Tania Runyan reflects on The Karate Kid and writes a letter to Clarisse McClellan from Fahrenheit 451.
Poetry Prompt: Giving and Receiving with Creative Nonfiction
Join author Callie Feyen as she explores ways of giving and receiving with creative nonfiction as a guide.
Triolet, Rondel, and Rondelet: Variation is the Spice of Life
Author Tania Runyan played with the prompts in ‘How to Write a Form Poem’ and wrote a triolet, rondel & rondelet in 1 day. Difficult, but fun!
The Great Gatsby Book Club: Chapters 7-9—Borne Back Ceaselessly Into the Past
In the final installment of our The Great Gatsby book club, Tania Runyan explores what it means to be “borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Poet-a-Day: Meet Richard Pierce
Can the villanelle come round again? Poet Richard Pierce responds to Dylan Thomas’s famous villanelle with a powerful one of his own.
Book Club: The Great Gatsby Chapter 3 & 4—Mystery, Contradiction and Switch-Ups
Chapters 3 and 4 of The Great Gatsby are full of mystery, contradictions and linguistic switch-ups as the books themes begin to take shape.
Book Club: Meet the Great Gatsby Characters—Couches Included!
In the first installment of our book club, Tania Runyan introduces The Great Gatsby characters—human and otherwise—and invites readers to a Gatsby sestina.
National Poetry Month: Giving Gatsby the Green Light
This National Poetry Month, join Tania Runyan to take a poetic twist on Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in our in our new book club.
Poems to Listen By: Heart & Soil 08—Zinfandel
Laurie Klein concludes her “Heart & Soil” Poems to Listen By podcast series with Jane Mead’s “Where the Zinfandel Pass Their Seasons in Mute Rows.”
Lord of the Flies: Simon Writes Home
Not all the boys on the island will admit it, but homesickness is one of the greatest challenges the Lord of the Flies characters face. Poet Tania Runyan and the boys of the island explore a “letters home” epistolary poetry prompt.
Lord of the Flies: Poem to a Conch
Buried in the rich symbolism of Lord of the Flies, Tania Runyan finds a poem for the conch.
Poetry Prompt: The Villanelle
Feeling all the feelings these days? Consider containing them (and letting them breathe) in a villanelle.
To Kill a Mockingbird’s Tom Robinson: Why I Ran
Tania Runyan explores the fear experienced by To Kill a Mockingbird’s Tom Robinson with a tragic rondeau poem.
To Kill a Mockingbird’s Boo Radley: A Poetic Secret Message
Imagine the secrets of Boo Radley, get creative & put your imagination into a poem. Read a To Kill a Mockingbird poem by Tania Runyan first, to get started!
Poetry Prompt: Poems of Experience
“The Hobbit” is more than a book for children. Callie Feyen considers how to learn from Bilbo and write poems of experience.
Poetry Club Tea Date ✨ Kissed
Get your favorite steep (or brew) & join us in writing a poem based on a line from “Kissed” by David Malone: “You held my name in your coat.”
The Poetry Club Tea Date ✨ First Fall
In this week’s Poetry Club Tea Date, enjoy a new poetry prompt started with a line from “First Fall” by Maggie Smith.
Poetry Prompt: Beauty in a Pandemic
There is beauty — even in a pandemic. These days after Thanksgiving, follow a poetry prompt about the natural beauty you are grateful for.
Poetry Prompt: What a Memory Is
What is a memory? A 96-year-old woman and a small boy are searching for the answer. Author Callie Feyen searches for poetry in what they find.
The Poetry Club Tea Date ✨ Braiding His Hair
In this week’s Poetry Club Tea Date, enjoy a new poetry prompt started with a line from “Braiding His Hair” by Alison Luterman.