Craft: Exploring Creativity: Recent Episodes
Craft: Exploring Creativity
What does is take to be a successful comedian, like David Nihill?
Practice.
And a desire to tell people interesting facts, like Columbus used to have the oldest captive gorilla and currently has the longest span, single tower S-shaped suspension bridge in the world.
Irish author, comedian, speaker, and coach David Nihill will be in Columbus on November 16 with his Shelf Help tour, discussing books and telling the audience which are the best ones to read.
Nihill’s love of travel is intertwined with his love of reading, since travel invariably involves a lot of waiting and downtime. He’s lived in 12 countries and visiting over 70, so he’s got plenty of material for the show, much of which involves cultural observations and humor derived from his experiences.
Nihill’s book Do You Talk Funny? is aimed at helping people understand how better to relate humorous stories, so come out to the show on November 16 and see how he does.
Most scary Halloween stories work because evil creatures or people threaten the protagonist is threatened by. “Torture the women!” Hitchcock famously said.
But this year’s halloween story considers the question of “Who’s the monster?” something worth considering at any time of year, but especially in the fall.
Cast
Students from Christopher Ray’s Whetstone Academy of Performing Arts (Whetstone High School)
Dominic Holmes – Malik Collins
Diesel Berkowitz – Gage Freshour
Hannah Kemper – Opal Shipley
Almarie Shawcross – Lilian Debelius
Dianne Shawcross – Evelyn Boreman
Police officer – Cruz Reyes
Audio editing by June Crowe from Ryan Van Bibber’s Audio Production class at Fort Hayes
Laura Meckler, national education writer for the Washington Post, is the recipient of the 2024 Ohio Book Award for Book About Ohio or an Ohioan for her book Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity. Her book examines the history of and ongoing efforts towards racial integration and equity in the Cleveland suburb. A native of Shaker Heights, she examines the city in three sections: the founding of Shaker Heights, the arrival of the first black families, and the current focus on closing the academic achievement gap. This last is the most difficult to understand: Why does the gap persist? What should be done differently? How can the work of so many well-intentioned people not fulfill the promise of racial integration in America?
As I discovered in talking with Meckler, it’s a thorny, difficult issue, one compounded by multiple factors, of which race is just one. Listen in to hear her thoughts on the struggles and where she finds hope in the relentless efforts of Shaker Heights citizens. Then, read the book and learn why it’s an award winner.
You can meet Laura Meckler and the other winners of the 2024 Ohio Book Awards on October 29 at the Ohio Statehouse.
Craft_2024-10-23-MecklerDownload
Ungar’s tribute to the Japanese ghost legend Hanako-san, the “Hannah” will be broadcast on WCBE, 90.5 FM on October 31 at 7 PM
Columbus horror author Rami Ungar developed his passion for horror by reading masters like Anne Rice and Stephen King. He explored the Japanese ghost legend Hanako-san in his short story “Hannah” from his collection Hannah and Other Stories,’ which Craft adapted for radio broadcast on WCBE, 90.5 FM, on October 31 at 7 PM. In this story and others, Ungar explores timely fears like the influence of the internet and the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also a coordinator for the Horror Writers Association‘s Ohio chapter, who will participate in Scary Saturday on October 26 at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
The days are getting shorter, a chill is in the air, and pumpkins are attacked mercilessly by knife-wielding maniacs: it must be Halloween season. It’s also one of the favorite times of year of Maxwell I. Gold, a Columbus native, author, and executive director of the Horror Writers Association. We discussed his work in weird and cosmic fiction, including his latest, the poetry collection Bleeding Rainbows and Other Broken Spectrums. This Bram Stoker Award-nominated collection contains cosmic horror and homoerotic elements and is organized by color and historical symbols. We talked about his journey into horror writing, the influence he experienced from weird fiction, and the evolution of his unique voice. He also highlights his role at the Horror Writers Association and provides insights into their membership structure. Listen in. If you dare…
Blogger and food writer Sarah Lohman won not one but two 2024Ohio Book Awards: the Ohio Book Award in Nonfiction and the Reader’s Choice Award for her book Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Food. The Ohioana Library will present the Ohio Book Awards at the 83rd Annual Ohio Book Awards Celebration on October 29th, where you can meet the award winners. Lohman also wrote Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, which argues that eight flavors unify American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, msg, and sriracha. I was only able to find six in my kitchen, but maybe you’re a more adventurous cook than I am? Listen in to hear Sarah’s judgement on my taste.
The first song I heard by Dar Williams was a transcendent version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” that my late wife played for me.
“Listen to this,” she said, “It’s awesome.”
It was.
Spare, moody, reflective: Dar’s version highlights the powerful lyrics of the song.
My recent conversation with Dar showed me that her cover was the tip of the iceberg. Williams sings; writes poems, songs, and books; and gives talks that brings people together.
She’s been releasing music since her first album in 1990 and turned to prose with 2012’s publication of the children’s book Amalee. Among other topics, we discussed her 2017 book What I Found in a Thousand Towns, which explores the concept of ‘positive proximity’ in rebuilding communities. Through examples like Phoenixville’s transformation with Blob Fest, she described how social connections can revitalize towns. Williams also shared insights on songwriting from her latest book How to Write a Song That Matters, which she views as How to Write a Song That Matters To You.
Her songs do. Check her out.
