Rita M. Gardner

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Fall News 2020 – Voices and Chaos

October 11, 2020 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Book Cover image

Welcome to Fall 2020 – where it seems both imperative and often impossible to find our voices amid this catastrophic time. But voices do matter – and I am grateful that on this 6th anniversary of the publication of my memoir, I recently spoke my story into a new kind of life: The Coconut Latitudes […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Audible, audiobook, book, book news, childhood, Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic expat, inspiration, memoir, reading

Spring news 2018

April 5, 2018 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

painting

Spring has been a season of change as I take some time to explore my other artistic roots. While it’s easy for authors to feel guilty about not having a major writing project going, sometimes change is good. So, at the end of January, I flew to Mexico to take a plein air art workshop.  http://www.artworkshopvacations.com […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: art, art exhibition, awards, book events, book news, book store, Caribbean, inspiration, international travel, mexico, springtime, travel

Spring News 2017

February 26, 2017 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

succulent

2017 began with a tsunami of events, some potentially cataclysmic and others more in sync with seasonal cycles. Someone forgot to turn off the faucets of ill-will that have been spewing forth in our nation, and Mother Nature forgot to shut off water spigots here at home. As rainstorms shudder against my windows and alternate […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Andalusia, anthology, art exhibition, book events, book exhibit, book news, reading, The Magic of Memoir, writers

Fall/Winter News 2016

October 25, 2016 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Book cover: The Body Keeps the Score

Fall is upon us, that bittersweet season where the earth takes a breather, goes fallow, and directs us to look inwards. It invites us to express gratitude for all we have been given. This year I am especially thankful for an unexpected family connection and visit – a gift I’ll cherish forever. On the literary […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: anthology, book collections, book events, Book Passage, inspiration, Laurel Books, memoir, personal story, prize, publishing, Spain, The Coconut Latitudes, The Magic of Memoir, travel writing, Wandering in Andalusia, Wanderland Writers

Images from Spain – Spring 2016

May 25, 2016 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Earlier this spring, I participated in a writing workshop/adventure in Spain, hosted by Wanderland Writers. In Barcelona, I fell under the spell of Antoni Gaudi’s hallucinogenic architecture. In Seville, I accidentally became part of a religious procession where drumbeats, incantations, and incense punctured the night sky. I surrendered to the ministrations of an expert masseuse in a hammam, […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Alhambra, Andalusia, Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona, essays, fountains, inspiration, Moorish architecture, Seville, Spain, travel writing, Wanderland Writers

Solstice and new beginnings

December 17, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

sun low in sky

Solstice. A perfect metaphor for our dual selves, darkness and light. Celebrated since ancient times, it’s the occasion when the sun appears to stand still just for a moment before an inevitable seasonal change begins. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day – a time to fling oneself outside, to inhabit the long […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, inspiration, memoir, new beginnings, new year, personal story, reading, solstice, The Coconut Latitudes

Summer Reflections

June 22, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

It’s already summer; how did that happen? This particular June solstice brings with it a desire to reflect upon the   head-spinning events of the past few months.  Dictionaries define the term reflection variously. Interestingly, the   root is from the Latin reflexiōn – a  “bending back”, which seems fitting as I look backwards. Another […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: awards, memoir, prize, reflections, The Coconut Latitudes

“Why There Are Words” Literary Event – Rita Reads The Coconut Latitudes

February 25, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Blog

New Year – New Beginnings, Old Connections

January 27, 2015 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Rita as young child

In this new year, as The Coconut Latitudes branches out into the world, it continues to bring some unexpected gifts and connections. The latest arrived yesterday, when, out-of-the-blue, a message arrived from a pen pal who I corresponded with more than fifty years ago.     The first gift was the arrival of photographs I’d […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Dominican Republic expat, memoir, Miches

Gratitude and Surrender

November 23, 2014 by Rita Gardner Leave a Comment

Fall leaves on trail

As leaves fall and pad California hiking trails with soft blankets of ocher and crimson, we whisper prayers for rain, but know bare branches are also necessary for rebirth and growth. Walking on one of these mountain trails last week, I recalled words by Mark Matousek in a recent memoir writing workshop: “Growth demands a […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: childhood, Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic expat, Mark Matousek, memoir, publishing, surrender

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Coconut Latitudes

Coconut Latitudes
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Rita on NPR Radio

Two exciting segments from The Coconut Latitudes read by Rita Gardner.

"Night of the Hurricane"

https://www.ritamgardner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/051315RitaGardner.mp3

"Drums of Spring"

https://www.ritamgardner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/051415RitaGardner2.mp3
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