Why do we get so afraid to write? How can we approach this fear in a way that actually helps? Is there actually ANY cure to writer's block? I break down two popular self-help books that tackle creative woes: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Thick jersey accent brought to you by my hometown. Use code MAPLEWOOD and you, too, will be able to sound like you grew up around people with long acrylic nails! Works Cited The tweet I reference was from last November - when I went back to look at my retweet, it was no longer available. In any case, thank you, whoever you are, for the radical words of wisdom. -Willa Paskin's New York Times review of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/books/review/elizabeth-gilberts-big-magic.html -Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/97395/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/9780385480017/ -The War of Art by Steven Pressfield https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/ -The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/the-artists-way-a-spiritual-path-to-higher-creativity/ Contact: Twitter: @onpoetrypodcast Email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com Website: www.thegabygarcia.com

On Poetry

Writer's Block

A rollicking episode about how anger manifests in writing - when is it productive and essential? When is it bigoted nonsense? (Cue the incels). How does it free the poet and their reader? Angry writer Meher Manda and I break these issues down, debate how genre plays into the expression of anger, pop off about daddy issues, and bare our angry little hearts. The intel plastic surgery we discuss can be found at: Incel plastic surgery article (The Cut): https://www.thecut.com/2019/05/incel-plastic-surgery.html Find An Angry Reading Series at https://angryreading.wordpress.com Find Meher Manda at https://twitter.com/meherness On Poetry Twitter: twitter.com/onpoetrypodcast On Poetry email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com More at www.thegabygarcia.com

Poetic Anger

I opine about the rise of Instagram poetry and the ways it helps & hurts the literary field. Rupi Kaur's instagram can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/rupikaur_/?hl=en The New York Times Article "Rupi Kaur Is Kicking Down the Doors of Publishing" can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/fashion/rupi-kaur-poetry-the-sun-and-her-flowers.html Pod Twitter: https://twitter.com/onpoetrypodcast Pod email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com www.thegabygarcia.com

Instagram Poetry

What's in a writer's name? How do our names impact our lives & creativity? How is capitalism literally ruining everything? Hawt new ep. with delightful human & poem Coco Wilder. “The Contract Says: We'd Like the Conversation to be Bilingual” by Ada Limón https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147503/the-contract-says-we39d-like-the-conversation-to-be-bilingual “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_wildgeese.html Coco’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coconell14/ Dog Mary Oliver’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogmaryoliver/ On Poetry contact info: www.thegabygarcia.com @onpoetrypodcast on Twitter onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com

What's in a (writer's) name?

A deep dive into the central existential questions that plague the poetry community, particularly in the years after an MFA. Poem read in this episode: "The Shampoo" by Elizabeth Bishop Email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @onpoetrypodcast Link to purchase Elizabeth Bishop book that I read from: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374532369 Find me at www.thegabygarcia.com

The Post-MFA Slump

Writer Haley Jakobson first found an audience for her work through by posting poetry in her Instagram captions. Cut to a few years later, and she is self-publishing with her first book, Write Like Prayers, in March 2018 with illustrator Samantha Giuliano. You can find Haley on Instagram at @haleyjakobson

Haley Jakobson on Poetry

Gaby sit down with poet Jay Deshpande to discuss his first book Love the Stranger, navigating the post-MFA years, and the ever-changing definition of the love poem. Buy his book here: https://www.yesyesbooks.com/product-page/love-the-stranger Jay Deshpande is the author of the poetry collection Love the Stranger (YesYes Books), named one of the top debuts of 2015 by Poets & Writers, and the chapbook The Rest of the Body. He has received fellowships or support from Kundiman, Civitella Ranieri, Saltonstall Arts Colony, and the Key West Literary Seminar. Poems have recently appeared in Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, LARB Quarterly Journal, and Horsethief. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn.

Jay Deshpande on Poetry

2/3 of the founders of Dead Rabbits Reading Series sit down with Gaby to explain the process of curating, hosting, and maintaining a literary reading series in NYC!

The Art of the Reading Series

Inside the walls of institutions, writers are often encouraged to choose a specific genre to align ourselves with. While these categories can be useful in some circumstances, this episode is all about breaking those boundaries and developing a more fluid relationship with genre. Gaby talks to Stephen Langlois, who typically writes short fiction, about his recent entrance into the practice of poetry.

Crossing the Boundaries of Genre

Taiwanese poet Chia-Lun Chang joins Gaby (on the 1 year anniversary of On Poetry!) to discuss her chapbook, the power of language, and the art of publishing.

Chia-Lun Chang on Poetry

Afghanistan veteran Andrew Hansen Miller shares his poems & talks war storytelling, reading cookbooks for pleasure while deployed, and the poetry of porta potty graffiti.

War & Poetry

Alina Gregorian on poetry, the chaos & beauty of diaspora, & her love of triangles.

Alina Gregorian on Poetry

Gaby forgoes the typical interview format for a special episode honoring the terrorist attack on Charlottesville with poems by Lucille Clifton, Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson, and more.

Poems for Charlottesville

Introducing a new On Poetry segment: Poetry and Strangers. Cooper Wilhelm, a Brooklyn-based poet, will be coming on the show on the reg with poetic postcards written and mailed to random addresses of strangers all over the world. Each card contains a poem. We'll hear the lovely stories behind how he chooses where he mails them, where he buys his antique black and white postcards, and why reaching out to strangers with poetry is a beautiful and thankless task. For more info on this project, head to www.poetryandstrangers.com

Poetry and Strangers

George Kovalenko on the problematic nature of the canon, the art of performing poetry, and the poetics of death.

George Kovalenko on Poetry

The literary podcast for poets & freaks, hosted by poet Gaby Garcia