Stuart Bartow

Free Will

Legend has it that Balzac asked on his deathbed about the welfare of characters from his novels; how were they doing? I’ve always suspected novelists were mad. Imagine God as novelist, obsessive, distracted, careless of readership, creating characters out of control, wondering what they’ll do next.

a riot
of waxwings
in the winterberry bushes

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About the Author

Stuart Bartow lives in the Taconics region of New York State, where he chairs the Battenkill Conservancy, an environmental organization working on the Vermont-New York border. His most recent book of haibun is Invisible Dictionary, published by Red Moon Press.