The Clearing

The Clearing Folk School::Classes. This idea came to me over the past few publications I’ve had, and reading reviews for Addicts & Basements. One of the repetitive comments is ‘I’m not sure if Vaughan is writing poetry? Or fiction? Or something in between!’ Clearly, I’m not sure either! And so, I began to dig around and investigate the actual “rules of genres” and how much current writing blurs the lines of (for instance) memoir and poetry, or fiction and essay, etc. Thus, the class. It’s a full week at camp, in some of the most luxurious environs. Just take a gander at those photos at their website. Here’s one of the building in which I’ll be staying: mainlodge I’ll return with plenty more. I want to thank Judy Bridges, my mentor and friend, for the suggestion. Also, the team at The Clearing, especially Mike and Kathy who are so pleasant and professional. And to you, writers who have registered: Let’s have a ball! See you in a week…take a risk! Do the unexpected.]]>

"Legacy"

Legacy An observer would have thought her unsuited for that frame. I wondered why my parents kept the photo on the piano. She’d died over ten years ago. Died on her own, by her own stupidity. A visitor would have thought her adorable, precocious, serene. Unable to see the contagious recklessness. Unable to see the damage she inflicted. How my family came undone. I slip her photo into the desk drawer. Underneath a stack of report cards. [This poem is from Microtones by Robert Vaughan Červená Barva Press, 2013]]]>