Laura Lynn Brown recalls willing herself to eat some pomegranate seeds because she wanted to enjoy the food as much as she enjoyed the word, paired with Anne Doe Overstreet’s “Under Heaven” in the latest Eating & Drinking Poems.
Storm in a Teacup: One Thing You Can’t Do While Spinning
We conclude our book club discussion of Helen Czerski’s Storm in a Teacup with a look at straight lines and spinning, and a dizzying trip into space.
Poets and Poems: Tara Skurtu and “The Amoeba Game”
In “The Amoeba Game,” poet Tara Skurtu explores her American and Romanian roots and writes about life, childhood, self-discovery, and identity.
Children’s Book Club: “Eggday”
A pig, a horse, and a goat can’t win a best egg competition? Can they? Megan Willome leads a discussion about Joyce Dunbar’s “Eggday.”
Regional Tour: Booklover Footloose in Wonderland (Yellowstone National Park)
Laurie Klein takes us on a breathtaking regional (and literary) tour of Yellowstone National Park, complete with geysers, thermophiles and the Morning Glory Pool.
Storm in a Teacup: Slowing to the Speed of Tea
In this week’s book club discussion of Helen Czerski’s Storm in a Teacup, we consider the importance of time, speed, and certain substances we’d rather not mention.
What Made 1922 a Literary Watershed Year?
In 1922, everything changed in literature, as James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” brought modernism to fiction and poetry.
Boxes & Baskets: Animate Poetry Prompt
This week’s poetry prompt asks you to become unique and unusual Boxes & Baskets. Whether a square container or one woven with a handle, adventure awaits. Join us, animate yourself, and create poetry.
Reading in the Wild: October’s Pages
Come learn the secrets of being a wild reader. Or just share your October pages. Megan Willome leads the way, with her October good reads.
Adopting Poetry (Texas) and Reaching for the Stars
From Poetry, a little town in Texas, to a star named Poetry in the Centaur constellation, we’re finding (and creating) poetry in place (and in space). Come name a star for poetry.
Storm in a Teacup: Rocket Post & The Ideal Gas Law
Today we knock around with gas molecules and imagine flights of fancy with Gerhard Zucker’s rocket post mail delivery in our first book club discussion of Storm in a Teacup.
Poe, Rilke, and Our Black Cat
This Halloween, your black cat can be the instrument of vengeance in the Poe story, or the amber-eyed feline in the poem by Rilke. Or it can be like Kiddy.
Bears & Beasts: Teddy Bear Comfort
Worn down, threadbare, and beloved— the teddy bear is a child’s first buddy. Think back to your childhood and pay homage to the most honored of stuffed animals with poetry.
Day of the Dead: Skeletons, Stories, Songs, Poetry
Celebrate Day of the Dead with skeletons, calaveras poems, and children’s books. Best enjoyed with a side of sweet skull cakes.
From I Hate to Cook to the Joy of Cooking: A Writer’s Favorite Cookbooks
Laura Willis shares her favorite cookbooks, along with memories of the cookbooks that warmed her mother’s and grandmothers’ kitchens.
A Is For Azure: The Alphabet in Colors—Xanthic Fun Facts & Poetry Prompt
Colors have cool histories, intriguing origins, cultural meanings, wonderful names. Today, discover xanthic. Learn facts about this bright yellow color, and write a truly colorful vignette or haiku!
Poets and Poems: Luke Kennard and “Cain”
In “Cain: Poems,” British poet Luke Kennard has brought the biblical character of Cain into contemporary life, with funny and poignant results.
Bears & Beasts Poetry Prompt: Fairytale Beasts
Fairytales and fables invite us to an imaginary world with clever animals and princes bewitched and transformed into ghastly beasts. Create a beast of your own imagination, one whose story deserves to be told— with poetry.
Put a Little Song in Your Heart—with Latino Nursery Rhymes from Canticos
Put a little song—and a little Spanish—in your heart with these books based on Latino nursery rhymes from Canticos.
Tea Quest: De Fer Coffee and Tea
Laura Brown makes her way to the local farmers market to sample teas from De Fer Coffee and Tea in the latest stop on the Pittsburgh tea quest tour.