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Natasha Trethewey Named Poet Laureate
I’m happy that Natasha Trethewey was named poet laureate this week, and have heard she may move from Georgia, where she’s been teaching at Emory University, to Washington, D.C., which would make her the first in this position to do so.
I loved her book Native Guard, which won a 2007 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. It links her memories of seeing old Civil ( Read more... ) -
Writing and Tears
Is there a way to sit down to write memories, funny stories, or adventures about made-up children in made-up lands without risking crying at the computer, having touched on tender places? I was just asked about this from a thoughtful, sensitive person embarking on a summer of writing and who would rather not do this by a box of tissues.
Clearly some ( Read more... ) -
Writing from a Vulnerable Place … and Writers Camp
This summer, teachers and librarians who want to experience the joys, anxieties, and muddles that their students experience when writing can find inspiration and support through Teacher’s Write! A Virtual Summer Writing Camp begun by Kate Messner. I met Kate through blogging, so know first hand how the people we find on our computers can help ( Read more... ) -
Taking Flight: Audubon and the World of Birds
On Sunday Peter and I visited the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA for an exhibit called Taking Flight: Audubon and the World of Birds. I learned that John James Audubon was born on a sugar plantations in Haiti in 1785, then after his mother died, went to France with his father, a naval officer. So as not to have to join the military under ( Read more... ) -
The Little White House Project
Forty little white houses with parts of Emily Dickinson’s poetry stenciled on the walls have been created by Deerfield Academy student Peter Krasnzekewicz, and set up around the Emily Dickinson Museum. I recently walked from Jones Library down Amherst’s Main Street, past these houses, though most are clustered in the garden by her house or the one ( Read more... ) -
See You At Harry’s: Celebrating with Jo Knowles
It’s a very good day when I get to sit across from Jo Knowles jbknowles in a café while we and other friends write together, drink coffee, and catch up. But you can almost hear the planet hum on a sunny May afternoon when I can get a new book, signed in silver, and give a congratulatory hug to someone who’s worked so hard and so faithfully to create ( Read more... ) -
Remembering … and a Little Bit of Research
Yesterday I gave a dinner talk to the Pioneer Valley Reading Council about my work, and part of my message was that all research doesn’t need to end up in that genre called a research paper. I spoke about how not having taken any history courses in college, my life writing about history began when I was in my twenties and sorted through some of my ( Read more... ) -
Edith Wharton on llluminating Incidents
When I was moaning about plot challenges recently on Facebook, my friend Jen Groff suggested that when I figure this out, I should run a workshop called “Plot for Poets.” I haven’t figured it out, and I’m not running a workshop, but I like her title and I’m reading Edith Wharton’s The Writing of Fiction, which might be the text for this class. ( Read more... ) -
Writing Across the Room
How many of us would be writers if we didn’t have optimism so hefty it rivals that of someone like my friend, Jess, a yoga teacher who was so delighted by our trip with our husbands to Lilacland that she did a few cartwheels? “Couldn’t you just stay here forever?” she asked among the dozens of blooming trees. Her husband, Dan, a lover of truth, ( Read more... ) -
Poking Holes in my Manuscript, and Streamlining Transitions
I didn’t mean to suggest my critique group is too harsh when I blogged about coming home from a meeting with instructions to pare a lot and pull out a plot. It’s tough love, yes, but it’s just the kind of love I need, even if I whimper. I send silent thanks as I go through all their thoughtful marks on my manuscript. I just heard a graduating ( Read more... )