Erin Coughlin Hollowell
The road from spark to book is long. Longer than you would guess. For some writers, that moment from inspiration to finished book can span decades. My newest collection, Corvus and Crater, was a year in the writing and revising. … Continued
My goodness, it’s been a minute, huh? Just popping in here for a quick update. Autumn is here and that should mean that I have more time to write. More time to breathe. Summer in Alaska is a time of … Continued
When I was a child and was naughty (not really naughty but perhaps headstrong and wayward), my father would occasionally say to me, “Are you a witch or are you a fairy or are you the wife of Micheal Cleary?” … Continued
In the middle of last week, my very last two BRILLIANT poetry students gave their colloquia and graduate readings. I knew it was going to break my heart, but I didn’t know how much. When I say that each student … Continued
I dreamt last night that I was conducting a university-level poetry class on an open lawn to a large number of students. The dean and my father were there. But I was so far from the students that they couldn’t … Continued
Well, I certainly didn’t mean to be gone so long. Unfortunately, when things get super busy, my personal writing gets shuffled to the bottom of the stack – so for the last two months I have been all Kachemak Bay … Continued
For some people, the story of resurrection begins with a cross. For me, it begins with song. Yesterday morning, walking the dog beneath a grey sky, collar turned up against a chill breeze, I heard the first calls of the … Continued
Alaska is in that wobbly season when we can have a 40 degree, perfectly blue sky, sunny day followed by sub-zero, grey sky, snow falling. I remind myself each year that March and April are cold months. Often grey months. … Continued
This morning, an unseen wind illuminated by an unseen light source manifested as a great bright spume of snow lifting from the peaks across the bay. The mountains lay, as they always do this time of year, like a pale … Continued
This is the time of year that I trip myself up. I expect spring to wash over me, soft, sweet air and green things popping up everywhere. Instead, we get snow, then perhaps a day of thaw, ice, single digits … Continued