CURRENT MISSION

"You can't control the journey."

ABOUT ME

I'm a writer and editor. I love language and literature of all kinds!

That's it I guess. I'm idealistic and a bit naive sometimes, but always up for adventures that raise the important questions, lead me to new people, and to meet myself, at the end of the day.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that every human being has essential dignity.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've done a bit of surfing as a younger person and now I'm returning as a way to meet people while travelling.

I have a sublet in Minneapolis and am working to purchase a condo. After that is finsihed, I look forward to hosting!

Interests

I love writing. I focus on writing poetry with some essay writing mixed in as well.

I provide editorial support for a climate solutions journalism newsletter (it's called Hothouse!) and I'm always up for talking about the ways we can joing together to ameliorate the effects of climate collapse.

I love music! I love to sing and to dance. I have been playing cello and acoustic guitar since middle school.

• writing
• poetry
• theater
• design
• running
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• backpacking
• canoeing
• trail running

Music, Movies, and Books

Always shifting but here is a sampling-

Movies:

Spotlight, Moonlight, Kajillionaire, Parasite, Sorry to Bother You, The White Ribbon, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Minari, Lady Bird, The Big Short, Ilona llega con la lluvia, Vertigo, Fresas y Chocolate, The Shining, Harold and Maude, Inside Llewyn Davis, Thelma and Louise, Nope, Boy Erased, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Cold Mountain, All the President's Men

TV:

The L Word, Fleabag, Crashing, She's Gotta Have it, Atalnta, Normal People, Succession, American Crime Story, Transparent, Black Mirror, The Sopranos, Mrs. America, Euphoria, The Wire, Game of Thrones

Books:

Tar Baby, Invisible Cities, Travels With Charley in Search of America, Cold Mountain, The Kite Runner, The Poisonwood Bible, Jane Eyre, A Thousand Acres, 1984, Love in the Time of Cholera,

Poetry:

Philip Levine, Jericho Brown, Whitman, Ginsberg, Lucie Brock-Broido

Music:
The Weepies, Bob Dylan, bluegrass, dance hall. I am a sucker for classical and choral music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I remember one evening as a young person in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness vividly. As my older brother and I crouched around the campfire, the long day of paddling in the sun caught up to us. The night was drowsy and pensive. The smell of smoke and the heat of embers on our faces felt good, felt safe.

Across the lake, the full moon crept up, rising big and burnt-orange behind the sooty, jagged tops of the treeline - a smudge of coal in the closing dusk. Gradually, the moon's glow slipped across the water towards the ledge where we were perched. It was like an orange watercolor brushed across obsidian.

In the distance, a loon called.

My brother and I paddled the canoe as quietly as we could. Sure enough, we found the bird. Two birds, actually.

The two little animals, moon-led, drank in those lake waters. We watched them hunt by moonlight. They watched us hesitantly, drinking in our eyes. We floated there until we each had our fill. Witnessing something so primitive, so undisturbed, felt like a window into why things are they way they are.

I can't explain it. It simply was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach introductory guitar or cello.

I can lead creative writing workshops, especially in poetry.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cuba, Kenya, Netherlands, Nicaragua, South Africa, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Nicaragua, United States