What do poets and writers want this year? Okay, I will rethink the blank journal in this ten gifts for a poet article. I wrote this article many years ago in full disclosure, and a blank journal and a writing instrument seemed obvious. Nowadays, I am looking for the newest book on the craft of… Continue reading Gifts for Poets
Category: Poetry
Goblin Market- A Victorian Poem by Christina Rossetti
This is a small excerpt from Victorian poet Christina Rossetti’s epic poem Goblin Market. You can find the whole text online. I used this poem as an example in my essay on food in poetry. This is a fun poem to read aloud the alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and visual feast. “Come buy our orchard fruits,… Continue reading Goblin Market- A Victorian Poem by Christina Rossetti
Finding writing inspiration this summer
Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.” —Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty I love magazines, but I tend to hoard stacks and stacks of them until, even for me, it’s too much, and I force myself to donate or recycle. That happened yesterday, my deep woven basket that holds… Continue reading Finding writing inspiration this summer
Consider…
Consider the alliance– ships and plants The take-for-granted bloom of our roadsides Queen Anne’s Lace Black-Eyed Susans rode the sea ‘Specimens graciously passed between warring fleets’ And when an old boat rots ashore itself once living plant it sprouts Lorine Niedecker I love the simplicity of this poem, like an observation the poet might have… Continue reading Consider…
writing could be the boat
I don’t have nothing to write today―maybe never. Hammer in my blood a giant river swell up inside me and I’m drowning. My head all dark inside. Feel like giant river I never cross in front of me now. Ms. Rain say, You not writing Precious. I say I’m drownin’ in river. She doesn’t look… Continue reading writing could be the boat
Special 📦 Part 2
This year, I subscribed to Poetry magazine and several literary journals as part of my commitment to support my writing and arts communities. While many of the journals are now only online, I love being able to purchase a hard copy. This week was a great snail mail week when I received the current Poetry,… Continue reading Special 📦 Part 2
a “soft word” on the first day of spring
The crocus beckons like homemade liqueur—each one a glassful of sunlight. The crocus is a soft word in my ear Marion McCready’s poem Look to the Crocus. Today is the official first day of spring, but the crocus has been blooming for a couple of weeks, and the grape hyacinth is next. I usually plant… Continue reading a “soft word” on the first day of spring
the connection of language and food
Before I ever cooked professionally or wrote one word, I had a deep connection to language and food because of my first teacher, my nana. “A writing cook and a cooking writer must be bold at the desk as well as the stove.”― M.F.K. Fisher She was an elementary school teacher and a principal for many… Continue reading the connection of language and food
writing in gratitude
One writing practice I did keep up in the last year was a weekly email to a friend. We had started writing every Sunday as a check-in, accountability email, and understanding the power of gratitude; we always ended each email with a short (3-5 item) gratitude list for that week. If I review the 52… Continue reading writing in gratitude
Submitting experimental writing
Years ago, I posted a link to Bernadette Mayer’s poem Very Strong February. I was first introduced to Mayer’s work at Goddard. My advisor suggested that I include Midwinter Day in my book list. At the time, I was struggling to get through Gertrude Stein’s experimental book, Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms. The book is… Continue reading Submitting experimental writing