Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Arts:Books
Vermont Poet April Ossmann, whose new collection is Event Boundaries (Four Way Books).
This week’s Write the Book Prompt was generously suggested by my guest, April Ossmann. It’s about extended metaphor, which we discussed during the interview. April says it makes for magic in poems. Often poets use metaphor but they drop it too soon and don’t explore it deeply enough. But when you push it and continue describing using the metaphor, that’s often when you get to a moment of epiphany or discovery and you realize something. The smarter part of the brain can then teach you something. Focus on describing in specific detail and keep the event or theme in the periphery of your brain. It’s a great exercise. Pick something for a metaphor and maybe in that description, write about something that wasn’t as you expected it to be or something that happened in a way other than how you expected it to happen.
Good luck with your work in the coming week, and please listen next week for another prompt or suggestion.
Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro
Stewart O'Nan - Archive Interview #395 (4/11/16)
Elizabeth Stabler - Interview #394 (4/4/16)
Keith Lee Morris - Interview #393 (3/28/16)
Courtney Reckord, Creativity Coach - Interview #392 (3/22/16)
Ron Krupp - Archive Interview #391 (3/14/16)
Laura Williams McCaffrey - Interview #390 (3/7/16)
Eowyn Ivey - Archive Interview #389 (2/29/16)
Sydney Lea - Interview #388 (2/22/16)
Margot Livesey - Archive Interview #387 (2/15/16)
Timothy D. Wilson - Archive Episode #386 (2/8/16)
Sharon Guskin - Interview #385 (2/1/16)
Bonus Podcast! A short conversation with Claire Benedict about books
David Wojahn - Archive Interview #384 (1/25/16)
Christine Hadsel - Interview #383 (1/18/16)
Marika McCoola and Marie Lu - Show #382 (1/11/16)
Joan Leegant - Archive Interview #381 (1/4/16)
Steve Almond - Archive Interview #380 (12/28/15)
Brett Ann Stanciu - Interview #379 (12/21/15)
Ellen Hopkins - Interview #378 (12/14/15)
Julie Barton - Interview #377 (12/7/15)
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