Backspace: Essays on Everything with Michelle Kennedy
Hi! I am Michelle Kennedy and I am an author, a mom of many, a lover of knits and a devoted reader and writer of the essay. Backspace features essays on life, love, parenting and more - a literary experience in the time it takes to wade through the pick up line at school - or get to the store. Join us every week for new essays and new discussions on great writing - and not so great writing. Read the essays at my website: mishkennedy.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support.
Episodes
April 21, 2025 • 13 mins
Slow the fuck down.
This is my movement.
Slow the fuck down. I have to tell myself this now. Mostly because I just don’t have the physical energy to keep up with my brain now, in my 50’s. But I used to. And I exhausted myself more than once doing it. Slow the fuck down. The only thing I can still do as fast as my brain wants it to is type. I can get frantic. I have been frantic. Many times. Or I’ve felt it but you didn’t see it beca...
This is my movement.
Slow the fuck down. I have to tell myself this now. Mostly because I just don’t have the physical energy to keep up with my brain now, in my 50’s. But I used to. And I exhausted myself more than once doing it. Slow the fuck down. The only thing I can still do as fast as my brain wants it to is type. I can get frantic. I have been frantic. Many times. Or I’ve felt it but you didn’t see it beca...
Mark as Played
March 5, 2025 • 28 mins
This is a delightful essay in that the author is not at all delighted by nature - at least not here. This essay wholly embraces not nature writing. And it is a study of nature and how we think of it. Humanly.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support.
Mark as Played
January 18, 2025 • 25 mins
In this conversation, Michelle Kennedy explores Mark Twain's essay 'Taming the Bicycle,' reflecting on the humorous yet profound journey of learning to ride a bicycle. She discusses the anxieties and challenges faced during the learning process, the importance of guidance, and the broader implications of learning and personal growth. The conversation intertwines themes of writing, authenticity, and the evolution of machines in our ...
Mark as Played
December 18, 2024 • 21 mins
Definitely tune into this one - have 20 minutes to kill waiting for a kid to come back from practice? Sitting in traffic? Driving to the store? This one is a bit longer - 20 minutes - but it's good. And the stories are fantastic - and hopefully I read it well enough for you to enjoy it.
From the essay: George Orwell's Why I Write: "The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they abandon ind...
From the essay: George Orwell's Why I Write: "The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they abandon ind...
Mark as Played
December 9, 2024 • 16 mins
David Foster Wallace is one of those writers for me. He’s one I wanted to be like. There are others. But I have identified over the years with Wallace because he always seemed so sad. When I read that he had hung himself almost 20 years ago now, I remember feeling like I was sad, but not surprised.
Having struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts myself over the years, it doesn’t feel strange to me when someone does it. Somet...
Having struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts myself over the years, it doesn’t feel strange to me when someone does it. Somet...
Mark as Played
October 17, 2024 • 25 mins
In this essay, Michelle reads Joan Didion's reflections on the nature of keeping a notebook, exploring the compulsive urge to document thoughts and experiences. She delves into the complexities of memory, the subjective nature of reality, and the personal significance of her notes.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/support.
Mark as Played
September 30, 2024 • 20 mins
Yes - they’re all mine.
“Are they all yours??” I used to get this incredulous question often in the old days - or at least - my old days…you know…back in the 1990’s. I always wanted to answer something like, “No. This one I found by the side of the road and this one won’t leave us alone.” But I think that stuff is probably funnier in my head.
My old days had me up at 3:30 am nursing whichever baby I had going then. I have been activ...
“Are they all yours??” I used to get this incredulous question often in the old days - or at least - my old days…you know…back in the 1990’s. I always wanted to answer something like, “No. This one I found by the side of the road and this one won’t leave us alone.” But I think that stuff is probably funnier in my head.
My old days had me up at 3:30 am nursing whichever baby I had going then. I have been activ...
Mark as Played
September 27, 2024 • 24 mins
"I have seen hundreds of ghost crabs in other settings, but suddenly I was filled with the odd sensation that for the first time I knew the creature in its own world.”
Rachel Carson brings us to the edge of the ocean and the space in between in this marvelous essay. It reminded me of my own times at the beach, in particular, my introduction to the ocean when I was very young.
If you would like to contribute an essay, contribute a s...
Rachel Carson brings us to the edge of the ocean and the space in between in this marvelous essay. It reminded me of my own times at the beach, in particular, my introduction to the ocean when I was very young.
If you would like to contribute an essay, contribute a s...
Mark as Played
September 26, 2024 • 18 mins
I am back! Whether you like it or not. Back to the essay - an essay a day, every day - well, most of the time. One of my favorite writers is Virginia Woolf. Today we read her essay, Death of a Moth. I also ramble a bit in the beginning about some of the goings on around here this summer. Enjoy!
-Mish
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/supp...
-Mish
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-essays-on-everything-with-michelle-kennedy--6186916/supp...
Mark as Played
June 21, 2024 • 11 mins
Robert Benchley, James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, E.B. White. All names I associate with old school writing - but also breakthrough humor. I don't know that ascerbic wit was ever more prevalent than in NYC in the 1920's.
Please enjoy, on this rainy Friday in Vermont, this essay by Robert Benchley. My recent outing to the Algonquin Hotel in New York made me feel right at home and I've been having a wonderful start to summer going thro...
Please enjoy, on this rainy Friday in Vermont, this essay by Robert Benchley. My recent outing to the Algonquin Hotel in New York made me feel right at home and I've been having a wonderful start to summer going thro...
Mark as Played
June 20, 2024 • 12 mins
A little humor for a Thursday evening...Episode 15 is out!
