National Poetry Month Interview with Me!

National Poetry Month Interview with Me!

by | Apr 30, 2018 | Great Reads, Writing

Announcing Little Prayers, the debut poetry collection by Susie Meserve (Blue Light Press, 2018).

This terrific blogger named Jess Witkins interviewed me about my new poetry collection,?Little Prayers. There’s a book giveaway, too. Here’s a teaser:

Jess: Why do you think poetry is important today??

Me: I think poetry asks us to tap into a different part of our brains than prose does. It demands and requires more intangibility. I remember well the time my mom told me she liked my poems but felt like she didn?t understand them. I told her she didn?t need to, that she should just appreciate what she got out of them. She told me later how freeing that was for her, that me giving her permission not to work too hard took away a lot of her anxiety and allowed her to just sit with the lines and enjoy them. I think that?s one of the things that?s hardest about poetry?we don?t always ?get it? in the way we might, say, a novel or a memoir, and maybe that?s why people run away from it. We don?t want to feel stupid or like we?re missing something. We want clarity, answers. Because poetry often raises?questions.?But?I think that?s a really good thing! Poetry can open us up to mystery and abstraction, which is good for our brains and our hearts. And the music of poetry?learning to hear it?is essential for anyone wanting to write or appreciate good writing.

I hope you’ll read it, and, if it feels right, share on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or wherever you social media.

Little Prayers Poetry: An Interview with Susie Meserve

Plug: Britt Bravo!

by | Oct 1, 2012 | Writing

Here’s a plug, bloggers: Britt Bravo and her Juicy Blogging E-Course!

I took Britt’s course last spring and was really jostled, in a good way, into rethinking how I wanted to share information and the best ways to do so. Britt will give you weekly homework assignments like “write a 500-word post” (difficult!) and “add five blogs to your Google Reader” (what’s Google Reader?) and “find one image using Google Advanced Image Search” (uh…). Maybe you have these skills in hand already. I, on the other hand, did not, so I benefited a lot from Britt’s expertise.

There is also a wonderful sense of community built in the course, because you’re watching other bloggers change and grow, too.

Ms. Bravo herself

Britt’s Juicy Blogging E-Course: The Art & Play of Blogging runs from October 16 to November 6 this fall and costs $99. Kind of a steal.

You can learn more here.

And if you’re in the Bay Area, Britt has a couple of workshops this fall, too. Like this one and this one.

Finally, look here for thirteen Juicy blogs, spotlit in the Juicy Blogging eNews.