Identifying Themes in Our Poems

When people learn that I’m a poet, two questions usually come up. If someone hasn’t read my work before, they might ask, “What are your poems about?” On the other hand, if someone is familiar with my poetry or has read a particular piece, they sometimes want to know, “Why did you write that poem?”… Read more »

Deep Dive into Short Forms: Historical Poetry

My next few articles will act as a deep dive into specific short form works. We’ll examine a piece from each short form and dive deep into its inner workings to find the path to success in our own short form pieces. Last month at the Looking Glass Rock Writers Conference, I rediscovered mystery and… Read more »

Identifying Themes in the Poetry We Read

I adore poetry. Not only do I write poems and have been fortunate enough to have several published, but I also read this brief but powerful form of literature extensively. And I’m willing to bet that many word nerds read (and maybe write) poetry as well. In fact, fellow DIY MFA columnist Brenda Patterson often… Read more »

Deep Dive into Short Forms: Flash Nonfiction

It’s fitting, as a poet, that my first published foray into fiction, Let It Go, was a piece of flash fiction. The story clocked in at a brief 286 words. Brevity is the bedrock of writing flash. I consider flash writing forms as cousins to poetry. Grant Faulkner, the editor of the literary magazine 100… Read more »

Deep Dive into Short Forms: Poetry

My next few articles will act as a deep dive into specific short form works. We’ll examine a piece from each short form and dive deep into its inner workings to find the path to success in our own short form pieces. Poets are alchemists. We transform the chaos of everyday life into sonnets and… Read more »

Solving the Riddle of Voice

We writers are always urged to find our voice in writing. Develop our voice. Be true to our voice. But in the middle of all of that furor over voice, what voice is often gets lost. As readers, we have favorite authors. We form fierce attachments to their work. Each new novel, collection of short… Read more »