Literary City Guides: Boulder, CO and Austin, TX

If you were asked to name two of the coolest U.S. towns, Boulder and Austin might come to mind. Small enough to feel personal and friendly, but big enough to have extensive options for nightlife, culture, and food experiences, both cities are literary destinations worth adding to your 2014 must-visit list.

BOULDER, COLORADO

Boulder is home to a bookstore with the largest selection of poetry in all of Colorado (the shop's name is taken from a Yeats poem), and features more coffee shops than you could visit in a day. Tour guide Analiese Brown has a dog named Basil (after her favorite herb), so you know her recommendations will be perfect for travelers who build vacations around the best places to eat.

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Shelby Wardlaw has called Austin home for the past 11 years. Between attending readings at the prestigious Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Austin, or frequenting coffee shops that moonlight as music venues and yoga studios, she's learned the best literary Austin has to offer.

What I'm Reading | April 2014

“April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain. ”
— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

April was not so cruel. Actually, April tends to be one of my favorite months of the year for several reasons, including the dawn of spring, a sense of renewal, and celebrating my wedding anniversary. The photo above is from Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco, a spot that came highly recommended by Stacy, and did not disappoint. Between the Italian wine, saffron arancini, and perfectly charred pizza, we couldn't have asked for a better meal during a recent weekend getaway to the bay. 

Greece is dreamy. 

Why teaching poetry is so important.

Portraits of reconciliation.

"You can’t manage time. Time never changes. There will always be 168 hours in a week. What you can manage are the activities you choose to do in that time."

The evolutionary mystery of left-handedness. 

The how and why of dal.

Ever wondered what your victorian pen name would have been?

I should really bake more bread.

Don't mess with perfect.

When cooking is its own reward.

The crossroads of should and must.

What 15 famous landmarks look like from the sky. 

These recipes are making me hungry: crispy sweet potato fries, chocolate red wine cake, and baked almond pancake with strawberries.

"Reading is a solitary act, an experience of interiority. To read a book is to burst the confines of one’s consciousness and enter another world. What happens when you read a book in the company of others? You enter its world together but see it in your own way; and it’s through sharing those differences of perception that the book group acquires its emotional power."        -Really? You're Not in a Book Club?

National Poetry Month: Week 4

To celebrate National Poetry Month, I posted a poem a day on Facebook and Instagram. If you missed them, catch up with Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3. 

Day 22: e.e. cummings | Day 23: William Shakespeare | Day 24: Albert Camus | Day 25: Pablo Neruda | Day 26: "The Egg" by Jean Follain | Day 27: "Time Goes By" by William Stafford from Even In Quiet Places | Day 28: "To a Poor Old Woman" by William Carlos Williams | Day 29: "A Moment" by Ruth Stone from Ordinary Things | Day 30: "The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry