and her brush unite together to […]

You might ask, “Who reads poetry?” My answer to that would be, “I do!” Just the other day, I was reading an interview with Rita Dove in The New York Times that raised my interest to go and purchase her latest book of poetry, Playlist for the Apocalypse, which happens to be just released — […]

I had the opportunity to interview Emily Rapp Black, the author of Sanctuary. Here are some highlights. Do you write for others or for yourself only? I believe writing is an act of service, and as such, should change, challenge, provoke and comfort. More and more, I feel less concerned with pleasing readers in general, and more […]