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About Sara Barkat

I like my tea black (with a special love for Indian chai) and my novels long (give me sci-fi, fantasy, or 19th century to make me especially happy!)—though I’m always exploring beyond my known universe and will drink greens, reds, and oolongs, and read almost any genre or style that crosses my table. Speaking of the universe, I have a passion for learning about anything from black holes to the mysteries of time. When I’m not sitting by the window, sharing the sun with our little lemon tree, I can be found making lemon cupcakes and other confections, creating art (pen and ink, intaglio, and Prismacolors, please) or moving through the world on the toes of ballet or jazz dance.

What to Eat With Dracula: Paprika Hendl

By Sara Barkat 1 Comment

Dracula Paprika Spoon

Chicken paprikash is a traditional Hungarian, Bulgarian, Czechoslovakian, and Romanian dish. It’s the perfect dish to cozy up to Dracula with!

Filed Under: Blog, book club, Classic Books, Dracula, Fiction, Horror

Brianna: Short Story + Fairy Tale Poetry Prompt

By Sara Barkat Leave a Comment

sleeping beauty roses fairy tale poetry prompt

Brianna is an enchanting science fiction story that re-imagines the classic Sleeping Beauty tale. Come try your hand at re-imagining a fairy tale in poetry!

Filed Under: Blog, Fairytales, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, writer's group resources, writing prompt, writing prompts

The Mannequin—Short Story + Erasure Poetry Prompt

By Sara Barkat 17 Comments

peacock feathers mannequin story erasure poetry

A shiver-worthy story about a woman who trusts her heart to Society’s solution. The perfect beginning for an erasure poetry prompt!

Filed Under: Fiction, poetry prompt, Politics, Science Fiction, Short Story, writing prompt, writing prompts

How to Do Literary Analysis: An Experimental Reflection Based on The Yellow Wall-Paper

By Sara Barkat Leave a Comment

Ocean Literary Analysis as Conversation The Yellow Wall-Paper

How do you do literary analysis? You might begin by treating it as a conversation between you, the reader, and the writer’s words. After all, the story wants to be heard. Let’s start with The Yellow-Wallpaper.

Filed Under: Blog, Literary Analysis, The Yellow Wall-Paper

The Yellow Wallpaper Film: Interview with Kevin Pontuti & Alexandra Loreth

By Sara Barkat 1 Comment

Yellow Wall-Paper white flowers in sun

Illustrator Sara Barkat interviews the creative forces behind a new film version of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper.

Filed Under: The Yellow Wall-Paper

Literary Analysis: The Yellow Wall-Paper Affects Us All

By Sara Barkat 1 Comment

The Yellow Wallpaper Flower

The Yellow Wall-Paper may seem like a simple story on the surface, but it’s actually quite complex. This analysis of the classic 1892 story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman probes that complexity in fascinating ways.

Filed Under: Blog, English Teaching Resources, Literary Analysis, The Yellow Wall-Paper

Un-writing the Fairytale, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast 2017: The Feminist Implications of Failed Deconstruction and the Lack of Fairytale Logic

By Sara Barkat 7 Comments

Disney's Beauty and the Beast Dance Scene Movie Review

The reviews of Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast 2017 never did end up raving. Here’s a suggestion as to why a movie (and story) with such potential fell short. Writers, take note.

Filed Under: Blog, Fairytales

Questions & Curiosity: Why This Aphorism?

By Sara Barkat 2 Comments

Sparrow in Bush

Take a saying that’s become cliché, and give it a new life when you question and then write a poem!

Filed Under: article, Blog, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Question Poems, Themed Writing Projects, writer's group resources, writing prompt, writing prompts

Questions & Curiosity: Wonder Plant Prompt

By Sara Barkat 4 Comments

Dandelion in Seed

Join us this week to wonder about a common plant you may have passed by. Find your questions, then your answers, and then—your poem!

Filed Under: Blog, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Themed Writing Projects, writer's group resources, writing prompt, writing prompts

The Art of the Handwritten Letter: A (Typed) Letter on Handwriting

By Sara Barkat 4 Comments

Pen Cup Handwritten Letter

Sara Barkat writes about the power of handwriting, where paper and ink let a single word grow to fill a line, or fold itself up small.

Filed Under: Blog, Friendship Project, Patron Only

Facing Ordeals, Learning Personal Qualities: How Odysseus’s Adventures Served Him Well

By Sara Barkat 3 Comments

Mountain with cloud cover - Facing Ordeals, Learning Personal Qualities: How Odysseus’s Adventures Serve Him Well

Through a series of adventures, Odysseus experiences an inner journey that teaches him prudence. By the end, peace brings his journey full circle.

Filed Under: Blog, Epic Poetry, Odyssey, Student Writing

Culture and Society in The Odyssey

By Sara Barkat 9 Comments

gate to the sea - Culture and Society in the Odyssey

The culture and society that infuses Homer’s The Odyssey is similar to and different from modern Western culture and society. Here’s a clear analysis of how, with intriguing examples.

Filed Under: Blog, Epic Poetry, Odyssey, Student Writing

A Way With Words: Faze and Phase

By Sara Barkat 1 Comment

words that are not the same faze and phase

In today’s A Way With Words, Sara Barkat teaches (and amuses) us with the difference between the homophones faze and phase.

Filed Under: A Way With Words, Vocabulary

A Way With Words: Canon and Cannon

By Sara Barkat 5 Comments

homophones canon and cannon

In today’s A Way With Words, Sara Barkat amuses us with the difference between the homophones canon and cannon.

Filed Under: A Way With Words, Vocabulary

The Windhover, by Hopkins: Sound, Image, Meaning

By Sara Barkat 6 Comments

Gold Vermilion Feathers The Windhover Essay Gerard Manley Hopkins

What does The Windhover, by Gerard Manley Hopkins, mean? Closer to myth than allegory, the possibilities are layered.

Filed Under: Blog, Literary Analysis

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

By Sara Barkat 3 Comments

Why did Hamlet wait to kill the king? Crumbling Wall

Did William Shakespeare make a bad plot choice in Hamlet? Why does Hamlet wait to kill the king? To answer the question, one must understand the play’s nature.

Filed Under: Blog, Hamlet, Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Order and Disorder in Macbeth

By Sara Barkat 15 Comments

Macbeth Order and Disorder Trees and Air

In this classic Shakespeare play, if no one knew what the Macbeths had done, all they need do is look to the air, the earth, animals, sleep, and dreams. Check out this intriguing analysis of order and disorder in Macbeth.

Filed Under: Blog, Literary Analysis, Macbeth, Shakespeare, Student Writing

Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

By Sara Barkat 10 Comments

Was Hamlet Sane or Insane Leaves Graphic

Figuring sanity or insanity isn’t simple from the outside. Was Hamlet insane? That depends on your definition of insanity and the importance of love ties.

Filed Under: Blog, Hamlet, Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Tragedy and Comedy: Why We Love Them, What’s the Point

By Sara Barkat 6 Comments

Psychology and Neurology of Comedy and Tragedy

Why read tragedy or comedy—or bother to write either one? Psychology and neurology suggest they can change our lives, make us more empathetic, and help us cope.

Filed Under: Blog, Literary Analysis, writer's group resources, Writing Tips

Romeo and Juliet: Surprise, Shakespeare Favored The Girl

By Sara Barkat 11 Comments

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare Character Analysis

Was Shakespeare ahead of his time, in his portrayal of the characters in Romeo and Juliet? A close reading of the play contains the answer.

Filed Under: Blog, Classic Plays, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

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