Has it been six years since I've updated this website? Well, what have I been working on all these years? I'm writing--a little bit of everything: poetry, fiction, young adult fiction, and a nonfiction/historical piece about creativity and the Renaissance. I've not published much poetry because I keep outgrowing my work--which is painful but probably a good thing. COVID has reset my life as it has for many of us; it has rearranged my priorities and allowed me to return to half-finished projects. I'm finding time to update forgotten blogs like this one. Does anyone even read blogs anymore?
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For a sample of my nonfiction, please click on the portfolio link above or at the end of this post. That will redirect you to my electronic portfolio. My portfolio isn't search engine indexed, as I've sold the rights to the content. Please respect the copyright of the publisher or client. For samples related to a particular industry, see the Samples page where articles are listed by topic. Feel free to contact me if you need additional examples. Petra Whitaker Writing Portfolio.
For information about copywriting, visit our website: IICOPY Most of the writing in my portfolio is nonfiction: technical writing, articles, blog articles, article summaries, reviews, etc. If you're interested in reading some of my creative work, feel free to read my thesis project. This is a collection of poems that I worked on while at UCR Palm Desert's creative writing program. The project is titled West on an Unnamed Road.
I'm in the process of updating my website's layout and design. So, if you visit and things look different or have suddenly changed and then have changed again, know that the process is a bit like trying on a new hat. You wear it a few days and then decide: No this isn't for me. And then you change your mind and then change your mind again. I appreciate your input! Thanks!
Years ago, when my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, I wrote a poem about this debilitating disorder and the difficult symptoms that accompany it. The poem led to another poem about Alzheimer's, and then to other poems about other disorders. I ended up with a stack of disorder poems and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I decided not to compile them into a manuscript but to send them out individually, when I came across a call for submissions by Editor David Fraser for an anthology of poems related to (of all things) disorders. I sent a number of the poems off, and two were selected: "Lewy Bodies" the Alzheimer's poem, and "Vertigo." Both poems appear in this lovely book recently titled, As One Cradles Pain, which is now in print and soon to be released. Almost a year in the making, we've survived technical setbacks, hackers, a web host update (that changed our layout and design but ultimately allowed us to add some truly wonderful features) we have officially launched Red Box Kite. This month's issue includes art work by Lisa Patencio, poetry by Angie Mellor, Changming Yuan, Carol Brockfield, Haris Adhikari, and Ashley Fisher. Our featured poet is Changming Yuan, whose work is displayed in our e5 Sampler. We also have a wonderful article "Building Your Business Brand: Help for Creative People" by Betsy Lewis, Artist and Social Media Consultant. The article includes a worksheet to help artists and writers establish a unique brand. For more information on marketing your creative works, visit her website How to Build an Art Career in One Year. Visit Red Box Kite's gallery to see Lisa Patencio's art. A kindle-friendly version of the poetry is available here. It's here! Fault Lines Poetry, an anthology of poems by West Coast poets, has arrived hot off the presses. I'm honored to have my poem "Another Santa Ana" appear in this very sleek looking book! (Copies are available at Fault Lines Poetry.) If you're in the Portland area, there will be a number of live readings to celebrate the book's release: June 6. Wednesday. Portland (Milwaukie) The Pond House in Milwaukie, Or. Open mic. 7 PM to 8:30. 2215 SE Harrison St. 97222 (Adjacent to the Ledding Public Library) June 12. Tuesday. Portland. MilePost 5. 7 PM. Eat Art Theater. 900 NE 81st.Ave. This will actually constitute the maiden Portland launching. We hope you will attend and bring some friends. June 18. Monday. Portland. KBOO 90.7 live radio broadcast. 10:00 PM. Barbara LaMorticella, herself a Fault Lines poet, will moderate this reading by 6 Fault Line poets. You may listen to it via live streaming on the web. June 23. Saturday. Eugene, Or. Tsunami Books. 5 PM. 2585 Willamette St.97405. A gathering of the poets will take place after the reading for food and beverages. June 25. Tuesday. 7 PM. Portland (Hillsboro,Or.) 135 SE 3rd Ave., Hillsboro. The audience will engage the poets about their poems: how and why they originated, construction techniques, meaning, etc. July 29. Sunday. Seattle. 3 PM. The Hugo House. 1634 11th Ave. 98122. August 19. Sunday. San Francisco (Corte Madera, Ca.94925 About 11 miles from the City.) Book Passage 4 PM. October 14. Sunday. Portland. 2 PM. Central Library of Multnomah County. October 29. Monday. Portland (Hillsboro) Conversations with Writers. 7 PM. Address above. I received an email from Tony Pfannestiel, editor of Fault Lines. The book is in press. After corrections, the final run, comes the launch and the readings. My poem, "Another Santa Ana," is included along with the work of sixty other West Coast poets. I always joke that I'm bi-coastal (that is if you consider lake Michigan's coast a "coast") and given the amount of time I spend in California each year I think that qualifies me as a part-time Californian. I sent my poem off to Fault Lines before I moved to Chicago and was surprised Tony still wanted to publish it. The poem will also be included in a list of poems for download available for Portland's poetry box project.
Yahoo! picked up an article I wrote about creativity: "Five Simple Ways Writers Can Boost Creativity."
A new poetry app for the iPhone or Droid from Columbia University Press and Granger's World of Poetry enables users to download a poem a day along with a daily poetry trivia question.
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AuthorPetra Whitaker writes from Southern California, having recently lived in Chicago, and Ashland, Oregon. Archives
September 2020
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