We're back, baby ... back to basics, that is. In this first episode of a season-opening three-parter, we talk about rereading as inspiration mining; leaning into complementary crafts to prime the proverbial creative pump; and five of my fave creepy reads, just in time for Halloween week (plus two bonus boogedy-boos just for you): Strega by Johanne …

Welcome to Little Oracles Season Four: Remake. In this season, we’re returning to our roots, reminding ourselves of what kindles our creative fire, rebelling against inertia and insecurity, rediscovering how to make what we make, and rejoicing in why we make it. It’s a season of introspection and reinvention; it's a season of elegy, of big book ene…

Welcome back to our final episode of the Divinations miniseries, featuring an ongoing conversation in poems with poet Sandra Yannone. I'm sharing my poem-in-progress, "Sortition," inspired by Sandy's poem from Episode 6, and by the Little Oracles poetic fragment "bone," part of the original Little Oracles multimedia digital installation at www.litt…

Welcome back to our sixth (and penultimate!) episode of the Divinations miniseries, featuring an ongoing conversation in poems with poet Sandra Yannone. In this episode, Sandy shares her poem-in-progress, "By Years the Obstacles, at Night the Scars," inspired by my "Articles of Incorporation" from Episode 5: Pockets, Tooth Fairies, & the Surreal Re…

Welcome back to our fifth episode of the Divinations miniseries, featuring an ongoing conversation in poems with poet Sandra Yannone. In this episode, I read my poem-in-progress, "Articles of Incorporation," inspired by Sandy's "Ecdysis Sonnet" from Episode 4: Shells, Learning to Listen, & the Lyric You, as well as by the Little Oracles lexical fra…

Welcome back to our fourth episode of the Divinations miniseries, featuring an ongoing conversation in poems with poet Sandra Yannone. In this episode, Sandy's shares her "Ecdysis Sonnet," inspired by my poem from Episode 3: Lakes, Cosmic Convergence, & the Scientific Sublime, as well as by the Little Oracles lexical fragment "shell," which you can…

Welcome back to our third (and numerically auspicious, so says Sandy) episode of the Divinations miniseries, featuring an ongoing conversation in poems with poet Sandra Yannone. In this episode, I share my poem "Hereafter," after Ada Limón's "After the Fire," and inspired by Sandy's poem from Episode 2: Twine, Maps, & the Meta-Meta, as well as by t…

In our second episode of the seven-part Divinations miniseries, poet Sandra Yannone and I dig into her work-in-progress poem, "The Stars on the Snake River," inspired by the Little Oracles lexical fractal "twine," part of the original Little Oracles multimedia digital installation, which is back on view at littleoracles.com/exhibit. We talk about t…

Our first Divinations miniseries, featuring working poet Sandra Yannone, is here! I’m so thrilled to share the first episode of this seven-part miniseries, which chronicles our collaborative conversation in poems, in which Sandy and I debut work in progress, unpack poems, and dig into creative practice and process. In this episode, Sandy and I prev…

Hard to believe we're closing out Season Two: Play as Practice, but here we are! This season has been such an amazing few months of imagination and experimentation and collaboration, and I'm so grateful to all of you who show up week after week to hang out in our little corner of curiosity and creativity here on the Internet. Season Three heralds a…

It's our first-ever miniseries! Over seven episodes, Little Oracles: Divinations chronicles an ongoing conversation in poems between poet Sandra Yannone and yours truly. We'll debut poems in progress, discuss the creative process, and dig into what it means to collaborate with and draw inspiration from other thinkers, makers, and creators. I'm so e…

Remember back in S02:E18, how I said I was haunted by friendship? Well, this episode is the culmination of one of those friendly hauntings, featuring a new short fiction piece by yours truly, with an original soundscape by the unmatched, ultra-marvelous Kaitlin Bruder — performer, graphic artist, producer, and co-creator of the Thin Places Radio po…

Welcome to another horror-licious Creative Chat, featuring the inimitable Shannon Joy Rodgers, an Emmy-wining writer, performer, inline skater, director, editor — she kinda does it all. After seeing Shannon’s slyly comedic horror short, A Moment of Your Time — which is currently running the festival circuit before its wider release — I couldn’t wai…

This week, I’ve got some haunted Little Reviews for all you ghouls and goblins out there! We’re discussing three books about passing through the veil — perfect for this ghastly, ghostly time of year: Where the Wild Ladies Areby Aoko Matsuda (trans. Polly Barton) This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno Bad Cree by Jessica Johns A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOIL…

Welcome to a very special horror-forward Creative Chat with the amazing Kristen O'Neal: author of Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, and the co-creator of the Thin Places Radio podcast (TPR). After an amazing chat with Kristen and her TPR collaborator Kaitlin Bruder back in Season One, I wanted to invite her back on the podcast to talk more a…

