Award-winning poet Carl Phillips on writing, poetry, and perspective.
creativity
Night Shifts
“Clearly dreams do something for us,” writes Michael W. Clune. “If not, why would evolution have endowed us with the capacity?” In this essay, Clune explores the fascinating world of dream engineering via a device called the Dormio, which enables a person to shape the images that appear during hypnagogia, the transitional stage between wakefulness […]
Molly and the Unicorn
Emily Flake reflects on the shifting nature of magic and power in middle age.
Why I’m Giving Myself Permission to Keep Writing at This Time
Our stories matter. And they are our legacies for future generations. (Plus: some free writing resources.)
How Mister Rogers Found Inspiration in the Everyday
‘“I think that how we were first loved — or not — has a great deal to do with what we create and how,” Fred once told me.’
Happiness is Fleeting
Good grief, adolescence is difficult. Luckily Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell found solidarity and guidance from The Peanuts Gang.
Exilium Vita Est: The Island Home of Victor Hugo
Emma Jacobs takes us on an illustrated journey of Hugo’s writing life in exile on Guernsey, where he completed Les Misérables.
Musicians Come Clean on How They Live, Create, and Thrive While Sober
Chris Heath at GQ interviews nine sober musicians on thriving creatively.
Creating While Clean
Musicians Steven Tyler, Ben Harper, Joe Walsh, and others speak with candor about their journeys to sobriety and how they are in much better places, personally and creatively.
Protecting Your Writing Time In This Weird Time of Ours
Poet Patricia Lockwood offers ideas on how to keep writing in the unstable, toxic, distracting times we live in.