Creative nonfiction writer, Callie Feyen, takes help from poet Tania Runyan to write food poetry. Come along and craft your own poem or story—purple carrots optional!
TSP #1: Luci Shaw Talks Friendship, Freedom, and Love in a Golden Box
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“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 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.
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.”
Using Poetry to Reflect Upon the Civil War – Part 3: Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman celebrated the beginning of the Civil War, like many Americans on both sides. But as it dragged on, he — and his poetry — changed.
Poetry and Remembering the Civil War – Part 2: Robert Lowell
For generations, we’ve used the Civil War as a lens for viewing controversies. In his poem “For the Union Dead,” Robert Lowell considers the war — and a parking garage.
Poetry and Remembering the Civil War – Part 1: Allen Tate
The Civil War has long been used as a lens for interpreting, understanding, and advocating contemporary issues. So has the poetry about the Civil War.
The 2017 Walt Whitman Award: “Eye Level” by Jenny Xie
“Eye Level” by Jenny Xie, a collection of poems marked by spareness and precision, is the 2017 winner of the Walt Whitman Award.
Alan Seeger: The American Poet in World War I
One of the most famous poems to emerge from World War I was written by an American. Alan Seeger wrote “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” shortly before he died.
Poets and Poems: Sofia Starnes and “The Consequence of Moonlight”
The Consequence of Moonlight, the latest collection of poetry by former Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia Starnes, reads like a vivid dream.
Poets and Poems: Susan Lewis and “Zoom”
“Zoom” by Susan Lewis contains 57 poems representing a wild romp through words, language, phrases, metaphors, and just about everything else.
Poetry Prompt: The Tanka’s Turn
Can you write a poem in 31 syllables that takes the reader in an unexpected direction?
Poets and Poems: Mark Burrows and “The Chance for Home”
To read “The Chance for Home” by Mark Burrows is to immerse oneself in the quiet beauty of memory, experience, reflection, and, ultimately, hope.
Tanka Poetry Prompt: What’s a Tanka?
This month, we’ll explore the ancient Japanese form called the tanka. This lesser known form might be thought of as haiku’s quiet older sibling.
Poets and Poems: Athena Kildegaard and “Course”
The poems of “Course” by Athena Kildegaard provide a kind of natural sanctuary, where one comes to watch and to listen to what the landscape has to say.
Birthdays & Birthstones Poetry Prompt—The Tempest as Fairy Tale
Explore Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and write a fairy tale poem about a royal birth where magic is afoot and things aren’t what they seem.
Birthdays & Birthstones Poetry Prompt: Celebration
Join us as we write about celebrating birthdays, and consider how the formal aspects of our poems add emotional resonance to personal observations.
Poets and Poems: Darren Demaree and “Two Towns Over”
The 56 poems of “Two Towns Over” by poet Darren Demaree powerfully document the devastation of the opioid addiction crisis.