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Maria Shimizu Christensen
Bio
Writer living my dreams by day and dreaming up new ones by night
Also, History Major, Senior Accountant, Geek, Fan of cocktails and camping
Stories (102/0)
All the Ages of Me
A new collection begins with just one poem. Then, sometimes, that poem sits for a while, gathering virtual dust in a neglected electronic filing corner. But the seed has been planted, and you wouldn’t think there’s enough fertilizer in dust to let that seed grow, but you see a sprout out of the corner of your eye and decide it’s time to do some nurturing. Now there are two poems. Who knows how this will end…
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Poets
Language Lessons
Semantic satiation happens when words or phrases are repeated so often and so closely together that they start to lose meaning for the reader or listener. I wanted to explore what that might look like in poetry, and how common words and phrases could be combined in uncommon ways.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Poets
Dear Me
Dear Me, We are writing to inform you of your nomination for acceptance into the Strong Women Club. We understand your reluctance to accept this nomination, so before you reject it out of hand, please take the time to peruse our reasoning, as laid out below.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Viva
Why to Join Vocal Facebook Groups, and Some Internet History. Top Story - March 2021.
Once upon a very long time ago (over 20 years), there lived a website that paid writers a dime every time someone clicked on a link and read an article. This is a good deal, the writers thought. Maybe we could make a living with this new-fangled technology and stop having to pitch magazines and wait months by the mailbox for replies and rejections. And for a while, things went swimmingly. The writers wrote, the readers clicked, the website paid.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Journal
In Defense of Hoarding and an Ode to The Home Edit
I own 3,000+ books, hundreds of yarn skeins, more paint than Banksy, enough coffee cups to use a new one daily for an unreasonably long period of time, and 14 pairs of scissors. Among other things. I’m not giving up any of it.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Lifehack
Product Photos in a Hurry and on a Budget
Let’s face it, we’re in the age of the side hustle and the gig economy, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. If you’re selling anything, anywhere, the better your photos are, the more likely you are to make a sale. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good picture could be worth a thousand sales. Or just that one sale that means the difference between eating ramen noodles all week and a cart full of groceries.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Photography
Facing the Rest of My Life Alone
I’ve been single for 25 years and a lot of people find that shocking, or something to be pitied. They rarely ask if it’s been by choice. They see a woman in her 50s, a woman past her prime with diminishing prospects for finding a lifetime partner. After all, how much time does she have left? They see the things that are supposed to be unattractive to potential mates: wrinkles, a belly pooch, hair that’s beginning to gray. Unless, of course, that potential partner is also aging in unattractive ways. But then again, aren’t aging men only seeking out younger, firmer women?
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Humans
The Book of Needs
Mary understood secrets. Good secrets, bad secrets, and those shaded in gray tones of ambiguity. So when the small package arrived with a post office box number but no name on the return address she instinctively knew she was holding a secret. Its mystery was held in a plain cardboard box with her name and address printed on a white label, and she was a little afraid to open it. Secrets have a way of bursting out of their careful packaging and upending your life.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen3 years ago in Families