Author Bio & Article Archives
Michael Sowder’s poetry collection, The Empty Boat, won the 2004 TS Eliot Award. His newest books are House Under the Moon and Whitman’s Ecstatic Union, a study of Walt Whitman’s poetry. Michael also writes creative nonfiction about Buddhism, Hinduism, and the natural world.

Author Archives:

16 Reflections on Writing a Buddhist (or Any) Poem

I In the high reaches of the Bear River Mountains of Northern Utah the leaves of the big tooth maples are turning red, and the sky arches a rich blue over the campus of Utah State University. I think of my own college student days, the world opening before me with continents of thought and…

Creating Voice in Poetry and Prose

Voice is one the most essential features of successful writing; if we fail to create an authentic, credible voice in our work, that work will fail — in spite of other virtues it may have. However, voice is often referred to as something elusive and indefinable. In their book, A Poet’s Companion, Kim Addonizio and…