Creative Writing Blog
Healing Presence: Interview with Sister Dang Nghiem
“My name is sister Dang Nghiem. ‘Dang Nghiem’ is Vietnamese for ‘Adornment with Nondiscrimintaion.’ My teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thay by his students), gave me that name when I ordained as a Buddhist nun in May 2000… I discover my name as I practice it. For me,...
Adult Writing Prompts: Great Prompts to Inspire You
So first, what are adult writing prompts? Adult writing prompts are not X-rated–don’t worry–but I want to differentiate them from prompts for children. To be honest, when I was in my 20s, I thought writing prompts were only for children. I thought mature creative...
Ross Gay: Interview—Be Holding, Gratitude, Delights
I'm delighted to share my interview with Ross Gay, poet, writer, visionary. This is part of my Align Your Story interview series where I talk to writers, activists, visionaries, change makers, who help us come into a more aligned story, people who both tell the truth...
20+ Great Memoirs by Women: Books To Empower Women
Books To Empower Women As Roe v. Wade comes under attack, it's all the more important to remember the history of women and to honor and celebrate women's voices and bodies. What is at stake here is not the life of unborn babies, but rather who controls women's...
The number one tip for writers
My number one tip for writers If you’ve worked with me, you’ve probably heard me say this before, and I’ll say it again. In fact, it’s my number one tip for writers. If you are out of sorts with your writing, start here: Schedule your writing time on your calendar. ...
Lewis Mehl-Madrona and the Power of Narrative for Healing
Lewis Mehl-Madrona is a pioneer in teaching about the transformative power of story in healing and in bringing together conventional medicine with Indigenous wisdom. He's the author of six books, including the wonderful Coyote trilogy, Narrative Medicine, and, with...
Rumi Don’t Go Back to Sleep… 7 Questions More Aligned Living in 2021
Rumi: Don't Go Back To Sleep The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell youDon't go back to sleep! You must ask for what you really want.Don't go back to sleep! People are going back and forth across the doorsillwhere the two worlds touch,The door is round and open Don't...
Poetry for Life: My Journey Through Poetry
POETRY FOR LIFE In an earlier post, I wrote about the purposes of poetry. Since then, as I've been creating my new poetry course that I'll be sharing more information about soon, I’ve been thinking about the role of poetry more specifically in my own life. I’ve been...
The Purpose of Poetry
Recently, I wrote about the importance of writing. Today, I want to write about the importance and the purpose of poetry and offer some writing prompts for you at the bottom of this post. This weekend, we were at Eric’s much younger cousin’s wedding; Raffi is closer...
Why Writing Is Important: 2 Key Reasons
Why Writing Is Important... Why write? I was on vacation the last few weeks on Deer Isle in Maine and wrote very little; I was really being present with my family and with the beautiful place I was in. Over those weeks, I found myself wondering what it would be like...
Interdependence: A powerful teaching
Interdependence One of the most beautiful and core teachings of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh is interdependence. At a time of imbalance on so many different levels in our world, what would happen if we all could come into greater understanding of interdependence,...
15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day
15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day What better way to start your day than with some good morning poems? Mornings don't just mark the start of a new day. They symbolize new beginnings, transformations, and opportunities. Whether you are in the midst of...
Bullet Points Jericho Brown
Bullet Points —Jericho Brown I will not shoot myselfIn the head, and I will not shoot myselfIn the back, and I will not hang myselfWith a trashbag, and if I do,I promise you, I will not do itIn a police car while handcuffedOr in the jail cell of a townI only know the...
Mary Oliver Morning Poem
It's spring! The world is waking up again. Mary Oliver's "Morning Poem" reminds us of the constant cycle of new beginnings. In midwinter, it can be hard to really believe that the world will be green and full of life again. Even if we know it intellectually, we can...
Why stepping into our story is so hard–and so important–and tools to help
I'm reading Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers The Human Story Changes by Elizabeth Lesser and loving it—it says so well and clearly many of the things I've been teaching: the way women's voices and stories have been silenced; the way we've been gaslit...
Birches Robert Frost, a poem for mid-winter 2021
"Birches" by Robert Frost is one of my favorite poems, and a perfect poem for this moment... "Birches" is a beautiful midwinter poem, and I've been thinking about it a lot, especially this pandemic winter, when I've been longing for some escape. In the poem, the...
Thich Nhat Hanh Poem: Please Call Me By My True Names
Thich Nhat Hanh's poem "Please Call Me By My True Names" is not only a beautiful poem but also a profound spiritual teaching. Buddhist teacher, monk, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022), known as Thay by his students, wrote this poem in 1979. Exiled from...
The Geese Jorie Graham
"The Geese," Jorie Graham's brilliant early poem, explores the relationship between order and disorder, meaning and the absence of meaning, and like so many of her poems is a poem about poetry itself: how do language and poetry create lines and stitch together meaning...
Swan by Mary Oliver for 2021
HAPPY 2021! I want to share "Swan" by Mary Oliver for the new year. This powerful poem by Mary Oliver is about being present and about change. That might sound like a paradox: how can we both be present and invite change? For a long time, I struggled with that...
The light that came to lucille clifton
I want to share a poem that feels appropriate for this moment: Lucille Clifton's wonderful "the light that came to lucille clifton." I love this poem at any time, but now it seems especially pertinent. What happens when, as the poem says, our "fondest sureties fade...
