A Writer At Last

As part of my work with CatholicPhilly.com I covered an event at the Franklin Institute last week. It was the first event I've covered for a publication since the Talent Show in 5th grade. It also is my first piece of writing to appear with my name attached. (Though not my first piece, or second, or third.)

 

Franklin Institute speakers address mix of science and religion

By Michael Donnay

   Science and religion came together in an unusual way July 12 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. As part of its exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls, running until Oct. 14, the institute is hosting a seven-part lecture series about topics that compliment the scrolls.
   Hillary Olson, director of Integrated Programming, said planners of the exhibit thought “people might come seeking a religious experience and we wanted to address that,” she said. “We wanted to talk about both science and religion in a welcoming manner. This lecture series is our way of having that conversation in Philadelphia.”
   Last week’s lecture, the fourth in the series, featured two speakers with their feet in both the scientific and religious fields, Rev. Jay Gardner and Dr. Michelle Francl.
   Rev. Gardner is a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania and the youth minister at White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Dr. Francl writes about Catholic spirituality for CatholicPhilly.com and several publications and is a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College.
 
Read the rest at CatholicPhilly

Punny....So Punny

Midsummer's Night Reflection
(a.k.a. Poor Pun Playhouse)

As you may have noticed, there have been very few posts of late. On one level, I could ascribe that to a lack of time to write as I have been moderately busy. (See below) But that isn't entirely true. I've had plenty of time to write and just very little impetus to do so. When this happens with my school writing it usually means that I don't have enough information on a topic and I continue doing my research until I feel confident enough to dive in. But there is very little research one can do to help you when you are writing for one. So I am forced to wait. And think. And wait some more. Maybe eat a Klondike bar or something.

But today I finally felt like I could write something. As you may have noticed (taking a giant leap assuming more than one of actually follows this with anything approaching regularity), over the past few years I've transitioned from reflections and small fiction to poetry. One reason for this is my discovery that it's a lot easier to write about things when you can be confident no one else will figure out what the hell you mean by "Flitting spirits coalesce/Brought together for/A common task, completed/Pass through the gates/And out into the sun." But also, I find that expression with the economy of words that poetry allows fits me well.

So, all this reflection? Isn't there going to be any writing associated with this? Maybe. Or maybe this is the writing and you've been horribly tricked. Who knows?

Moderately Busy: So this summer I managed to swing an internship with CatholicPhilly.com. Since they recently downsized after running out of money, there is a lot of work for me to do. At the moment I am working on 7 different stories for the Back-to-School supplement coming out in late August. It's only three days a week, so I'm not all that busy.

Forced Writing

A tiny trickle seeps from the houses
Out onto the roads
Meets at the intersections and
Forms into streams
At the station the streams become a river
Headed toward the sky-lined sea
The tide flows in.

As the sun falls closer to the horizon
The sea packs up
And dives back into the rivers
And then the streams
And then the trickles
Until nothing is left
But the faint hum of tomorrow's tide