Our Lady of the Spiral Notebook

Tennessee Joltwagon: Words & Music in Knoxville (and Beyond)

After a great trip to Knoxville back in December, Kelsey and I are delighted to be invited back so soon for a new collaboration. Along with poets Dawn Coppock and Susan Underwood, we’ll be appearing as the group Tennessee Joltwagon and celebrating our Appalachian roots in words and music for two unique performances in one weekend: [...]

Coffee with Erin Morgenstern

Yesterday Chapter 16 published “In Praise of Making Things Up” an interview by Sarah Norris with Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus, who will be reading in Nashville next week at the Nashville Public Library. Being a big fan of Chapter 16 and of The Night Circus, I shared the article – and a [...]

What’s All This Praying and Politicking for the Mountains About, Anyway?

I often use social media to encourage my friends to pray for the mountains, or to contact their legislators to protect the mountains. Those posts don’t always get a lot of comments, but sometimes someone will ask me in person, ”WHAT are you talking about?” So here’s a bit of background information, and a great [...]

Yay! A New Year, and My 2011 Favorites in Books, Music and Techy Stuff

On Christmas morning, each of us Wells found a different Yay! LiFE! magnet in our stocking. As they congregated on our fridge later in the day (undoubtedly holding out hope for a bite of yay! sausage balls! or yay! eggnog!), I realized that they are an astonishingly simple but enthusiastic expression for most of the [...]

A Child’s Poem Inspires My Prayer for the Mountains

Recently in a used book store, I came across a small volume entitled Chrysalis by Harry Behn. Although the book had a worn and yellowed jacket, its subject matter – children and poetry – and a quick thumb-through convinced me to purchase it to read for myself and share with a friend. It has a [...]