As you can see, I have almost completely given up blogging. The reason is simple: I loved blogging so much that I almost stopped working on my books, because books require long patience, private discipline, and a willingness to operate in great imaginative spaces. Blogging, on the other hand, is immediate, addictive, and intoxicating. It’s a contact sport. The way I practiced it was almost more essay and commentary than traditional blogging, and I think I was very good at it.
I have put the old archives up because they show my thinking at its most unmediated. They also show me responding to events in the world and my life – Katrina, the political events of the last decade, the untimely death of a dog, my writing, and a host of lesser and greater issues. They are a documenting of the times.
Read a few. See how they strike you. Perhaps you will find yourself among those readers who wish I would give up writing books and go back to blogging. Perhaps you will be among those who are relieved that I don’t.
Either way, thanks for engaging in this bit of literary spelunking.
2012 | Sep 13
The Cab Driver story -- an update and a possible speaking tour
“Well, the saga continues. My story about picking up the woman in the cab has, ...”
8 comments | |||||||||||
2011 | Jun 20
an opportunity for my readers
“"Hello, everyone. I'd like to alert you to what I hope will be a ...”
21 comments | |||||||||||
2010 | Apr 22
Some thoughts on Neither Wolf nor Dog, The Wolf at Twilight, and Literary Categories
“On April 17th, my latest work, The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey through ...”
34 comments | |||||||||||
2009 | Oct 15
An Interview about The Wolf at Twilight. Read it, use it, pass it on.
“Dear Readers,
Here is an interview that I recently did on The Wolf at Twilight. I ...”
25 comments 02
First Review — The Wolf at Twilight and an abbreviated rant on Obama’s unfathomable behavior
“I’m resisting writing a blog about Obama as health care’s Neville Chamberlain (”We have health ...”
5 comments | Aug 13
Has Obama Stopped Beating his Wife Yet?
“As I sit watching the dream of health care reform disappear in the smoke of ...”
3 comments 03
Obama, Health Care, Viet Nam, and Sleepless Nights
“I've had a tough time sleeping the last several weeks. And it's been nothing personal. ...”
9 comments | Jul 23
The Wolf at Twilight — Let the Journey Begin
“I have remained silent for a long time about The Wolf at Twilight, even to ...”
9 comments 21
From Ghost to Bad Cat
“So, I raise my head once, get a boatload of wonderful responses, and immediately show ...”
8 comments 20
A flare in the night and the first mention of A Wolf at Twilight
“Well, well, well. Look who shows up. It has been a long time.I truly appreciate ...”
51 comments | May 21
Hello world!
“Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!”
1 comments | Jan 28
Obama’s two unnoticed gifts
“There are two little noticed aspects of Obama and his family that I think bode ...”
14 comments 16
Lazarus sits up and goes on and on . . .
“I keep getting gentle prods from readers to write an occasional blog. It's encouraging to ...”
15 comments | |||||||
2008 “So far so good!” | Oct 13
Snakes and Bears and the language of the Clintons.
“Just a quick thought on some election language.
We all know the obscenity of this incendiary ...”
11 comments 04
Our Better Angels: Some thoughts on “the cab ride.”
“It's three a.m. I should be in bed and I certainly shouldn't be blogging, because ...”
41 comments | Sep 28
The Cab Ride and an offer . . .
“A website out of the U.K., zenmoments.org, has recently posted the now well-traveled story of ...”
27 comments | Aug 27
Dispatches from Denver — Pay no attention to ANYTHING behind the curtain
“Here's how it's done: bring in concrete barriers and erect them in ways that form ...”
7 comments 26
Denver at one mile per hour: a convention dispatch
“I am at the Democratic Convention in Denver, and it hasn't been easy. No city ...”
11 comments | Jun 10
Swiftboating our candidates
“At long last we know who the candidates are going to be. I, personally, hope ...”
5 comments 04
An interesting exchange — give me your thoughts
“I received this email from a man whose path crossed mine several years ago. He ...”
