The Tortured Poets Department Radio Show

What would you, a tortured poet, call your radio show recorded and aired during National Poetry Month? What else but the Tortured Poets Department radio show!

A couple of weeks back was parent/teacher takeover week at my high school’s station WIQH, and I got to do my own TTPD radio show. It was lots of fun!

Besides playing Taylor Swift music, mostly from what I consider her best album (Folklore), I read poetry from some of the books we have in the school library, including “Seven White Butterflies” from West Wind by Mary Oliver, “Stardust” from Star Child by Ibi Zoboi, and “We Study Each Other” from Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle. I also got to share a clip from the audio book of my own verse novel, The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin read by fabulous narrator, Juliette Goglia!

All in all, it was tons of fun and very poetic but not all that tortured.

Friends & Anemones Anthology

Yesterday afternoon I had the great pleasure of attending the virtual launch of Friends & Anemones, a poetry anthology for kids.

FRIENDS AND ANEMONES: Ocean Poems for Children, is a fun and informative collection of original poems and art by New England authors and illustrators. Hands join fins in an adventure through kelp forests to meet sea otters and whales. Attend an underwater birthday party! Voyage through tempests to bottom-of-the-ocean volcanos and mysterious creatures in the deep, deep darkness. This book is a valuable ecological and poetry resource for parents as well as librarians and teachers. The Writers’ Loft brings together authors and artists from all over New England to collaborate, because writing doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit!

The Writers’ Loft in Sherborn, MA curated this project, with Kristen Wixted and Heather Kelly editing. I was lucky enough to serve as one of the judges, along with fellow poet Matt Forrest Esenwine, and I even have a poem in the book myself! It’s wonderful to now see all the beautiful poems and illustrations in their finished forms.

Please do order your copies through Bookshop.org to support The Blue Bunny bookstore, which hosted the event! Happy reading!

Writing Retreat of Dreams!

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:

Describe your dream writing retreat. Where would you go? Who and what would you bring?

This topic is something I think about a LOT. Like many others, I squeeze writing into my daily life, and the idea of a writing retreat conjures up all kinds of images of productivity. Who wouldn’t want a a honeymoon with a WIP instead of a quickie?

Thus a dream retreat for me would really be anywhere that provided stretches of alone-time, plenty of tasty food and caffeinated beverages, and the opportunity for literary discussion, all in an inspiring setting.

The place that best fits the bill for me? Ronda, Spain:

Specifically, I’d choose the HOTEL REINA VICTORIA (http://www.hotelreinavictoria.es/es/hotel-ronda/main), a place that offered the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke the peace and inspiration he needed to write.

I’d bring my laptop of course, a stack of books, and a notebook and pencil for scribbling in the garden. I’d love to have a group of writerly friends along too, for those literary discussions after productive writing sessions. Anyone with me?