It’s October, and for me, that means chill autumn vibes, maybe decorating with a skeleton or two, and cozying up with some of my favorite haunted reads. It also means I’m kicking off a micro-series of episodes, dubbed Hauntings: five episodes all about reaching through the veil, or that cozy-haunted feeling of a cherished memory, or the comfort of …

Welcome back to another Johnversation, wherein I sit down with graphic artist and game designer (and my partner) John Harper! This season, we're digging into aesthetic and mechanical iteration: John takes us through his process for creating art, playtesting his games, and co-running a food lab in our home kitchen. I love talking with John about cre…

It's Little Reviews time, and today we're talking about dissonance — you know, that feeling of dissolution from the self; from memories; even from reality. I've got three books on the roll today: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (trans. Stephen Snyder) The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston, our ABC pick for Ma…

Pass the popcorn, because it's time for some hot takes! While these takes might not cause any cultural schisms, they nonetheless represent a couple of convictions I hold about creativity and creative practice, as illustrated by cornhole, solarpunk quilting RPGs, the movie Tombstone, AND crucial plot-points in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s kin…

Welcome to another Creative Chat, featuring a true Renaissance woman: artist and game designer Sabrina Sims. As a New York–based experimental media artist, Sabrina works across genre and media, including zine-making, fiber arts, installation work, live coding, games, synth music ... you name it, she probably does it. I was so thrilled to sit down w…

It's time for some Little Reviews, featuring four books steeped in nostalgia and that late-summer feeling of looking back. Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you to look into conte…

What do Transcendentalism, the goddess Athena, and compliment sandwiches have in common? Find out in this episode about the duality of the critic (as informed by 19th-century journalist Margaret Fuller), the gravity of practice, and the holism of evaluating your own creative work. PLUS! September Asynchronous Book Club theme and picks! As always, t…

It's time for another Creative Chat, this time with one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I've ever met: writer and game developer Nychelle Schneider. Nychelle and I sat down for a wonderful conversation about her creative backstory (which includes Remote-Operated Vehicle builds!), and also: how she fell in love with writing (and is now gettin…

It's Little Reviews time, and today we're talking about fallout: the space of personal crises in post-crucible societies. I've got four books on the docket, all of them book club picks: Harrow by Joy Williams, an ABC pick for June How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, an ABC pick for July Space Invaders by Nona Fernández (trans. Natasha …

This week’s Creative Chat guest might be my new bestie: Craig Shipman, the fellow behind all the tabletop gaming content coming out of Third Floor Wars, including the luminous and illuminating Tabletop Talk podcast (one of my favorite listens, to be sure). After guesting on Craig’s show (you can listen to our conversation here), I immediately asked…

We're talking dopamine delivery! From fashion and decor to your creative brain, we're digging into the origins of pop culture's obsession with dopamine; existential nihilism and radical happiness; and how you can generate joy in just 10 minutes with a little creative challenge. Plus, our ABC picks for August, themed Bliss This Mess. ;) As always, t…

Welcome to another Creative Chat! This week, we're talking with Suzanne Wallace, the founder and creative director of IndieBard, a creative studio that specializes in small-scale storytelling: specifically, trailers for video games. Just so you know, Suzanne has it all: she's warm, funny, fabulous, and so dang insightful about the world of video ga…

It's Little Reviews time, and today we're talking about bonds, and bonding, and the links we have to what we love and what we've lost. We're digging into three books today: With Teeth by Kristen Arnett Chouette by Claire Oshetsky The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera (trans. Lisa Dillman), and one of our ABC picks for June A NOTE ON CONTENT …

In which I share a new Constitution, discuss the value of creative biodiversity, and get real about vacuums. Plus! A bunch of reading recs that helped me detach my sociocultural blinders, and July's book club picks, themed Bonfires & Bricklayers: The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner; Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley; and How High We Go in the Dark by …

It's another Creative Chat, this time with narrative director and DM to the stars, Kate Welch! Kate and I had a ball chatting about her creative backstory, the importance of trust and collaboration in creative team spaces, and, of course, plenty of Nerd Stuff (TM), including dial-up Internet, Star Wars roleplaying chatrooms, and Dungeons & Dragons.…

It's Little Reviews time, and today we're whipping through a whopping SIX BOOKS, all of which sit in that emotionally rich and tender space of the aftermath – specifically, the aftermath of the death of a loved one, including: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell We Are Okay by Nina LaCour In Love: A Memoir of Love and Lossby Amy Bloom Afterglow (a dog m…

In the first Everyday Creative audio-essay of Season Two, we're looking at how play works within creative practice; the comic philosophy of Thomas Hobbes; and metaphorical boats. Possibly the most representational episode yet, because YOLO. :) Thanks for being here, and, as always, take care, keep creating, and stay divine! IG: @littleoracles…

We’re kicking off Season Two in an amazing Creative Chat with game designer (and old pal) Andrew Gillis, creator of Girl by Moonlight, an incredible tabletop roleplaying game all about magical girls, in crowdfund at the time of this airing! I had an unmitigated blast talking with Andrew about their creator backstory, what magical girls mean to them…

