-
- Articles
-
Rime or Rhyme?
-
Dickinson's
"Color—Caste—Denomination"
-
The Versanelle
-
-
Poems
-
- Books
|
I earned a PhD in literature from Ball State
University. In my dissertation, titled
"W. B. Yeats' Transformations of Eastern Religious Concepts," I
argue that Yeats actually misinterpreted many of the basic Eastern religious
and philosophical concepts that he attempted to portray in some of his poems
and plays. My expertise in Eastern
philosophy comes from studying the teachings of
Paramahansa Yogananda
and practicing Kriya Yoga since 1978.
I have published poems in many literary journals,
including
Sonoma Mandala,
RATTLE:
Poetry for the 21st Century, and
The Bellingham Review,
and three academic essays in
The Explicator.
I participated in a roundtable discussion titled
"Spirituality in the Workplace,"
which appeared in the September 2005 issue of
Effective Executive,
published in India. My article, “MY SOUL IS MARCHING ON:
Using Mystical Poetry to Carry the Mind to
Celestial Realms,” was published in the Winter 2005
issue of Self-Realization Fellowship Magazine.
My book of spiritual poetry,
Singing in the Silence, was
published in 2005 and a book of fables,
Jiggery-Jee's
Eden Valley Stories,
in 2004. In addition to serving as Feature Writer
for
Poetry
at Suite101, I also
contribute articles to
Alternative Spirituality
and
American History.
Origin
of Stone Gulch
I grew up eight miles
south of Richmond, Indiana, at the end of a country road whose name I did not
know until I was about sixteen, when the Wayne County Highway Department put
up a sign, ENDSLEY RD.
But a sign that had
impressed me was the one that read, “Stony Gulch,” and it stood on
a embankment at the first bend of the road, marking
the clubhouse of Harry Hoff, the man who lived on the estate. Hoff
owned a factory in Richmond (I think he manufactured bicycles, and my dad had
worked in his factory for a time.) I think I might have met Mr. Hoff
once, but I don't remember for sure, but I did admire his sign, and the
glimpse of the clubhouse always captured my imagination.
On down the road about
two miles from US Highway 27, where we lived near the river, there stood a
cabin that fascinated me as I was growing up. The rustic seclusion of
that cabin and the name “Stone Gulch” (I changed it from “Stony” to “Stone”
to make it more my own) combine into a mental image and create an imaginary
place, where I muse on all things literary.
“River God” at Stone Gulch
The following poem reflects an attitude I lived with as I was growing
up along the Whitewater River in central Indiana:
-
River God
-
-
Every spring along the Whitewater
-
I saw that some mysterious hand
-
Had rearranged the rocks and sand.
-
The path I followed the summer before
-
-
Was slipping off into the water.
-
-
I could not figure whose force could drive
-
That water among the reeds & shift its
bed
-
& every spring draw me to its side.
-
-
Whose muscles uprooted those trees?
-
Whose fingers patterned those stones
-
-
Along the edge? I guessed
-
Only the spring thaw
-
Conjured up changes
-
In those sleeping river images.
That attitude
changed, as did my life, after I encountered the book, Autobiography of a
Yogi by the founder of Self-Realization Fellowship, Paramahansa
Yogananda. I no longer guess who "Conjured up changes / In those
sleeping river images." My life is dedicated to becoming one with
that Power.
Publications
Poems
-
1. “Starvers.”
The Pointed Circle. Portland OR. 1992-93 issue.
Annual.
-
2. “On the Pond.” Manna.
West Valley City UT. Fall 1992. Biannual.
-
3. “These Bones.”
Innisfree. Manhattan Beach CA. #83. Bimonthly. Rex
Winn.
-
4. “As Long as Gravel Bitterness
Rattles.” Struggle. Detroit MI. W 92-93.
-
5. “Iron Robert.” Dog River
Review. Parkdale OR. Fall/Winter 1992.
-
6. “After the Spring Thaw.” Ship
of Fools. Rio Grande OH. W 92-93
-
7. “Rivers.” The Berkeley Poetry
Review. Berkeley CA. Annual. Cynthia Pierce.
-
8. “Metaphysical Reminders.” Amelia.
Bakersfield CA. #24. Quarterly. Raborg.
-
9. “Primal Mud.” Portable Wall.
Billings MT. Fall 1993. Semiannual. Struckman.
-
10. “City Boy.”
-----------------------------------------------------------.
-
11. “Driving.” ELF: Eclectic Literary
Forum. Tonawanda NY. Winter 93. Quarterly.
