Today I am writing from a large couch and it is raining outside. The sky is dark and it will be black as coffee by 4:30 pm. I have a cup of coffee which is keeping me warm.
It is the week of American Thanksgiving so I am grateful, but that has been my daily demeanor for almost 2 years now thanks to Chris, my husband.
Today has been full of writing, reading, and planning for the new year. I am also working on plans for a class I am teaching that begins on Sunday.
The Bradbury Trio [reading a poem, an essay, and a story every day] fuels my writing.
This trio structure works for me because I am inspired to write after I read.
I hope the reading you do today leads you to writing that could not have been created any other way.
Here are some of the texts that made an impact on me this week.
Poems: The Paris Review published a podcast where the poet Maggie Millner did a stealth poetry reading in a busy IKEA. It was such a fun episode to listen to and she read three poems!
You can find the podcast here: The Same IKEA Bed
I would love to recreate this podcast in my own way. I am writing about where I would host a poetry reading of my own and how the environment would dictate the poems I read.
Story: Mom, Can I Ask You a Question?
This is a flash piece that is almost all questions. I love this form and plan to play with it more. I once hosted a professional development for teachers where I only asked questions. It was an interesting experience. The teachers were frustrated that I wasn’t answering but couldn’t identify what I was doing exactly.
Essay: A family story and a recipe!
Icelandic Kleinur Recipe – My Grandmother’s Famous “Donuts”
What will these pieces inspire you to write!?
What are you writing in your notebook today?
Have you read anything interesting this week that you need to share!? Please do so in the comments! I love recommendations and have found some of my favorite stories that way.
A little more about me: Tammy L. Evans is a writer, teacher, and coach living in a tiny house on a peninsula with her husband and adventure cat. Her location device is her loud laugh. She is currently working on a short story collection. Her poetry has been published in The Storyteller, FoxGlove Journal, Story Hall, Blue Insights, The Partnered Pen, and others. Her fiction has been published in Gone Lawn, Cabinets of Heed, Spelk, Five on the Fifth, Clover and White, Fiction Berlin Kitchen, and others.
Tammy, you shared three very interesting readings from your Bradbury Trio. I have been following you, and I would love to try your course. I just went to Iceland, and I would love to try making the donuts.
Tammy, I'm intrigued by the poetry reading in an IKEA. Life going on full-tilt all around, and somewhere in all of this is poetry. There is no better place for poetry than right there in the middle. Thanks for sharing!