tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91949881181118023792024-09-30T05:22:16.654-04:00the writer's journal of amanda k. jarosUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger346125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-92105349492253210612024-02-03T18:45:00.002-05:002024-02-03T18:47:00.459-05:00

I recently published my first edited book, Labor of Love: A Literary Mama Staff Anthology, with Small Harbor Publishing. It's an anthology of writing from Literary Mama staff over the past 20 years. It's a beautiful collection and I am proud of the writers and proud to share the book. It seems a fitting moment, as I pondered sharing about the book here on the blog,

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-48386351909459891372023-09-21T19:20:00.002-04:002023-09-21T19:20:38.345-04:00

 Last June, a year after the Dobbs decision, Tangled Locks Journal continued to speak out for women's abortion rights. They shared this thoughtful and informative post about the whys and whos of abortion. And they published a series of essays about abortion. I am pleased to have my essay, "Origins" on that list. (And regretful I didn't post it here sooner.) I'm grateful for the

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-13293652290803818692023-05-31T13:35:00.000-04:002023-05-31T13:35:09.044-04:00

Ten years ago, I opened Little Free Library #4094. Here is my original post about how that library came to be, along with pictures of my family working alongside me to create this little treasure box. Thanks to Jill Swenson, the library became official that year and I wrote this post. In the years since, I have thoroughly enjoyed maintaining the library, cleaning it up, and taking and

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-38669877170931579182023-05-04T09:00:00.040-04:002023-05-04T09:00:00.138-04:00

mirror, mirror,capturing light and reflectionwhat is fairness anymore?

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-16929093748837650172023-04-30T17:52:00.000-04:002023-04-30T17:52:02.370-04:00

Despite a long weekend comprised of mostly of rainy, grey days, Saltonstall has breathed life back into me with its generous gift of time, space, quiet, and beauty. It always seems to do that, which is why I keep returning, year after year. The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts was founded in 1995. Connie Saltonstall was an Ithaca artist, photographer, traveler, and historic

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-74626674319943889882023-04-27T09:00:00.004-04:002023-04-27T09:00:00.142-04:00

 layers of coloragainst a brown, bare backdropI breathe in and wait

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-6499404429044012262023-04-24T15:43:00.005-04:002023-04-24T15:43:57.046-04:00

Labor of Love: A Literary Mama Anthology will be published by Small Harbor Publishing in late 2023! It was a delight to work with Literary Mama editors, past and present, to edit their work in preparation for this book. Twenty-eight writers are included, with work in creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.Stay tuned for more info to come! 

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-71751895569311029722023-03-08T16:18:00.001-05:002023-03-08T16:18:37.723-05:00

My colleague, Veronica Pillar, gave a powerful speech last night at the Legislature about supporting people's right to simply be who they are. Please read and share and support trans people however you can.---I want to speak briefly on trans rights, because recently there has been an alarming sharp rise in anti-transgender rhetoric and policy. I'm sure you've heard of the bathroom bills that

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-27715619693919721002023-01-30T19:59:00.001-05:002023-01-30T19:59:10.634-05:00

"The Hovenweep I had begun to know held its grip on me as I imagined time in solitary confinement might; nothing to break the silence except me. I could scream at the top of my lungs and no one would hear. I could lie in the middle of the trail looking up and lose myself into the blue. I could sing my favorite tunes as badly and loudly as I wanted, without fear of anyone but the coyotes judging

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-19713733533438807602022-07-27T13:46:00.002-04:002022-07-27T13:46:46.119-04:00

Last week at the Legislature, I made a speech on the Roe decision, women's rights, and the pervasive misogyny of our society. A slightly edited version was printed in the Ithaca Times this week, and I'm posting it here now. The fight for equality must continue.~~~~~Today is an important day.174 years ago today, on July 19, 1848, 300 women and men gathered in Seneca Falls, NY, to speak out about

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-58529250885978212562022-07-15T13:08:00.000-04:002022-07-15T13:08:02.346-04:00

One of the things I love most about living on this beautiful planet is spending time in the natural world. I have walked thousands of miles across many trails and through many forests, and while I may tire of the bugs, my legs may ache, or I may curse the wretched uphill climbs, I would never trade one day outside for one inside. Just give me a tree to hug and I'm feeling better already.As a

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-58206168806778564512022-07-11T12:30:00.002-04:002023-04-24T15:46:13.302-04:00

I've fallen behind on posting pictures of my dollhouses. Here is the Austrian Chalet I completed at the end of the winter. It's fictionally located in the town of Obertauern, Austria, where the Beatles filmed part of their movie Help! It's a ski shop and bar, called the Amsel Berg Ski Haus. And it's owned by a gay couple; one runs the bar, the other the shop. I'm slightly late for Pride Month,

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-64146920657965204932022-07-08T12:08:00.000-04:002022-07-08T12:08:54.617-04:00

Here is part 2 of my listing of favorite writing books. All are worthy of a deep read and several hours of your undivided attention. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg"Basically, if you want to become a good writer, you need to do three things. Read a lot, listen well and deeply, and write a lot. And don't think too much.  Just enter the heat of

