This site is mostly about the world of online poetry, both its writing and its publishing, including the pros and cons of electronic formats. I’ll also post lots of writing tips, exercises, and prompts for inspiration. Other topics include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction news and book reviews, as well as announcements, publications, and shout-outs.
Recent Posts
February Reading Update
? Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens – novel – 5 ★
? Strange Weather in Tokyo, by Hiromi Kawakami – novel – 5 ★
? Finding Freedom to Create: A Painter’s Roadmap, by Dianne Mize – nonfiction
? Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction by Tracy Kidder – nonfiction
? The Aging Brain, by Thad A. Polk – Great Courses audio – 5 ★
? The Pleasure of Reading, by Antonia Fraser – writers on reading
? The Wave in the Mind, by Ursula K. Le Guin – talks & essays
? No Time to Spare: Thinking about What Matters, by Ursula K. Le Guin – essay – 5 ★
? Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir, by Cinelle Barnes – memoir – 5 ★
? Asymmetry, by Lisa Halliday – fiction
Looking forward to National Poetry Month
It’s less than a month away now. Time to start looking for my poetry hat. Every April, poets at The Waters meet (in the Sunset Beach forum) to write a poem a day for 30 days. A great poetic workout. Some of the results are duds. Some merit revision. And more than a few are eventually published online or in print journals. Even a couple of good ones make the whole month worth the effort.
January Reading Recap
January was a pretty great month for reading and I did a little writing, too.
READING — I read 14 books in January and they included more really good ones than in any month I can remember. Here’s my list:
? How Reading Changed My Life, by Anna Quindlen – memoir
? My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues, by Pamela Paul – memoir
? Small Fry, by Lisa Brennan-Jobs – memoir
? Jane Steele, by Lyndsay Faye – novel
? The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield – novel – 5 ★
? Unlimited Memory, by Kevin Horsley – memory training
? An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones – novel – 5 ★
? Brain Myths Exploded, by Indre Viskontas – cognitive neuroscience – audio – 5 ★
? The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz – novel – 5 ★
? A Quiet Life in the Country (Lady Hardcastle Mystery #1), by T. E. Kinsey – palate cleanser, fun
? The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller – novel – 5 ★
? The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole – novella – classic
? I’m Still Here, by Austin Channing Brown – memoir/polemic – audio
? Cape Cod Summers, by Beverly Koester – memoir
Books that helped meet my reading goals:
Classic: The Castle of Otranto
Read Your Shelves: Jane Steele, The Thirteenth Tale, The Song of Achilles
WRITING — I completed one “7-in-7” (7 poems in 7 days). Were any of them any good? Three are worth keeping. Not bad.