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Exclusive: Valerie Bertinelli Is Happier Than Ever

Apr 1, 2024 | newbeauty.com | Liz Ritter |"The Joy

Valerie Bertinelli loves her life right now—and that’s not something she say she would have said or thought two years ago. This week, in a testament to that “living that best life,” she releases her most indulgent cookbook yet, Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes to Enjoy and Share, a collection of 100 recipes to nourish the body and the soul.
Poetry for Life: Poetry Pairs, 7

Oct 25, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

Over at Poetry for Life, we’ve been pairing poems with things or people that mean a lot to us. I mention the friend who gave me Carroll’s collection Habitation of Wonder, when I was in need of a poetry pick-me-up. The poem “What Men Die For Lack Of” is composed of lines from other poems. I decided to write my own poem, using lines or parts of lines or mashups of lines from poems I’ve learned by heart over the last several months. A few words brings it all back.
Rock&Vine: ‘The Perfect Flower’

Sep 25, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

by Megan Willome, photos by Danielle LochteHot peppers, if you really look at them, are beautiful They’re as colorful as they are flavorful, with a shape that invites you to dig in, whether or not your capsaicin receptors are ready. Dr. Ron Tilton, a retired diabetes researcher at UTMB-Galveston, always had a garden and always grew the spicy stuff.
Poetry for Life: Poetry Pairs, 2

Sep 20, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

Over at Poetry for Life, we’re pairing poems with other things. I pair W.S. Merwin’s “The Morning” with you. (You know who you are.)L’EtapeAnd then, well, there he wasagain, as if he had pulled off a cloak —there, right on my left. Something in me unbroke. He wore black tights, new clean trainers. he smelled divine — Lord have mercy,that cologne! He smiled at me. I smiled at him. We stoodto sing It Is Well. He disappeared. I sit tight. Don’t go. He might reappear.
My Little Poem: ‘Sea-Fever’ by John Masefield

Sep 3, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

I first encountered John Masefield as a novelist, in his Christmas book every English child knows — The Box of Delights. It’s a bonkers story in which winter has brought evil, and children are here to save the day. It features a world that is dark and cold and magical. Send in the kids!Masefield, who served as England’s poet laureate for decades, spent some time on the sea, although not very long. This poem, one of his earliest, remains one of his best known.
Poetry for Life: ‘Hello, My Name Is Thomas’ by Dave Malone

Aug 30, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

Over at Poetry for Life on Substack we’re reading and journaling and writing from a few of Dave Malone’s poems, in preparation for In Your Own Words, a three-week mini-course I’ll be teaching in September on Malone’s collection Tornado Drill. Here’s my Hello, My Name is poem, inspired by Malone’s.
Especially When, a writing prompt

Aug 24, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

Callie Feyen invited some writer friends to follow a writing prompt. (She has a teacher’s soul.)Assignment: Write 3-5 sentences telling (showing) when you must write, using “especially when” as the beginning first words. End with a line explaining what writing does. Of course, I wrote a poem.
Poetry for Life: Hero’s Poetry Journey, week 14 (last one!)

Aug 9, 2023 | meganwillome.com | Megan Willome |"The Joy

with Sara Teasdale’s “Peace”Poetry Friend, we’ve come to the end of our hero’s poetry journey. We have the elixir, and we have returned to share it. Over at Poetry for Life I’m writing about my elixir, the beauty that sustains me even when motherhood doesn’t go beautifully. My elixir is so simple, I can render it as haiku. Shhh! A poetry course is a’comin’! Registration is open at meganwillome.com.
Poetry for Life: Hero’s Poetry Journey, week 13

Aug 2, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

with William Shakespeare’s “Come, Night” from Romeo and JulietOver at Poetry for Life we are crossing the threshold again, in the dark, because that’s how we roll. Both of my children are night owls, and they taught me to love the shady side of the day (although I prefer to experience it in the wee hours of the morning). Here’s a poem I wrote about a good birthday eve. Birthday EveOnly 70 days ‘til my birthday eveYes, I’ve counted it – 70 days.
My Little Poem: ‘Pied Beauty’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Jul 28, 2023 | meganwillome.com | "The Joy |Megan Willome

1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 ….. 5!Gerard manley Hopkins’ poem “Pied Beauty” is special to me because I included it in my first book, The Joy of Poetry. Specifically, it’s in the chapter titled “Come, Night: old poetry,” which includes a scene from the day before my mom died, a moment of speckled beauty. I sang to her, and she attempted to sing along. But although I loved this poem, I was intimidated to memorize it. It’s Hopkins! I think Shakespeare’s easier.