When I was in art school, I once had a poetry professor who, on the first day of class, introduced himself as a failed painter. Immediately, that proclamation (and others) rubbed me the wrong way and I ended up dropping the class in favor of a film course […]
I’m pleased to announce I’ll be teaching a poetry workshop for the International Women’s Writing Guild for their Digital Village series! In this workshop, participants learn how to create poems using writing prompts focused on expression of the self, then revise and prepare the poems for submitting to […]
It might be self-defeating to say this, but you should know it going in: My poet friend Jesse Parent has a list poem about why he doesn’t like List Poems. That’s pretty funny, and it shows you that not everyone is into this form. But I am, and […]
I. Who is Diane? Are you Diane? I channeled Diane—I don’t know from where. I’ve had Diane in me since I was a child. When I was six, I sat on the top bunk and ripped a twenty dollar bill in half (just like Diane would later […]
Last year for Christmas I asked for An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States. I’m an avid reader and a proud lit. major, but I’ve never asked for a book of poetry in my life. If I could take you back in time, I’d […]
As I brood over my newest batch of poems, and cast a crabby eye on the previous batch, as yet unpublished, it seems to me that editing can be focused on three levels. There’s the level of the text on the page: Are the verbs active and surprising […]
Imagine that you are an athlete, and you’ve been preparing to try out for a soccer team. You’ve worked on your fitness, your directional changes, your speed, your dribbling, your passing, your penalty shots for weeks, for months, and you have a strong desire to be on the […]
I couldn’t be more delighted to be appearing on the Ask ALLi Advice Podcast for Self-Publishing Poetry! Orna Ross is a lovely host and human being, working hard to help poets and writers alike on their self-publishing journey. In this podcast we cover both traditional lit mag submissions […]
An amazing thing happened last week! I was nominated for the third year in a row! Thanks to my readers who nominated my site for inclusion in this helpful list curated by the generous folks at The Write Life. This year they added anew section devoted to Black […]
It’s so important to do your homework before sending your manuscript to a publisher. Make sure to take notes for each publisher you research. You will most likely want to compare them to each other before deciding where you want to submit. Make sure the press is the […]
