things writers think about | things writers think about

Nov.23.2008 Do You Have a Writing Mentor? Do you have a writing mentor? Or did you, at some earlier point in your journey? Are you mentoring another writer? I just finished reading a recently published book called Women Poets on Mentorship: Efforts and Affections, edited by Arielle Greenberg & Rachel Zucker (U of Iowa P, 2008). I...	Sep.01.2008 Do You Judge a Book by its Cover? I was in a small-town, independent bookstore yesterday, browsing the shelves with no specific plans for purchasing. Lingering in the sci-fi/fantasy section (where you can often find me!), I was considering buying a book by a newish author I did not know, the first in a trilogy (or series -- I'm...
Aug.02.2008 My Writing Spaces In a belated response to Belle's call for photos of our writing spaces, I've created a small image gallery of mine. They appear in the reverse order that I posted them, with the result being that my captions for each photo are also in reverse order and make less sense that way! So you might want...	Jul.24.2008 What is Poetry?: Or, Yep, Free Verse is Poetry and Here's Why I Think So! (3 of 3) I've been following with pleasure the many responses throughout the Red Room to Belle Yang's provocation: What is poetry? At one point I had in mind a huge omnibus blog posting that would include my musings on and reactions to all the things people have been posting, but I have come to realize...
Jul.17.2008 What is Poetry? An Attempt to Answer Belle's Question (1 of ??) The gracious, multi-talented Belle Yang has posed a question that, to me, is the equivalent of "What is the meaning of Life?" : ) That is to say, "What is poetry?" has as many potential answers as the former question -- and, for someone who has been building a life in poetry,...	Jun.29.2008 Langston Hughes, History, and the Writing Life I've finished reading Arnold Rampersad's biography of Langston Hughes. Heavy sigh. What a rollercoaster! And what an illuminating work! Reading the story of Hughes's life is like reading the history of African American literature (and black literature, more broadly -- really, black culture)...
Jun.21.2008 Langston Hughes and Questions of Audience I wrote last time about the importance of audience for my work, a position I find myself not infrequently asserting in response to writers who come to workshops, retreats, and conferences where writers discuss and learn about craft and publication, but deny having any interest in a readership (or...