A city boy goes to spend the summer on a farm in rural Ohio, and the experience stays with him into his golden years, still surprising him with the way it reveals plain and not-so-plain truths.
Great Friendship Tales: Provence, 1970 Book Club—Friends With Edges
We begin our book club discussion of Luke Barr’s Provence, 1970, with a look at the arrival of the iconic chefs and writers to the south of France in 1970.
A New Exhibition: Tolkien and the Making of Middle-earth
A new exhibition on J.R.R. Tolkien has opened at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the catalog book is a treasure in and of itself.
Poetry Prompt: Find a Farm Skeleton
Creative nonfiction writer, Callie Feyen, takes help from poet Tania Runyan to try to write farm poetry. Come along and craft your own (with or without the talking goat.)
Reading in the Wild: July’s Pages
Come learn the secrets of being a wild reader. Or just share your July pages. Megan Willome leads the way, with her July wild reads.
Commit Poetry: Romeo & Juliet’s Two Households
Sandra Heska King winds up her memorization of selections from Romeo & Juliet among crayfish and shoulder-high ferns, considering the divisions of two houses.
TSP #1: Luci Shaw Talks Friendship, Freedom, and Love in a Golden Box
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Pod Club: Hidden Brain’s “Watch Your Mouth”
In this week’s Pod Club discussion, we consider the way that language shapes the way we think and perceive the world (rather than the other way around) with Hidden Brain’s interview with cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky.
“Love Songs”: Claiming Sara Teasdale for St. Louis
Sara Teasdale lived 34 of her 48 years in St. Louis; she was born and buried there, and St. Louis can claim her as one of its own poets.
Writing Prompt: Beach Metaphors
How is an exploration on the beach like an experience in a new school, a new town, or a new phase of life? Come write with a beach metaphor!
Writing Workshop: Writing the Journey
Choose the exotic. Or choose the everyday. Either way, take a journey with us, in this special “Writing the Journey” workshop, and step into discovery!
By Hand: Sorting
By Hand is a monthly prompt focused on freeing our words by using our hands. This month, we’re exploring sorting with Megan Willome as our guide.
Pod Club Announcement: Hidden Brain’s “Watch Your Mouth”
Join us for a new pod club series discussing podcasts on a wide range of topics, like Hidden Brain’s “Watch Your Mouth” episode on how the language we speak affects the way we think and view the world.
Book Club Announcement: Provence, 1970
Great friendship tales often involve food. Provence, 1970 is the story of chefs M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard and others, one summer in the South of France. Join us for our next delicious book club discussion.
Writing Prompt: Speckled Scenes
What is mysterious and magnificent about speckles? What excites us about small patches of color on a summer’s evening? Join us as for a speckled writing prompt.
Take Your Poet to Work Day: How Poets Work
We celebrated the 6th annual Take Your Poet to Work Day this week. Check out the ways we found our poets working away the day.
How to Start a Revolution in a Reading Notebook
How can you start a revolution, one little step at a time? It might just begin by keeping a reading notebook. Discover how.
Writer Friends: Helping Each Other Get Published (From Olympic Gold to MTV)
From interviewing an MTV cast to passing along a potential Jim Carrey feature, these friends have worked the writing scene together—to their mutual benefit over time. Learn the secrets of how they’ve done it.
It’s Take Your Poet to Work Day!
It’s Take Your Poet to Work Day! Choose a poet, color and cut out and glue it to a Popsicle stick to delight your coworkers with the best kind of poetry at work.
The Poets of Instagram: r.h. Sin and “I Hope This Reaches Her in Time”
The poets of Instagram are helping to revitalize the reading of poetry, and r.h. Sin is one of them. His new collection is “I Hope This Reaches Her in Time.”