Causeries are what most people would call blog posts: informal, conversational thoughts or short essays. Recent posts are listed below. Or click above on the title of this post to browse by categories of topics.
Causeries
Colonizing tourists
Claims that tourism involves colonization, terrorism, dispossession, commodification are valid, but these are reasons to take tourists more seriously and study them more carefully.
A hike in deep woods
A short poem on hiking: One foot in front, then the other.
Writing with clarity
Write clearly. Obscurity may have its pleasures, but readers want your insight, your experience, your wisdom made plain. They appreciate clarity.
Autumn renewal
The stifling remnants of summer have fled at last. Cool autumn air has settled in across the land. Although the trees remain fully leafed, the exhausted gardens sag into their final season.
Moving students toward new horizons
A piece of wisdom from an experienced teacher that has been valuable in my own teaching but also an important life lesson.
A sacred desecration: the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore
John (Fire) Lame Deer’s essay about the 1970 occupation of Mount Rushmore highlights a monumental clash between two visions of sacred land.