-
12. “Chief Muncie.”ELF: Eclectic
Literary Forum.
-
13. “Pollen.” Amelia. Bakersfield
CA. #25. Quarterly. Frederick A. Raborg, Jr.
-
14. “Every Time You Don't Speak.” ----------------------------------------.
-
15. “Indulgence's Reward.”
------------------------------------------------.
-
16. “Twentieth Anniversary.” A
different version appeared in Eidos
Vol 7 #4
-
17. “The Truth of the Bones.”
Ellipsis:Literature
and Art. Salt Lake City UT.
-
18. “Funereal.” CQ (CSPS). Orange
CA. Autumn 1994. Jack Fulbeck.
-
19. “Blood Fire.” Oyez Review.
Chicago IL. Nr. 23. William Feehan.
-
20. “Twenty-Eight Lines on the Moon.” Poetry
Motel. Nr. 24. Duluth MN. Ryan
-
21. “The Man in the Poem #2.
The Bellingham Review.
Bellingham Washington.
-
22. “The Man in the Poem #7.
----------------------------------------
-
23. “Glass Hammers.” West Wind Review.
Ashland OR. Annual. 1995.
-
24. “The Pause.” Sonoma
Mandala Literary Review. Rohnert Park CA.
1995.
-
25. “Couples in the Park.” ELF: Eclectic
Literary Forum. Winter 95.
-
26. “La Berceuse: Two Views.” Pegasus.
Boulder City NV. Quarterly.
-
27. “In the Undergrowth.”
-------------------------------------------------.
-
28. “River Music.” Dog River Review.
Parkdale OR. Nr. 28. Laurence F. Hawkins
-
29. “Greek Skin.” Trestle Creek Review.
Coeur d'Alene ID. Annual.
-
30. “The Eyes of the Pumpkin.”
--------------------------------------------.
-
31. “A Bright Charm.”
-----------------------------------------------------.
-
32. “The Starry Night on his
T-Shirt.”
RATTLE: Poetry for the 21st Century. 1996.
-
33. “The Divine Gardener.” Rites of
Spring. Spring 1996. Chapbook.
Pecan
Grove Press. H. Palmer Hall, ed.
-
34. “Lovers in The Poet's Garden,
Arles 1888.” Interim. Fall 1996. Jim Hazen, ed.
-
35. “August.” Java Snob Review.
Spring 1997.
Bellevue MI. Denise Foley, ed.
-
36. “My Onions, My Opinions. The
Brownstone Review. Brooklyn NY. 37. “In Light of The Potato Eaters.”
The Comstock Review. Syracuse NY. Spring 1997.
-
38. “if my words
could rise.” Free Zone Quarterly: A Poetry E-zine.
Winter 1999.
-
39. “Water.”
The Salt River Review.
Spring 1999. James Cervantes.
-
40. “Listening to the Oldies Stations on a
Saturday Afternoon.” (this) poetry site. 1999.
-
41. “Our Table at the Cafe Terrace at
Night.” Moonshade Magazine.Spring
1999.
42. “Dust of a Baptist.”
RATTLE:
Poetry for the 21st Century. Winter 1999.
43. “The Starry Night on his T-Shirt.”
ONTHEBUS.
Fall/Winter 1999. Alan Fox.
-
44. “I Envy.”
Fairfield Review.
Winter 2000.
45. “River God.”
FZQ. Spring 2000. Linda
Everett. (Renamed "River Spirit")
46. “This Salt Sea.”
FZQ. Spring. 2000. Linda
Everett.
-
47. “Good Poetry/Bad Poetry.”
The Salt River Review. Spring
2000.
48. “My Son, My Dissident.”
The Salt River Review. Spring
2000.
-
49. “Listening to the Oldies
Stations.” Radio! Radio! 2000.
Pecan
Grove Press Chapbook.
-
50. “Beauty
of the Bones.”
Eclectica Magazine.
July/August 2003.
-
-
Essays / Prose
-
1. Emerson's “Days.” The
Explicator Fall 1986
-
2. D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love.
The Explicator Winter 1988
-
3. Dickinson's “There's been a death in the
opposite house.” The Explicator Summer 1992
-
4. “Spirituality in the Workplace.” Effective
Executive. September 2005.
-
5. “My Soul Is Marching On.” Self-Realization
Fellowship Magazine. Winter 2005.
-
6. “How to Read a Poem.” Belly Full E-Newsletter.
July 2006.
-
-
Online
Weekly Feature Articles
-
Poetry at Suite101.com
Thank you for visiting
Stone Gulch |
