Emerging Form

“There is a magic to stories well told,” says novelist T.A. Barron, and in this thoughtful, heart-opening, life-affirming episode, he explores how story weaves through every part of our lives. He talks about how he went from rejected novelist to successful business leader to best-selling author. He speaks of the story as a boat containing treasure–and of the magic not only in his stories about Mer...

Creative projects are rewarding, but let’s be honest: they’re also hard. Today’s guest, Steve Magness, is an expert on doing hard things and he has some good advice on how to break through. Steve discusses the benefits of a quiet ego, how to feed and reward the positive voices in your head, how shifting to talking to yourself in second or third person can help you quiet negative self-talk, and how...

Emerging Form is a listener-supported podcast. To receive new episodes and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Imagine researching a theoretical global disaster that, while you are writing your book, comes to pass. In this episode, Emerging Form welcomes Nicola Twilley and Geoff Manaugh, who were writing their non-fiction book Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of...

In all of our other shows, we have talked about creative practice and how you develop your own voice, your own identity, how you make your own creative mark. And in today’s episode, we speak with poet and performer and teacher Kim Rosen, who will guide in thinking about the opposite–how we might let go of our creative identities as we age, and why that is essential work.  Kim Rosen, M.F.A. , autho...

How has creativity served us in times of trauma? Last year, Christie and Rosemerry released an episode mid-September about the very difficult life events that had occurred for them in August–Christie’s father’s nearly fatal stroke and the death of Rosemerry’s son. As we come back from a much-needed summer break, we revisit the past year to look at how things have changed–and stayed the same. In th...

Noticing and being present are two essential ingredients for creativity, and in today’s episode, writer Laurie Wagner discusses how travel can facilitate creative traits like these and help you connect with your muse. She tells us about how being in a foreign place helps her move slower and see things anew. “Our lives are passing, and we think we are going someplace,” she says, but meanwhile life...

How does a book come together? We speak with Rachel Feltman, author of Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex, about the evolution of her book, from first inklings to years of research to organization to completion. She explains how she answered the burning question, “How do I make this a book and not just a pile of words?” Her secrets include A 500-mile ride on a tandem bike, a morning r...

Need inspiration? Look to other arts. This practice, known as ekphrasis –the art of making art inspired by other art, can “fill the well” and create a rich field of ideas to play with. In this episode, Rosemerry offers a provocative list of specific ways one might engage with another work of art and gives examples from her recent poems responding to the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and the music...

Some projects take on a life of their own–what begins as a side project might grow into a life-style change and new career. But how do we know if or when to end it? How do external factors influence it? What do we learn about adaptation and trust? In this episode of Emerging Form, we bring back podcaster Laura Joyce Davis, host and executive producer of the award-winning narrative podcast Shelter...

Walking. So simple, and yet putting one foot in front of the other is one of the most profound things you can do for your creative practice. In this episode of Emerging Form, we speak with award-winning poet and painter Valencia Robin about how walking has inspired her practice. We bring in science to support what we all know intuitively–moving the body helps open the brain. And Robin (as we call...

“You wouldn’t yell at a preemie baby,” says poet, lyricist, playwright and teacher Alison Luterman. In this bonus episode, we talk about Alison’s “coaxing” approach for her new work, about patience, self-compassion, starting the morning without screens, the benefits and detriments of having many projects at once, and, of course, the importance of coffee.  Alison Luterman 's four books of poetry ar...

Is talent necessary? Is it possible, with devotion, hard work and help and time, to develop a creative practice that doesn’t come to us naturally? In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk again with poet, lyricist, playwright and teacher Alison Luterman. As an exuberant young girl who loved to sing, she was told by a choir director to just mouth the words. For decades the wound festered. “It is h...

Ninety-seven percent of people who begin a novel don’t finish it. But what about all the people who finish it and then set it aside? What happens to that novel in a drawer? Well … sometimes it goes to novel heaven and finds a publisher–and we have proof. In this episode we talk to Holiday Mathis (who was our guest in episode 23 , The Daily Grind), and she tells us how she wrote her new novel, why...

