Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review:  The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In the introduction, Ta-Nehisi Coates clarifies that he is addressing his latest book The Message specifically to his students and more generally to “young writers everywhere whose task is nothing less than doing their part to save the world.” I’m … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting to Know SAM

Poverty has its advantages, among them the ability to snag a free ticket to the Seattle Art Museum through the national Museums for All program. So it was that I ventured forth into the chill morning fog to take a … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review:  The Years by Annie Ernaux

Before I came across a description of The Years in a library listing, I had never heard of Annie Ernaux, or that she had won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2022. I suppose I should keep closer track of … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Write Better Stories

In a recent Facebook post, a well-known author posed the question, “What is the best writing advice you have ever received?” There were many excellent answers, most having to do with not listening to criticism, persevering in the face of … Continue reading

Posted in On Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review:  Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer

Not long ago I read and reviewed Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk by Buddy Levy. It takes place in the early 1900s and tells of a ship caught in polar ice off … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review:  Solo Passage: 13 Quests, 13 Questions by Glenda Goodrich

This memoir is Glenda Goodrich’s first book, and it is a powerful one. At the age of fifty the author began a series of wilderness quests, sometimes yearly and sometimes with gaps of several years. They would begin in a … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Road Signs Is Now Available!

I’m pleased to announce that Road Signs: Tales of the Surreal and Fantastic, my thirteenth short story collection and thirty-seventh book, has just been published and is available at numerous online venues. Links to some of the major booksellers are … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hitting the Pause Button Does Not End the Game

This afternoon during the time when I usually compose creative prose I instead took a walk. My ostensible purpose was a trip to the library, but in truth I wanted to clear my head and perhaps come up with an … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review:  America Fantastica by Tim O’Brien

Tim O’Brien is best known for his dynamic 1990 collection of linked short stories The Things They Carried, which concerns the members of a platoon of soldiers during the Vietnam War. In it, O’Brien draws from his experiences in the … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hope and Grief: The Pacific Northwest Asian Experience

I first visited the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown when I was invited to the opening of a temporary exhibit highlighting Asian science fiction and fantasy writers. The exhibit was on the main floor; it was so absorbing, and … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment