Articles By: Michael D. Bobo

Michael D. Bobo serves as the Poetry Editor for Burnside Writers Collective. He is a Humanities Professor at Citrus College. For any questions related to poetry submissions or current poetry themes please reach out to him by email at michaeldbobo [at] gmail [dot] com.

Poetry Theme: Rebirth

Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Spring c.1894 Our second poetry exploration for 2013 will consider rebirth. Spring approaches. Dormant life eagerly anticipates its emergence into a fullness of green, bright, flourishing expression. The stillness before the flurry of growth is a perfect time to see the potentiality...

March 3rd, 2013 | Poetry | Read More

Poetry Theme: Transience

We’ve entered a New Year. Just in case it isn’t evident. Time to reflect on new resolutions. Some we keep. Some keep us. The rest dissipate as fragments of mental life. In light of these inevitable resolutions both kept and left, I propose the first theme this year: Transience, n. —...

January 13th, 2013 | Poetry | Read More

On Sanctification: A Tribute to Picasso

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, c.1910 Somewhere buried in the mind of an artistic genius lies the image of a man. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler by name. But in Picasso’s mind, he looks like a highly abstracted series of geometric shapes—triangles, rectangles and squares. According...

January 6th, 2013 | Meditations | Read More

Poetry Carnival

I am so grateful for those who participated in this inaugural Poetry Carnival. We have poets from far and wide. Don’t be misled by the number of courageous souls who risked undertaking the challenge. I am thrilled about the quality of poets we are. My challenge to Burnside was to write a poem...

December 9th, 2012 | Letters from the Editor | Read More

There must be more

Alessandro Tiarini, The Repentance of Saint Joseph c.1619 The first Advent was rather private, rural, shameful. Nine months in the womb of a young girl. Angelic appearances. Hard to believe. Could it be true that this child is something more than a delusion or a miracle? Though a professed virgin, Mary’s...

December 2nd, 2012 | Meditations | Read More

Poetry Carnival

To those of you who may not already know, My name is Michael and I am the new Poetry Editor at Burnside. I joined Burnside in 2010 via an essay on U2 and Social Justice. It has been a delight to collaborate on numerous pieces with the editorial team. In addition to several poems published, I have been...

October 7th, 2012 | Letters from the Editor | Read More

Convergence: A Parable by Michael D. Bobo

A stranger appears in Greenstone, a small mid-American town, whose presence evokes images of Jesus in first century Nazareth. Could this be another Messiah? Is this stranger worth listening to – even following? Inevitably the religious establishment struggles with his miracle working power. The stranger...

July 24th, 2012 | Books, Essays | Read More

Pancake Devotions

As the clock passes six in the morning, I anticipate the sound of little feet and a very loud voice entering my room. My son is a loud talker from 5:30 to 9:00 in the morning. I used to wonder why the volume and the intensity at these God forsaken hours only, but here’s what I have learned. Although...

May 22nd, 2012 | Essays, Family | Read More

Fostering Fantasies

Life through a four year old’s eyes is so much more. More colorful. More emotional. More fantastic. My son has an obsession of late. Not pancakes or superheroes, but George Lucas’ world in the galactic Empire. Most of you know it as Star Wars. My wife has less hair from pulling and less breath...

April 30th, 2012 | Family, Featured | Read More

Why I’m a Loser and So Are You

Lent is a season of learning to lose. This may not seem like a huge revelation for some, but learning to lose is a virtue for Christians seeking a well-rounded spiritual life. It’s true for our Lord and it’s especially true for us. We Christians occupy the gracious reality of the larger perspective....

March 4th, 2012 | Featured, Meditations | Read More