Most writers will tell you that a writer’s group, or critique group, has proved indispensable to their writing success. The fellow writers in these groups offer encouragement, inspiration, valuable feedback from close readers, answers to other questions about the writing life (such as about the business end of things), a place to get beta readers for longer works and, often, friendship. I’ve been involved with writing groups for almost five decades and I have heard only from a couple of … Read More »

In a recent interview Ted Kooser (U. S. Poet laureate: 2004-2006, Pulitzer Prize winner) said “I often start with a metaphor and build the poem out with that association.” So, not until he’s found the right metaphor does he begin. This makes sense to me, for I would hazard to say that all good poetry is metaphor—poems mean something more than what the words denote. The ability of poetry to stretch itself beyond the page and into our lives with … Read More »

A major challenge that writers for young readers face is having one’s work taken seriously. And I don’t mean just the response to the published book/piece, but the actual work of writing for a young audience. A sure-fire way to make a kind, unassuming children’s author foam at the mouth, or go for the jugular is to comment: “Well, that must have been easy to write, it’s only nine words long.” Or, “That must not have taken long to write.” … Read More »

Lately there’s both a lot of shoulder shrugging, and a lot of fear around generative AI making inroads into creative endeavors. Everybody seems to have some opinion about it, from Wow, so cool! To  OMG! It’s going to take over! So of course, I had to try out a few things to see how well generative AI could reproduce one of my creative loves, poetry. Below is a very shortened run-down of my wrangling with ChatGPT and poetry. I started … Read More »

Recently I was Zooming with some lovely poets. One of the poets read a prose poem that went on and on without stopping to take a breath. Not only did I feel a bit overwhelmed—and not in a good way—but I was saddened, because I could not get a moment to take in and reflect upon her many great images and wonderful word choices. Everything rushed by in such a blur I lost the emotional impact as well. I just … Read More »

I generally do not write to specific forms, and always have to look up the “rules” for villanelles, Shakespearean Sonnets, sestinas, and the like. What I truly love is free verse. However, there are many times that working within a form is liberating in that you’ve already got a set of parameters you don’t have to worry about. And, sometimes, when you’re forced to conform to a certain structure the little creative geniuses in your brain run off into territory … Read More »