Category: Art and Humanity Framed in the Photofeature Story

Francine Sterle in Maine, August of 2021. Copyright by Francine Sterle Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? The poem began as an exploration of a friend’s preoccupation with a relationship of which he was never able…… Continue reading #323 Backstory of the Poem: Francine Sterle’s “Icendiary”

What is the date you began writing this memoir and the date when you completed the memoir?  Prozac Monologues: A Voice from the Edge is a book within a book. The original manuscript, called simply Prozac Monologues, was written in three weeks, January 23, 2005 through the second week in February that year, most of…… Continue reading #011 The Magnification of One Memory in Memoir: Willa Goodfellow’s PROZAC MONOLOGUES: A VOICE FROM THE EDGE.

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? THE KING’S MAN was originally meant to be titled TO KILL A KING (as the premise of the story is based on numerous plots to kill Oliver Cromwell). Unfortunately, a film of the same name (and…… Continue reading #264 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Alison Stuart’s THE KING’S MAN.

New Yorker Maddie is a forty-three-year-old African American who seems to have it together- she had the best education that only money can buy; she is able to make a living out of her own passions of singing and playing the piano at an old hotel lobby in New York City; and she has been…… Continue reading CARC Analysis of Toni Ann Johnson’s novella HOMEGOING: “The Search For Forgiveness and Accountability”

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? The novel is called Rise From The River. Over the years that I was trying to write it, it was mostly called Nightswimming. I changed it during the final draft, because Nightswimming no longer reflected what…… Continue reading #263 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Kathie Giorgio’s RISE FROM THE RIVER

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form?“A White Room, A Piano” began with a prompt from poets Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar in a workshop I attended. We were given a word bank, and while I don’t…… Continue reading #322 Backstory of the Poem: Karen Paul Holmes’s “A White Room, A Piano”

Name of memoir? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us?  Hello! All My Dogs Go to Heaven was almost called The Road Trip of My Life. Either title would fit, especially because I’ve lived all over the United States (and in China) and many different towns within…… Continue reading #010 The Magnification of One Memory in Memoir: Kay Bratt’s ALL MY DOGS GO TO HEAVEN.

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form?  Some of my answer to this question is below because my process is directly related to where I was when I began writing. The first stanza or so was written…… Continue reading #321 Backstory of the Poem: “Deirdre Fagan’s “Phantom Limbs”

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I chose “Parting Gift,” a poem from my collection, Welcome to Midland. I can actually trace different iterations of this poem all the way back to 2006. Welcome to Midland…… Continue reading #320 Backstory of the Poem: Logen Cure’s “Parting Gift”

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? As the poem says, I cleaned out the car our son used, after his death, and saved the premiumroot beer cap I found in the cupholder. In real life I put…… Continue reading #319 Backstory of the Poem: Joan Leotta’s “Bottle Cap”

Jonathan Travelstead. Facebook Logo Photo. Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? Writing this poem was a years-long process. Part of a longer manuscript called “The Cloud Understands Our Scarecrow Hearts”, this piece in particular involved an…… Continue reading #318 Backstory of the Poem: Jonathan Travelstead’s “Dog Is The Machine’s Language”

Donna Vorreyer. Web Site Logo Photo Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I usually draft longhand before going to the computer, but was surprised to find that this originated on Google Docs. The first draft is…… Continue reading #317 Backstory of the Poem: Donna Vorreyer’s “FRAGMENTS APPROACHING SIXTY”

Name of fiction work? Any others you considered? A KIND OF HUSH. I considered The Whisper Room but upon searching there were too many books with similar names. The date you began writing this piece of fiction. The date when you completely finished. My debut novel, Life in a Box, was published July 3, 2017,…… Continue reading #262 INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION: JoDee Neathery’s A KIND OF RUSH

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? This poem was a bit of a struggle to write because I had to finish the collection on a hopeful note. But the thing is, when my psychosis happened, there…… Continue reading #316 Backstory of the Poem: Taylor Gianfrancisco’s “A Delirium of Flowers”

Where were you when you started to actually write the poem “Subdural Hematoma”?  And please describe the place in great detail. I was in Cleveland Clinic’s neuro surgical waiting room during my oldest child’s emergency brain surgery. It featured bland institutional furniture, tables scattered with wrinkled magazines, and a closed door we all watched in…… Continue reading #315 Backstory of the Poem: Laura Grace Weldon’s “Subdural Hematoma”

Name of fiction work? And were there other titles you would like to share with us? The name of this piece of fiction is called, Dark Secrets. One of the biggest pieces for me that I struggle with is coming up with an idea for a title. When writing this book, it was originally going…… Continue reading #261 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Connie Spanhake’s DARK SECRETS.

Were there other names you considered for SOUTHERN VOICES:  A BOOK OF AWARD-WINNING STORIES? I wanted its title to be Copeland’s Crossing as that’s where the stories take place. The title it has does less to limit the setting so the title it has is better. What is the date you began writing this piece…… Continue reading #260 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Laura Hunter’s short story “Copeland’s Crossing” from her short story collection SOUTHERN VOICES: A BOOK OF AWARD-WINNING STORIES.

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until the final form? I started writing this poem in response to the Feminist Book Title Challenge by Whisper and the Roar, a feminist literary collective. I wanted to write a poem that…… Continue reading #314 Backstory of the Poem: Megha Sood’s “My Body Is Not An Apology”

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I was in a fiery master class with Natalie Diaz, just before her Pulitzer Prize winning book, Postcolonial Love Poems came out. The class was hosted by an amazing poetry festival…… Continue reading #313 Backstory of the Poem: Jory Mickelson’s “When My Eyes Are Tired I Let Them Rest”

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? I began writing “Ghazal of the Virgin Mary” during one of my MFA residencies. The poem grew out of a writing assignment I set for myself in an attempt to…… Continue reading #312 Backstory of the Poem: Jennifer LeBlanc’s “Ghazal of the Virgin Mary”

Were there other titles to MASTER OF RODS AND STRINGS? Strings, Rods, Blood, and Bones was a previous title, and you can find that out on the internet for one contest—I submitted an excerpt. The earliest working title I discovered in a file recently was the rather silly “Day of the Puppets,” which was just…… Continue reading #259 Inside the Emotion of Fiction” Jason Marc Harris’s Master of Rods and Strings.

What is the date you began writing this Lucky Girl and the date when you completely finished the Lucky Girl? I worked on this short story for about five years starting in 2015 (Bottom Left) and finishing it with the rest of the collection in 2020 (Bottom Right). My style is to begin a story…… Continue reading #258 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Gale Massey’s short story “Lucky Girl” from her short story collection RISING AND OTHER STORIES

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? It’s funny, I teach analytical and creative writing. My students ask me if I follow the same process that I teach to them. My answer is always yes, at least…… Continue reading #311 Backstory of the Poem: Robert Simon’s “To An Unjust Rejection”

Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? My husband was in Washington, D.C.—traveling for his work—when he had a massive heart attack in his hotel room. He had the presence of mind to call the front-desk clerk…… Continue reading #310 Backstory of the Poem: Pamela R. Anderson-Bartholet’s “What Color Are the Blue Ridge Mountains?”

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction? I began writing this series in 2016. It’s been a busy few years as you can see since it generally takes me about three to four months to write a book then of…… Continue reading #257 Inside the Emotion of Fiction: Lauren Elliott’s Beyond The Page Bookstore Mystery Series PROOF OF MURDER BOOK 4