The Dancers Who Influence Zadie Smith, National Authors Day, and more.
Witches as bodily translations of fear; Fanny Howe on religion and race; a tour of Marlon James’s Minneapolis loft; and other news.
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Tags: creative process
Turning the Soil: How a Year of Farmwork Yielded Poems
A poet reflects on how working as a farmhand in the Berkshires provided the foundation for her new book, Work & Days, an investigation of the rich and ancient intersection between the agricultural and literary callings.
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Compose a trio of sensory poems, channel your inner Dickens, or reflect on the relationship between courage and generosity—three prompts to kindle your creativity during the holiday season.
Mad Men Creator to Release Novel, Kickstarter’s Publishing Power, and More
On New Yorker poetry; serial publication and the collaborative writing process; Lena Dunham named spokesperson for Indies First; and other news.
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Classroom as Community: Creating Safe Spaces in Creative Nonfiction Workshops
The writing workshop model presents a certain degree of risk—sharing artistic work inherently involves becoming vulnerable to critique and potential emotional fallout. Perhaps none experience this risk more than creative nonfiction writers, whose memoirs and essays are often deeply personal. Here, two writing workshop facilitators offer a set of guidelines for developing a safe, respectful workshop environment.
A Harmony of Whims: Toward a Philosophy of Teaching Writing
Tasked with developing teaching philosophy, an award-winning author of more than twenty-five books looks back on his years of teaching, and reflects on what makes an effective writing teacher.
Writing for Strangers: What Speechwriting Taught Me About Writing Fiction
Any job has the potential to teach us valuable lessons about writing. Novelist Hannah Gersen shares what she learned about writing fiction from working as a speechwriter for the New York City Parks and Recreation Commissioner.
The Time is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Compose a series of tree poems, explore the supernatural with a ghost story, or examine your personal history with politics through an essay—three prompts to stretch your literary perspective.
Return and Repeat, Culminate and Continue: On Crafting the End in Fiction
Employing models from fiction masters Jhumpa Lahiri, Jane Smiley, ZZ Packer, among others, fiction writer and editor Jennifer De Leon explores various approaches to craft endings in fiction.
Why We Write: A Life Imagined
In a testament to the power of poetry in giving shape to complex emotions, a poet reflects on how writing his poetry collection, Dear Almost, helped him find shelter amidst the grief of a miscarriage.
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