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Lightplay 11 – Rainbow

What follows is an installment of Lightplay, my email newsletter. To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Dear Reader — I hope that this Sunday you’ve had space to exhale, relax, and take stock. I know I have. The election is over. Thank you, each of you who helped rebuke this band of would-be authoritarians, be it by voting, volunteering, giving money, protesting, having hard conversations, and never going along with the worst of it. We did it. I am going to keep this letter short. There will be plenty of time to explore what it all means.… Read More »Lightplay 11 – Rainbow

Lightplay 10 – American Trip

What follows is an installment of Lightplay, my email newsletter. To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Dear Reader — What a Sunday to find myself back in your inboxes! The first of November, 2020. Two days from a true fulcrum of history. I hope that you are well, that you have been able to sleep, and that you and your families are safe. Welcome to the tenth edition of Lightplay. Four years ago, I gave my presidential endorsement in the the form of a series of Star Wars-themed collages. Although the election didn’t go the way I… Read More »Lightplay 10 – American Trip

Quarantine poem #166 the virus lands

This guest poem was initially published in Lightplay 09 – The Strangest Summer. Quarantine poem #166 the virus landsby Hunter Gagnon 13,284,292 confirmed 577,843 deaths7,373,782 recovered3,428,553 US, July, the vision             of these virus lands, cities like broken shellsflattened in a bright wavethe no mercy of God and his flashing blue light, his                              mist, his vision of names          tossed around             Fort Bragg, Somersworth, the Portlands, the mythicalstaterecoils        at voice, no don’t misunderstand me my friend in the        fire red chair not the voice as a category an abstract        collapse        of content, but                     Life voice, in the virus lands, mumbling out                     in the teachers better kill… Read More »Quarantine poem #166 the virus lands

Lightplay 09 – The Strangest Summer

Featuring guest epidemiologist Erin Graves Quansahand guest poet Hunter Gagnon What follows is an installment of Lightplay, my email newsletter. To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Hello, dear reader. I hope and pray that this letter finds you in good health and spirits. It’s late August, and things are touch and go. The post office is run by saboteurs. The hills are aflame, and the convicts aren’t available to cut firebreaks for $1/hour because the jails are too rife with COVID-19. The policemen who killed Breonna Taylor are still at large.  And yet life goes on. The… Read More »Lightplay 09 – The Strangest Summer

Baker’s Log

Here you can download my Baker’s Log, a handy form that makes it easy to keep track of baking variables: I’m offering it for free, but I reserve the copyright. Please don’t distribute without my permission. This is what the log looks like filled out:

Week 8: Bread

What follows is an installment of my Writer’s Diary, which for eighteen weeks I am sending every Sunday. This current run has a central focus on food. To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Hello, Gentle Readers, and may your Sunday be peaceful. This is the eighth letter in this food-themed season of Nighthawk’s Notes. (Is that the name of this newsletter/email diary? Still not sure.) Thank you for reading it. When I started this season, I said that there would be either 12 or 18 issues. Finally this week I figured out the answer: there will be… Read More »Week 8: Bread

How Can I Help? Change the Town’s Name

by Elias Henderson With protests sweeping the country in the wake of the shocking murder of George Floyd, many concerned citizens have found themselves asking, “How can I help?” Luckily, if you live in Fort Bragg, the answer is simple. Change the town’s name. In 2015, eight members of the California Legislative Black Caucus sent an eloquent, impassioned plea to our town’s leadership: “We are hopeful that you will engage your community in a serious reexamination of the historical implications of your city’s name and come to the conclusion that now is the time to end your ties to such… Read More »How Can I Help? Change the Town’s Name

Week 7: Change the Name!

What follows is an installment of my Writer’s Diary, which for eighteen weeks I am sending every Sunday. This current run has a central focus on food (although this installment does not). To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Hello dear readers! And a happy Father’s Day to you! I hope that you each are well and—is it too much to ask?—enjoying moment of internal tranquility and reflection. That’s what I always want for myself, especially on a Sunday, especially in this unsettled year, 2020. I want it for you, too. Sunday morning here in L.A. it is… Read More »Week 7: Change the Name!

Week 6: A Post-Protest Popsicle

What follows is an installment of my Writer’s Diary, which for sixteen weeks I am sending every Sunday. This current run has a central focus on food. To receive this in your email inbox, subscribe here. Hello! This is the sixth installment of this email diary, and I vowed in the first one that this season would run for either 12 or 18 installments. I’m still not sure which one! Either way, thank you for being with me on this journey. We’re either half-way or one-third done. A brief email diary today. Sometimes I want to say so much (I… Read More »Week 6: A Post-Protest Popsicle

Jasper as Designer

I joined my school newspaper in ninth grade and started moving type around, pairing text and image, and, a few weeks later, holding the printed results in my hands. I’ve been setting type ever since. I’m the creative director for Noyo Review, a literary magazine. I design books for poets and fiction writers. I created a baker’s log to keep track of breadmaking variables. I designed, edited, and published six anthologies of my students’ poetry writing. I am the graphic designer for the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference. I have built dozens of websites and designed many posters, postcards, and logos.… Read More »Jasper as Designer