Percolating Poetry “It’s time for the Percolator. It’s time for the Percolator.” I was twenty-something. It was the early 2000s, and I was in Raleigh, NC at a nightclub called Visions (long since extinct). The DJ took center stage, and the crowd gathered 'round. "Come on up to do 'The Percolator,'" she said, and I … Continue reading Percolating Poetry
Conspiracy Beeries I know someone who likes conspiracy theories. It's all of us. We all like conspiracy theories. We're wired to link disparate events and people, finding hidden connections and uncovering the meaning we so desperately crave. It gives us the advantage over our less sentient co-animals, but it can lead to some pretty crazy … Continue reading Conspiracy Beeries
My Favorite Book Those are big words. Can you really have just one favorite book? Maybe not, but John Crowley’s Little, Big has been my favorite for the longest - since I was about sixteen, and unnaturally intuitive aunt gifted me the novel for Christmas. I decided to read Little, Big again, with attention as … Continue reading My Favorite Book
Writing with Kids I just finished Writer Mama by Christina Katz, a how-to for moms launching their writing careers. It was more targeted at nonfiction writers, but the layout was enjoyable, and the author has some good advice: make time to write, somehow, anyhow. How? Well, my next book is Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. … Continue reading Writing with Kids
Holocaust Books "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” ~ George R.R. Martin Thanks, Game of Thrones. I can almost hear the TV show's theme song playing in my head right now. The experience of walking in another person's shoes is one of the primary … Continue reading Holocaust Books
If you are of a literary bent... Which I'm not. I mean, I like to read. A lot. An unnatural and unhealthy amount. But literary? No. Nerdy. Bookish. Dorky. Something more like that. Which is why it's no big surprise that I've never read a literary journal. Until now. The feature article in this month's … Continue reading If you are of a literary bent
Trash Talk My friend watches a YouTube channel, Northern Mudlarks, featuring a Scottish mother-daughter team who hunt for (dubious) treasure along riverbanks and other shores. They find mud, reliably, and tiny pieces of the past that they analyze for value and meaning. Could that pot shard be from a moonshine jug? Could that pipe have … Continue reading Trash talk
I'm a sucker for sweet southern writing - the kind that glorifies grandmothers, reminisces about time gone by (even if it was just yesterday), and speaks to the heart in a secret language I've never quite learned, despite all the time spent listening. Perhaps reading Emily Carter’s blog, A Chicks View, will finally imbue me … Continue reading An Inspiring Chick
Good Wives, Warriors, and Myths What do these three things have in common? A book - two books, really, and they're both amazing. Is it the illustrations, done in fantabulistic detail and psychedelic color? Yes. Is it the sparse, visually invocative writing, just enough to make each creature come alive? Yes. But most importantly, it's … Continue reading Good Wives, Warriors, and Myths
the Complete Handbook of Novel Writing This book has soup spilled on it, sand between the covers, sprinkles of rain, and a lovely pattern of (my) dirty fingerprints along the edges. Clearly, it is a good book. Unfortunately, it's also a library book. So, I ordered another copy to return to the library. But then, … Continue reading the Complete Handbook of Novel Writing
Jessi Waugh Writer 