Wed, 14 Oct 2020 17:43:46 +0000 Originally Published in Blue Lyra Review, Feb. 2015 The greatest gift I ever received was a book I never read. The winter I turned eleven, I sat at the desk in the dormer window, waiting. We got the desk at a yard sale, and it was supposed to be for all seven of us kids, but somehow I’d taken it over. In the basement, I…

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 19:06:40 +0000 The Use of Archetypes in my novel Water Water, my fourth novel, opens with a dark night of the soul. The protagonist, Pearl, is 28 years old and has just repatriated to the States from living abroad. The relentless capitalistic, pragmatic nature of the U.S. has plunged her into despair. She feels desperate for soul. “Metaphor is the missing legend. I’m living in a country that…

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 20:15:30 +0000 CarolineAllen.com

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:45:24 +0000 Artists and writers face a lot of rejection. People will tell you to “get over it.” They’ll say: “Who the hell cares what other people think?” I say: Don’t get over it, get into it. carolineallen.com I’ve spent my life peeling back the layers to find my authentic creative voice. As a journalist in Tokyo, London, throughout Asia, and in Seattle, I focused on giving…

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 16:49:53 +0000 7 a.m. Dreams swirl around me as I roll out of bed. My dreams are a pivotal part of my creative life, informing my art, novel writing, coaching. They sink in and come out of my hands or through my voice in mysterious ways. For me, the night time is as rich as anything I do during the day. 7:45 a.m. At my desk writing…

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:38:46 +0000 Years ago, a journalist friend in Seattle came over to my apartment. She’d just returned from Afghanistan, where she was responsible for setting up a newsroom and training local journalists. When she arrived, she was so exhausted and drained to her very core, she could barely walk or talk. I knew the feeling. I’d given up journalism a few years earlier because it had sucked…

Sun, 13 Aug 2017 17:41:03 +0000Raise your voice for peace! Today in Portland, OR. Join us! Register by calling New Ren Books at 503-224-4929, $45  

Mon, 07 Aug 2017 01:22:25 +0000I’ve never felt I fit. Anywhere. I grew up in rural Missouri, and as a young girl would obsess, “Where do I fit? Where do I fit? Where do I fit?” The phrase would ricochet around my skull like a pinball. I left Missouri as fast as I could; surely there were other places where a girl like me would fit. I moved to Tokyo, for…

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:16:38 +0000