An alternative to a “2018 Reads” list

Creative Nonfiction, Writing, and the Pleasures of Reading
An alternative to a “2018 Reads” list
What does your collection say about you?
Read More "Books on Our Shelves: What They Tell Others about Ourselves"
An essayistic approach to reading
Among the myriad of titles, how to choose just one
On Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, and NOT writing for children
Read More "The Appeal of Children’s Literature as a Grownup Person"
I began this post a year ago, shortly after I made Commonplace Book Blog live and published my first post. Or, it may be more accurate to say that I gave this post its current title, and it's been sitting in my "drafts" folder, devoid of any other words, ever since. I didn't know what…
"Aphorism" isn't a term we hear often. More commonly, we are more familiar with its close cousins: adage, maxim, proverb, or more rarely, sententia. But I'd heard the term "aphorism" tossed around during my time in my MFA in creative nonfiction, and have thought a lot about it since, especially after beginning my commonplace book. When collecting quotes, aphorisms…
Essays are about little things . . . right?
How do you begin again after you’ve finished?
Completing a piece of writing, canning tomatoes, and reflecting on finishing