How does a poem emerge? So many ways to do it right, says Rosemerry. But in this episode, we take an intimate and critical look at one poem, “For When People Ask,” and talk about the genesis of the poem, how it changed and transformed, how the metaphors grew and how people responded to it. We also talk about saving first drafts–or not, trusting the process, leaning into uncertainty, letting our cr...

How can we better navigate difficult topics when telling personal stories? In this episode of Emerging Form, we talk with podcasting host Arielle Duhaime-Ross about their podcast episode “My Cousin Baptized My Dead Relatives Into the Mormon Church” which aired on VICE News Reports. We talk about steps they took to understand the story from different perspectives, how the narrative form emerged, ho...

Photo of Stéphanie by @steph_stf_photography “Is my career done?” That’s what aerialist Stéphanie Ortega wondered when her touring with Cirque du Soleil abruptly ended at the onset of the pandemic. We speak with her about the fear, anger, and loss of identity in the wake of losing her creative practice–and how she found resilience, purpose, and new ways of pursuing her art before the proverbial sh...

When you’re actively engaged in creative practice, what’s happening in your brain? We ask research scientist and writer Emily Willingham to talk about the science of creativity. Her clear communication about neurons and cognitive processes open up a new understanding of not only how the brain works but also the three key features of creativity, two kinds of thinking that go into creative process,...

What do you look for in collaborators? How do you find them? Is it better to collaborate with friends? We speak with singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and film composer Leah Shaw about putting together her full-length album Play Beautifully , a sonic exploration of loss, healing and self-transformation. She talks candidly about the balance between control and collaboration, learning new ski...

Image: Catherine, Christie and Rosemerry Feeling stuck or stumped in your creative practice? Maybe what you need is more fun. In this episode we speak with Catherine Price , author of T he Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. Her definition of fun feels utterly apropos of creativity. She defines fun as the spirit of playfulness —in which you engage with no attachment to outcome; connection —in t...

What does a new calendar year mean for your creative process? In this episode, Rosemerry and Christie return to their creative goals from last year – did they meet them? They talk about Christie’s annual report model for creatives, about how a magic wand might help you identify your creative goals for 2022, and how they are hoping the form might emerge in the next year. Plus they offer new guiding...

In this bonus episode, Christie and Rosemerry read some of the new works they’ve created since the trauma of the last four months. Finding My Friend’s Unwritten Poems , Christie at Last Word On Nothing Digging Potatoes, 2021 , by Rosemerry Condition , by Rosemerry Please note : after we recorded this podcast, we experienced yet another sad event and we need to take a short break to focus on self-c...

Photo: Photo: Rosemerry and Christie celebrating Rosemerry’s birthday on a recent sleety/snowy day in Telluride. In this episode of Emerging Form, Rosemerry and Christie discuss how their recent traumas affected their creative output and how taking a break from writing ultimately helped their creative process. A quick note: after we recorded this podcast, we were hit with yet another cascade of sa...

Why invest in your creative life? In this episode of Emerging Form, we continue with our Soul Food Series with poet and teacher Jack Ridl. He talks about how our creative endeavors link us to the big history and reconnect us with what really matters. Then he brings us the news of the heart, reading poems from How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope . An episode full of inspiration, invi...

“Learn. Fail. Grow.” That’s part of the creative action plan for award-winning writer and Susan J. Tweit. In this episode of Emerging Form, we continue our Soul Food Series and talk with Susan about the importance of reflection--how writing not only helps us to meet difficult moments, but also helps us to find “deeper levels and better understanding” as time passes. We talk about the process of re...

What Does It Really Mean to Show Up?  In this episode, we speak with Rosemerry’s mentor and beloved friend Judith Jordan Kalush about how the way we meet our daily life intimately informs our creative practice. Are we listening? Are we distracted? Are we opening? Do we feel our connection to the rest of the world? What are we choosing to tune into? It’s a powerful episode with no platitudes, but w...