Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Arts:Books
Vermont poet and author Erika Nichols-Frazer, who has edited a new collection on themes of mental health, A Tether to This World: Stories and Poems About Recovery (Main Street Rag). We are joined later in the hour by the poet A. E. Hines, a contributor to the collection.
This week we have two Write the Book Prompts, thanks to the generosity of my guests. The first was offered by Erika Nichols-Frazer, who credits it to the poet Chelsie Diane. Write a letter to yourself that starts with the phrase “I forgive you.”
And Earl, who publishes as A.E. Hines, shares an exercise on practicing self exposure. Pick a moment from your past or a personal circumstance that stands out in your mind as embarrassing: one that makes you at least slightly uneasy when sharing it. Now write a short poem about that experience using either second or third person — as if you’re telling the story about someone else. It doesn’t have to be a big thing; it could be something you did, a mistake you made, or something that happened to you due to no fault of your own. The only requirement is that writing about it puts a twinge of angst in your belly. When you’re done, change the POV back to first person, and see what happens. Did you learn anything new about that situation?
Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.
Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro
678
Melissa Fraterrigo - Interview #492 (1/22/18)
Tracy Chevalier - Archive Interview #491 (1/15/18)
Bill McKibben - Interview #490 (1/1/18)
Mary R. Morgan - Archive Interview #489 (12/25/17)
Elizabeth Day - Interview #488 (12/18/17)
Will Dowd - Interview #487 (12/11/17)
Will Friedwald - Interview #486 (12/4/17)
John Homans - Archive Interview #485 (11/27/17)
Robin Cook - Archive Episode #484 (11/20/17)
Shozan Jack Haubner - Interview #483 (11/13/17)
Adam Federman - Interview #482 (11/6/17)
Grant Faulkner - Interview #481 (10/30/17)
Katherine Paterson - Interview #480 (10/30/17)
Bonus Podcast! A new book chat with Claire Benedict
Fiona Helmsley - Interview #479 (10/23/17)
Peter Stamm - Interview #478 (10/16/17)
Jennifer Egan - Interview #477 (10/9/17)
Joan Wickersham - Archive Interview #476 (10/2/17)
Nancy Hayes Kilgore - Interview #475 (9/25/17)
Vermont Book Award - Show #474 (9/18/17 B)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Fresh Air
The War of the Worlds
The Art of War
Myths and Legends
The Book Review