17 comments 01
On the Rez Watching Hillary
“A number of folks have written to ask where I've gone. For a number of ...”
7 comments | Jan 28
another interesting observation from the past: Leadership and Vision redux
“In light of what is happening in the current Democratic dust-up between Obama and Clinton, ...”
9 comments 25
An interview I rather like . . .
“As long-time readers of this blog realize, northern Minnesota winters induce a cryogenic state. I ...”
4 comments | |||||||
2007 | Dec 28
Student responses to Neither Wolf nor Dog
7 comments
13
A Rare and Unusual Holiday Offer
“Most of you know Neither Wolf nor Dog, my "literary child" that has drawn the ...”
4 comments | Nov | Oct 24
Returning to America –further thoughts
“I have just received several emails from readers saying that their experience in coming into ...”
This land is your land? Re-entering America.
“Here is the embarrassment:
I get off the plane in Amsterdam and see a sign asking ...”
4 comments 21
Thoughts on the Netherlands, freedom, and social control
“Travel is always good for one's perspective. You see the world, and your own life, ...”
19
Amsterdam and NANAI
“I'm back from the trip to the settled, resolved civility of the Netherlands and Belgium ...”
5 comments | Sep 14
More on Amsterdam.
“This is in the "comments" section of the last post. I want to make sure ...”
12
Amsterdam and Reykjavik
“I seldom post information about my speaking engagements, etc. I probably should, and those of ...”
2 comments 07
To Walk the Red Road: A note from a friend.
“This is not something I do frequently, but I want to bring a note to ...”
3 comments | Aug 31
Finally Available! — To Walk the Red Road
“Finally -- for those of you who have asked over the years -- I have ...”
2 comments 30
A flood of Sadness, a Moment of Joy
“I happened to be at our local airport when some of the local National Guard ...”
8 comments 23
Obama and the Indians
“Last week my eighteen year old son, Nik, completely on his own initiative, took a ...”
5 comments 15
Falling Bridges and other thoughts
“I drove by the fallen bridge in Minneapolis the other day. It was a strange ...”
2 comments 13
Wolf nor Dog film
“Just a quick informational note here for those of you who have asked:
Progress is finally ...”
6 comments 11
Dakota journey
“Fifteen years ago I made a conscious decision to take a trip each year with ...”
1 comments 08
Seeking the Light, Defying the Darkness
“I received an interesting comment from a reader named Ruth in response to my posting ...”
1 comments 04
Stay home, Mr. President
“President Bush is coming to Minnesota.
I do not want him here.
He is coming to view ...”
6 comments | Jun 25
nothing in particular — just reaching out
“I haven't written for awhile. Lots of reasons, but mostly that it's summer and I'm ...”
7 comments | May 26
Memorial Day
“"Hey Nerburn, good to see you. I heard you got killed in Viet Nam."
It was ...”
1 comments 21
Meditations on my mother, failing.
“I have just finished a visit with my mother. She lives in an assisted living ...”
7 comments 18
Some more thoughts on our Nation
“I received a hearfelt note today from a man writing in response to my recent ...”
3 comments 14
The Crime that is George Bush’s Presidency
“I've been watching George Bush as he destroys my country. It has not been easy ...”
12 comments 06
Homefires and Journeys
“A reader asked where I've gone lately, after engaging in a dialogue with you all ...”
1 comments | Mar 25
A Survival Guide for Young Artists
“A few posts ago I mentioned talking to classes of elementary and junior high aspiring ...”
10 comments 15
What a gift and what a surprise
“I promised you a note about my work with the young people, but I'm going ...”
17 comments 14
Slogging and blogging, and a vote for Robert Redford over Britney Spears
“It has been good to hear from some of you about the wisdom of continued ...”
48 comments 11
moral outrage and peripatetic dogs
“Here's an issue for you, and I mean it seriously. You obviously need not respond, ...”
11 comments 08
A tsunami of blogs
“Hello, everyone. I've been incommunicado for some time now. I've been devoting my writing energy ...”
