Serious Fun: Poets of "Next Line, Please"

This book doesn't belong to me but it's a brainchild of mine. Serious Fun brings together nineteen poets whose common bond is David Lehman's poetry column "Next Line, Please" of The American Scholar. We played with writing prompts weekly, became poetry kin virtually. When the column closed, I thought a book of our poetry was a good idea. Idea to fruition is a long and bumpy road, but when people get on board the way this band of dogged and distinguished writers do, we ride it out. Now this opus belongs to... you (cover art by one of our poets, LaWanda Walters):

https://www.zeitgeist-press.com/index.php/product/serious-fun-pre-order/

   "These poets are marvelous souls who know that poetic      

   journeys lead to fabulous places, and that the road of poesy  

   is, in the end, infinite."

                                                        ~Andrei Codrescu

 

 

Cheers,

     Charise

Make it Seven

This is my seventh year as poet-in-residence for Art on Cullers Run! Hopefully the community doesn’t tire of me because I never get tired of this opportunity. It’s a highlight of the year, sharing poem making in the mountains. 

Leave the hullabaloo of the city and enjoy art outdoors for July 4th (or 3rd):

Cheers,
Charise

Placeholder

May I invite you into my newly painted office, with a gallery wall of book cover art? We patched all the nicks from its previous life as the rec room, and picked a warm white (called "Adorn") to cover the light blue that got tired. I call this post "Placeholder" before I share what is going on with writing and events for June and July! Here are the covers for Meet Your Muse: The Dance of Creativity, art by Kate Kroska, and Striking Light from Ashes, art by Rahela Majidi. How did Frida Kahlo (art by Kaylee Collinson) get in there? She was a gift from my daughter, and seems to belong, a special guest. 

Cheers, 
Charise

Writer's Center Event

The Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland is hosting The Capitol Hill Poetry Group for a reading and sharing of poetry craft. Get the inside scoop on the creation of poems now featured in our anthology, The Other Side of the Hill. I'm sorry to be away for this event! My high school reunion in New York is calling... for the very same date... and there are rumors I may be our class speaker for the occasion. Do not hesitate to hear my fellow poets, all brilliant at their craft. They are my poetry family, and it was a tough decision to choose my reunion over their company. Here are the details:

Kindly reserve at this link (it helps determine how many chairs and how many cookies to offer): https://writer.org/event/other-side-of-the-hill/

Cheers,
Charise

Picture Window

Well, not technically a picture window, but isn't it? This is how azaleas light up a basement office. At this time of year, each year, I walk into my office stopped by the view. Take it in, ephemeral spring. Wait to turn on the lights. A stack of papers on my desk will outlast the season anyway. Azaleas allow for getting less done. 

Wishing you more flower encounters...

Cheers,
Charise

April Showers for Langston Hughes

My 2026 choice for poetry month: 

An April Rain Song 

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head

with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

with its pitty-pat.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep tune

on our roof at night,

and I love the rain.

by Langston Hughes

"Open-Ended"

Ah, timing. And, rhyming. When a new prompt for a sonnet showed up at The American Scholar, I was ready. The theme? Resolutions or Regrets. It warms my heart that an experience of personal loss settled into a poem that David Lehman saw fit to share in his column "Next Line, Please."  Praise the art form (three quatrains and a couplet, abab/cdcd/efef/gg)! Your call on whether my poem rhymes... 

https://theamericanscholar.org/a-photographer-in-words/

Warm wishes,
Charise