Author Archives: Grace Curtis

Poetry-Speak — The Re-Launch of Poet’s Quarterly

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Grace Curtis

My essay, The Inexplicable Math of Good Poetry, in which I discusses the language used to describe poetry, is available in the most recent issue of Poet’s Quarterly.  Poet’s Quarterly is an online journal that publishes reviews, interviews and essays. … Continue reading →

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Creating Collaborative Haiku

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Grace Curtis

A while back, a good friend, poet, Joey Connelly and I thought it would be fun to collaborate on some haiku. We each wrote, five of the two parts of the haiku, dividing the poem as described by Tom Lowenstein, … Continue reading →

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2013 Poetry Chapbook Contest Announced at Lettre Sauvage–A Letterpress Story

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Fiona Leggett, (pictured here) owner, operator, and director of the Santa Paula, California based, letterpress studio, Lettre Sauvage, has recently announced that the press is sponsoring another chapbook contest for 2013. This is great news! As the 2010 winner with my collection, The … Continue reading →

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An Invented Poem Form

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Radius, an online literary journal, says of itself: Welcome to “Radius,” an online literary journal in blog format dedicated to poetry: How poetry works, how one poem or body of poems connects to another, how poetry exists in the world. … Continue reading →

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Santa Barbara Poetry Series, April 14, 2012

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Each year, during April, Santa Barbara Poetry Series organizer, poet,  Carol DeCanio invites poets with a first book to read at a reading event that takes place in the captivating Contemporary Arts Forum in the Paseo Nuevo Mall, a downtown center … Continue reading →

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Listening to Marcus Speh Read His Own Work

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Since I recently posted about writer’s reading their own work, I am sharing a link to writer, Marcus Speh’s engaging website and podcasts. The short fiction pieces are enchanting and the readings are mesmerizing and beautiful. He also reads from the … Continue reading →

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Tips on How to Read Poetry Aloud

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Grace Curtis

For several weeks during the fifth grade our teacher read aloud to us from The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She read right after lunch, so I would rush from home back to school after eating to get settled in … Continue reading →

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Tension in Poetry

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Tension is a word my thesis advisor, Angie Estes, introduced me to the first semester I studied with her at Ashland University a few years ago. She would write things on my submissions like, “doing [this or that] might enable … Continue reading →

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Osage Orange Tunnel

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Osage Orange Tunnel

You can stand at its entrance and see
hundreds of bows, the bow trees arching
holding cows at bay, the hedge
mainstay of first farmers. So complete
the interlock, the large fruit,
heavier brother—more orange
textured than apple. More green-
apple colored than orange. Orange
rooted and firm, more branch-bowed
than straight, more arch-like,
like two lines of soldiers
rifle-crossed for a bride-walk
or for early morning
hikers awe-struck.

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The Poetry of Maintenance Manuals

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Grace Curtis

Years ago, I started my writing-for-pay career as a technical copywriter, delving into something I knew nothing about—an industrial line of pumps for the waste treatment, oil and gas, and food industries. It might not sound very glamorous, but to … Continue reading →

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