Dear Students and Teachers: With many of us transitioning to teaching and taking courses online, we are learning that we need new ways to approach these courses. This tip sheet is one I present my students at the beginning of the semester, based on issues that come up in my...
My list of essential creative writing resources, from my local territory of Indiucky to beyond, periodically updated. Regional Opportunities (Indiucky and nearby) Our region is fortunate to offer many opportunities for writers. They include open mic readings, readings by guest authors, book signings, writers workshops, and programs of study. Many...
Recently, writer Nancy McCabe asked me to fill out a questionnaire for her Spalding MFA program faculty blog. Her questions prompted me to put into words, maybe for the first time, how I’ve come to understand the way I write as a person with a pretty strong case of ADD....
LOL – this is not a poem I’m ever going to send out, I don’t think – so I’m sharing it with you. I promised to do a generative exercise along with my poetry students based on an assignment called “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” by Jim Simmerman in The Practice...
As a teacher of poetry, I often hear dislike of poetry expressed. When I hear it, I’m dismayed, and struggle to understand why. At least until I discovered Muriel Rukeyser’s The Life of Poetry at a conference presentation. Seventy years ago, Muriel Rukeyser wrote these words explaining why people hate...
Over decades of running and participating in writing workshops, I’ve found that the best workshops happen when they include simple but effective guidelines for responding. This Four Points of Good Workshopping handout has served me well for creating a community of writers. It helps authors take in critiques and it...
Hearing a poem is often stronger and more enjoyable than reading one. I’ve placed audio files of me reading eight of my poems on Soundcloud. Enjoy these. Pick an opening line: “When spring began to breed mosquitos…” Listen (“DDT(Or, a psalm to dichloro-diphenyl tri-chloroethane)”‘ “Jim writes, ‘I feel like the designated...