9 comments | Feb 03 | Jan 24
Dogs and Dreams
“Those of you who have read this blog for awhile know that we lost our ...”
10 comments 20
The Small and the Great
“Some days the world is large; some days the world is small. It all depends ...”
2 comments 09
Throw a bone into the woods and watch the dog chase it.
“It is so sad. We need leadership, leadership, leadership in this country, especially now in ...”
08
Something is happening here, and you don’t know what it is … or do you?
“This winter is very disconcerting to me. The very essence of living in northern Minnesota ...”
5 comments 06
Norman Mailer and a Young Boy’s Request
“I received an interesting email today. It was from a young man named Hayden who ...”
| ||
2006 | Dec 03
Thoughts on Children
“In keeping with my decision to write about the goodness in the human heart during ...”
2 comments | Nov 30
Thoughts on Giving
2 comments
27
The Season of Family
“We are now into the holiday season -- a joyful time for many, a difficult ...”
2 comments
The Season of Family
“We are now into the holiday season -- a joyful time for many, a difficult ...”
21 19
Listening for a Voice
2 comments
16
A question on meditation
“Today I received an interesting question from a reader. He asked, "I'm curious as to ...”
1 comments 15
Angry fathers, part two: nurturing mothers
“I'm responding to myself quickly, because a reader, Abigail (see the comment at the bottom ...”
1 comments
Angry Fathers and Bonsai Children
“Recently I've had to deal with two angry men. There was nothing unusual about that; ...”
2 comments 09
A Strange Thought on the Election
“I would like to propose a very strange thought: that the country might be better ...”
2 comments
An Invitation
“To those of you who have taken a break from my blogging (as I did ...”
4 comments 06
The Stick of Gum
“It was just a small moment, but one well worthy of notice.
I was in the ...”
04
Adirondack meditation
1 comments
03
An airline, a boy, and country
“None of us were happy campers. We were all victims of Northwest Airlines, a company ...”
| Oct 21
The Passing of the Seasons; the Coming of the Snows
“Driving from north to south or south to north has the unique characteristic of allowing ...”
12
Talks and Travels
“I'm sitting in my hotel room in Houghton, Michigan, after a wonderful day speaking to ...”
08 04
A Strange Question about generations
“This is a very strange question. But I'm curious: what do you think your generation's ...”
8 comments 02 | Sep 29
Political Vision, Righteous Anger, and the Need for Compassion and Love
“I have noticed a strange tendency ever since I expressed how upset I was with ...”
1 comments 28
Looking for leaders, looking for vision
“Politics is heating up around here, as I'm sure it is in your neck of ...”
1 comments 27
The Dakotas
“For all of you who may never have been to the Dakotas, I'd like to ...”
5 comments 24
A Writer’s Conference and a Burger King
“I'm sitting in my hotel in Sioux Falls at the South Dakota Festival of the ...”
07
New Orleans and Nuremberg
4 comments
06 | Aug 31 30
Meditation on Katrina a year later
2 comments
18
New book: The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life
2 comments
A few shots of South Dakota
1 comments
03
The vote is in . . .
“And there is no clearcut winner.Â
I was surprised to find that there were cogent and ...”
1 comments | Jul 31
Audio book decision; feedback needed
“Hello, everyone. The summer hiatus has been both deeper and more extensive than I ...”
11 comments | Jun 21 17
Comments on
“I've installed a triple dose of comment spam protection so the comments feature is now ...”
3 comments 10
The Site’s New Look
“Just a bit of info for those of you who are curious.
I've decided to change ...”
1 comments | May 22
Revamp
“I'm working with Kent to revamp the site. Switching over to the WordPress weblog platform ...”
| Apr 22
Art, tragedy, my son, and the death of a dog
“I don't normally do this kind of thing, because I feel that the innards of ...”
17
My favorite review of Chief Joseph
“There have been many good reviews of Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez ...”
13
Something to Ponder
“While doing some research on another topic, I came across the Universal Declaration of Human ...”
