Category Archives: Writing

Check Out My Big Idea About January Fifteenth!

Hi all, My novella, January Fifteenth, has been out in the world for three months now! It’s continued to get good attention. Thank you, everyone, who has read it! It’s been a bit since this came out, but I wanted … Continue reading Continue reading

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Three of My Poems Are Up on BigCityLit

It’s been a while since I’ve had poems accepted by a literary magazine, so I’m really happy that BigCityLit accepted three poems from the sequence, “This Poem Is A Metaphor For Bridge.” Here’s on the of them: 11 Before you have … Continue reading

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“My Companion’s Scent Seeped Into Me” – National Sa’di Day

Today is National Sa’di Day, and I’ve been thinking about one of my favorite bits of verse from his Golestan: I held in my bath a perfumed piece of clay that came to me from a beloved’s hand. I asked … Continue reading

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Just in case you were wondering…

Here’s definitive proof that poets are in it for the money—which, I hasten to add, takes away not a single iota of my gratitude to CavanKerry Press for keeping my book alive 13 years after it was published. I have … Continue reading

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Trains, Brains, and Computers

When I teach my speculative fiction class (there’s a section this weekend, by the way!), I like to talk to the students about the most popular varieties of speculative poetry. A lot of speculative poetry is narrative, or works with … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in brains, Essays, metaphior, Poetry, Rachel Swirsky's poetry, science, SFF, Verses of Sky & Stars, Writing | Comments Off  

On Appropriation: Anders Carlson-Wee’s “How-To”

Last summer, The Nation published a poem called “How-To,” by white poet Anders Carlson-Wee, in which the speaker, a homeless person who speaks African American Vernacular English (AAVE), which is also sometimes called Black English, gives advice on how most … Continue reading

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The First Full Working Draft Is Complete!

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The Group Pneuma Has Set One of My Poems to Music for Their Upcoming Album

I am excited! The musical group Pneuma has set one of my poem to music for their upcoming album, which will be called Who Has Seen The Wind. The album has not yet been officially released, but you can listen … Continue reading

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A Workshop I’m Leading and Two Reviews of “Words For What Those Men Have Done”

I’d like to share two things from my writing life that I am excited and happy about. Writing About What You Are Afraid To Write About @ The Ollom Arts Festival When: November 14th, from 6-8 PM Where: One Art … Continue reading

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Relearning The Value of Patience in Assembling a Book of Poems

It’s the middle of August, which means summer is almost over and I have to start preparing in earnest to go back into the classroom. This is the first summer in many years–at least fifteen, I think–that I’ve been off … Continue reading

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