In her article, “‘Warming’ the Climate for Learning” Sandra Allen discusses the importance of the positive interactions between instructors and students. She explores three key areas to “warm” the learning climate, “(1) the teacher’s praise or approval; (2) enthusiasm…
You teach a wide variety of courses in poetry—lyric poetry, poetry writing, modern poetry, romantic poetry, 19th Century British poetry, and poetry workshops. When you teach, what do you teach about the chapbook, poetry sequences and series, and creating…
How did you become fascinated with Eva Braun? About 15 years ago I read The Fuhrer’s Bunker by W.D. Snodgrass. This collection contains poems from the point-of-view of every person who was in the bunker during the last days…
I’ve just read your lovely, smart Overtime fiction chapbook Timothy Weatherstone and was particularly intrigued with your depictions of class. Ursula K. Le Guin recently gave her acceptance speech for the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from…
At the Midwestern mythmaking panel at the Omaha Lit Fest, panelists discussed how their characters and stories are influenced by the landscape. One of the panelists, Karen Shoemaker, noted that though great books are written about Nebraska every few…
How did the series of poems in Earth Lust start—with a phrase, a sentence, a character, or something else? It started with a quote from Rebecca Lee’s book Bobcat and Other Stories: “If I were willing to see the…
In the July/August 2013 Issue of Poets & Writers, Kevin Samsell coordinator of events at Powell’s books asked several of his favorite readers how they’ve gotten good at readings. You’ve organized and hosted countless readings, some of which you…
In February 2013 issue of The Writers Chronicle, Ronald Goldfarb writes in his article “The Changing Publishing Landscape” that “we are asked now to market and design and edit our own books—writing, by itself, is not enough” (61). Though…