By Hand is a monthly prompt focused on freeing our words by using our hands. This month, we’re exploring taking care of our pets with Megan Willome as our guide.
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Great Friendship Tales: Shakespeare and ‘Exit, Pursued by a Bear’
Great friendship tales, like that of Hermione and Paulina from Shakespeare’s ‘The Winter’s Tale,’ live again in ‘Exit, Pursued by a Bear’ by E.K. Johnston.
Memoir Notebook: Three Summers, Part 2: Bucking Hay
Richard Maxson continues his boyhood farming tale, reflecting on the harvest of transcendent memories cultivated in an alfalfa field.
The Origin of a Monster: Happy Birthday, Frankenstein!
The gothic novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley is 200 years old this year, and its core concern about the unintended consequences of science still apply.
Poetry Prompt: The Farm—Endings and Pretending
What poetry can be found in an ending? Can we play pretend long enough to believe? Join Callie Feyen as she writes about disintegrated definitions and why poets make some of the best friends.
The Problem with Laura Ingalls Wilder: part 2, Half-Pint
There is a problem with Laura Ingalls Wilder, nicknamed Half-Pint. It’s the reason readers love her, despite the questions about some of Wilder’s cultural perspectives.
Great Friendship Tales: Through Thick and Thin
Some of the stories we first love have friendship at the core, teaching us something about being a good friend and pursuing a good life.
Poetry Prompt: Farm Blackout Poetry
Not sure where to begin when crafting a poem (or learning about a new concept)? Join Callie Feyen to write blackout poetry from new and unfamiliar material.
The Problem with Laura Ingalls Wilder: part 1, Legacy
Why was the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award renamed the Children’s Literature Legacy Award? It has to do with being eight years old.
Great Friendship Tales: Provence, 1970 Book Club—The Writing Question
One of the most complex and tender questions a writer occasionally faces is “What next?” Join us, along with Julia Child and M.F.K. Fisher, for an exploration of how friendships sometimes give us surprising answers.
Writing Prompt: Play With Your Food
Creative nonfiction writer, Callie Feyen, takes help from poet Tania Runyan to write food poetry. Come along and craft your own poem or story—purple carrots optional!
Children’s Book Club: “Two Friends, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass”
Drink tea, change the world. Join us for a Children’s Book Club discussion of ‘Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass’ by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Sean Qualls & Selina Alko.
Memoir Notebook: Three Summers, Part One: The Seed
A city boy goes to spend the summer on a farm in rural Ohio, and the experience stays with him into his golden years, still surprising him with the way it reveals plain and not-so-plain truths.
Great Friendship Tales: Provence, 1970 Book Club—Friends With Edges
We begin our book club discussion of Luke Barr’s Provence, 1970, with a look at the arrival of the iconic chefs and writers to the south of France in 1970.
A New Exhibition: Tolkien and the Making of Middle-earth
A new exhibition on J.R.R. Tolkien has opened at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the catalog book is a treasure in and of itself.
Commit Poetry: Romeo & Juliet’s Two Households
Sandra Heska King winds up her memorization of selections from Romeo & Juliet among crayfish and shoulder-high ferns, considering the divisions of two houses.
“Love Songs”: Claiming Sara Teasdale for St. Louis
Sara Teasdale lived 34 of her 48 years in St. Louis; she was born and buried there, and St. Louis can claim her as one of its own poets.
Writing Workshop: Writing the Journey
Choose the exotic. Or choose the everyday. Either way, take a journey with us, in this special “Writing the Journey” workshop, and step into discovery!
By Hand: Sorting
By Hand is a monthly prompt focused on freeing our words by using our hands. This month, we’re exploring sorting with Megan Willome as our guide.
Book Club Announcement: Provence, 1970
Great friendship tales often involve food. Provence, 1970 is the story of chefs M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard and others, one summer in the South of France. Join us for our next delicious book club discussion.