“Writing Dollars and Sense,” by Daniel Holland
Should I write a story
with big words that pays big money?
Or, should I write this story
that is worth only five cents
but makes sense to me?
Should I write a story
with big words that pays big money?
Or, should I write this story
that is worth only five cents
but makes sense to me?
Is National Poetry Month inane, insane, or inspirational? Newsweek looked at this question. Here’s an excerpt from the article, “The Cruelest (and Coolest) Month” with some words from Billy–Collins, that is: Billy Collins, the former U.S. Poet Laureate and current New York State Poet whose books enjoy the anomalous distinction of outselling many top novels,…
I first met KAREN SMEAD MONDALE, long-time community activist and retired educator, last fall at a Duff’s River Styx poetry reading. She read at Duff’s this week as part of Loosely Identified, a St. Louis women’s poetry workshop, while I was on my Nashville audiobook recording trip, so I missed that treat. Karen Mondale at…
The Daughter Remembers I remember when you woke me, Mom, at 1 a.m., against all precedent, to watch the shimmering red-blue aurora borealis and the dark night and stillness. You wrapped me in a red-checked blanket and held me close, until I fell asleep against you, arms wrapped tight. I remember when you divided the…
Conceit Magazine (conceitmagazine2007@yahoo.com) announces Prince George’s Short Story Contest sponsored by the BLACK WRITERS GUILD OF MARYLAND—in support of the magazine. DEADLINE: February 16, 2008 JUDGE: Judine Slaughter, Moderator of the Black Writers Guild, Inc. Winners announced at the 2008 Afrocentric Book Expo Saturday, February 23, 2008 10:00 am ET – 5:00 pm ET
In an article originally published in American Poet, the biannual journal published by the Academy of American Poets for its members, Eavan Boland talked about a “transnational poetics.” I was particularly fascinated by her comparison and contrast of American and Irish culture and the poetic communities each country fostered–and how this shaped the poetry that…
I love this poem from B. H. Fairchild’s 1998 The Art of the Lathe. When I read it, I get chills–goose-bumps always tell me something more is up than I can know. For me, in such a deep way, this poem describes my father–his delicacy, his competence, his depth and no-need-to-speak-it kinship with spirit. For…
Daniel, you strike to the heart of the quasi-professional writer’s dilemna. I’ve always chosen to write the story that makes sense to me. I believe it is possible to do both–make both sense and cents…it’s an acquired skill.