Category: Detroit
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Call & Response 4
OK, that was amazing. Last night’s Call & Response event centered around poets reading and artists talking about their work. The watercolorist Carol LaChiusa (pictured with me above) responded to my poem, “Mind Game” with her painting, “Mind Games.” She said that she tried to capture the imagery of my…
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Putting Down Roots
A prose poem about my back yard. Elaine Elizabeth BelzPUTTING DOWN ROOTS Someone who lived here before me had a taste for the exotic in flowers and vines; or else didn’t care for gardening at all, and simply allowed whatever flora came marauding through the neighborhood to take root. Arriving…
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Being lost for the fun of it. A blog post as meandering as it sounds.
Streets keep turning up where they shouldn’t—unless my map’s the wrong way ’round. It’s useless anyway: the streets here are unlabled. Daylight’s quickly drifting off in no discernible direction. My viewfinder has led me here, although I don’t know what I’m looking for, exactly. Traces of something…but how would I…
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I seem to be writing again!
A few days ago, I finally had that feeling other poets surely know, that sense of, I’ve got a poem to write.” It was the first time since my move home to Detroit at the beginning of June—the first time in several months, actually. Over the past few days, I’ve…
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The Spirit of Detroit and Christian Hope
The Detroit city motto has become better known in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of books—about the city’s history, and, yes, about the ruins, by authors who live in the Metro Area and love the city—and of merchandise such as bookbags, t-shirts, postcards, and other items you might find…
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Tasty treats from Michigan
This blog has been quiet for a while. I’m a bit overwhelmed with a number of things right now—one of which is preparing to move back to Detroit in May!!! I’m looking forward to being able to show you all more of Detroit—my Detroit, that is; everyone experiences it differently—once…
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A brief Advent reflection
Advent’s just begun. Ordinary Time closed with a celebration of Christ the King; now we’re waiting for that King to be born…while at the same time, looking for him to “come again in glory.” Even while Christmas preparations must be done, we hold those celebrations at bay during this strange…
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More about Detroit after this message: “How a Little Strep Couldn’t Ruin My Trip Home”
I guess four posts from Detroit in the seven days I was there isn’t bad, but I meant to do more. The second week of my trip, I was outstate (DeWitt and Hamburg), and didn’t have consistent internet access, so there were zero posts. Don’t worry, I’ve still got plenty…
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Grand Trunk Pub
In the days before rail service was consolidated under Amtrak, different lines were run by different companies, often using different stations. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad line passed through Detroit (not to be confused with Michigan Central), and its station was located on the Detroit River at Brush and Atwater,…