Ellen Gilchrist
Ellen Gilchrist
Ellen Gilchristis an American novelist, short story writer, and poet. She won a National Book Award for her 1984 collection of short stories, Victory Over Japan...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth20 February 1935
CountryUnited States of America
rain doe
Cuddle up. Rain always stops. It always stops. It always does.
inspirational war guilt
Family and work. Family and work. I can let them be at war, with guilt as their nuclear weapon and mutually assured destruction as their aim, or I can let them nourish each other.
wise baby race
The human race is just getting started.... The cerebral cortex is only a hundred thousand years old. It's still a baby, sucking teat and eating Cheerios. We might get better, maybe even wise, if we can last another thousand years.
work
Work is the thing that stays. Work is the thing that sees us through.
spring flower writing
I haven't written poetry in a long time but I read it and I miss it. It is so hard to write. So hard to finish, so hard to find the exact word to make it shine. In honor of my youth I will write a poem to finish this essay. It is spring in the Ozark Mountains. The yellow flowers are blooming and the birds wake me at dawn and last night five planets lined up by the moon in the western sky. If that doesn't inspire me to poetry what will?
fighting hills love people snow
I love Fayetteville. I like hills and vistas and hardworking people and fighting snow in winter and chiggers in the summer.
I never thought it was unusual to write, and I've been writing or pretending to write since before I even started school.
beauty schools
In the schools of small Midwestern towns, the only aristocracies are of beauty, intelligence, and athletic prowess.
coast except seems south
The Mississippi coast is not like south Florida, but it always seems warm enough for sandals and short-sleeved shirts, except for now and then.
great honored work
Having your work honored nationally is a great morale booster.
habit knowing life lived
I have lived most of my life in small towns, and I'm in the habit of knowing and talking to everyone.
love
I love New York, but I wish they wouldn't put clothes on their dogs.
alabama both home north northwest
My ancestors are Highland Scots, and my father's home in north Alabama is so much like northwest Arkansas. I have the same allergies in both places.
visit
My childhood is in my brother's house, and I like to visit there and be reminded.