Category: Writing
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Files of Information on People Who Don’t Exist by Peter Mladinic
In Peter Mladinic’s poetry collection Files of Information on People Who Don’t Exist (BlazeVOX, October 9, 2024), the minutia of daily forgetting become memoirs set in free verse. With the precision of a reporter, Mladinic uncovers our deepest impulses, surrenders, and sins. A keen observer, he writes with such honesty, we…
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The Wetlands
My husband and I love to take country drives, especially to Eagle Bluffs, a local wetlands on the Missouri River. Along the way and throughout the wetlands, we have taken to counting the deer. We love sing the fawns and occasional buck. Last year we saw several bucks, even in…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: Glass Awash by Ken Gierke
What immediately impresses the reader is the cover, which displays stones hewn into glass by water and time. Different shades of blue and green, shaped into tears. On the back cover, one stone, a ruby, represents the heart embraced by shadows. When I open the book to…
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Submission Calls and promo for The Lost Book of Zeroth!
Poets and writers, you have opportunities! This post has several submission calls. I’m the editor for MasticadoresUSA. Submissions are free and always open. This is another opportunity offered by the Masticadores.com head editor, Juan Re Crivello. I created my own literary journal called FEED THE HOLY on Blogspot. The submissions…
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Barb’s Wordy Blurbs: “Fragments of Time” by Snigdha Agrawal
I’m delighted that my review of Snigdha Agrawal’s book, Fragments of Time, (Memoirs) was published on LatinosUSA – English Edition on April 3, 2025! Here is part of the review. The rest follows on the link below. Fragments of Time: Memoirs (Notion Press, February 11, 2025) is an inspiring legacy…
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So Grateful for Thoughtful Reviews of The Lost Book of Zeroth!
Today, I was delighted to read two reviews of my new book. The first one I saw is by Cindy Georgakas on Unique Times. In this post, she also reblogs a poem she wrote for MasticadoresUSA. You will appreciate the sentiments in her poem, which addresses the fear of diversity…
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World Encephalitis Day: February 22, 2025
Encephalitis is a brain inflammation that can accompany viral infections, such as measles. There are different forms of encephalitis, but my experience was with measles encephalitis in 1958, when I was 6 going on 7. A few days after contracting measles, my legs gave out, and I lost my ability…
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Francisco Bravo Cabrera on Colors
Both artists and poets can benefit from Francisco’s descriptions of colors. How does he use them? What do the colors signify? I believe poets and writers can benefit from understanding the psychology of colors. What moods do they elicit?
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Can Humanoid AI Robots Handle Human Emotions: Sentience?
The Lost Book of Zeroth explores contemporary social, political, and scientific themes through the eyes of current humanoid AI robots with satire, irreverence, and neo-noir humor. Although the works are humorous, many people at poetry readings find that the poems and stories from this book have frightening implications for humanity.…
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Artificial Intelligence Hallucinates
One day I shall burst my bud of calm and blossom into hysteria. ~ Christopher Fry As I said in a prior post, my book The Lost Book of Zeroth was inspired by an android robot named Sophia wanting to have a robot baby. As I explored her human desire, I…
Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver 