Mary Oliver Finds the Antidote to Confusion in Literature
In her essay collection, Upstream, Mary Oliver describes the antidote to confusion she found in literature – first reading and then writing – as a kind of standing with otherness in the world.
The Best Books for Teaching and Learning
The best books for teaching and learning include insights on neuroscience, biology, philosophy, psychology, and communication theory.
Clive Thompson on the Creative Imagination of Coders
Clive Thompson explores the origin stories of coders and recognizes they share one common character trait: a creative imagination.
Susanne Langer on Creative Philosophy in a New Key
In Susanne Langer’s 1942 book, Philosophy In a New Key, the first American female philosopher challenges thinkers to embrace a new creative philosophy.
Ernst Cassirer on the Gift of the Artist
Keywords Ernst Cassirer, An Essay on Man, Lewis Hyde, Seeing, Artistic Observation, Gift, William Blake “The past is preserved only in darkness, the future is not raised to the level of an image, as something which can be anticipated. It is the symbolic expression which first creates the possibility of looking backward and looking forward… […]
Narrative Architecture in Jane Alison’s Meander, Spiral, Explode
Keywords Jane Alison, Narrative Architecture, Meander, Spiral, Explode “The wave is one. There’s a reason we’re drawn to it, whether viewing or watching entranced as one wave after another breaks on shore: a wave is a clear instance of energy charging static matter until that energy is spent and equilibrium returns, elegant and satisfying. Arcs […]
Greg Ulmer on Composing a MyStory
Greg Ulmer teachers readers to compose a MyStory through pattern recognition across family, career, school, and community.
Steven Pinker on the Need for Empathy in Enlightenment Now
“A man, to be greatly good, must imagine intensely and comprehensively; he must put himself in the place of another and many others; the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own. The great instrument of moral good is the imagination.” ~Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Defence of Poetry and Other Essays Steven Pinker, the […]
Haruki Murakami’s Earliest Writing Motivations
“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.” ~Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Haruki Murakami wrote an introductory essay, The Birth of My Kitchen Table Fiction, when he […]
Famous Writers on the Love of Reading
Keywords Writers, Reading, Readers, Writers are readers, Famous Writers on the love of reading “I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to […]
The Best Writing Books According to Best-Selling Authors
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” ~Gustave Flaubert Have you ever wondered if most writers would agree on the best writing books on the market? I went to a virtual writing conference over the summer hosted by Chandler Bolt. During this conference, he interviewed 43 best-selling authors. He asked them […]
10 Blog Writing Tips With Book Recommendations
I regret nothing. I say that in the spirit of the beautiful French song that is now synonymous with the 2010 Christopher Nolan film, Inception, “Non, je ne regrette rien,” I, too, regret nothing about my blogging journey. The 10 blog writing tips are ones I learned the hard way. Nonetheless, it’s fun to assess […]
Write Like Murakami! The Best First Lines of His Mind-Bending Stories
It takes so little time for writers like Haruki Murakami to abduct you into their mind-bending worlds. Revisiting some of these first lines will make you laugh, while others will make you wonder. The rest might even bore you a little, despite how exciting the novel ends up. Here are the best first lines from his […]
How I Plan My Freshmen Composition Course
“Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.” ~E.L. Doctorow After teaching the same freshmen composition course 25 times over the past four years, I have found my sweet spot in the way I set up my […]
Write Better Right Now With This One Change
Grammar is a subject we despise all growing up, and then as adults, we wish we had paid more attention to in school. We can’t change the past, but if you find yourself writing emails, texts, and other work without knowing when to use “whom”or where to place that pesky comma, then I urge you […]