Tag Archives: Poetry

How Do You Know When You’ve Written a Poem? — A Dream Answer

In a dream last night, I was at an event aswering questions, and someone asked, “How do you know when you’ve written a poem?” I had a pretty good answer, or at least so it seemed in the dream. So let’s see how much I can remember here. The first part of my answer wasContinue reading “How Do You Know When You’ve Written a Poem? — A Dream Answer”

Two Tiers of Pushcart Nominations

Did you know that there are two kinds of nominations for the Pushcart Anthology? I was looking through some old papers this morning and was reminded of the distinction. The one most of us get is a nomination by the editors of a journal. Each editor of any literary magazine can send in up toContinue reading “Two Tiers of Pushcart Nominations”

February Wrap-Up

February has been a busy, busy month. Even with the extra day that leap year afforded, it seemed to go faster than ever. At Mississippi University for Women, our year began with the announcement of a new name: a name that went over like a lead balloon. So February started with a scramble to comeContinue reading “February Wrap-Up”

MFA Application Advice 2024

Now that it’s January, we’ve started to see some applications again for our low-residency MFA program for another year. This has me thinking about all the advice I’ve given to applicants over the years. If I could give one piece of advice on how to apply, I think it would be to just be you.Continue reading “MFA Application Advice 2024”

2024 Writer’s Resolutions

Each year we make our resolutions and try to keep them. I’ve never been one to focus too much on losing the weight gained over the holiday (I trust I will as I get back to my morning walks and other routines and work my way through a few leftover treats). My resolutions tend to beContinue reading “2024 Writer’s Resolutions”

My First Publication

Read the story of my very first publication, four translations of Paul Snoek in Pinchpenny in 1985, which I wrote about on my SubStack this morning. I’m still looking for a good way to connect WordPress and SubStack, so in the meantime, I’m cross posting like this. I’ve connected WordPress to my Mastodon, Facebook, andContinue reading “My First Publication”

How to Write a Pantoum

Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to write more formal poetry. Not a lot, mind you, but I’ve tried out a couple of forms and with some success. Awhile back, I described writing a ghazal, and I thought I’d do the same for the pantoum. This is a form that has stymied me for awhile, yetContinue reading “How to Write a Pantoum”

Letter to a Young Poet

The other day, I received an email from a poet, I don’t really know his age, asking about what he could do to get his work published. From his message, I gathered he was submitting to magazines, but hadn’t been accepted yet, or hadn’t been accepted much. I thought I could use that as anContinue reading “Letter to a Young Poet”

Of Lines and Sentences in Poems

This week, one of my favorite magazines, Birmingham Poetry Review, accepted two of my poems. They’re not that easy to get into, so I’m very pleased to have two poems selected for their Spring 2024 issue. In proofreading the poems before sending them back, I was reminded that they both have many more lines thanContinue reading “Of Lines and Sentences in Poems”