I’m back on the road, back in my old hunting/haunting grounds of Boston, Connecticut and New York. And first stop Boston. It’s been a bit weird this time. I have flown in to do two writing-related events and am playing tourist in this city which has been my US base for my entire adult life. But I am here this time without my husband, without any kid, and staying in a part of town that I haven’t been in for years. I arrived from wintry London into summery Boston, and decided to take a walk along the harborside. As my mother used to say, “if this was in Europe, we’d take a picture.” So I did.

Monday, I headed out via commuter rail to the lovely suburban town of Lincoln where I talked about A Clash of Innocents and my work in Cambodia at the Lincoln Public Library. I love speaking at libraries. I love the camaraderie, the sense of community, and the instant connection I feel with the people who come to see me. And at Lincoln I had the extra treat of discovering an absolutely beautiful library in a gorgeous building full of  stained-glass and great architectural features. Alas, the rains came and I wasn’t able to take the photos I had wanted to take, but here’s one view from the town website.

Tuesday was time for something completely different. The London poet, Ruth O’Callaghan, and I have been planning for a long time to do some joint readings, and we decided to do our first one here in Boston. Because of the wonders of the internet and Facebook, I had come to know of the Boston poet, Doug Holder, and he invited Ruth and I to appear on his local public access tv show called Poet To Poet Writer To Writer. This was definitely a first for me. I’ve done several radio interviews, some taped and some live, but live television is something else entirely. But it was fun. Doug asked Ruth and I lots of interesting questions which led to a lively discussion, and then both Ruth and I read some of our poems. I read a few from my book, Her Life Collected, but then I read a new and very different style of poem which is one of the first ones to grow out of my Cambodia experiences. A bit gutsy of me to try it out on tv, but Doug encouraged me and it seemed to go well. I have the tape of the interview and when I get home I’ll put it up on You Tube for all to see.

And now I have a day off before I head to my big college reunion — I won’t tell you what number reunion it is 🙂 — where I’ll be taking part in two events. Neither of them are open to the general public, but there are bound to be lots of old friends in the audiences and I can tell you now, I’m already a bit nervous. But more on that later.