HeyJaredCarol’s Poetry Puddles
Splash around in our red rubber poetry boots and yellow slickers and see what poems might rise to the surface. Rev up your writing practice. Explore what poetry can do and write with abandon! Learn and do! Your online workshop is here!
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 14
- Latest publication
- Sep 27, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 14, 2026
Latest issues
Commit a R A P (opens the original)
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Most people enjoy a surprise or a small, unexpected present. They like to find something random (a heart-shaped stone, a penny on the sidewalk, a note from a long-lost friend, etc). As writers, we can be part of the surprise squad. We can commit a R A P, a Random Act of Poetry.How it works:Private RAP: Send a poem to someone in your contacts list (or in the actual US Mail). Just choose randomly and send! NO explanation, no letter to accompany the poem. Just the poem. Be sure to sign the poem so
Keep the Sparkle (opens the original)
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In the current age of AI, what can we do to keep things human?The difference between construction of documents via robotic means and writing is the human element, the sparkle. It is the complexity of language and style. It is not simply checking the boxes of buzz words and information. That likely will not convey emotion. We are a highly emotive, feeling species. We are attracted to and by deep reactions to life, to our surroundings, and to other humans. We seek to explain the mysterious world w
Scheduling reminder (opens the original)
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QUICK REMINDEROctober 3 (noon-3PM eastern) I am offering a ZOOM workshop via Wheaton Writing Academy. The topic is “Writing Through Risk,” a non-scary workshop where we will examine the risks we all take as writers. We ask ourselves “do I dare write about this person (and how)?” “Do I dare write about what I am afraid of or what I have kept to myself for a long time?” “Do I show this to others (and to whom)?” “What is my guilty secret?”I hope you will leave with a bit more courage to write the h
Literary Aggression (opens the original)
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The literary world has always been competitive. We write in solitude, publish (submit) in the town square. There are only so many spots for poems, stories, essays, books we are told. It has long been acknowledged that where there is money involved (or fame, notoriety, honors) there is a fierceness, an angst involved. There is also jealousy and meanness sometimes. This is something I absolutely despise — passive aggressive competition lurking behind public smiles. Congratulations that are public-
Inching toward darkness (opens the original)
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September. Vacations ending. School starting again. Pumpkin spice everything, everywhere (yuck!). Halloween stuff and even some Christmas decor in the stores (UGH!). Fall cleaning. Leaves turning soon. One final yard sale down the street? Chilly air.Truth is, we are inching toward darkness. It’s already NOT LIGHT when I wake up each day. It’s also NOT L… Read more
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