Category: About Writing

About Writing, Books, Photography, Poetry3 Comments

Brain Dump

Charlotte Hamrick

I began working on a CNF piece a few months ago based on an interaction I had with a woman in the jury lounge when I was called up for Federal jury duty. The first three paragraphs flowed out easily. The next couple came weeks later. Now I can’t stand the thought of going back to work on it at all. There are memories of the aftermath of Katrina interspersed and I just don’t want to think about it. It’s Spring, new beginnings, a time of optimism. The thought of revisiting that time is just abhorrent. Hopefully, this is just … Continue reading Brain Dump

About Writing, Essays, Poetry, Poets, Women, Writers4 Comments

Women Online: Great Reads You Shouldn’t Miss

Charlotte Hamrick

I LOVE this tweet by Kelli Agodon, writer and co-founder of Two Sylvias Press who has a great twitter feed. Just had to share. Anyone who writes poetry has had a version of this wonderment in their head at one time or another. But, thing is, if you’re born to write poetry your really don’t have a choice. I wrote when I was very young then didn’t for years and years, only coming back to it in my mid-30’s but it was always in my head. Fragments, bits and pieces, phrases….it was always in there because it’s just how I … Continue reading Women Online: Great Reads You Shouldn’t Miss

About Writing, My Poetry, Photography, Poetry5 Comments

Recent Publications

Charlotte Hamrick

My poem, “Another Poem About the Moon”, was just published in the new issue of Literary Orphans. Huge thanks to Mike Joyce, Scott Walden, and Peter Marra for allowing my work to grace their pages for the third time. I also want to thank Kaia Pieters, featured artist, for the beautiful photography that accompanies my piece and the others in this issue. Beautiful work, indeed. Earlier this month my poem, “Bring Down the Babies”, was published in the beautiful Mockingheart Review. This journal specializes in publishing poetry and is curated by the wonderful Louisiana poet Clare Martin. If poetry is … Continue reading Recent Publications

About Writing, Inspiration Interlude, Photography, Quotes, Women, WritersLeave a comment

Inspiration Interlude: Louise Beech

Charlotte Hamrick

“Isn’t all writing life writing? Life made us who we are and so it makes us what we write. We’re influenced (both consciously and subconsciously) by what has happened to us. Every word we put down we expose ourselves in some way. Writing our stories helps us to look at things more clearly. We can make sense of what has happened to us by recording it.”  – Louise Beech from her wonderful essay “On Life Writing” in Women Writers, Women’s Books Continue reading Inspiration Interlude: Louise Beech

About Writing, Books, WIT Month4 Comments

#WITMonth : My Mother is a River

Charlotte Hamrick

“I’m not graceful, nor light-hearted. I’m tethered to the ground, teeth grinding on the links of my chain. My mother, that’s what I’ve labelled every limit. I have charged her with the imperfection of my flight. She’s been my excuse. She’s the cause, and the reason. My mother is a tree. In her shade I have absolved myself. It’s shrivelling, the shade too shrinks away. Soon I’ll be exposed.” My Mother is a River, by Italian writer Donatella Di Pietrantonio and translated by Franca Scurti Simpson, is the story of a mother and a daughter and the often rocky road of their relationship. But … Continue reading #WITMonth : My Mother is a River

About Writing, Blogs, Books, Essays, Flash Fiction, Food, Hot Reads, Music, Poetry, Poets, Pop Culture, WritersLeave a comment

Hot Reads, Etc.

Charlotte Hamrick

There’s so much good reading and listening on the Internet it’s overwhelming. How do you choose which piece to read,which podcast to listen to, which video to watch? And I’m always wondering if I’ve missed some really fantastic thing. In just the past few days I’ve read some really good stuff and, this morning, watched a very cool Periscope post by Indian chef Kalyan Karmakar. Do you watch Periscope? I downloaded the app a while ago but have only watched a couple of Lonely Planet posts. But when I logged on today there was a notification that this was streaming … Continue reading Hot Reads, Etc.

About Writing, My Poetry, NaPoWriMo 2016, Photography, PoetryLeave a comment

Lost

Charlotte Hamrick

***** Nico Vassilakis provided today’s poetry prompt via Found Poetry Review. This one was definitely outside my wheel house. The prompt was to utilize a technique called “vispo“. I chose the word “indigo” because it’s a word I like both phonetically and visually. This is not a poem in the sense of what we expect a poem to be but it did engage my senses and encouraged me to think of ways to communicate “indigo” in a maybe unexpected way. Of course, I turned to photography and manipulated a photo I had taken for this prompt. Anyway. It was fun … Continue reading Lost

About Writing, Blogs, Books, Hot Reads, Poetry, Women, Writers6 Comments

Hot reads: IWD Roundup

Charlotte Hamrick

So International Women’s Day kind of sneaked up on me but I did read some good stuff put out for that day. Here are a few links and a video that I found particularly interesting. 50 Great Books About 50 Inspiring Women – who doesn’t want more good books on their TBR list? From JK Rowling to Ellen: Four of the most influential and inspiring women today. – a short but powerful list from The LondonY including a video of Patti Smith when she was here in New Orleans a few years ago. I’m still kicking myself for not going to it but … Continue reading Hot reads: IWD Roundup

About Writing, Books, My Poetry, Poetry, Poets, Writers2 Comments

Reading, Writing, and Publications

Charlotte Hamrick

It’s Sunday, a day I often catch up with my online reading. I like to check in with writer’s blogs and lit zines, following their links which often take me to new and exciting places. Today I followed a link about The Daily Poet, a book of writing prompts, from a Pinterest pin that took me to Kelli Russell Agodon’s website. Turns out, she’s one half of the team who founded Two Sylvias Press with which I was already familiar. So I read about her book plus some of her other posts and enjoyed it. The book looks good and who couldn’t use a … Continue reading Reading, Writing, and Publications