Why do you read poetry? This question might seem a bit odd, doesn’t it? I mean, why am I even asking good poets like you such an insane question? People aren’t just called poets for nothing. If anyone ever called you a poet it is because you write […]
One of my favorite ancient sites in the American Southwest is Tuzigoot, a pueblo ruin located in Arizona’s Verde Valley. Resting atop a 120 foot limestone ridge, which provided the white stones used to construct the pueblo’s many rooms and multistory central tower, Tuzigoot stands against the sky, […]
As poets we write about topics that matter to us. These topics might be anything: race horses, the nature of the divine, our lover’s hands, caterpillars, environmental degradation, or jazz trombone. And then there’s always that one huge, delicate, and potentially difficult topic: family. How honest can we […]
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 […]
In June, my husband Dan and I were on a road trip out to California to see our son. Somewhere in the Rockies, I said to him, “You know, I think it’s time I went back to get that MFA.” When we returned home, I applied, was accepted, […]
Every community has its taboos, and the literary world is no different. Dirty words like flowery, pretentious, or derivative get bounced around to describe work, but few accusations strike blows at the hearts of the seriously bookish more so than being called a confessional writer. Telling a new […]
When I returned to teaching in October 2015 after a 14-year hiatus, not only did it seem hard to find the time to write, but it also became a challenge to find what to write. The words just were not there. I was learning to juggle motherhood with […]
