Poets, writers, teachers and parents are wringing their hands over the November 2022 release of ChatGPT, an AI program which can “answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests,” according to descriptions at its creator’s website, OpenAI. No doubt you’ve seen the ChatGPT-written […]
When I was a graduate student at San Jose State University, I stumbled across a rolling cart (literally stumbled—I tripped over my own feet and almost fell) displaying the tempting label “Books $1 each.” That’s when I found 50 Contemporary Poets, the Creative Process, edited by Alberta T. […]
In January 2023, Sticks & Stones will begin its fifth year of publishing reviews of poetry collections. When I started the newsletter in 2018, I wasn’t sure how long I would continue it. I didn’t really have a plan beyond making sure that I wrote the best possible […]
As a poet and writer, I’m always trying to figure out ways to encourage people to read poetry. With so many distractions, how do we create opportunities for poetry to reach more people? Put another way, how do we get more people to like poetry? According to a 2006 study funded […]
A woman sitting next to me at an editors’ lunch I attended BC (before Covid) asked if poetry was my day job. Without hesitating, I said yes. Later that day, however, I started to question my response. I define “day job” as work that pays the bills so […]
My mother gave me a copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron in 1992, the year it came out and the year I turned 32. It’s safe to say that Cameron’s book was a factor in my decision to quit my high-tech job in Silicon Valley and return to […]
As I was getting ready to leave New York City last week, it occurred to me that much of the art I saw on my trip, from the Statue of Liberty to the majority of the art at the MOMA, was a response to oppression. I started thinking […]
The Pacific Northwest is roasting under its first big heat wave of 2022, and I’m trying to sustain the energy for writing that I had in the spring. In spite of my best efforts, my mind wanders, and I find myself sitting on the floor in front of […]
After reading and following the submission guidelines—i.e., no name or identifying information on your document, no more than five poems, nothing longer than 1000 words, etc., etc.—you finally click “submit.” A few seconds later, you receive a confirmation email that looks like this: Dear Erica, Thank you for […]
I was deep into W.S. Merwin’s last book, Garden Time, when I felt the urge to write a poem. Garden Time has a dreamy, disquieting quality; Merwin writes about the passage of time, about the mystery contained in calendar days, and about how he can clearly see his life coming to an end. […]
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