09
Spiritual ramblings on the Gospel of Judas
“I am fascinated by the recent discovery of a supposed Gospel of Judas. Whether ...”
04
“The Conversation” — an excerpt from my forthcoming book, The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life
“After the long, difficult challenge of writing Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez ...”
| Mar 28
Some overall thoughts on travel
“My short trip to the South has left me thinking about travel, which is one ...”
18
Jesus, the South, and a little bit of theology
“My entry on my quick visit to the South hit a few buttons. The ...”
17
Intimations of the South
“This blog's been pretty quiet lately. I've been out in the sunlight shaking off the ...”
| Feb 12
A New Book, New Voice, New Vision
“For me, though not for all writers, the creative life has to be like a ...”
| Jan 25
Hiatus interruptus
“This blogging thing can be like writing thank-you notes -- a simple exercise in civility ...”
|
2005 | Dec 17
Some thoughts on the Season
“As Christmas approaches, a standard subject of conversation among friends I meet on the street ...”
10
On being a Step Parent
“I recently received a note from a friend of mine who is embarking on the ...”
06
A few thoughts on reviewers and critics
“One of the most interesting aspects of being in any creative field is watching the ...”
| Nov 29
Christmas gifts
“I just received an email from a reader who asked me to say a few ...”
22
HELP ME OUT, GANG or, BOOK TV MEETS JERRY SPRINGER
“The critical response to Joseph is good thus far. I thought the History Channel ...”
19
late alert — “The boy who cried, ‘History Channel!’”
“Well, this is late. But for those who are interested, I will be on ...”
13
History Channel snafu
“I believe it was one of Richard Nixon's press secretaries who made the legendary comment, ...”
12 11
What a couple of weeks
“It began with limo rides and the assembly-line interview process in the various hallowed halls ...”
| Oct 31
Kent on WNYC and the History Channel
“If you live in New York City, or you get up early on Sunday mornings, ...”
26
Speaking from the heart
“I recently had an article published in Iskitpe, the publication of the Nez Perce Trail ...”
25
A Strange Request
“I've got a bit of a mystery, and I'm hoping some of you readers can ...”
22
Introduction to Chief Joseph continued
“The following is a continuation of the Introduction to my forthcoming book, Chief Joseph and ...”
21
Upcoming events
“This is taken from a press release by HarperSanFrancisco announcing events regarding Chief Joseph and ...”
15 | Sep 30
A Tale of Two Museums — The Holocaust Museum and the Museum of the American Indian
“Many thoughts rise to the surface after a trip to D.C. But from them ...”
21
Title of the New Book
“Thanks, everybody, for writing in with your thoughts on the title of the new book. ...”
14
Fair Warning
“At the request of a number of people, I'm going to begin sending out a ...”
12
Help choose a title
“No politics in this; just a heartfelt request for an honest opinion, especially from those ...”
09
Politics and a life of the spirit
“Not long ago, when I first made a comment about the Katrina disaster, I received ...”
05
Watch carefully, listen closely
“There are two phrases, in rampant use in American society, that speak of lack of ...”
Better than the cavalry
“By boats, trucks, and buses, they are coming. From Maine, Idaho, and Texas, they ...”
04
More hard truth on Katrina
“Here, I'm afraid, is the hard truth, and it is not pretty.
We did not immediately ...”
02
Where is our President?
“As I watch the unfolding of the horror of Katrina's aftermath, the thought keeps growing, ...”
| Aug 31
A Hard Comment
“Katrina is a tragedy of unimagined scale here in the United States, and it has ...”
Start of a Fall Resurgence?
“Could this be an indication of my recovery from blog fatigue? Let's hope so. ...”
| Jul 08
Thoughts on Visiting my Mother
“I recently went down from my home here in the north woods to visit my ...”
| Jun 25
Praise for Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce
“Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce has been a long time in ...”
22
The interment of Moses
“Well, it's summer, and the living is easy. This is the time when people ...”
07 05
A Day at Red Lake
“Any place that houses dark memories -- the scene of a crime, the site of ...”
