If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as anact of courage. —Cynthia Ozick From Scott Myers: “There is always the chance audiences won’t get it.There is always the chance audiences won’t connect with it.There is always the chance audiences will reject it.Also this: There is always the chance what we write won’t …
Claudia Rankine’s poetry is unique, and powerful. This video is from an interview on PBS, five years ago.
This play was scheduled to open in October, but … well, you know.So now it is an audio play with the amazing actors Maria Marquis and Kimberly Ridgeway. Available starting September 14 at centralworks.org. In the wake of a tragic and senseless act of gun violence, two women strive to connect despite their grief and guilt. Zayne is determined to …
The places where Edmonia’s bones were fractured still hold violent reverberations. When it rains I massage the static hum out of each point of impact. There is nothing heavier than flesh that wishes to be on another axis, except perhaps stone she shaped. Tonight she tells me, it’s impossible to bring a lover to the small death she deserves. An …
“Don’t make a wall of glass between your play and the people watching. Don’t forget they were once children, who enjoyed being read to, or sung to sleep.” ― Sarah Ruhl
via Lit Hub: Throughout his writing career, Raymond Chandler was never far from his beloved cat, Taki, a black Persian whom he referred to as his secretary. Taki was originally spelled Take. However, Chandler grew tired of telling people she was named after the Japanese word for bamboo and thus pronounced with two syllables. He got Taki around the time …
Over at Scott Myers’ blog, I read this quote from filmmaker and screenwriter Robin Swicord (pictured). She describes my writing practice when she says: “I think that all [good] dialogue comes out of the characters themselves. What happens… there’s a kind of mystical transference that happens when you’ve done this very deep thinking and feeling about your character. You begin …
I love this poem, by Nicky Beer. Poetry is sustaining me right now. Even the ghosts Even the ghosts of police need something to do. They take careful inventories of the insects trespassing our ears as we sleep. They surveil the silent, splayed footprints of raccoons. They are threatened by the rain, its sheer numbers. A soul is trapped in …
… is my drag name. Seriously, I do like to write while listening to ambient noise, and there is research suggesting ambient noise cranks up creativity. For example, this study, which appeared in the University of Chicago Press, says so. But here’s the thing: 50 decibels or less isn’t enough to boost creativity. 85 decibels or more actually can reduce …
We’re all impatient about these coronavirus hairdos. My hair is starting to reach my shoulders, a place it hasn’t reached in decades. Sigh. Please enjoy this haircut poem. Shear by Christina Stoddard I want a haircut that can win a bar fight.I want a haircut that will throw my things on the lawn so I can finally get out of …