All we who have spoken out or are still speaking out in the #MeToo movement can appreciate and understand this poem by Tanya Grae, who writes “When a woman confides the violence […]
“Gaslight,” a Poem by Tanya Grae
A Quiet Passion
I saw A Quiet Passion, the 2017 movie about Emily Dickinson (directed by Terence Davies, starring Cynthia Nixon) this month. I’m not a movie critic, but I am a poet and a […]
Quick and Easy Grammar: When to Use It’s or Its, Their or There or They’re, Your or You’re—and More!
Knowing the right way to write what you mean can sometimes be tricky, but you don’t have to memorize the rules of grammar to stop making common errors. Other people make […]
Writers and Meditation
I gave this talk as part of a panel with Casey Clague at the Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers conference a couple of weeks ago, so forgive the speech-like feel. […]
Advice for Writers Getting the MFA
First of all: yes, your professors are right when they tell you it is very difficult to get a tenure track teaching job at a college or university. It is very, very […]
Top-Five Tools for Suspense in Creative Nonfiction
Originally posted on Lisa Lanser Rose:
Sometimes when working on a personal essay or memoir we flood the engine of our prose. We’re trying hard to be as authentic, accurate, and open as possible, and so include…
Join Us and Add Suspense to Your Life Story
This Saturday I’m teaching a creative nonfiction workshop in which we’ll make our readers shiver. Suspense has got to be the biggest challenge to my daily work as a memoirist, but writing suspenseful prose has also […]
A Doubter in the Church of Poetry
Originally posted on The Literary Life:
Friends, I have a confession to make: I lose faith. Often. Sometimes multiple times a day. And I’m not talking about religious faith, though I have…
It’s Not Your Fault (You Don’t Suck)
Originally posted on The Literary Life:
I talk to people all the time—inside and outside of academia—who don’t have the faintest sense of why it’s so hard to make a living teaching…
Sirens Go For It: Pumped Project Planning
Do you want more support in achieving your creative and professional goals–especially if those dreams meet with discouragement from the people around you and the culture at large? Are you having trouble believing […]
The Gloria Sirens 