Arthur Klepchukov's Writing
Gaithersburg Book Festival logo I've been invited to give my submissions workshop at the lovely Gaithersburg Book Festival in Gaithersburg, MD for a third time on Saturday, May 21. Perhaps you've written a few stories, poems or essays and want to know where and how to submit your work for publication. What's the best draft… Continue reading Attend My Free Submissions Workshop at the 2022 Gaithersburg Book Festival
I hate voice recording. It's time-consuming, error-prone, frustrating, requires a range of skills, and is easily ruined by fickle technology. That sounds just like voice recording's ugly cousin - video editing. But as much as I hate it, I've found voice recording to be an increasingly valuable and necessary part of my process of writing… Continue reading Why You Should Be Recording Your Poetry
Haikubes are a small collection of blocks you can use to write haiku. You can roll two inspiration dice and write on that theme. My friend Jay Marie and I recently played around with these. Here's what I came up with when I rolled [ die 1 ] and [ die 2 ]: [ a vision… Continue reading Haikubes
Until recently, I believed being in love was my purpose in life. That's why the last chapter of blinks of awe, "a lonely heart," is last. It's one of the ways I've been consciously de-emphasizing this once omnipotent force. But being last is not just an act of defiant neglect. It's also the writer's last… Continue reading blinks of awe themes: romantic antics
It's hard to write about the poems in the third chapter of blinks of awe, th' Lost & Young, without getting lost in thought about the people who inspired them. One endured one of the ghastliest things anyone could experience and went on to rebuild and build. Another isn't here anymore. Another is still growing… Continue reading blinks of awe themes: losing youth
It's fitting that "tiny anomalies" is the shortest chapter in blinks of awe because it refers to largely forgotten parts of life. When picking poems for blinks of awe, I tried to group them together thematically and emotionally. Most poems carried many feelings and suggested very clear categories but soon something else snuck up on me. I first… Continue reading blinks of awe themes: the in-between
"preDawn", the first chapter of blinks of awe, touches on traveling, inspiration, the deep corners of the night, and nostalgia. Though the latter is only directly referenced in two of the seven poems, it drives the other topics and ideas in its own unique way. Nostalgia has been a pet topic of mine for years.… Continue reading blinks of awe themes: nostalgia
Roughly a week ago I submitted my first collection of poetry to Apple's iBookstore. As I eagerly check the submission site for the book's status several times a day, I reflect on what brought me here. How does someone who never imagined releasing anything other than a traditionally published novel end up self-publishing an interactive… Continue reading What exactly is a poetry experience?
Arsenal of Words 