Tag: Creativity

  • Broken Pencil Reviews MANIFEST (zine)

    Broken Pencil Reviews MANIFEST (zine)

    Broken Pencil is THE magazine of zine culture and the independent arts. So you know how thrilled I was to see MANIFEST (zine) reviewed in a recent issue. Big shout out to Scott Bryson for his review that concludes: “It’s clear a lot of effort went into this little booklet. Payne’s focus on physical quality…

  • The Sound of Crickets

    The Sound of Crickets

    Did you know that each issue of MANIFEST (zine) includes a Spotify playlist especially curated for readers? For the CRICKETS issue, I had fun playing off the themes of silence, finding one’s voice, and creating from the heart. It features an eclectic set of songs by artists like Disturbed, Grace Carter, Barry Manilow, John Mayer,…

  • WHAT’S THAT? Manifest (zine): Crickets

    WHAT’S THAT? Manifest (zine): Crickets

    MANIFEST ZINEIssue #4, Cricketsby Jen Payne Storytelling is in our DNA says Brené Brown in her book Rising Strong. We share our stories because “we feel most alive when we’re connecting with others and being brave with our stories.” That process, she explains, causes our brains to release cortisol and oxytocin, the chemicals that “trigger…

  • NeW! MANIFEST (zine): CRICKETS

    NeW! MANIFEST (zine): CRICKETS

    MANIFEST ZINEIssue #4, Cricketsby Jen Payne Storytelling is in our DNA says Brené Brown in her book Rising Strong. We share our stories because “we feel most alive when we’re connecting with others and being brave with our stories.” That process, she explains, causes our brains to release cortisol and oxytocin, the chemicals that “trigger…

  • What can hibernating bears teach humans?

    What can hibernating bears teach humans?

    As we watch the fall colors wane and this long, long year slowly fades into winter, I find myself thinking about comfort. my grandmother’s afghan draped across my lap cinnamon rolls baking and hot coffee brewing a favorite sweater, its sleeves stretched long and collar pulled up roast chicken and red wine for a while,…

  • Finding Inspiration

    Finding Inspiration

    When I told a friend last spring that I was writing a poem a day for National Poetry Month, she asked me how I found the inspiration for 30 poems. “It’s like rummaging around in a junk drawer,” I told her. “You’re bound to put your hands on something!” And sure enough, one April, I…

  • A Holiday Toast

    A Holiday Toast

    “Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.” — JANE KENYON — Happy Holidays & Heartfelt Best Wishes…

  • Hi, All Your Readers…

    Hi, All Your Readers…

    The question gets posed often, by Literary Hub and Shelf Awareness and BuzzFeed: What were your most influential books as a kid? And we all respond: Little Women or The Secret Garden, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Harry Potter. Even I would start to tell you James and the Giant Peach and The Boxcar…

  • BOOK REVIEW: Nicole Pyles Reviews Evidence of Flossing

    “I was so impressed with this book. It conveyed a beauty and yet sadness at the same time. I could sense the spiritual struggle within the poetry and a reflection of the world around (and the masks society often puts forward). This book is definitely a conversation piece and I can’t wait to share it…

  • Words, Crazy Words Reviews Evidence of Flossing

    “Payne’s other work as an essayist is evident in many of the narrative poems. Strong sense of place and point of view carry the individual poems as a cohesive whole. This collection is one I will turn to again and again. I anticipate greater appreciation for this thoughtful collection each time.” – Tara Huck, Words,…

  • WOW! Women on Writing Interviews Jen Payne

    by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto from WOW! Women on Writing CRYSTAL: First of all, congratulations on your book Evidence of Flossing! What was the first book you fell in love with? And why? JEN: There are two books I remember loving as a kid. One was The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. It’s about four…

  • A Poet Learns…

    by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The Arts Paper (Arts Council of Greater New Haven) Jen Payne remembers the first one that she saw. And the one after that. And after that. Tiny, single-use dental flossers, discarded in parking lots, and beaches, and wooded hikes around her hometown of Branford. Each cast off in nature with no…