Category Archives: writing

Festival of Faith and Writing, Writing Process, and Writing Writing. Writing.

This week I am heading north to the big mitten for the Calvin College Festival of Faith and Writing.  I am looking forward to giving a presentation on “Poetry as Worship, Poetry in Worship: Inviting Creativity into the Worship Experience” – and with a title like that, who could skip it, right?  I’m also moderatingContinueContinue reading “Festival of Faith and Writing, Writing Process, and Writing Writing. Writing.”

Hello and Goodbye, AWP

Hello, home.  Hello, dog, whose behavior seems miraculously better after a week apart.  Hello, thermostat set at just the right temperature.  Hello, eastern standard time and your accommodating capacity to keep my baby asleep until a godlier hour than central time.  Hello, taller, smarter, better enunciating children– has it only been four days??  Hello, patientContinueContinue reading “Hello and Goodbye, AWP”

Family Research and Writing

For the last few months, I’ve been working on researching what life was like in Geauga County during the mid-1800s for an essay I’m trying to write. For some reason, I’m having a hard time with this.  There are definitely resources out there, detailed ones, about life in the 1850s, but when I try toContinueContinue reading “Family Research and Writing”

My Thirtieth Year

As something of a kick-off to my 30th year and my mom’s 50th, we ran a half-marathon back on December 3.  It was cold but dry and sunny, and we finished!  Now, I have ambitions to run a marathon with one of my good friends (who is also turning 30 this year) in May, but I’m notContinueContinue reading “My Thirtieth Year”

Creativity in Worship

Recently I started working with the worship team at our church, and I’ve been having so much fun.  I don’t sing, and while I might be able to toot a tune on the ol’ licorice stick, there isn’t a whole lot of room for a clarinet in our contemporary worship band.  Unless we start playingContinueContinue reading “Creativity in Worship”

Peace, Not War – Online and Print Publication

In the last few days I’ve been thinking again about publication.  Unlike my last meditation on posting poems to a blog site, my most-read post to-date, I’ve been thinking about how hard we all work (and how much money we all spend) trying to get our poems published in elite literary journals, like Poetry and the likes. ContinueContinue reading “Peace, Not War – Online and Print Publication”

Balancing the Writer Life with the Mom Life

Last night I wrote a poem for the first time in several months. I go through seasons of creativity – like the seeds I just sowed in the garden yesterday, it takes a while for my ideas to germinate.  Eventually, the seeds pop, the stems poke through the soil, and before you know it, youContinueContinue reading “Balancing the Writer Life with the Mom Life”

True Confessions

It has been several weeks now since I’ve written any poems anywhere. I’m pretending that they are stored away in my brain just waiting for a moment to spill out onto the computer screen (because, let’s face it, there’s no such thing as putting pen to paper anymore). Surely there’s some poem floating out thereContinueContinue reading “True Confessions”

Mark Jarman Interview in Rattle Summer 2006

I’ve had a copy of the 25th issue of Rattle, a poetry literary journal, hanging out in my house for several months and finally picked it up to leaf through. This particular issue has a tribute to the best of Rattle as well as an interview with a poet I recently heard read at AWPContinueContinue reading “Mark Jarman Interview in Rattle Summer 2006”