Welcome to our first week of the Poetry Celebration! I’m teaming up with the wonderful journal-makers at Jumping Fox Design to celebrate poetry, writing, and community this April as part of National Poetry Month. In today's video, you'll hear a "composite" poem by a delightful young poet; you'll "meet" our brilliant and super-cool US Poet [...]
Hello, my friends! Here's the official invitation to join in April's Poetry Celebration that I'm co-hosting with Jumping Fox Design, maker of truly gorgeous journals. We would love to welcome you to the community of poets this month to write and share poems, to read and listen to poetry by contemporary poets, and to [...]
Hello, dear friends! I am so excited to tell you about a Poetry project I’m doing in April to celebrate National Poetry Month - and the best part is that YOU can be part of it, too. OK, the other best part is that there is a delicious giveaway involved: for two lucky participants, a [...]
If you’ve ever found yourself in the clutch of comparison (and who hasn’t? I sure have), you know how life- and pleasure-squelching it can be. In this, the fourth video in my “Creative Hurts and How to Heal Them” series, I tackle this bugbear, Comparison. I’m speaking to artists and creators, but really, that’s all [...]
It's so much fun to set things up for yourself in the way that feels the best. Not in the way others advise, even if their advice is well-intentioned. Not in the way that "it's always been done." Not in the "smart way to do it." Instead: in the way that feels like pleasure/relief/homecoming/yes, please: [...]
Let's say that you are a Unicorn. People have various reactions to you - to what you are. Some say, "That's ridiculous. You can't be a Unicorn. There's no such thing. Don't be foolish." Others say, "Well, aren't you adorable? So quaint. So otherworldly. A little out of touch and funny. Cute!" Also, "I [...]
Hello, friends! Here is the second video in my new series, "Creative Hurts and How to Heal Them." This one is all about that scary bugbear, CRITICISM. How do we handle it? Is there such a thing as "good" criticism? How do we put it in perspective? I also share my own story of receiving [...]
Have you ever been rejected from a festival, gig, journal, or contest - and then felt the burn and sting of that "no"? I sure have. I've just made a video with four strategies that help me deal with the rejection that is part and parcel of being an artist in the world. Happens to [...]
You've gotta play to win! This is just as true of music and poetry and art and love as it is of the lottery. And the good news is that we're a lot more likely to actually WIN in those games because the odds are always in our favor. Ask, try, submit, propose, invite, query, [...]
The right tools for the job give us wings. They are collaborators, conspirators, co-authors and co-creators. With use, with long relationship, they become ensouled. They become more than the sum of their materials and parts. They become friends. This is true of musical instruments, brushes and paints, recording equipment, ballet shoes, and garden trowels. It's [...]