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-2379370670833984732022-05-24T12:23:00.000-04:002022-05-24T12:23:34.599-04:00

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” - Lemony SnicketEach May and October, a phenomenal transformation occurs. Over four weeks, a giant warehouse  filled to overflowing with more than 250,000 volumes of books, magazines, DVDs, puzzles, and games, is emptied by booklovers across Tompkins County and beyond. It's the Friends of the Library Booksale, one of my top

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-79613349988164467512022-05-18T15:57:00.001-04:002022-05-18T18:18:01.345-04:00

There are so many books about writing out there, it can be hard to know how to sort through them. Here are a few of my favorites. Some of these I discovered at the dawning of my writing life. Others came along once I'd started my MFA and I read them for classes. All are important guides to discovering the writer within and learning the craft. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-4951087737025372442022-05-04T11:51:00.001-04:002022-05-04T11:59:13.123-04:00

When women's rights are threatened, I tend to lose my shit. With yesterday's major attack on Roe V. Wade and women's right to safe health care, I was livid. Instead of letting loose in an emotional diatribe, which is also a valid form of expression in times like these, I decided to stick to some facts. I currently have a platform on which I can stand and shout my thoughts, and so I did so at last

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-46223881918044469702022-04-28T16:51:00.000-04:002022-04-28T21:31:49.244-04:00

"This is as good as it gets," says the grocery store check out man. I had innocently asked him how he's doing today as he swipes my items one by one across the scanner. He smiles as he says it, but there's ironic glint in his eyes as well. In that brief second before I respond, the phrase lodges in my brain and I wondered what it actually means. There I am, another day in line at the grocery

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-84167038289441614912022-04-25T16:15:00.003-04:002022-04-25T16:17:05.000-04:00

Several years ago I regularly took my camera for a stroll through my backyard in search of nature to enjoy. I posted those strolls here, under the Backyard Artist Date label. Even just fifteen minutes out of the house, looking at leaves or spiders or the fish in the pond gave me a renewed energy for my daily work. And the act of photographing what I saw felt precious, like capturing a

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-18967558941556096712022-04-20T16:19:00.003-04:002022-04-21T00:20:08.736-04:00

This is what you need to know about me: I love books. I spent whole days of my youth lying on my bedroom floor, oblivious to the rest of the household, absorbed in someone else's words. Whether it was Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, or the latest murder mystery from the used book store, I read those pages straight through in a few hours. In college I switched to Shakespeare, self-help/

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-9881634781312385442022-04-17T13:42:00.002-04:002022-04-17T13:42:48.969-04:00

In an effort to help offset the systematic inequality and white privilege in the literary industry, during the month of May, former Literary Mama editor-in-chief Amanda Jaros will offer editorial feedback to people who donate to nonprofit organizations in the literary arts that support people traditionally underrepresented or marginalized, or that support literacy and literature for children.&

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-4250847985276797872022-04-13T12:10:00.004-04:002022-04-13T12:13:19.922-04:00

It's hard to imagine, but I've recently been talking with Cedar about college. He still has a few years to figure out which direction he wants to go and he isn't amped up yet. I, however, find myself very excited by all the prospects. We recently picked up a library book that offered to match your personality type to college majors. When we got home, I cracked open the book, while he headed off

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-33363304258947808862021-03-19T12:33:00.001-04:002021-03-19T12:33:57.627-04:00

It all started with a book and a Facebook post from a friend. Now, several months later, my first dollhouse is complete. It turns out I love miniatures. I love building mini houses, decorating them, and filling them them with mini things. I learned some new skills, including how to use a Dremel. I stocked up on glue and paint and random bits of plastic from the ReUse store. Though I

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-48542728820139019982021-03-07T11:58:00.001-05:002021-03-07T11:58:26.716-05:00

The last room in my childhood dollhouse is the attic bedroom. It's an awkward space, and if I lived here, I'd be bumping my head a lot. But it turned out cozy and sweet. The bed, dresser, and rug are from my childhood. The pillows are newly knitted, but the little Care Bear pillow is a throwback. When I was a child, this room was furnished with pink and yellow Care Bear decor, not unlike my

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-39871954075138882542021-02-27T15:34:00.002-05:002021-02-27T15:34:58.575-05:00

Even though this dollhouse has such a small space to fill, I struggled with how the living room should look. I kept the red velvet couch and the red fancy lamp from my childhood, and started to work around that. Of course, a TV was needed. So I made one from balsa, coated in nail polish for a shine. The birds switched the channel to the 2001 movie Winged Migration.The cabinet came from a lot

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194988118111802379.post-65336367901341250742021-02-02T16:35:00.000-05:002021-02-02T16:35:28.445-05:00

As noted before, the dollhouse has been taken over by birds. And as it comes together the story of the inhabitant unfolds. Here's the kitchen and dining room- open concept of course. The table and chairs, shelf, and trick or treat bag were from my childhood. I made everything else (minus the rolling pin, trick or treat bag, pots, owl, and few other tidbits).The woman who lives here is an

Amanda K. Jaroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05789714847496839376noreply@blogger.com2