Craft and Creativity
Craft essays, criticism, and creative pieces. To get them in your inbox for free, join our newsletter.
Newest Features
Introducing Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
About Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the 2009-2013 Poet Laureate of Kansas, a long-time transformative language artist, and the author or editor of 24 books, including poetry, memoir, fiction, non-fiction, and anthologies. As a poet, fiction and non-fiction writer, teacher, mentor, and facilitator, she explores and celebrates how the spoken, written and sung word can…
“Trapped Between an Animal and a God”: Writing Human Nature’s Contrasts
Cloud and Lizard My dad once said, offhandedly, that to be human is to be “trapped between an animal and a god.” That stuck with me, and more so over time, to the point now that if I was good at drawing, I would post online a diagram of an enormous roiling cloud of royal…
On Writing Metaphor
When you think about the literary devices that build into great poetry, “metaphors” are often the first to come to mind. A metaphor allows us to see the world in ways both new and strange; they quite literally shift our perspectives and shape the ways we think. Poets know this better than anyone—but how do…