Welcome! My name is Hope McAllister Miller, and I am a writer and teacher. I write creative non-fiction, essays, fiction, and poetry while practicing what I am currently calling “now writing.”

I settled on “now writing” as my tagline of sorts because, well, apparently we all need a tagline to cut through the cyber-media-noise. On another level, this catch phrases represents what I am doing right now (writing) and reminds me that the present moment is really all we have. Despite a rather stuffy-sounding resume (see About), I feel fed up with irony–to use a vague term for a variety of distance-creating behaviors and attitudes.

The problems facing humans across the globe, categorize them how you like (sanctioned violence against ethnic minorities and women, lack of access to basic healthcare and eduction here and abroad, trash, and the impending global agribusiness environmental implosion), they will not be solved by intellectual distance or East-Coast cleverness.

Yes, you’re right: these problems certainly won’t be solved by my blog either.

Nevertheless, I believe that when we breathe deep and decide to be fully present, fully committed to each moment as it arises, we can make choices that connect us to others instead of our usual consumer choices that sever us from our fellow humans. To that end, my blog will investigate topics ranging from writing, education, nature/organic gardening/permaculture, and Eastern philosophy. I don’t see the blog as a place to foreground my creative work (although I will link to my work in Publications); instead, I see it as a place to explore the ideas that interest and inspire me as well as a way to connect to readers. (To be sure, the topics addressed in my blog certainly do undergird my creative work.)

से

(You will see the above symbol throughout my site. It’s one of the Sanskrit character for “with” because we’re with each other. It also resembles the character for prem or love because with love and compassion, being with each other is so much more fruitful.)