02
Well, well, well. Look who’s back.
“Yes, I've returned. From Europe, from Chief Joseph, from a fire in my son's ...”
| May 19
Back in the Saddle
“Hello all you faithful blog-checkers. I'm back from Europe, making my way through the ...”
| Apr 02
The Pope’s Passing
“Dying is not a Catholic event, it is a human event. And in his ...”
A Weary Heart
“It has been a hard week. I still hurt for my community.
Small town living, ...”
| Mar 29
The Red Lake Shootings — The Media Recedes
“The media frenzy is subsiding. They heard the explosion, came running, found little to ...”
25
A Message to Journalists about the Red Lake Tragedy
“And so it begins. The grieving people at Red Lake have closed the town ...”
24
Breaking my own rules
“I know that many of you signed up on the assumption that you would receive ...”
Silent City, Silent Cries
“There are places where the world holds its breath and has a strange cast of ...”
Media links
“Kent's They are all our children post has been published in several print and online ...”
22
The Circle — A Story from the Heart of Red Lake
“Dear Friends,
This is a rare and strange opportunity for me to do something of value ...”
21
Red Lake Redux: They are all our children
“I know I just wrote on this, but it is bothering me deeply. So ...”
Red Lake shootings
“I got up early today, hoping to answer a few inquiries from those of you ...”
The joy of civility
“I'm sitting in Oxford -- a bastion of civility that has roots running back at ...”
16
Bon Voyage and New Beginnings
“Well, my friends, Joseph has been put to bed. This has certainly qualified as ...”
| Feb 11
Groundhog Author Makes an Appearance
“I thought I should pop my head up to see if anyone sees my shadow.
Actually, ...”
| Jan 28
Some Thoughts for Teachers
“Joseph is done.
Well, almost done.
I've finished the journey in terms of having completed a satisfactory ...”
21
Deep Winter and the Emergence of Joseph
“There is really very little to say when the mercury hits -38 (and that's fahrenheit ...”
13
A Problematic Entry
“I really don't quite trust what I am about to do here, but I'm going ...”
09
Contacting me
“I've been told by some of you that you can't figure out how to make ...”
04
The Year Ahead
“Twenty below, but beautiful. To those of you in the Singapore or Albuquerque this ...”
|
2004 | Dec 22
A CHRISTMAS WISH
“May you have the chance to love another, to serve another, to help another grow.
May ...”
17
And So the Season Approaches
“A funny time, Christmas. Like the winters of old, it seems to have been ...”
01
The Power of Service
“The other day I received a spate of emails from Singapore and Malaysia. Apparently ...”
| Nov 23
INTERESTING CONVERGENCE REGARDING NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG
“There has been a great deal of interest lately regarding what makes Neither Wolf nor ...”
16
A Bit of a Rant, or Maybe a Sermon
“I've received several responses to my post-election comments, and I want to follow up a ...”
12 05
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
“I'm not feeling very good about our country right now. And like many of ...”
| Oct 27
Listening over my shoulder
“Last week I was in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where Neither Wolf nor Dog was the ...”
13
An interesting interview
“I was recently contacted by a man named David Walls who wanted to interview me ...”
02
Sharing a dilemma
“Hello everybody. You are, once again, witness to the rare occurrence of a Kent ...”
| Sep 10
Cruel earth, gentle sky
“There is a quiet in the air today. I love fall -- it has ...”
| Aug 29
Small Graces follow-up
“Good morning, everyone.
I told you I would post a few of the responses I received ...”
16
A short explanation
“I just received an email from a reader gently berating me for not writing more ...”
1 comments 12
Small Graces thoughts
“Thanks, everybody, for your comments on Small Graces. I have learned a great deal. ...”
01
Help Needed from Small Graces fans
“Well, ever so slowly, the whirlwind of this amazing summer is settling down, and life ...”
| Jul 22
Italy, Idaho, and home
“A long hiatus.
It's been a fascinating summer -- one of the kind that seems to ...”
