Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays! I hope that you have a lovely time this season celebrating, resting, spending time with loved ones and perhaps revisiting some memories.

I particularly love choosing gifts for writers. For books, shop at independent bookstores (online and in-person.) You might support a literary magazine by sending a loved one a subscription. Consider donating to a nonprofit in someone's name (PEN International, Singapore Unbound or Split this Rock are great choices.) If your loved one is in the D.C. area, they might enjoy a gift certificate to the Folger Shakespeare Library.

If your loved one is interested in writing coaching, I offer gift certificates.

See you back here in 2018!

Poems, Books, Collaboration and Family

My mother, Melabee M. Miller, is an artist who has always inspired and encouraged me. When she asked to create a book from a poem in my current manuscript, I was very excited to see how she would interpret the poem.

Scroll down to see photographs of her lovely creation and where to see this book and others by members of the Book Arts Roundtable:

The Stone Wall & Moving Pages

An exhibition by members of the Book Arts Roundtable 

Pierro Gallery at The Baird Center, 5 Mead Street, South Orange, NJ 07079

December 7 - December 19, 2017

Gallery Hours: Monday-Thursday: 10:00-4:00 / Friday: 10:00-3:00 / Saturday: 10:00-4:00

• The theme Stone Wall was inspired by the current political discussion about immigration restrictions. Roundtable members were invited to create blocks of stone that open to tell a story, deliver a message, or provoke a thought.

• The theme Moving Pages challenged the artists to work with multiple book openings and layouts that move across folds or gutters. The artists use pre-treated, crumpled, textured, or decorative paper, and muted or pastel colors. The content incorporates symbols, diagrams and charts. Low-tech typewriting, stencils, hand-lettering, solvent transfers and rubber stamps tell the story.

Mothers: Poem by Chloe Yelena Miller and Visual Art by Melabee M. Miller: 

Please email me if you'd like to read the poem: chloemiller(at)gmail(dot)com

Light & Looking

I have been thinking a lot about light. As I write poems on this subject this past year or so, I've been adding the poems to a manuscript most tentatively titled, "Light: A memoir in poems." Meanwhile, our child has been taking pictures of art here in Florence, Italy, and it seems that he is also noticing the light.

Last weekend we visited the Bargello Museum. The four year old asked for my phone and took pictures of what he noticed. I loved seeing what caught his eye and how he framed the images, which sometimes took a few tries. 

The connections between visual art and writing are well documented. Each creator is carefully looking, focusing in on something and illuminating it with our own light - a camera, pen or something else. This post is a reminder to be attentive to everything all around us - from what is placed on a pedestal for us to look at to the floor and to the air itself.

Here are some of our child's photographs from the Bargello: