Author Archives: Barry Pomeroy

About Barry Pomeroy

I had an English teacher in high school many years ago who talked about writing as something that people do, rather than something that died with Shakespeare. I began writing soon after, maudlin poetry followed by short prose pieces, but finally, after years of academic training, I learned something about the magic of the manipulated word.

Equality and Equity

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Barry Pomeroy

I once told a colleague that I didn’t believe in objective marking, and she enthusiastically agreed. “I don’t think it’s possible to be objective,” she said. I told her that I didn’t think we should try to be objective, or … Continue reading →

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Darning my Booties

Posted on January 19, 2024 by Barry Pomeroy

Today I posted a picture on Instagram showing off my poorly realized darning work. I was repairing a pair of knitted booties which I use as slippers. One of my former students asked me why I didn’t buy a new … Continue reading →

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The Waystation to the Dump

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Barry Pomeroy

Many people do not realize that their house or apartment is merely a conduit for the landfill. They imagine that each thing they bring into their house to be valuable on its own, as if they intend to keep it … Continue reading →

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Journalists are Needed more than Ever

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Barry Pomeroy

Although some might claim that we no longer need journalists, that the internet has given us access to primary sources which we can interpret for ourselves—“do your own research” anyone—I think we need them now more than ever. Those who … Continue reading →

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Judge Not or Ye Shall Be Judged

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

I rather thoughtlessly quoted the bible when I was talking to my friend about being gay. She has partially emerged from her closet—which is a fraught enterprise for her because of her religious background—and we were discussing the tendency of … Continue reading →

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The Choctaw and Irish Nations

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

Fifty percent of the Choctaw people had only just survived the forced relocation from Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana into Oklahoma (the aptly named Trail of Tears), when a member of the tribe heard about An Gorta Mór, the great famine … Continue reading →

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The Long Canoe Trip

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

When Biss and I decided to take his son on a canoe trip, I suggested a lake I’d gone to before. We would be canoeing in the dark, which we often did, and that lake afforded opportunities that other locations … Continue reading →

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Tesla Uber

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

I never pondered who was driving for Uber until I saw a Tesla with an Uber sign on it waiting outside the university. I realized that I needed to re-examine my presuppositions. I had presumed that most people who drove … Continue reading →

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The Man Who Broke into Prison

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

Harrol was a city guy. He’d gone to university and played his part in the corporate drama. He had a house and a bland family, and his mother who’d come to stay with him. According to her, he did nothing … Continue reading →

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Haters Gonna Hate

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Barry Pomeroy

Comments about haters, or people who have no contributions other than to heap ridicule onto another’s accomplishments, are common now, but the phenomenon is not new. I would venture a guess that even when the first stone tool was smashed … Continue reading →

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