Publication News: Two Poems in the Halfway Down the Stairs 20th Anniversary Issue

Nancy FlynnApostrophe Blog Archive, Publication News, Writing

Two of my poems “A Baffling Earth” and “It Ends, It Begins: A Cento” are now online in the lovely September 2025 edition of the literary magazine, Halfway Down the Stairs. The theme of this issue is “Muse” in honor of their twentieth anniversary. In modern usage, a muse is a person who serves as a source of artistic inspiration. Recently, I did a number of poems that are “in conversation” with Emily Dickinson and her work; I guess that makes her my 21st century muse. And the cento form itself is a bit of collage/homage to the voices of other poets who inspired me as well. …

 
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Acceptance News: Halfway Down the Stairs

Nancy FlynnApostrophe Blog Archive, Publication News, Writing

Two of my poems have been accepted for publication in the September 2025 edition of Halfway Down the Stairs with its theme of “Muse.” Halfway Down the Stairs is (per their website) “a quarterly literary magazine established in 2005 to publish cutting-edge fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by talented writers.  New issues are published every March, June, September, and December.”

 
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Poems Can Also Be Short!

Nancy FlynnApostrophe Blog Archive, Gardening, Poetic Form, Publication News, Writing, Writing Contests

My husband and I are avid gardeners. Every year, our community garden plot near the Woodlawn Elementary School is 400 square feet of asparagus, beets, carrots, delicata squash, leeks, peas, peppers, pole beans, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, green and yellow wax bush beans, and some years even zucchini. Often we grow heirloom varieties…

 
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Better Reading through Poetry

Nancy FlynnApostrophe Blog Archive, Book Report, Reading, Writing

I recently read Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó. Tuama, the host of the podcast of the same name. Tuama introduces each poem, then offers his thoughts on both the art and craft of what the poem and the poet is attempting to do in that particular poem and why. He offers insights on each poem’s use a particular form as well as metaphor, rhythm and repetition, recognizable patterns, and poetic devices.

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