Craft and Creativity
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Newest Features
Introducing Readers to Life Itself
Essay Recommendation: “My Stint as the Adulterous Flavor-of-the-Month” Read it here, from the New York Times. I don’t think of myself as prone to righteous indignation, but this essay by Paz Pardo made me feel enough of it that I almost stopped reading a few paragraphs in. I’m glad I didn’t, because it shifted my…
On Making What’s Familiar Feel New
Do you ever read a poem, and it makes you see something normal and everyday in a new and strange light? Great poetry has the power to completely shift our worldviews, to make the familiar seem strange and the strange, familiar. Poets accomplish this feat through close attention to craft and to the images they…
Profiles in Craft: Ollie Schminkey
For you, what defines good writing? For me, good writing is writing that emotionally connects with your audience. Everything is in service to that goal; fresh metaphors matterbecause they help to keep folks engaged in the poem, an effective form heightens the content and connection of the poem, etc. What craft advice is most useful to…