Everyone has heard that common writing advice about getting your butt in the chair, yet so many writers struggle to do just that. If you’re anything like me, you’ll recognize this typical scene that plays out in my house constantly. My husband comes into the living room and shuts off the TV while I am… Read more »
You know that feeling of flow when the burden of time lifts from your shoulders and something comes not from you, but through you? This flying-flow-feeling is as close as I’ve ever gotten to understanding why I’m here and who I am. I will do whatever it takes to get back into that flow and… Read more »
Getting Too Personal So I don’t want to get too personal here but when I noodle around with my poetry—that’s exactly what I do. My first drafts are awkward, embarrassing, dripping with messy feelings. What comes out is the emotional equivalent of the sticky, oozy goo that comes out of the bottom of my car… Read more »
I recently attended a virtual online writer’s conference. Overall I was geeking out the whole time, just starry-eyed and amazed. I had my high pony-tail of perky ‘I am here to learn’ twisted too tight, my serious glasses on, and a large notepad and sharpened pencil. Boom. Teach me more about poetry! Joy Harjo, my… Read more »
Joy Harjo – US Poet Laureate – Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harjo is a member of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation. She is the author of several books of poetry, including An American Sunrise (W. W. Norton, 2019), and Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings (W. W. Norton, 2015). I will talk a bit about Joy in this article… Read more »
Falling In Love I fell in love for the first time in July – there were fireworks (literal and figurative) and I wanted nothing more in my whole thirteen years of living than to kiss that boy. Growing up in a small Atlantic Canadian province I hold snapshots of summer in my memory – the… Read more »
In my last article Poetry Can Change the World, I make an argument about how vital poetry still is, even in our mad-pace world. Or, lately, just our ‘mad’ world, am I right? In this article I am going to compare poetry to espresso. Hear me out. Maybe it’s my lingering ADHD, maybe it’s my… Read more »
In an effort to get our fellow word nerds to know Team DIY MFA a bit better, we decided to commandeer one of the #5onFri slots and talk about our favorite books. Predictably, each member approached the notion of “favorite” in a different way and each of us chose a different favorite. We’re a team… Read more »
There are years I barely remember – what happened to all 365 days of grade four? The only thing I remember is Mrs Vanbuskirk getting so mad she yelled at me in front of the class. I remember her white coat with the red embroidered designs of polar bears. She had impossibly black hair and… Read more »
