Kathleen March

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2020

Stories (379)

379 Stories

7921 karma pts

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“13. Clothes Make the Man” by Kathleen March

RosalĂ­a de Castro was looking over her writing, thinking which pieces she might send to the States. As she did this, an immense feeling of uncertainly took hold of her again. It shouldn’t have, and she was well aware of this, but she always felt she was likely to not be understood at all, or would be profoundly misunderstood.[Editor’s Note: RosalĂ­a was correct in sensing she would be misunderstood, because both during her lifetime and for decades, even a century afterward, she would be seen as a ‘poetess’ who ‘felt the peasants’ pain’. ...

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“12. Rain, rain, come again” by Kathleen March

EDITOR: The clear weather continued. RosalĂ­a arrived home, put away the food purchased in the praza, and kept thinking about the gathering she hoped to organize with friends so they could discuss the organization of a literary/cultural group. (She hadn’t formed a clear idea in her head yet as to what topics they would discuss). She would write to her American contacts immediately, in the hope of learning how they met and what had gone well. There was a good reason for asking about this. The sunlight seemed to urge the ideas into forms t...

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“11. CafĂ© Alameda” by Kathleen March

  It was absolutely pouring out. The torrential rain wasn't expected, but even those with an ounce of prevention were finding the means they had for fending off the sheeting, pelting drops were useless. The upturned market baskets that protected heads were leaking, the capes and other garments wrapped around shoulders were soaked and only made it easier for the dampness to penetrate to the skin. Still, this was Galicia and it was Santiago, the city where some people, in an acccusatorial tone, said it always rained the hardest. The ...

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“10. When I Am Gone” by Kathleen March

Que se lembren de min cando eu falte. [Remember me when I am gone.] RosalĂ­a had just written this in her journal and immediately I thought of the same sentiment, a line from a well-known poem: "Remember" by Christina Rossetti, believed to have been written in the mid-1800s, in 1849, according to many. It was published in collection Goblin Market and Other Poems in 1862. This means the writers were contemporaries. I suspect RosalĂ­a knew of Rossetti. Goblin Market was a very popular book. And the first line of the poem in English is so similar...

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“9. What’s in a Poem?” by Kathleen March

Rosalía was writing in her journal about the previous April afternoon. She was unable to get what had happened out of her mind, and yet she had only gone out as she often did, on an errand, as well as to walk and think. They say she was mourning the loss of her mother, yes, but that doesn’t seem to be why she had gone out. She also couldn’t explain why she had taken that route through the old city, nor why she felt afraid, even now. Rosalía’s journal: It was like the entire city was watching me. I felt as if I were being followed, but for so...

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“8. I Should’ve Known” by Kathleen March

Lavinia’s story I should have known better, muttered Lavinia. I should have known that Rosalía would be able to comply with the American writers’ request for her to find companions in her quest to achieve a career in literature. I’m not unaware of the types of communication used by women in distant times. The types and places, I should add, because gatherings at church events, quilting bees, things of that nature, provided opportunities for discussion without censorship. That’s Feminist Historiography 101. After all, these English speakers ...

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“7. The Gift With no End” by Kathleen March

1.Rosalía received a package she had not expected. It had been carefully wrapped in heavy brown paper and tied tightly with twine only the sharpest knife could break. Was it delivered to her by mistake? She rarely received packages, especially of that size, yet this one was definitely addressed to her, every part spelled properly. There were several stamps that indicated this one had been mailed from somewhere very far away. She didn’t know how much postage had been required because it wasn’t the same monetary system she used, but that reall...

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“6. Never Assume Anything (2/2)” by Kathleen March

Rosalía’s Journal I’m not sorry for writing to those women now. That’s because every writer I’ve sent a letter to has responded. Maybe being bold has its advantages. I never expected that would happen, though. Not in a million years. To tell the truth, I didn’t expect any answers at all. After all, an unknown ‘daughter of a single mother’ - not my concern, but the Church seems to care - would have to be mad to send such letters to well-known women in another country. Who cares about inquiries from a complete unknown? What could possibly just...

