Be Less Careful

Be Less Careful

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"create whenever and however you can"
poet and SWIMM co-founder Catherine Prescott on her new book Superbloom and the interwoven nature of creative work and caregiving
 • Nancy Reddy
"there’s nothing like having a poem-in-progress to wake up early to"
poet Bobby Elliott on carving out time in the in-between spaces and yearning to get deep into the new book + a chance to BE LESS CAREFUL together in…
 • Nancy Reddy
"caregiving puts an urgency around writing—there simply isn’t time to say, 'I’ll do it later.'"
Rebekah Hewitt on the poet whose ferocity gave her permission, writing when the laundry isn't done and the sink is full of dishes PLUS an invitation to…
 • Nancy Reddy
"it’s important to claim time and show that writing has value by letting one’s family know that it’s a priority"
poet Elline Lipkin on writing after losing her home in the Eaton fire, how her writing groups have sustained her & why she rejects the "‘writing in the…
 • Nancy Reddy
"both parenting and writing require care and creativity"
SING ME A CIRCLE author Samina Najmi on the "rich matriarchal inheritance" of watching her mother and grandmother keep diaries, and learning to write in…
 • Nancy Reddy
"cultivate your comfort with fallow times"
FOXES FOR EVERYBODY author Catherine Pierce on taking up the challenge of essays as her kids left toddlerhood + your invitation to the Be Less Careful…
 • Nancy Reddy
"I finally realized I needed to keep my sense of self alive if I wanted to be any good to anybody else"
Jackie Hoermann-Elliott and Jenna Morton-Aiken, editors of PARENTING WHILE PhDing, on the non-writing hobbies that keep the spark alive and insisting on…
 • Nancy Reddy
"you're trading away time for inspiration"
poet Laura Cresté on how caring for her toddler has sparked a sense of play and experimentation in her own work
 • Nancy Reddy
"Caregiving helped me understand myself. It’s made me want to be open about my disability."
writer Chris Vaughan on parenting with cerebral palsy and creating his newsletter Unclenching
 • Nancy Reddy and Unclenching by Chris L Vaughan
"Caregiving has taken me outside of the limitations of my own life and helped me understand all the potential tragedies and triumphs of the…
THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD author Melissa Fraterrigo on turning to memoir during the pandemic, journaling to find new essay ideas, and how her teen…
 • Nancy Reddy and Melissa Fraterrigo
"dream big and start small"
children's book author and editor Heidi Fiedler on taking her work seriously *and* enjoying the process
 • Nancy Reddy and Heidi Fiedler
it's Good Mother Myth day!
two quick ways you can help, where we can hang out in person in the next couple of months, and some great early reviews and recognition
 • Nancy Reddy
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