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PATRIMONY 1. He is out of work. We are out of money. My mother’s patience makes him feel worse. He has lost his temper again and he is sorry. Priests have told him ever since he was a boy to stop touching himself. He hides the magazines, thinks himself weak. In the doorway of a […]

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A WAR. A FEAR. A SCAR. AN EAR. A war was walking down a road between two neighborhoods. He stopped from time to time to give candy to children on either side. The children were hungry and the candy made them hungrier. That’s the kind of candy it was. The war liked their little bellies […]

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THE ROAD

Mothers with newborns in knotted slings, on their heads impossible towers of things, the old in carts, the children by the hand, these people crossing a cratered land are more than metaphor; but they are also metaphor. We are the truth to one another. Look: don’t wait for some historian’s book to understand (then it […]

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Here’s a wonderful article about my editor and me, our long association, our friendship, our work together, written by Rhea Becker for EXPRESSION, the Emerson Alumni Magazine. Hoffman, Emerson Alumni Magazine, Expression Scan[2]

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A List of Memoirs

I’ve been asked for a list of memoirs that might be useful to writers who wish to write their own. I have learned a great deal from reading these; dive in anywhere and follow your interests. Happy reading ! R. Ackerley, My Father and Myself Meena Alexander, Fault Lines Isabel Allende, Paula Andrea Ashford, Once […]

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  Last month’s panel on Martha’s Vineyard with Gail Sheehy and Katie Hafner, moderated by Alexandra Styron. Click photo for video of the evening. Enjoy!

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Very happy to announce that, starting next week, my poem Rising will be on buses and trains throughout Boston, sponsored by MassPoetry. MassPoetry-T-PoemsAUG14-04-RISING-FINAL

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New England Book Award

I’m happy to announce that Love & Fury has been shortlisted for the New England Book Award in Nonfiction. The award is given by the New England Independent Booksellers Association. Other finalists in Nonfiction are A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast, Mud Season by Ellen […]

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