Welcome to Little Oracles Season Two: Play as Practice, where we'll explore how discovery and experimentation, puzzling and solving, making messes and making magic keep us going as career and casual creatives. We'll dig into creative expression, theory, and perspectives in Everyday Creative audio-essays; keep up that Big Book Energy with Asynchrono…

And so we come unto the end of Season One with a minisode-length meditation on endings, Roman stonemasonry, and what's in store for Season Two! Thank you all for being here; can't wait to see you next season. Until then, take care, keep creating, and stay divine. <3 Resources Tabletop Talk podcast, hosted by Craig Shipman Creative Chat with Lindsay…

It was a dream come true to sit down with writer Peter Gaucys, co-proprietor of the delightful Orcas Paley in downtown Seattle, and my dear friends, longtime mentors, and one of the most brilliant creatives I’ve ever known. This episode ranges widely (as is our wont), but we kick off with a conversation about conversations, and touch on all kinds o…

It's minisode time! Today we're talking about some shorties: Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley, a collection of personal essays; Debriefing by Susan Sontag, a collection of Sontag's short fiction; and Galatea by Madeline Miller, a newly-published, standalone short story. A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you to look into content …

It's a magical, mystical minisode! Exploring time and trauma response in two novels: The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht and The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you to look into content warnings for every book I discuss before you pick it up; we want reading to be safe for everyone. <3 I refuse t…

It's our first Johnversation, wherein I chat with my partner, graphic artist and roleplaying game designer John Harper, about creative practice and process. This time, we get into inspiration across media – and specifically how film and television inform John's creative work – plus the power of remixing genres and tropes, and what we're watching la…

It's our first all-poets minisode! We're getting verse-y with it, reviewing The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang, Bluets by Maggie Nelson, and The Crying Book by Heather Christle. AND we're announcing the May reading theme and pick for the Asynchronous Book Club (hint: my Mom is involved). A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage y…

In Part 2 of this poetry extravaganza celebrating National Poetry Month, we're discussing ways to bring more poetry into your life that *don't* involve sitting down with a book of poems: podcasts, audiobooks, social media presences, performances, and even poetry roleplaying games. Resources Podcasts The New Yorker Poetry Podcast Vs. podcast Poetry …

In the first half of this duology on cool poetry stuff, we're going straight to the source: I'm talking about poets I love and why I love them. So if you're looking for some new poets to read, or you're new to the genre and want a little nudge this way or that, or you're old hat and you just wanna chill for 20 minutes with another poetry nerd: rest…

It's the middle of the night, but you're not alone: you've got a Creative Chat with the folks behind the incredible Thin Places Radio podcast, Kristen O'Neal and Kaitlin Bruder! Kristen, Kaitlin, and I talk about the creative process behind audiofiction, the appeal of liminal spaces and thin places, asynchronous collaborative storytelling, and, of …

Minisode! Minisode! Two weird 'n' wonderful books: Weasels in the Attic, a novel by Hiroko Oyamada, and Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, a short story collection by Kim Fu. A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you to look into content warnings for every book I discuss before you pick it up; we want reading to be safe for everyo…

It's springtime here in the Northern Hemisphere, and so I'm feeling fun, flirty, saucy, and even a little bit spicy: the perfect conditions for some HOT TAKES about creative practice, and the ways we keep ourselves from engaging in it. Grab your popcorn! Plus, we’re gonna get into the April ABC reading theme and our book club picks for the month of…

We're kicking off the Little Oracles Creative Chats series with writer, artist, designer, entrepreneur, and space-curation creator Lindsay Stewart. Lindsay and I talk about the bitter and the sweet of the creative life: everything from getting through creative slumps, to reframing the ways we talk about who we are and what we do, to how to make a w…

A minisode+! We're reviewing February's ABC picks, themed Grief Is a Ghost: Heartbreak, Hope, and Spiritual Salvage: Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo, Heartbroke by Chelsea Bieker, and The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride. Plus a special announcement about what's coming up on the Little Oracles pod. ✨ A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you…

I've been a bit off-balance lately, so I'm turning to words for some comfort. Join my lil lexical quilting bee in this meditative episode about reframing pathways to compassion, communication, and empathy, perfect for word-nerds and the etymologically curious. Plus! Announcing our March ABC reading theme and book club picks. And, as always, take ca…

It's a speed-dating minisode! I'm sharing my thoughts on Stones by Kevin Young, How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn, Devotion by Patti Smith, and Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong. A NOTE ON CONTENT & SPOILERS I highly encourage you to look into content warnings for every book I discuss before you pick it up; we want reading to be safe for e…

You read that right: I'm deep-sixing routines. Instead, I'm choosing chaos. (I mean kind of.) Let's talk about reinventing routine-based creativity; John Keats and ~aesthetics~; and things that are inspiring me lately. It's a fun one! Follow along on Instagram @littleoracles (and shoot me a DM if you want to join our creative cohort on Discord), ch…