When I was younger, I only ever wrote when inspiration struck. I typically wrote poetry or song lyrics (song lyrics included a melody in my head and usually included more repetition and yeahs). My notebook would collect dust between emotional outpourings. And the first page often read something kind yet firm “If you are picking […]
Hope in a Cardboard Box: The Writing Practice Read More »
The nature of my work is such that I spend a good deal of time on the road. Not just traveling, say to spend a few days at a conference or in meetings, but actually on the road, driving from here to there to investigate an accident scene or inspect a home damaged by fire
Creativity: What If You Sleep On It? Read More »
March is here, and that means spring is just around the corner. Let the lengthening days and fresh outside air reinvigorate your senses and creativity. And get out there and explore these events of interest to poets, readers and writers coming up in the next month or two: February 27 A Reader Writes What: Pen
Conducted by Linda Russo: In April of last year, I had the pleasure of being introduced to the work and person of Lee Ann Roripaugh. We were reading our poetry as participants in “Poetry of the Plains, High Desert, and Prairie,” a panel at the AWP conference in Minneapolis. Lee was seated to my right,
An Interview with South Dakota Poet Laureate Lee Ann Roripaugh Read More »
“The times they are a changin’” sang Bob Dylan, and South Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) has managed to change and survive with the times for nearly 90 years. SDSPS was founded in 1927 by Dr. James C. Lindberg and Northern State College, and the inaugural issue of Pasque Petals was published the same year. Vol.
SDSPS: Changing with the Times Read More »
People live their lives (doctors being no exception) as if death does not perhaps wait just around the next corner, like a dread murderer lurking behind a tree on a mountain trail. It seems fictive even to describe it — though I have had very real conversations with such murderers (usually in jail cells). People do
Poetry and Medicine Read More »
Enjoy the February thaw by taking part in poetry, art and literary happenings around the state. Here are a few things coming up this month that we know about: January 28 Long Live the Ladies’ Man What: An evening celebrating the music and poetry of Leonard Cohen (Famous for “Hallelujah,” “Death of a Ladies’ Man,”
February Happenings Read More »
What exactly is the difference, if any, between poems and song lyrics? The two clearly have a shared history and ongoing connection; some of the earliest poetry, after all, exists as hymns, and, as my 16-year old son likes to tell me, RAP is an acronym for “rhythm and poetry.” And didn’t Bob Dylan just
Poetry and Song: What’s the Diff? Read More »
It is difficult to explain good fortune. I inspected a garage fire last week. I could tell you that I went further into the wreckage than I should have to get a better look at his tool chests. I could tell you that my cell phone rang while I stood under charred rafters that were
Wisława Szymborska’s “Could Have” Read More »
“Writing Process” refers to a method or way of approaching the practice of writing; it’s a series of recursive activities that begins with generative writing and ends with a polished text. I use “writing “ and “text” generally because I use this process for all kinds of writing that I compose, including poetry, memoirs, essays,
Re-Seeing: The Role of Revision in the Writing Process Read More »
