Lots of good reasons could justify short wintertime trips to Juneau, but I felt lucky that poetry was the reason behind last week’s trip. Julie Hungiville LeMay and I were invited by Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) to serve as judges for this year’s Alaska Statewide Poetry Out Loud Competition there, a fun […]
Jeremy Pataky | Juneau Out Loud Read More »
“You’re a person who can handle shades of gray, aren’t you?” Judy had her hands in my mouth, probing and scraping, so I could only nod in response. “I thought so. Me, I can’t stand gray. Black or white. That’s how I like it.” A self-professed voracious reader, Judy knows I’m an author. She
Deb Vanasse | Know Your Reader Read More »
A crazy thing happened the other day. When I catch my students writing language similar to the previous sentence, I often ask them to think of the word “thing” as a great opportunity to replace a word with little meaning and instead insert words that reveal specific details, clarity, passion and power. Sometimes, however,
Isn’t it funny how the experiences that drive you to write also seem to be the toughest to get down? At least, in a way that’s satisfying, that captures the essence, that feels right. Those key compelling moments when life could have gone either way, that were hard or dangerous, that shock the adrenaline, that
Brian Castner | Writing Through the Tough Spots Read More »
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Literary Roundup | March 3-16, 2017 Read More »
Today, I was working on a creative nonfiction essay about lachrymosity, a.k.a. tearfulness, including my own increasing, often unexpected susceptibility to brief bursts of emotion. While I won’t necessarily well up during a sad song or movie and rarely cried as a kid (not when pressured by bullies, not at funerals), I do find myself
Whether in person or via social media, I can’t help but hear a common refrain of late. Similar discussions all related to media pieces that focus on silly distractions and spectacle created purposefully to keep people from focusing on the real issues at hand. I want to suggest that within that very refrain, while the
Guest Blogger Don Rearden | Make Art Not More Content Read More »
