Welcome to My Website

When I was in graduate school, Sandra Alcosser (a brilliant poet and inundated teacher) proclaimed: “Very few of you will become writers; some of you will become teachers, but most of you will become readers.” At the time, I didn’t give much thought to her statement; however, after eight years of teaching full time, I believe she was giving her students, aspiring writers, a reality check.

It is difficult to find the balance required to write seriously and have what we call a “life,” let alone teach. They are awesome callings one should not answer without much thought and careful attention to craft. One’s writing, like one’s teaching, can always be improved, and this is often overwhelming. At the same time, when I go long periods without doing either, the place I find myself is its own reality check.

So because of the challenge and my reality, I choose to be a writer, a teacher, and a reader. And I read. I read and reread my own writing, my students’ writing, and other people’s writing–for the sheer joy of it.

Right now I am reading some of the writers participating in Grossmont College’s 14th Annual Literary Arts Festival: Ella deCastro Baron’s Itchy Brown Girl Seeks Employment, Marilyn Chin’s Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen, and Matt de la Pena’s We Were Here. I also get Stephen Elliot’s “The Daily Rumpus.” Looking forward to getting my eyes on his new book. As always, my nightstand is full.

Are you happy, Sandra? I have become a reader.

Selected Publications

• “My Tulips’ Interment.” A Year in Ink, Vol. II. San Diego Writers, Ink. Spring 2009.
• “The Difference Between a Horror Film and a Scary Movie.” Hunger and Thirst. City Works Press, 2008.
• “The Grapevine.” Red: A Journal of the Arts. Vol. 2, 2007.
• “Makeshift Memorials.” Inside English: English Council of Two-Year Colleges. Winter 2005.
• “The Role of the Immigrant in the Local Economy.” Sunshine/Noir: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana. City Works Press, 2005.
• “The Place Where People Wait.” Two Girls Review. Vol. 3, No. 1, 2001.
• “Eggflower, Land.” HOW2: Contemporary Innovative Writing Practices by Women. Rutgers University Online Journal. Vol. 1, No. 4, 2000.

Recent Awards

• Excellence in Teaching. Grossmont College, 2008.

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*Anime alter-ego by the brilliant Amy Johnson.