Who better to implore us to listen than Stephen Kuusisto, a writer who has experienced much of the world through four of the five senses? Steve, though blind since birth, uses rich imagery and visionary similes in his poetry and memoirs. Steve’s guide dog, Nira, is trained in “intelligent disobedience,” that is, if she receives [...]
MFA Notes: David Long
David Long suggested that there are always two strands to a story: 1) the story we’re telling and 2) the rendering or shaping of that story. “We don’t always give enough attention to the second half of that,” he said. There is a difference between what happens and what it’s about. “As storytellers we’re concerned [...]
Wake Up Women is a Bestseller!
Wake Up Women: Be Happy, Healthy & Wealthy reached the Top 10 Bestseller List at Barnes & Noble this week. The book is a compilation of inspirational writing by over 50 female coaches, doctors, entrepreneurs and investors, including Terri Amos-Britt, Arielle Ford, Loral Langemeier and Debbie Allen. It includes sections on relationships, emotions, health, career, [...]
MFA Notes: Mark Spragg
Mark Spragg reminded us to take the time, in editing and revising, to ensure that our characters stay true to themselves. Not to the action we, as writers, think they will take or want them to take, but to remain within the boundaries of who they really are. “I already know how I hold them [...]
famous poets converge
so there I am in small town Oregon, heading west along highway 30 and I’m crazy-thirsty. I stop at the next gas station to buy something, anything, to cease the parch. the cashier is ringing up my purchase when Ellen Bass and Marvin Bell step inside from the rain. truth be told, this was easily [...]