A Calm, Open Walk Through a Dark & Tangled Mess

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been gearing up for Four Uninterrupted Days of Writing, the four-day workshop I’m running here at 27 Powers with the inimitable Jen Louden. 17 brave souls showed up here this morning and mostly what I’ve been thinking about for these...

True Stories Series: Meet Lisa Sadikman

“Writing is how I round out my world, it’s how I unstick myself from the mud and make it across the meadow.”  – Lisa Sadikman Readers, when I made a list of people I wanted to interview for this column, Lisa Sadikman quickly came to mind. She’s...

The Creamy Kung Foo of Writing True Stories

Writing about your real life is a tricky dance. Your life is your petri dish. You examine the things that happen, you make notes, you pay attention to small details and you consider whether you can unpack them to reveal something larger, something like a story....

Poetry Saves the Day * Meet Alison Luterman

25 years ago I was introduced to a world of poets who would change everything I thought I knew about poetry – which wasn’t much. I didn’t have a traditional education – grew up in hippy alternative schools in Los Angeles – didn’t...

The Challenge of Writing True Stories

When my friend + long time student, Lisa Sadikman asked me if I wanted to participate in a blog hop where writers get a chance to write about their writing process I said sure, then immediately regretted it because I had just promised myself that I wouldn’t say yes to...