Nan Sanders Pokerwinski was a science writer at the Detroit Free Press for more than a decade, and she worked as a science writer for the University of Michigan News Service for fourteen years. She’s been a contributing editor to Health and Alternative Medicine magazines and has written for More, Fitness, Dallas Morning News, and other print and online publications. Her journalistic byline is Nancy Ross-Flanigan and she’s received a Pulitzer nomination and several awards.
What awards has Mango Rash won so far? How did you come to write it and how long did it take?
Mango Rash won first place in the memoir/nonfiction category of the 2018 Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Awards and was a finalist for the Northern Colorado Writers Top of the Mountain Book Award, the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards (twice), and the 43rd New Millennium Writings Literary Awards.…
Daniel Cowper’s debut poetry collection, Grotesque Tenderness, was recently published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. The book is divided into five parts, three of which are discrete poem sequences and two of which are collections of poems on regret and relationships. Beyond that, he’s the Poetry Editor of PULP Literature and he’s married to poet Emily Osborne.
In this episode of Cover to Cover with . . ., Editor-in-Chief Jordan Blum speaks with Cowper about Grotesque Tenderness, the pros and cons of workshopping creative writing, combining personal, historical, geographical, and mythical inspirations, and more!
Carolyn Turgeon’s appearance evokes an otherworldly elegance effusive with joy. With her long dark hair, complete with shiny streak of navy blue, red lipstick, and big blue eyes, Carolyn Turgeon seems herself to be a high priestess, the kind of magical creature who would be right at home in her sumptuous fantasy worlds.
Turgeon learned to love reading as an escape from her shy, dislocated childhood. She says, “I loved being alone in my room and reading.”
By chance, Turgeon’s mother brought home a book from the Betsy-Tacy and Tib series once by accident. These books by Maud Heart Lovelace had a tremendous impact on Turgeon’s development as a writer. Protagonist Betsy grows up in a small Minnesota town, reading as much as she can, climbing trees, and hoping to become a writer.…
William Frank and DW Stojek are the authors of nearly 10 books of poetry between them, and they’ve been creative partners and performers (at readings and presentations around New York City) for over twenty-five years. When not writing poetry, Stojek is an avid photographer, while Frank enjoys long hours of chess, bingeing on 1950’s Japanese Cinema, taking naps with Scrambles (his cat), arguing with the Devil, press-ganging the elderly and Sadism.
In this episode of Cover to Cover with . . ., Editor-in-Chief Jordan Blum speaks with Frank and Stojek about their collections (The Purgatory Elm and The Foreign Excellent Rainbow Company, Inc. 1920, respectively), as well as popular culture, outrage culture, being tongue-in-cheek about poetry, and much more!
Jendi Reiter, vice president of Winning Writers (named one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” by Writer’s Digest, 2015-2018), oversees the Winning Writers literary contests. The website, founded in 2001 to help poets and writers, is located in Western Massachusetts. Jendi is also an award-winning author with a new book of short stories, An Incomplete List of My Wishes (Sunshot Press/New Millennium Writings, 2018).
How long did it take to organize the help so many poets and writers depend upon in Winning Writers? What was the spark that started it?
WW is always evolving and refining our features, which include a monthly e-newsletter, four writing awards, and a database of the Best Free Literary Contests.
Diana Raab is a memoirist, poet, essayist, blogger, and speaker. She has a PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Transpersonal Psychology and a research focus on the healing and transformative powers of memoir writing. She’s published nearly a dozen books and over 1000 articles and poems. Her latest book, Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life, was published by Loving Healing Press in September 2017.
In this episode of Cover to Cover with . . ., Editor-in-Chief Jordan Blum speaks with Raab about the intersections between psychology and creative writing, including dealing with trauma, getting past mental/emotional roadblocks, and the like.
You worked as web editor and reporter on UK events for The Epoch Times, English edition, and worked with the White Cloud Poetry Society. Please tell readers about your additional background.
Reporting for TheEpoch Times was good grounding for writing about news and current events: fact checking, strong sources for quotes and information, a balanced view, simple sentences, transparency. Truth was and is paramount to its work.
For White Cloud Poetry Society, Jennifer Zeng translates poems of Xi Yuan into clear English, keeping close to the original and kindly gives me a character-for-word check. I finish the poems into rhymed and metered English, focusing on the original structure, characters per line, rhyme, and the features that Jennifer brings out. Xi Yuan is outstanding in her evocation of traditional Chinese poetry.…
