Charles Bukowski: so you want to be a writer?
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
Michael Simms: God, Poetry and Trauma
In the 19th century, if you asked a scientist whether he believed in God, he would have answered, ‘Of course, I don’t believe in God, I’m a scientist.” But if you ask a scientist today whether he believes in God, he would answer, “Of course, I believe in God, I’m a scientist.”
Vox Populi: OMG! An Interview with Michael Simms about his Debut Novel ‘Bicycles of the Gods’
Who wouldn’t love a story about badass vigilante nuns and the end of the world?
Video: Stephen Dobyns | Interview on the Craft of Poetry
An interview with the poet, novelist and essayist Stephen Dobyns on the craft of poetry. Conducted by Carol Frost, the interview took place in August, 1997 at the Catskill Poetry … Continue reading
Video: Telling Your Secrets Can Set You Free | Melissa Febos
Melissa Febos never planned to write a book about her experiences as a heroin addict and professional dominatrix, but the result of exposing and making sense out of her dark history had profound and unexpected results. By making her darkness visible, she reached thousands of strangers and became closer with her own family. “This kind of honesty,” she claims, “makes room for every kind of love.”
Michael Simms: Writing Prompt #7 | Jumping into the Mud
Here’s an exercise which I call Jumping into the Mud although it’s sometimes called by the more prosaic name automatic writing. The exercise helps to loosen my imagination, and sometimes a decent poem results as well.
Molly Fisk: Phil, Who Loved the Giants
The bra I took off at 4:45 through the sleeve of my dress
and put down somewhere I find on my grandmother’s hutch
in the kitchen, incongruous, surrounded by jars of jam
Michael Simms: Writing Prompt #1 | The Quotidian Poem
This post marks the beginning of a new irregular feature in Vox Populi. I hope readers of Vox Populi, many of whom are writers, will find the prompt helpful in stimulating their creativity.
Adrian Blevins: How I wrote The Brass Girl Brouhaha
I wrote The Brass Girl Brouhaha by tattooing the word WRONG across my heart to help me muster the strength I’d need to argue with a world that wanted me to say “hey, y’all!” in a hill-country accent sipping tea under a dogwood in a pink smock smattered with etchings of ivy.
Michael Simms: Ten things to do before I start writing today
Read what I wrote yesterday — hate it. Read what Sam wrote yesterday — love it. Hate Sam. Think about 45-year friendship with Sam. Remember him stealing my girlfriend in college. No, wait that was me — I married her….
David Huddle: Composition as Ethical Inquiry
A man who has faith, intelligence, and cultivation will show that in his work. –Walker Evans I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Tuesday
You think of Sigmund Freud. You have a little bust of him on your desk, one you bought at the Freud home when you and your wife were in Vienna. … Continue reading
Fred Maus: I Listen to an Adagio by Ravel
. Then, I know how to speak with a single voice, meandering onward, not clear whether anyone is listening, pushing on to the next word and the next, not with … Continue reading
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