I fell in love with the poetry of Mary Oliver over 20 years ago through her carefully chosen words, thought-provoking questions, and creative imagery brimming with possibility. When I discovered the power in her words with its potential to transform my life and long-held opinions, I joined the growing number of Oliver’s many devoted fans.…
I just returned from a writing workshop armed with new ideas, excited by possibilities I discovered there and bubbling with enthusiasm to share my experience with you. One of the exercises I found particularly meaningful gave me a new way to paint a vivid picture of one of my own stumbling blocks – a habit…
Tracy K. SmithUS Poet Laureate I have a new poetry teacher I’ve never met although she visited South Carolina last April and her fame is spreading from coast to coast. For years my favorite poetry instructor was “The Writer’s Almanac” broadcast daily on South Carolina Educational Radio. I looked forward to that 5-minute pause and…
One of the many joys I find in reading poetry is the sudden realization that this poem – the one I’m reading at this very moment – has many possibilities. Reading it slowly more than once for pleasure is the first gift from the poet. A second gift is discovering some of my own thoughts,…
“If the only prayer you ever say in your lifetime is ‘Thank you,’ that’s enough.” Meister Eckhart, 13th century German theologian, philosopher and mystic “Gratitude is heaven itself” William Blake, 18th Century English poet, painter, and printmaker Thanksgiving is the perfect time to celebrate gratitude. To continue or to begin a conscious practice of noticing…
I recently came across a poem online that took my breath away. I was stunned by the message in the poem as well as the unusual way it was delivered. The poem I found could be read in two entirely different ways – from the first line to the last line, or in reverse, from…
A friend recently told me that her coworkers gave her the nickname “The Little Red Hen” because she often took on everyone else’s task when others were not willing to get their jobs done. This old folktale has all of the characteristics of a Fable with animal characters who teach the value of hard work and…
If you are curious about what makes you tick, what your basic nature is or how you may find your best personal self, your options may seem to be plentiful. But many are far less helpful than others. In my quick online search for personality tests, Google produced over 23 million personality tests in just…
Freedom – not just on July 4th but all summer long – that’s how I remember summers when I was a child growing up in Virginia. Life seemed so simple then. When the last day of school finally arrived, it felt as if a whole lifetime was waiting at the door – months stretching ahead…
Haiku is simple enough for young children but complicated and intuitive enough to engage people of all ages and across cultures. Haiku’s very short form consisting of only three lines may appear trite or non-sensical. But if that were so, it would not have endured for centuries and continue to be written in many languages…
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