1 comments | May 28
Tyler’s headstone is in!
1 comments
20
A long-sought moment
“There comes a moment in any creative project, whether writing, painting, composing, or anything else, ...”
05
A little help from my friends
“This is a bit of a whim on my part, but it makes sense. ...”
10 comments 01
back again
“Well, I've certainly left you sitting on dead air for awhile. My apologies. ...”
| Apr 07
Housekeeping
“Sorry about the dead website for the last several weeks. I've been busy on ...”
| Mar 16
I don’t usually do this . . .
“Like most of you, I get a fair number of forwarded emails from friends who ...”
14
Sorry I haven’t written
“Sorry I have been so remiss in writing. I've been waiting to hear from ...”
| Feb 22
Tyler’s Headstone, continued
“Hello, everybody.
Since I've last written, we have received many donations to the headstone fund. ...”
11
A Tearful Success
“Well, the campaign for the headstone has been a wonderful success. The Unitarians, bless ...”
2 comments 08
A Big Day
2 comments
| Jan 30
Why I Write –2
“Good morning, everyone. It's somewhere south of thirty below zero, not to get above ...”
2 comments 27
A touching note
“I just received this in an email. I pass it along because one does ...”
1 comments 24
The January Dagger
“I just want to assure everyone that I haven't disappeared . . .Well, in a ...”
08
Why I write
“This morning a reader sent me word that she had come across my writings through ...”
3 comments 05
New Year’s resolution
“As the new year comes around and we are all awash in resolutions of self ...”
1 comments | |
2003 | Dec 16
Winter Musing
“The great darkness of a northern winter has settled over our far corner of Minnesota. ...”
09
A Christmas message
3 comments
| Nov 21
Joseph update and excerpt
“Just a little update for a few of you who have asked. The book ...”
10 comments 07
A writer’s voice
“When I was in high school I remember coming across a quote by Walt Whitman. ...”
4 comments | Oct 23
Victims or whiners?
“It's very gratifying to hear the responses regarding the dilemma of the teacher with the ...”
5 comments 21
Helping students
“I recently received some correspondence from a second year teacher in a well-respected high school ...”
6 comments 07
Random thoughts
“Something a little self-serving tonight. I'd like to ask your help. The other ...”
4 comments 02
Leonard Peltier
“I recently received a comment on one of my submissions in which the writer spoke ...”
8 comments | Sep 23
Insight, or oversimplification?
“The other day a friend asked me why I seemed more attuned to Native American ...”
3 comments 18
4 A.M. Zombies
“Some of my male friends and I have a standing joke. It goes like ...”
1 comments 02
miracle
“I have just seen a miracle.
Our friend -- the woman I wrote of in an ...”
| Aug 19
A fascinating exchange regarding Neither Wolf nor Dog
“I thought you all might like to see an exchange I just had with a ...”
6 comments 15
America’s fault line
“Two stories from the blackout:
A store owner in Detroit set up barbecue grills and spent ...”
1 comments 13
God’s surprises
“No anecdotes or homilies tonight. Just some random thoughts.
If there is a challenge before ...”
2 comments 06
A small gesture
“I'm in one of those delightful and all-too-infrequent author moments when I'm inside the work ...”
4 comments 05
HS students & Letters to My Son
“A while back I received a selection of letters written by high school students as ...”
5 comments | Jul 25
Age
“Last evening we had some friends over -- a couple who teach history at the ...”
3 comments 23
“Something’s happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.”
“I just returned from the local clinic -- some routine bloodwork. As I drove ...”
1 comments 19
cyber cadre
“I'm stunned, humbled, and astonished by the response I've gotten to this new website format. ...”
1 comments 18
Two touches
“The other day I received two very different notes from readers. One, a kind ...”
5 comments 15
A sobering reminder
“I spent Saturday and part of Sunday on a vigil at the bedside of a ...”
1 comments 10
Joseph project
“In the strange, fleeting way that is northern Minnesota, the first hints of fall are ...”
2 comments | Jun |