"I was God. I fixed it all. I rearranged payments. I moved around due dates. I promised to put notations in their file saying "don't call at 5 p.m." I didn't, but I promised I would.I racked up the most numbers sold on the hardest lists. I got three promotions in three months and a raise with each. I could strut with pride in my former bar as I ordered drinks and bragged ab...
"I was God. I fixed it all. I rearranged payments. I moved around due dates. I promised to put notations in their file saying "don't call at 5 p.m." I didn't, but I promised I would.I racked up the most numbers sold on the hardest lists. I got three promotions in three months and a raise with each. I could strut with pride in my former bar as I ordered drinks and bragged ab...
Mark as Played
June 19, 2024 • 10 mins
This is a tough topic for me to talk about but it is my own abortion story. I have had miscarriages before, including one where I lost a 20 week old baby that I wanted very much. But this occurred many years later when my body was no longer able to handle the stresses of pregnancy and another pregnancy almost cost me my life.
More than this episode being about this strange part of my life - it's also about the fact that everyone has...
More than this episode being about this strange part of my life - it's also about the fact that everyone has...
Mark as Played
June 18, 2024 • 15 mins
This is the essay that really began my writing career and tells the foundational story of how became, I guess, who I am now and who I was then. Reading this essay again, after so long (It's been 23 years since I wrote it and 27 or so since I lived it) made me laugh in a few places. The prices are insane! $550 for an apartment?? 79 cents for marshmallows? A dollar for juice? Wow. But the other things ring true.
There is a bit of an ...
There is a bit of an ...
Mark as Played
June 17, 2024 • 6 mins
BONUS episode. No essay today. I opted for a ramble through garden instead. I've been worried about the heat wave coming and with the dry week or two previously, I'm trying to prepare the plants a bit.
This episode includes a little story about my time in Hawaii and the cacao plants we grew.
So listen in, if you like...I'll be reading my Salon.com essay, "Mothering Without a Net," the essay that inspired my book, "Without a Net: Mi...
This episode includes a little story about my time in Hawaii and the cacao plants we grew.
So listen in, if you like...I'll be reading my Salon.com essay, "Mothering Without a Net," the essay that inspired my book, "Without a Net: Mi...
Mark as Played
June 14, 2024 • 14 mins
Fathers. It's a tough topic in my house. But this Father's Day, I wanted to spend a little time remembering my own dad - the king dadisms and plenty of bad jokes. Today's essay is an Ode to My Own Father. He was kick - that's for sure. I miss him sometimes.
Have a dad story or essay you'd like to share - please do! Email me at writermisha1313@gmail.com.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-e...
Have a dad story or essay you'd like to share - please do! Email me at writermisha1313@gmail.com.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/backspace-e...
Mark as Played
June 13, 2024 • 10 mins
We made our 10th episode! Apparently, that's a big deal in the podcasting world. Today's essay is a light one - some humor for this gorgeous (at least here in Vermont) day!
"I love my seed catalogs. Even though you will often find me scrolling my phone through seed catalogs, too, and I will likely even order them online, I still love the printed version of the catalog itself. I still love a good catalog - even now - but when I was ...
"I love my seed catalogs. Even though you will often find me scrolling my phone through seed catalogs, too, and I will likely even order them online, I still love the printed version of the catalog itself. I still love a good catalog - even now - but when I was ...
Mark as Played
June 12, 2024 • 15 mins
Exploring my unmotivation as I journey through midlife and menopause. My last kids are leaving the nest and it's feeling more empty than ever before.
This episode's intro also features some info about the Algonquin Hotel. Check out the history of the Round Table at http://algonquinroundtable.org or algonquinhotel.com
Pictures from our stay at the Algonquin are available on my insta @writermish or on my website mishkennedy.com
From th...
This episode's intro also features some info about the Algonquin Hotel. Check out the history of the Round Table at http://algonquinroundtable.org or algonquinhotel.com
Pictures from our stay at the Algonquin are available on my insta @writermish or on my website mishkennedy.com
From th...
Mark as Played
June 7, 2024 • 13 mins
Can you make a living as a freelancer writer? Well...maybe. Today's essay is by me, Michelle, and is about just that. Is freelance writing really the easiest job there is? Maybe. But for me it's been a long road...full of other jobs that often support my writing habit.
If you would like to contribute, comment, or ask a question - please write Michelle at writermisha1313@gmail.com or visit mishkennedy.com.
Become a supporter of this ...
If you would like to contribute, comment, or ask a question - please write Michelle at writermisha1313@gmail.com or visit mishkennedy.com.
Become a supporter of this ...
Mark as Played
June 6, 2024 • 12 mins
Today we contrast yesterday's episode by Joan Didion with the anti-personal essay, essay, "The Decay of the Essay," by Virginia Woolf. Thank you to AnOther Magazine for the background and quotes about Virginia Woolf and thank you to Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Coffee Jazz by DogisReal https://tunetank.com/track/3764-coffee-jazz/
If you'd like to read your essay on Real Quick - please let me know at writermisha1313@gm...
If you'd like to read your essay on Real Quick - please let me know at writermisha1313@gm...
Mark as Played
June 5, 2024 • 15 mins
The next two episodes are about the personal essay. Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf both had something to say about the nature of exploding one's life on paper (or screen, as it were). The essay begins around minute 3 and really does have some of the best thoughts on being a writer I've ever read. I love reading why writers write.
If you'd like to read your essay on Real Quick - or have it read - email Michelle Kennedy at writermish...
If you'd like to read your essay on Real Quick - or have it read - email Michelle Kennedy at writermish...
Mark as Played
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