Stone Telling: The Magazine of Boundary-crossing Poetry by Shira Lipkin the girl's voice the changeling voice I have studied so hard to pass as one of you. I have tells. When I was little, I asked my alleged mother,what's a girl? She saidyou,you're a girl, and she laced me into dresses (that I tore off in the school parking lot, in line for the bus). My dancing was different. And everything is about containment is about being delicate and pretty laced into corsets whalebone stays digging into your ribs because it's not beauty if it doesn't hurt. But I studied. None of it is in my nature. I am something larger, more fluid, less constrained. Shira Lipkin is a writer, activist, mother, and nexus. Read Shira's discussion of this poem over at the Roundtable! If you enjoyed this poem, please consider donating a few dollars to help Stone Telling continue, and showcase many more fantastic and diverse voices! Photography:Untitled, by Graham Blackall.
"Never Date a Writer" by xstephens Never date a writer because she’ll fictionalize everything. She’ll write about things you have done to her, or things you never did for her. She’ll write about how you never bought her flowers. Not once. She’ll say in well-constructed prose how the whole time you were together, she never came home from a long week to see a vase full of roses, or daises, or anything. She’ll describe times you embarrassed her, like at a party. She’ll continue this emphasis on what you had done to her, by describing things she had found, but said nothing about. She’ll later describe the moment in the bedroom when she sat at the foot of the bed and you kneeled in front of her. And she’ll send you a manuscript and you’ll be on the couch where you both had sat and you’ll read every word. You’ll sit alone on that couch where you made love to her and you won’t move and the glass of whiskey on the table will not be touched.
How to Write Better: 7 Instant Fixes Does your writing stand out? Do you worry whether your writing is good enough? I can see you nodding your head. You are not alone. The good thing is that writing is a journey. On this journey, you can either travel the long road – or use shortcuts. Using shortcuts means learning to spot and fix mistakes in order to write better. Here are seven instant fixes that will improve your writing. But … what is good writing? Inexperienced writers think that ‘good’ writing is elaborate. No, good writing is simple. 1: The art of natural Check out an example of elaborate writing below (I’ve sourced examples of writing from free Kindle books chosen at random). This is from a story about a young girl who is at home with her young brother when a thunderstorm strikes. An ebony abyss claimed the den. I take this to mean, “The room went dark.” Maybe the author consulted a Thesaurus to create a sentence with special words. Your words should sound natural. I reckon you’d get a strange look … 2: Is it obvious? Careful!
Ono no Komachi Very little is known about this Japanese poetess, and most of it is legendary. She lived around 850 C.E. (b. 834?) What is certain about her, however, is that she was a major poet. I have sometimes commented on certain poems because the variations in translation are bewildering --- often changing the meaning of the original completely. KKS:1030 (Miscellaneous Forms) On such a night as this When no moon lights your way to me, I wake, my passion blazing, My breast a fire raging, exploding flame While within me my heart chars. KKS:113, OHI:9 (Spring) The flowers withered Their color faded away While meaninglessly I spent my days in the world And the long rains were falling. KKS:797 (Love) A thing which fades With no outward sign Is the flower Of the heart of man In this world! KKS:658 (Love) Though I visit him Ceaselessly In my dreams, The sum of all those meetings Is less than a single waking glimpse. KKS:656 (Love) KKS:623, IM:25 (Love) KKS:1104, IM:115 (Names of Things) KKS:552, IM:142 (Love)
The L-Space Web: Death and What Comes Next The L-Space Web Copyright © Terry Pratchett 2002 When Death met the philosopher, the philosopher said, rather excitedly: "At this point, you realise, I'm both dead and not dead." There was a sigh from Death. "You see," said the philosopher, while Death, motionless, watched the sands of his life drain through the hourglass, "everything is made of tiny particles, which have the strange property of being in many places at one time. YES, BUT NOT INDEFINITELY, said Death, EVERYTHING IS TRANSIENT. "Well, then, if we agreed that there are an infinite number of universes, then the problem is solved! "What? Death nodded at the bed. "No, because there are a million versions of me, too, And...here is the good bit ...in some of them I am not about to pass away! Death tapped the handle of his scythe as he considered this. "Well, I'm not exactly dying, correct? There was a sigh from Death. "No answer, eh?" THIS IS A CONUNDRUM CERTAINLY, said Death. "What?" "Yes. "Certainly not!" ARE THERE CHOICES?
The Second Time You Fall In Love With Someone The second time you fall in love with someone, you’re going to feel so relieved. When you get your heart broken for the first time, you can’t imagine loving someone else again or having someone else love you. You worry about your ex finding love before you do, you worry about being damaged goods. And then it happens. Someone else loves you and you can sleep well at night. The second time you fall in love with someone, it’s going to feel different. The second time you fall in love with someone, you’re going to compare it to your first love. The second time you fall in love with someone, you’re going to suffer from a bout of amnesia. The second time you fall in love with someone, you’ll be a more sane person. The second time you fall in love with someone, you will hopefully have better sex. The second time you fall in love with someone will still be exciting and you might even talk about moving in together or marriage. The second time will not be the first time.
WriteWords - Writing Community - jobs, directory, forums, articles for writers Great Poems & Greatest Books of All Time & Life-Changing Arts A selection of great poems from centuries of brillant authors and poets. Whether you are new to the world of poetry and wish to savor it, or a well-versed poetry connoisseur, either way you will probably enjoy the classics of world poetry. The poems are sorted by vote. To vote for a poem, click on the left of it. Voting is possible once per day. Votes PoemAuthor IfRudyard Kipling EchoChristina Georgina Rossetti If you think the best poem of all times is not even on this list, by all means, let us know which poem it is and why you think it should be added. Get inspired.. inspire others.. Back to Greatest Books of All Time
Shake the Dust – This one is for you A poem that will shake you… “Do not let one moment go by that doesn’t remind you that your heart beats 900 times a day, and there are enough gallons of blood to make everyone of you oceans” ~ Anis Mojgani In the back of a large room at Powel’s Bookstore I was half-heartedly listening to a poet I had never heard of. I was checking my email off my phone and wondering what I would scrounge up for dinner. And slowly, like he was lifting my chin up with one finger from my stressed and distracted world, he brought me back. It’s so easy to get wrapped up and stressed about the day to day, and there are times when I have to stop and remember to breath deeply and… shake the dust. Thank you Anis. Fan elephant’s best stories here or here or here. About Allie Bombach Living in her restored 1970 Airstream, Allie recently relocated to Portland, Oregon where she works as a freelance videographer and filmmaker for the outdoor industry. If you liked this, you might like these:
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