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“5. Sorry is a State of Mind ” by Kathleen March

Dear 
 I am truly sorry for imposing on your ladyship’s time, which must contain ever so many obligations
Dear 
 Please forgive me for daring to importune you with the enclosed request
My Dear(est) Madam 
 By no means do I wish to impose upon your good will by
Dearest 
Most Admired Lady 
The list had a few other salutations, but the woman bent over the simple wooden writing desk had scratched them out. She wrote first in Galician, then in Spanish, knowing neither was likely to be accessible to the recipient or recipients, who were more ...

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“4. Shiver (1/2)” by Kathleen March

It was later afternoon and RosalĂ­a was sitting at her desk in the small apartment where she lived in Santiago de Compostela. She was content to have a room of her own long before a well-known British writer would make it a household phrase, so to speak. Writing required thinking, and being with family members more often required actions or at least speaking. On this occasion the dialogue between woman and page was obviously silent. La soledad sonora, as years later a lesser-known member of the Spanish Generation of 1927 would call it. Thunde...

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“3. Rosalía’s Diary” by Kathleen March

Diary (Monday or any other day)Day 1Was it wrong to publish what I did? Did I really offend that many people? After all, there were no accusations, no threats, no promises to hurt anyone. I had no intention of hurting anybody. It was simply what I needed to say. Of course I put it in writing, which means I wanted people to know what I felt, but I didn’t actually attack anyone. I was biting my tongue every minute when I wrote what I did. Nevertheless, I’ve gotten so many letters and I’ve seen quite a few letters in the periodicals compla...

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“2. Dear Reader, Are You Lost?” by Kathleen March

Required reading:  Previous story, “A Writer is Born.” (It is the only way to understand the references made here.) Part 2 (or Epilogue 2): Dear Reader, are you lost? My Journal: Day 1 Did you notice yet that this is merely an exercise in stream of consciousness. It might well be useful in helping you the rest of this book-to-be. This is not arrogance on my part; the truth be told, even I am beginning to feel the entanglement of the threads that are attached to the voices that are poking their heads up in random fashion. There ...

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“1. A Writer is Born” by Kathleen March

From Muse to Bluestocking Birth of a Writer: Introduction Lieders (1858) Oh, I refuse to be bound by the rules of art! My thoughts run free, my imagination wanders, and my soul only finds satisfaction in ideas.My soul has never been ruled by the hope of glory, and never have I dreamed of having laurels grace my brow. My lips have only uttered songs of independence and freedom, even though while still in the cradle I might have been aware of the sound of the chains that would forever imprison me, because the shackles of slavery are the p...

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“Close Encounters” by Kathleen March

«NacĂ­n no Val do Mao, no concello do Incio, ao Sur de Lugo, e alĂ­ pasei os meus primeiros anos». [I was born in the Mao Valley, in the municipality of the Incio, south of Lugo, and I spent my first years there.]~ Marica Campo, writer.Readers might be interested in knowing the region cited by the author, so I’ll help a little:O Incio, municipality of the province of Lugo and a comarca or local region (English actually has no accurate term for a comarca). It has more or less one thousand five hundred inhabitants. Its size? Less than a hun...

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“Haunted House” by Kathleen March

Haunt is a very interesting word. To be haunted is complex, a concept that can be interpreted in many ways. A haunt can be a noun, like a favorite place to hang out. Hant or haint is a vernacular form when it’s another noun, a synonym of ghost. Haunt as a verb is wobbly, going from very bad to seductive. If we are haunted by something or someone, it often gets sensual, and we begin to dream. Why, then, do ghosts, haunted houses, and the like mostly provoke shudders? Do we think the norm is associated with death (ours)? What are we afraid of?...

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Author bio

Kathleen March Educator and reader. Lover of words, animals, nature. Artist and translator. I am not on Reedsy to collect points. I am here to read and be read. Sorry I haven’t been as communicative lately. Life is complex. I will try to catch up. If you want me to comment on your work, I am happy to do so. I will be honest! After all, I taught literature forever. Please don't turn this into a numbers game. Write your heart out.