Tag Archives: Lyric Essay

Write your lyric essay!

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The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, where I’ve taught seven of the last ten years, has begun sharing writing exercises as part of their new online content. The Institute won’t be happening in person this summer, for obvious reasons, but anyone can now enjoy free weekly writing prompts from the faculty. Today they’ve posted an exercise I created.

It’s a prompt to guide you in writing a lyric essay, specifically one of the fragmented/collage type lyric essays which I love so much. Happy writing!

To get the writing exercise, click HERE!

My Lyric Essay “Licked by Our World We Get Licked by Our World” Accepted by the Bellingham Review

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I’m thrilled to share the news that my lyric essay “Licked by Our World We Get Licked by Our World” has been accepted by the Bellingham Review. I’ve long loved this literary journal and their commitment to lyric and hybrid essays. It’s such a delight that they’ll be publishing this essay.
It’s the last of my four essays inspired by the four classical elements to have found a home–this is my water essay and touches on Jaws, Altered States, fishing, drowning, the Bermuda Triangle, etc. Now I need to finish the last two essays of my following series based on the four fundamental forces in physics. I’m currently knee deep in the Strong Force and have to find a 4000 word essay inside the *gulp* 14,000 words of rough draft I’ve so far spun.

My Interview & Reading on The Campbell Conversations on WRVO

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In case you missed this weekend’s radio broadcasts, you can now stream my interview on The Campbell Conversations on WRVO by Grant Reeher, Director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at Syracuse University. I discuss my poetic practice, contemporary poetry…I read from my lyric essay “Each Breeze Began Life Somewhere As a Little Cough” and from my second poetry book, “If We Had a Lemon We’d Throw It and Call That the Sun,” which just won Elixir Press’ 2019 Antivenom Poetry Award and will be published there next year. You can stream the show HERE, and thanks for listening!

My Lyric Essay “Root That Mountain” Presented with the Meek Award from The Florida Review!

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I’m thrilled to learn that my lyric essay “Root That Mountain” has been awarded the 2018 Meek Award for Creative Nonfiction from The Florida Review. This award recognizes the best non-contest, non-solicited work published by the journal in 2018. Thank you Lisa Roney and the rest of The Florida Review editors and staff for this honor!

My Lyric Essay “Root That Mountain” Published in The Florida Review

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Even the sub-arctic chill of this polar vortex can’t cool the thrill of receiving my copies of The Florida Review, which contains my lyric essay “Root That Mountain.” I’ve shared the first three pages here. This essay is from my series on the four elements; it’s the dirt essay. Thank you to my friends J Keirn-Swanson and Dustin Nightingale for letting me interview them for it. Thank you to Lisa Roney, Mike Shier, and the rest of The Florida Review staff.

Lyric Essay “Each Breeze Began Life Somewhere As a Little Cough” Published Online at Passages North

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I’m super excited to share the news that my lyric essay “Each Breeze Began Life Somewhere As a Little Cough” has been published online at Passages North. Since last autumn I’ve been working on a series of lyric essays, one for each of the four classical elements, and this is the first one that I finished. It’s the air essay. As I begin work on the final one (fire) it’s awesome to have the first one meet the light of day. Massive thanks to Willow Grosz, Brandon Hansen, Matthew Gavin Frank, and all the folks at PN! And special thanks to my awesome partner Sarah for allowing me to record her for this essay. 🙂
Read the essay HERE.

Lyric Essay “Each Breeze Began Life Somewhere As a Little Cough” Accepted at Passages North

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Late last summer I started work on a series of lyric essays, each inspired by one of the four classical elements: earth, air, water and fire. As I begin drafting the final one, it’s a massive delight to announce that the first essay, “Each Breeze Began Life Somewhere As a Little Cough” has just been accepted by Passages North as a future online bonus. In a nightmarish national news week(s), I’m very thankful for this.