Front Page - Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

I believe in the transformative power of our stories and in our innate ability to write toward greater courage, resilience, and creativity. As a writer, educator, creativity consultant, coach, and former Kansas Poet Laureate, I work with individuals, businesses, and communities to live our truest stories. You can find my essays, poems, interviews & songs here and my books of poetry, fiction, memoir, and anthologies here.

Life (and Tinnitus) in the Key of G: Everyday Magic, Day 1030

March 5, 2021

Last night, I found that my tinnitus buzzes and hums in the key of G. How did I find this? By singing in key with the tinnitus while pressing piano keys. Making music out of misfortune is sometimes the order of the day, especially when I’m encased in a cocoon of hearing the workings of

Birds Are the Best Thing About Winter: Everyday Magic, Day 1029

February 13, 2021

When the temperature gets near or below zero, survival comes into sharper focus for us all, but so do birds and their survival without the benefit of fleece and indoor nesting. So we feed the birds, but just as much for us as for them, sometimes hourly re-lining the deck ledge with a thick line

Palliative Care or Palling Around? Everyday Magic, Day 1028

February 7, 2021

Shay the dog is an elderly gentleman with a lot of problems that could be careening him to the brink of the rainbow bridge soon. He has kidney issues and serious-bad arthritis. We recently discovered he has a mass at the base of his heart, likely cancerous, but to find out for sure (via an

What's In Your Mystery Box?: Everyday Magic , Day 1027

January 29, 2021

On the phone with my cousin Richard last night, we talked about how life gives you materials you don’t often sign up for, then you have to figure out what to do with them. “A rabbi once told me we all get a mystery box,” he said, and my mind lit up: that’s exactly it.

The Ones Who Don't Go Forth With Us: Everyday Magic, Day 1026

January 24, 2021

For many of us, it’s been a Wednesday onward of seemingly infinite relief as we’ve watched a new president and glass-ceiling-breaking vice president sworn in and a swirl of executive orders signed, legislation planned, and leadership installed to address the Covid crisis. As we cross into this new land, I feel such hope, but then

When I Don't Know What Else to Do: Everyday Magic, Day 1025

January 12, 2021

Since the riots of hatred last Wednesday, it’s hard to get my bearings. Like most of the people I know, the word “unbelievable!” peppers many conversations which are often about despair, fear, insomnia, and especially how little we can do to change this situation at the moment. This is not to say that we-the-people don’t

What is a Bad Year? What is a Good Year? Everyday Magic, Day 1024

December 31, 2020

A friend told me that during her Christmas Zoom with family scattered far and wide, she realized how lucky they were: no one had Covid, lost their life or their job, and all had warm homes with ample food and holidays delights within easy reach. The next day I saw a line rush by on

A Solstice Like No Other: Everyday Magic, Day 1023

December 20, 2020

I am thinking of two realities: that over 300,000 people in this country have died from COVID-19 and that we’re on the cusp of the winter solstice, when the shortening days stop in their tracks, and from here on (until June 21) begin lengthening. Of course these two realities are contained in one reality that

Holding On For a Little More Light: Everyday Magic, Day 1022

December 13, 2020

A lot of us need more light now or as soon as possible. With the pandemic numbers rising and so many of us connected to people sick or struggling to survive or already gone, it’s a deep-dish dark time in moments that, depending on your situation, may be sad punctuations to the day or whole

A Small Thanksgiving With Too Many Cranberries: Everyday Magic, Day 1021

November 23, 2020

Like most of us living in the ever-expansive pandemic lands, I’m looking toward a pocket-size gathering of just our household and our sister-in-law (part of our posse and pod) with the windows cracked open, chairs set far apart, and masks on when not eating. Two out of our three kiddos will be Zooming in, and

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

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