On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae have the opportunity to talk with Tiana Clark. Listen in as they discuss navigating burnout and perfectionism, advocacy within the medical system, neurodivergence, and permission as a part of the creative process. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Terrance Hayes- What it Look Like | The Poetry Foundation
• Sharon Olds- Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Issa Rae- AWKWARD Black Girl | “The Stop Sign” [S. 1, Ep. 1]

Write an ekphrastic poem for a music video that you love. 

On today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae talk with Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon—phenomenal writers and co-hosts of the podcast, Reckon True Stories. During this conversation, they discuss the impact of great editors, the overlap between poetry and prose, rejection in the writers room, and the beauty of friendship. 

• Catherine Coleman (Kiese’s Grandmother) - On Resilience, Tender Rituals, and Responsible Love: Talking with Kiese Laymon - The Rumpus
• Kendrick Lamar - The Literary Genius of Kendrick Lamar
• Nene leakes - 10 Quotes NeNe Leakes Gave To Pop Culture That Prove She's A Cultural Icon
• Tami Roman - Tami Roman's Funniest Moments | Basketball Wives Legends
• Deesha’s Grandmother - Local Dispatch: My grandmother's life lesson on the dignity of work | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Kiese Laymon - Award Winning Author Kiese Laymon Discusses Heavy: An American Memoir and more

Write a prose poem and borrow your favorite craft element from another genre to focus on.

Today’s episode was recorded live at the Sims Library in Los Angeles, California during this year's AWP conference. Join Brittany and Ajanae as they sit down with E. Hughes and Luther Hughes (no relation) to discuss the role that intimacy plays in their writing, memory being true for the moment, the role of grief in the writing process, and moments of messiness in their collections. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Toni Morrison: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am - Exclusive Clip - Farah Griffin On Sula
• Natasha Trethewey- The Typology of Taint, in Thrall to a Word: A Conversation with Natasha Trethewey | World Literature Today
• Frantz Fanon: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks | What Language Reveals | Philosophy Core Concepts
• Luther:
• Carl Phillips: Intimacy, Afloat in Space: A Conversation with Carl Phillips - The Adroit Journal
• CM Burroughs: Meat to Reckon With: A Conversation with CM Burroughs
• Sza- Ctrl: sza - ctrl (full album)
• Taylor Johnson: An Interview and Poems from Taylor Johnson

Write an ode to your grief. 

On today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanaé have the honor of interviewing Nicole Sealey! Join them as they discuss friendship rituals, surviving writers conferences, learning from mentors, navigating old obsessions in new work, and love, love, and more love. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Nicole Sealey’s Parents- The First Person Who Will Live to Be One Hundred and Fifty Years Old Has Already Been Born by Nicole Sealey 
• Collective teachers- Celebrating Yusef Komunyakaa with Major Jackson, Jennifer Jean, John Murillo & Nicole Sealey
• John Murillo- In the Poetry Library With John Murillo

Write a list of ways that you promise to care for your reader. 

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany are joined by poet Omotara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet-cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Sharon Olds: Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Michaela Coel: ‘There is power in the word no’: Michaela Coel’s journey from Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You | CBC Comedy
• Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany are joined by poet Omotara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet-cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Sharon Olds: Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Michaela Coel: ‘There is power in the word no’: Michaela Coel’s journey from Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You | CBC Comedy
• Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany are joined by poet Omotara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet-cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Sharon Olds: Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Michaela Coel: ‘There is power in the word no’: Michaela Coel’s journey from Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You | CBC Comedy
• Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany were joined by poet Omatara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as a savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Sharon Olds: Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Michaela Coel: ‘There is power in the word no’: Michaela Coel’s journey from Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You | CBC Comedy
• Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany were joined by poet Omatara James. Join them as they discuss the failure of poetry as a savior, whistleblowers, art as a meet cute, resisting shielding the speaker, and building trust with the reader. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Sharon Olds: Sharon Olds talks about her work
• Michaela Coel: 'There is power in the word no': Michaela Coel’s journey from Chewing Gum to I May Destroy You | CBC Comedy
• Lucille Clifton: Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”

On today’s episode, Ajanaé and Brittany talk to Vanessa Angélica Villarreal! Listen in as they discuss mushrooms, quantum entanglements, borders, the ethics of daughters-memory, and the role of Fantasy and The Future in the Western literary canon. 

Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

• Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo: Pedro Páramo | Official Trailer | Netflix
• Jordan S. Carroll- Speculative Whiteness: Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
• The Dragon Age Games; South of Midnight: South of Midnight - Accolades Trailer

Write a poem for your favorite television or book character.