What is an Elegy Poem?
Poetry can powerfully express human emotion, unpacking (or sometimes complicating) the complexities of our feelings and experiences. When a poem dwells on loss or lamentation, it is known as an…
Read MoreWrite into the Week: September 1, 2025
““You can make anything by writing.” –C.S. Lewis Dear Writer, I hope you’re having a good start to your week. In this newsletter: A writing prompt to inspire your creativity.…
Read MoreWrite into the Week: August 25, 2025
“The reason the B-side was always better than the A-side is because the artist had more freedom. Less pressure to perform, more room to play.” –Rick Rubin Dear Writer, I…
Read MorePoetry Inspiration: How to Find Inspiration for Poetry
Poetry inspiration is everywhere. This is evident in the fact that poems have been written on literally every topic: Grecian urns and daffodils; bodily organs and ostracized planets; the mighty…
Read MoreHow to Write an Ekphrastic Poem
Ekphrasis is a literary device in which a work of art, usually visual, inspires a piece of poetry or prose. Ekphrastic poetry, then, describes a poem that finds inspiration in…
Read MoreWrite into the Week: August 17, 2025
“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” –Muriel Rukeyser Dear Writer, I hope you’re having a good start to your week. In this newsletter: A writing prompt to…
Read MoreHow to Write a Sonnet Poem
The sonnet is a poetry form that poets have wielded for centuries—from Petrarch and Shakespeare to Marilyn Nelson and Terrance Hayes. These 14-line poems use restrictions of length and rhythm…
Read MoreWrite into the Week: August 3, 2025
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” ― Albert Einstein Dear Writer, I hope you’re having a good start to your week. In this newsletter: A…
Read MoreHow to Become a Writer
Becoming a writer is actually quite easy. Contrary to the stereotype that writers are divinely-gifted recluses or quirky Beatniks, the truth is, anyone who writes is a writer. Yes, including…
Read MoreWhat Else? – How Research Makes Meaning
Since all the essays in my new collection, Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless, incorporate facts I learned from asking experts, reading scholarly works, or rooting around in…
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