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Ploughshares is the award-winning non-profit literary magazine based at Emerson College in Boston. Most of our print issues are guest-edited, and our mission is to present varying viewpoints. Our blog is an extension of our print publication, and so we feature writing from guest-bloggers. We present their opinions to our readers in order to foster a lively discussion, but do not necessarily endorse all viewpoints published on our blog.
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Category Archives: Ploughshares Bloggers
Ambiguity: The Boundary Between Psychosis and Reality in Science Fiction
Television culture means that we often lack the depth to deal with ambiguity. The complexity of novels eludes our attention; we often prefer the truncated and clear narratives of sitcoms, where a plot line is fully resolved in forty-three minutes. … Continue reading
For Those About To Write (We Salute You) #6: Stop, Look, and Listen
For Those About To Write (We Salute You) will present a writing exercise to the Ploughshares community every few weeks. We heartily encourage everyone reading to take part! If you’ve been following along with this series from the start, you … Continue reading
The Myth of the Literary Cowboy, Part 5: Cowboy Poetry
“Isn’t that an oxymoron?” I’ve heard this phrase uttered by a number of people—students, coworkers, friends, academics, random drunk party guests—anytime I mention one of the following: wearing comfortable stilettos, being a vegan Texan, or enjoying cowboy poetry. The juxtaposition … Continue reading
Posted in Ploughshares Bloggers
Tagged American Literature, Cowboy, poetry, Poetry Gatherings, Western Literature
4 Comments
Episodia 1.6: The Five Pillars of Place
As a writer, reader, and a creative writing teacher, I am—for now and forever—a staunch proponent of the place-based narrative. When we think of stories, we tend to focus on those bound to particular characters or events. And yet, some … Continue reading
Fantasy Blog Draft – Round 5 – Poets
We enter the final genre round of the Ploughshares Fantasy Blog Draft with the oldest of the genres, the most inscrutable, the one with the most wild things and the tallest hats. The genre where the sidewalk ends with water … Continue reading
The Suburbs: A Multimedia Extravaganza!
Okay, for my final post about the suburbs (probably), I say enough about books. Let’s talk about what’s really important: TV, movies, music, and even a little art. On The Tube TV is lousy with images of the suburbs these … Continue reading
Posted in Multimedia, Ploughshares Bloggers
Tagged Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, movies, music, Photography, playlist, Richard Linklater, Sheila Pree Bright, suburbs, television
1 Comment
Writing is Like Mixing a Drink
Mixing a drink is seductive in a way writing will never be. The ice sweating in the glass. The chucka, chucka of the metal shaker growing cold in your hands. The invisible melding going on inside that shaker, alcohols blending … Continue reading
Posted in Ploughshares Bloggers
Tagged advice, Caitlin O'Neil, cocktails, craft, drinking, process, writing
3 Comments
“It’s Not You, It’s Me” & Other Reasons We Don’t Finish Good Books
You’re sitting across from someone you really dig. One of you is fiddling with a napkin edge or straw wrapper, avoiding eye contact. One of you finally says: It’s not you. It’s me. And then the unraveling begins. One-sided endings … Continue reading
For Those About To Write (We Salute You) #5: Take A (Mindful) Break
For Those About To Write (We Salute You) will present a writing exercise to the Ploughshares community every few weeks. We heartily encourage everyone reading to take part! We’re all here because we want to write. We love doing it … Continue reading
Going On: After the Apocalypse
Do you have a plan in place for what to do after an apocalypse? Survivalists do. Survivalists, mainstream North American culture thinks, are a little weird. They prepare for severe disruptions in the order of everyday life, for carrying on … Continue reading
