Both/And
Like other works, [Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Poets] is concerned with the nature, and, more importantly, the limits of human achievement. It assumes what its surrounding works assume: The continuity and dignity of the…
Category: Writing
Vexation of Spirit
What is my book but just making history among the fools—the sooner I give up literary attainment the sooner Enlightenment will come to me—If on my deathbed I’m still involved in literary matters I’ll deserve…
What Came First
I was reading C.K. Williams’s book On WhitmanSeptember 2010And I scribbled on page 97 these three.. A NameAn AvowalA Maxim– Kelly McBride“You Are My Hero”Seven times down, eight times up The “Hero” referenceI’d first scribbled…
Share the Wealth: Writing with Yael
#1Last Night’s Email from Jessica Flier I write, becauseFirst and foremost, I must!But also – because,Of you.To take the broken heart and expose itbring the carefully concealed underbelly to the surfaceresisting the urge to hide…
You Can Write Poetry!
Diane di PrimaOLD AGE: The Dilemma most of what I’m writing not that interesting but the act of writing itself more compelling than ever ********* Dear Siobhan Thank you for your snail-mail, but I…
The Kindom of Heaven Is…by Alex Gaynor
Cami Kasmerchak got me connected with Alex when she was in Sacramento with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in 2015-2016. She’s in a class with me now, These are a Few of Our Favorite Things. She…
“I Remember” by Loran Aladdin
Loran wrote the following for my Humanities 101 class at Maryville University this past spring semester. _______________________ I remember a lifetime of feeling as though I should refrain from being proud of my identity. I…
There’s a Million Ways to Be (You Know That There Are): A Summer Writing Class Based on “Harold and Maude”
Harold : Maude.Maude : Hmm?Harold : Do you pray?Maude : Pray? No. I communicate.Harold : With God?Maude : With life! I invite you to join us for an unusual summer writing experience. Many people are…
Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the Insurgent Art of Poetry: A Fall Reading and Writing Class
Where are Whitman’s wild children,where the great voices speaking outwith a sense of sweetness and sublimity,where the great, new vision,the great world-view,the high prophetic songof the immense earthand all that sings in it —Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Populist…
Readerwriters
During this active seedtime, Emerson was also reading in all directions. He read systematically only for a particular project. He read current books and old books…And from almost everything he read he culled phrases, details,…