Emerging Form

“What is the most important thing about writing?” That’s the question botanist and writer Susan J. Tweit asked Barry Lopez. His answer helped inform her newest book, Earthbound: A Year of Mindful Connection in Nature. We talk with Susan about how she weaves photography, science, haiku and spiritual practice through each chapter, and how these different genres help us connect more wholly with the n...

Sometimes a poet can hide inside their work, choosing metaphor over facts. In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with poet and essayist Wendy Videlock about how writing essays invited a more autobiographical approach–and how that stretched her as a writer and as a person. We talk about Desert Kin : Speaking Animal in the Southwest, Essays and Poems , as well as how using a mythological approac...

“The problem with heroes, of course, is that no one is perfect, says Heather Hansman, author of Fierce Country. “Mine aren’t. They bumbled and lied and burned bridges and screwed up. They were often egotistical and angry, driven by an obsessive kind of love.” In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with Heather about how her new book explores new kinds of heroes–specifically women in the outdoor...

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“I feel like these two questions are at the heart of all creative process: What is here? What else is here?” In this episode, Rosemerry and Christie talk about Rosemerry’s new book, The Wonderment , and the four questions that are at the heart of it. How do questions drive a creative practice? We also talk about how to create art out of what is familiar and common, how paradox and metaphor work to...

“Make this your worst draft.” That’s what Craig Childs will often say to students when they first sit down to write. “We’re creating stuff out of nowhere, so we’re lucky to get a word down on a page. We’re exploring options.” In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with the popular creative non-fiction author about his own unusual path to a writing career. Our conversation includes: * How to inv...

“My writing often comes to me that way–something that interests me in the real life world, something kind of political and thorny, something I don’t entirely totally know how I think about it, something I’m interested in exploring.” These words from short story writer and novelist Claire Boyles are at the heart of this episode on the relationship between fiction and real life. How might having per...

“Sometimes I let the subconscious deal with it,” says science writer Elizabeth Preston, author of the new book The Creature’s Guide to Caring, How animal parents teach us that humans were born to care. In this interview, we talk about the evolution of a manuscript–how she went from the “Big Idea” to the actual book. Other threads include the importance of walking away, balancing parenting with a w...

“The book is about the opposite of the eureka moment,” says science writer Roberta Kwok about her new book, LOST IN CURIOSITY: Field Notes From Scientists’ Adventures into the Unknown . Join us in a conversation about the difficulties and gifts of showing up day after day. We talk about patience, wrestling with process, and the long slow path to epiphany–in science and in creative endeavors. We ta...

“One of my superpowers is I see the nuance in everything,” says podcast host and author Eric Zimmer. “That is also sometimes my greatest weakness because I want to caveat the living heck out of everything that I say.” In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with Eric about the process of writing his book How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life . We cover ·...

“I didn’t know I enjoyed thinking so much,” says science writer Roxanne Khamsi when asked what surprised her most about writing her first book Beyond Inheritance. “I thought I enjoyed interviewing people and reading research papers and the process of finding the right verb in a sentence. What’s hard for me is once I get into that thinking space, I can’t let go of it.” In this episode we talk about...

“I use play as kind of a backdoor to talk about tougher subjects,” says poet Kelli Russell Agodon, “but also as a front door for the reader to be able to listen.” Her most recent book, Accidental Devotions , blends humor, vulnerability, aging, the chaos of relationships, and the art of humaning. In this episode, of Emerging form we talk with Kelli about * Writing in service to “The Quiet Rebels” *...

Everyone gets stuck. And in this interview with writer and teacher Ramona Ausubel, we talk about why this is normal and practical, usable ways to meet a page when we don’t think we can go on. Drawing from her newest book, Unstuck:101 Doorways leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page , Ramona shares with us why certain strategies work only at certain stages of creative projects. We talk about f...

A poet and a science writer walk into a podcast—and laugh, tease, joke, uplift, and ask each other tough questions about creative process. In this episode of Emerging Form, the hosts Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and Christie Aschwanden ask each other some of the questions they like to ask their guests. It’s a raucous, fun episode in which they rib each other as only best friends can do, taking turns...

“It feels like a radical practice not to be productive, to allow the space to guide what comes next,” says prolific poet and beloved writing teacher James Crews. “I have tendencies toward control.” In this episode, we talk about the importance of slowing down and doing less, and why a creative practice depends on this. James reads several poems from his new collection, Breathing Room: Poems of Res...

For thirty years, Dimity McDowelll made a life–and a living–with running and writing about running. Then, for health reasons, she had to stop. In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with Dimity about how our creative identity is linked with other identities and what to do when that radically changes. We discuss her new book The Twenty-Seventh Mile: How to Smooth the Rough Transition out of Your...

What’s the secret to making a living doing your art? “There really is no magic trick … spoiler,” says Mason Currey, author of Making Art and Making a Living . But in this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with Currey about what he learned by studying how other creatives across genres, cultures and centuries have made it work. We also talk about his own relationship to creative practice–little tric...

“I discovered a narrative though my journaling,” says author, creative coach and workshop leader GG Renee Hill. “Writing is a place I can be raw and honest with myself.” In this episode, we speak with GG about her new book, Story Work: Field Notes on Self-Discovery and Reclaiming Your Narrative . We talk about * How to rewrite a victim narrative * The intersections of creativity and psychology * H...

“Elation and connection” are two of the side effects of communal singing, and for over four decades, Kate Munger has been writing songs to be sung in tender and difficult moments–at the bedside of the dying, in prisons, and now at gatherings to repair democracy. We talk with Kate about what makes a good communal song, her writing process, how song can transform a negatively charged moment, and wha...

Imagine you’ve just heard an hour-long keynote full of history, statistics, personal story and social justice. And then someone comes to the stage, sits at the piano, and sings back a song that encapsulates the emotional and intellectual content you’ve just heard. That is the improvisational talent of Ken Medema, a keyboardist/pianist, singer, storyteller and performer. In this episode of Emerging...

“I was acutely aware of not feeling part of the club,” says Alia Hanna Habib, now a leading literary agent. “As I started to become an insider, I saw other people feel that same way.” In this episode Habib talks about writing her book, Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch , and offers ideas for where to start writing your book, how having talented...

“The least dangerous humor is to make fun of yourself and your foibles,” says comedian Chris Duffy. How might such a sense of humor help jumpstart and nourish your creative life? In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with Chris about * what is a sense humor and why is it essential for our creative lives * why noticing specific details is an essential to both creativity and our humanity * the j...

After our end of the year episode , in which we talked about the words we had chosen as our theme for the year, we asked a bunch of Emerging Form guests to tell us their word. We were overwhemed by the response! We had so many great submissions that we decided to make them into a stand alone episode. Here are the contributors, in order of appearance. Andrea BarrettBonnie TsuiMaria KelsonAlison Lut...

It’s the sixth annual epiphany episode! Join Rosemerry and Christie as we look back on the highs and lows of their own creative practices in 2025, and reflect on the intentions we set a year ago. Did Christie “Create the Space?” How did Rosemerry explore “Spaciousness?” What did we learn about failure? About collaboration? Join us for laughter and teasing and good old-fashioned vulnerability. This...

“I had to reassess how I approached creativity and life in general,” says author Todd Mitchell. In this episode of Emerging Form, we speak with the award-winning author about how to re-envision our creative practice, how to re-think our definition of success and what makes a creative practice sustainable. We also talk about why jelly beans might be an essential item in any creative’s toolbox, habi...