Catherine H Palmer

My Reinspired Life

As a corporate marketer, I wrote stories for other people, brands, and organizations.
This is where I write my own.

Creative Nonfiction Student Commencement Speech

As a graduate of Stonecoast Class of Winter 2022, I gave the Creative Nonfiction Commencement Address. My topic was the only thing that is constant for a writer — revision. We know how to write. At Stonecoast we learned to revise. We re-examined—our poetry and prose, our expectations, and perhaps—or especially—ourselves.

Two Years Without Purpose

Two years ago, on the morning before a new year and a new chapter, I sat in front of the woodstove without plan or purpose. I watched the light come up over the White Mountains, painting the sky with strokes of lavender, orange, and pink, before muddling the canvas grey. A snowstorm was on theContinue reading “Two Years Without Purpose”

Under the Influence

As if the world wasn’t topsy-turvy enough. Heading into the first October weekend, news and opinions and what-if propositions crackled like the burning red and orange maple leaves outside my window. To soothe my nerves, I quaffed a crisp Vermont IPA. Maybe Sunday, or the day after that, will be a better day to start my October sobriety.

Growing and Gardening

In Vermont, sowing a vegetable garden in spring is part of the curriculum, like stacking wood in the summer, raking fall leaves, and or shoveling snow. And yet, I’d felt only ambivalence about the soil where so many others found solace, joy, and purpose.

Challenge Accepted

Like the quarries I was warned about, the Internet is murky and perilous; it’s also seductive. Jumping in on a trend can be fun or risky. We don’t always know what is accurate or safe to share, and frankly, the effort to investigate everything before posting is too much work. But when the popular kids are already in the water, do take time to measure the depth and check for obstacles, or just jump?

Facing My Inner Karen

Karen has become a popular derisive term for a middle-aged White woman who asserts her entitlement—who might demand her right to a manicure during a pandemic, or ask to speak to the manager, or dial 911 when a Black man asks her to follow the rules.
If Karen is a synonym for White privilege, it is time to look in the mirror.

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