Studio News

It’s both thrilling and anxiety-producing, taking a year-long sabbatical from teaching; the classroom is where I’m most at home. My intention has been to learn as much as I can so I return to my students with new insights. But I worried time away would feel like an endless time-out.

I’m writing you from half-time. So far, so good.

Reading List

I’ve been reading about artistic process and also place, interior spaces and natural ones. Here are some of my favorite books from this season: Donald Hall (poems and essays), Matthew Zapruder on poetry, Brenda Shaughnessy’s new poems, Christian Wiman’s new poems, and a lovely book by Margaret Renkl.

Summer Course

And I’ve been building a new course. Registration is now open for my creativity workshop at Kripalu, this summer in the Berkshires, June 28 – July 3. Join us!

Conversations with Artists

I’ve been deeply enriched by time spent with other artists while in residency, especially novelist Sonya Chung, and musicians Caroline Cotter and Hannah Culbreth.

I love talking to artists about process. So, we started a new feature on my website with excerpts of my conversations with artists about their creative process

My first interview is with a superstar French horn player, Hannah Culbreth. French horn is an extremely difficult instrument to play, and Hannah has to figure out how to deal with frustration on a daily basis. Writers, take note.

Keep in touch.
Life's short.
Write joy.

Love H