Missionaries and Hedonists
My graduate school professor, Brian Wilkie, was a Romantic scholar. Each fall, he threw a big party at his house, for over a hundred of us — all of the graduate students, the faculty, and their families. He had a Steinway grand piano, which he would let us play. He often broke...
Another good reason to get those 10,000 hours of practice
Here is a Water~Stone Review legend: about ten years ago, long before I came on board as poetry editor, the journal received a two-page prose-poem submission from Naomi Shihab Nye.The then-poetry editor called Nye and said that she couldn’t publish the poem as it was, but there...
TOWARD THE BETTER COFFEE DATE, PART 2 OF 2
Last post I wrote about requesting meetings for coffee with, and advice from, other writers. This week I’d like to offer some suggestions about making these dates happier and more productive for everyone involved. If you’re the one requesting a meeting and advice: Before you...
TOWARD THE BETTER COFFEE DATE, PART 1 OF 2
Around the time my first book came out, I experienced a sudden surge in invitations to “have coffee sometime.” These dates were usually requested by emerging writers. On these dates, we would talk about their writing. I might offer advice about publishing, applying for grants,...
Writing matters. But it is only part of my life. The rest of the time, I work at being a parent, teacher, wife, citizen, and friend. I think a lot about what makes a writing life possible, and what makes life meaningful enough to be worth writing about.