I am a self-taught writer. There are many of us out there, though possibly not so many who are teaching creative writing in an MFA program. I wrote my first novel because I had to; it was a story that I had to unravel in order to understand my mother and her family through a… Continue reading From the Beginner’s Mind and Back Again
Tag: Writing Prompt
How to Stop a Bullet
MFAW faculty Rahna Reiko Rizzuto muses about the role of art in a society in crisis, and offers an exercise to take you beyond anger and fear, to sorrow and love.
Last Call: Lighthouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
On the fence about attending the second annual Lighthouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat? It’s time to decide! Registration closes on Sunday, January 15th, so if you’d like to join us, be sure to have your registration form postmarked by that date. We’re at 60 percent registration capacity, so we still have room for you! We’re… Continue reading Last Call: Lighthouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat
Sneak Preview: CWC&R Schedule
Co-Coordinators Lucy Turner and Carolyn Bardos have done a wonderful job organizing this year’s Clockhouse Writers’ Conference & Retreat. While there may be a bit more tweaking of the time slots, those attending can look forward to: Monday, June 27th 11:00 – 1:00 Arrivals, Check-ins, and Welcomes Aiken Lounge 11:45 – 12:45 Lunch… Continue reading Sneak Preview: CWC&R Schedule
Stations of the Word: A CWC&R TRADITION
Sam Sherman, a former co-coordinator of the conference and a past member of the Board of Stewards, has designed these sessions for the last several years, and she’s now at work designing a Stations of the Word to delight us in 2016. Here are her thoughts on this beloved CWC&R tradition: The first year I… Continue reading Stations of the Word: A CWC&R TRADITION
#Goddard2Goddard #SpacePoetry
Attention Goddard MFA students and alumni! Have you ever imagining your poetry sailing among the stars? NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center wants your artwork, poetry, short prose, videos, and songs on board their OSIRIS-REx spacecraft bound for the asteroid Bennu. And so we thought…Goddard and Goddard! We’d love to see what sparks in your imagination when you consider exploration, the universe, and the essence of the human spirit.
The Writer’s Road Trip
By Ron Heacock Descended at least culturally if not genetically from the ranks of our most exulted literary road warriors – writers like John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac, and Ken Kesey – my wife Karen Walasek and I have exercised and exorcised our wanderlust cyclically throughout our forty year marriage. There have been many, many journeys… Continue reading The Writer’s Road Trip
Resistance and Change: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Radical Imagination
Post State of the Union, the speech that is still sounding in my mind is one that was given back in November: Ursula Le Guin’s address at the National Book Award ceremony. Yes, she chided us for selling books “like deodorant,” but these are the words that are resonating in me: “Hard times are coming,… Continue reading Resistance and Change: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Radical Imagination
Silence
With November recently behind us, writers across America are slumped over their keyboards, having endured another NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, in which the name of the game is cranking out as many pages of one’s novel as possible in thirty days. Years ago when I first heard about this month of extreme page… Continue reading Silence