As we reach the end of the semester, most of us are extremely busy editing our literary papers, poems, and stories. Here are a few quotes I hope you will find inspirational: I never write […]
Themes
The Weight of a Book
“Books have particular qualities that are lost in translation into code. A book isn’t just its text, it’s also a material object with a particular history, written in stains and stamps and underlining.…The body of […]
And Who in Her Lonely Slip? (A Writing Exercise)
I heard Leonard Cohen for the first time at Top Fuel, a small coffee shop in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. He sang like stars across the sky, soaring through the jukebox, like a million birds […]
Quiet Time
I write this from my parents’ retirement home near Chapel Hill, NC, where I’ve come to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. They live along a fairway in a gated golf community several miles from the quaint downtown area, […]
Just to clarify, I’m not a psychology major.
With finals, final papers and grad school application deadlines upon us, this just seemed appropriate! So far I have had people stand me up for meetings because they were immersed in their writing, received […]
Writing from Art
There’s been talk about writer’s block. I don’t really have a cure, but I know that every time I visit a museum, I leave with a poem. On Sunday, it was the MoMA. I went […]
Cathedrals of Writing
There is something magical about a good bookstore—dusty shelves, quiet nooks, jazz on the stereo, sellers that are a blend of friendly and pedantic. It is a place of romance for an avid reader. Peace […]
I’m Not Saying Buy Me a House, But I’m Not Saying I’ll Stop You If You Want To
Interesting post a couple of days ago at the Ploughshares blog about benefactors. I have mixed feelings about the idea of patronage, especially the support of a single artist by a single wealthy benefactor. Sure, […]
Kicking the Legs Out
It’s rare in this day and age that films move us to tears. With movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua and High School Musical 3 topping the charts, the majority of American films do little to […]
A Reader’s Question
I received a semi-anonymous email last week with a plea for advice regarding writer’s block. In lieu of a traditional post this week, I thought I would share my exchange with the writer with you, our readers.
12thstreetonline is meant to be a forum for us to explore writing both personally and professionally, so I hope you guys chime in with advice for our friend in need, and perhaps pitch some queries of your own in regards to your own writing these days.
Dear Anna,
I’m having a severe case of writer’s block. I can’t work on my play, my fiction workshop stuff, anything, and I was wondering if you had any tips? It’s seriously getting to me and I don’t know what to do. Help!