When I was 21, in the fall of my senior year of college at Denison University, my father died. It was unexpected; in a course of weeks he died of liver failure, swift but sudden after years of being overweight…
Poetry and the Patient by Guy Traiber
It’s 2:00 AM and I can’t sleep, although I still don’t know these two facts. At the moment I am simply lost in a darkness, unconsciously fighting to remain in the sweet forgetful sleep which is quickly dissipating, from one…
Sound and Sense by David Massey
I am an autodidact, which means I probably know next to nothing about my chosen craft. I do, however, have a few things to share. I came late to an earnest reckoning with the art of fiction but have made…
A Conversation with R.K. Gold
An interview by Alicia Cole. R.K. Gold is the author of Just Under the Sky, Brinwood, and Lost in the Clouds. He received his BA in English from University of Maryland and his MS in Economics from the University at…
The Joys of Coming Late to the Table: An Older Writer Shares Life Advice by L Mari Harris
Confession: I am fifty years old, and even though I’ve been writing for decades, I did not start submitting my work until last year. I earned both my undergrad and graduate degrees in English Literature in the late 80s, where…
A Conversation with Ephraim Scott Sommers
An interview by Alicia Cole. A singer-songwriter and poet from Atascadero, California, Ephraim Scott Sommers is the author of The Night We Set the Dead Kid on Fire (Tebot Bach 2017), winner of the 2016 Patricia Bibby First Book Award….
A Conversation with Mathieu Cailler
An interview by Alicia Cole. Mathieu Cailler’s poetry and prose have been widely featured in numerous national and international publications, including the Los Angeles Times and The Saturday Evening Post. A graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, he…
Homage to James Dickey’s “Deliverance” – A Retrospective by Ron Clinton Smith
When a gifted poet approaches the novel, the results can be compelling, unusual, certainly bizarre; but exactly what you’ll get is hard to imagine. At the same time I decided to be, or realized I was, a writer, I came…
Guest Post: Because of Merwin by Michelle Boland
It’s time for a confession. I have been hiding my poetry writing as a shameful secret for quite some time. Those few occasions when I spoke the words out loud to someone, “I’m a poet,” I felt like I was…
Guest Post: Keeping the Writer-in-You Fed by Carol Park
In my previous blog I discussed the many mandates given writers about keeping up their writing life. I question whether these literary practices are actually absolute in nature. They are often touted with the same certainty as a college education….
Guest Post: Practicing the Literary Arts by Carol Park
I consider my practice of the literary arts routinely. Do you, dear writer? I’ll appreciate your comments. Being asked to write about my literary practices has galvanized me to think on this in a deeply personal and extended manner. It’s…
Guest Post: As Student Writers by Alena Zhang
We are often intimidated at the thought of putting our writing out into the world. Writing makes us vulnerable; reading someone’s poem is like peeking into their soul. Without writing, however, we would have no way to articulate the inner…