by Michelle Tocher | Sep 20, 2019
I’ve recorded a little impromptu talk here (with an equally impromptu demonstration) of how I’ve been working with poetry lately and crossing the bridge from speech to song. The lines I’m demonstrating come from a poem by St. Teresa of Avila. I also make reference to...
by Michelle Tocher | Jun 28, 2019
Since January, I’ve been doing a lot of singing and exploring what it means to sing, speak, and write in our natural voices. I wonder how much real freedom our voices get and the extent to which they are distorted by the culture at large and the media through which we...
by Michelle Tocher | Dec 21, 2018
Dear friends, The other day, coming down the steps of the subway, I saw a homeless man who was sitting by a pillar with a sign. He had been crying and he was trying to compose himself as people streamed down the escalator. My heart was caught by the sight of him in...
by Michelle Tocher | Apr 7, 2017
Last week I went to a humor workshop at the Toronto Storytelling Festival, given by Alan Shain who is a standup comedian and storyteller with cerebral palsy. Shain has a serious gift for flipping heavy subjects on their backsides. As somebody who labors to speak and...
by Michelle Tocher | Dec 23, 2016
I found the “Recipe for Holiday Unhappiness” cartoon (below) in my archive and it gave me a chuckle so I thought I’d share it. (All still so true!) It’s followed by a real (and delicious!) recipe for savory cookies that I found in the Toronto...