Dar Williams will be in town on November 8 with Six String Concerts
Singer-songwriter Ruth Moody will be in Columbus on September 27 with Six String Concerts. We discussed her new solo album “Wanderer,” her first in a decade, which reflects on motherhood, grief, and love. The album, recorded in Nashville, is deeply personal and resonates with her audience through its emotional vulnerability. She details the challenges of balancing motherhood with her career, including the difficulty of touring with a young child and the need to write in short, focused intervals. Moody also shares her journey of learning various instruments, including piano, guitar, banjo, accordion, and bodhrán, and her experience collaborating with Mark Knopfler.
Ruth Moody FullDownload
Poet George Bilgere, aka, Our Man in Berlin, drops by to discuss his latest, Cheap Motels of My Youth, which began at a café in Berlin and won the Rattle Magazine chapbook contest. We talk about his writing process, family, and approach to poetry in the digital age. He reads several of his poems, providing a fascinating glimpse into his creative life, largely brought on by being in Berlin (ok, I may be exaggerating here for reasons that will become clear when you listen to the podcast). For more from him, visit his radio show Wordplay and his recently launched Poetry Town, an online poem-a-day series.
Comedian Steve Hofstetter‘s videos have over a billion views on Instagram. His book, Ginger Kid, was a top five pick on Amazon and debuted at number one in its category. Hofstetter will be appearing at The Funny Bone in Columbus on Thursday, May 23rd. Listen in as we discuss his comedy style, views on cancel culture, comedy evolution, why he always has a show in Florida in the spring, and why a comic only needs 20,000 people.
The post Comedian Steve Hofstetter: You only need 20,000 people first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Comedian Steve Hofstetter‘s videos have over a billion views on Instagram. His book, Ginger Kid, was a top five pick on Amazon and debuted at number one in its category. Hofstetter will be appearing at The Funny Bone in Columbus on Thursday, May 23rd. Listen in as we discuss his comedy style, views on cancel culture, comedy evolution, why he always has a show in Florida in the spring, and why a comic only needs 20,000 people.
The post Comedian Steve Hofstetter: You only need 20,000 people first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Columbus author and native Hanif Abdurraqib is a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grantee, among many other accolades. We discuss his latest book There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, a book that Hanif regards as one he had to grow into being able to write. We discuss Hanif’s writing process, his views on success, reflections on his family and experiences growing up in Columbus, Ohio, and the personal significance of his work. Listen in to learn more about how Hanif regards Columbus and its hidden or not so hidden treasures, like United Dairy Farmers.
The post Hanif Abdurraqib: Writing Columbus for the world first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-songwriter Deirdre McCalla has a musical journey spanning five decades and a very successful recent album, Endless Grace, to bring to her Six String Concert on May 11. We talked about the the inspiration behind her hit song “Shoulder to the Wheel,” her journey in folk and Americana music, and her plans for a retrospective album in 2025 featuring new songs and acoustic versions of past hits. Listen in and then join her on May 11.
The post The Endless Grace of Deidre McCalla first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Poet, essayist and Ohio State University faculty member Zoë Brigley grew up in Wales, reading books by and about authors. She felt a particular draw toward the fascinating and controversial life of feminist icon Mary Wollstonecraft. Brigley’s most recently published book is a collection coauthored with Jenny Mitchell and Roy McFarlane called Family Name. In it, Brigley explores the life of this pioneer via found poetry in Wollstonecraft’s writing and Brigley’s own poetry. She delves into Wollstonecraft’s life, relationships, and contributions to women’s rights.
Brigley also shares insights into her role as an editor for Wales’s leading poetry journal, Poetry Wales. We discuss the selection process for published works and the importance of encouraging writers. Our conversation also touches on the art of writing, the intimacy of letters, and the joys of interviewing poets about their creative process.
After listening to this podcast, you can meet Zoë Brigley at the 2024 Ohioana Book Festival. And while you’re there, catch some of the eight authors I’ll be interviewing as well or listen to them live!
The post Zoë Thompson’s new obsession: Mary Wollstonecraft first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Dr. Jillian Scudder, an astrophysicist and Oberlin College Associate Professor of physics and astronomy, discusses her journey through space, dinosaurs, and volcanoes and explains cosmic wonders such as why the Milky Way smells of rum and raspberries, the dimming of the universe, and diamond rain on Neptune. Also stay tuned for her upcoming graphic guide to the universe in 2024. Meet Dr. Scudder at the 2024 Ohioana Book Festival on April 20, when Craft host Doug Dangler will be hosting live podcasts!
The post What makes a good smelling Milky Way? Ask Dr. Jillian Scudder first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Columbus-based wellness author Nita Sweeney was a Faulkner Society Award finalist and an Ohio Arts Council Governor’s Award nominee for her 2019 memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target. The book was a number one Amazon new release in the mood disorders, bipolar disorder, and running and jogging categories. She has released three other books since then: a 2020 co-authored writing journal called You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction To Keep Your Pen Moving; 2022’s Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight. Her most recent publication is A Daily Dose of Now: 365 Mindful Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment.
Listen in as Nita describes her writing journey, challenges, and successes, and the persistence that helped land her first book deal and then meet her at the 2024 Ohioana Book Festival!
The post Nita Sweeney: Persistence Pays Off first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
When the Trump campaign hired voting expert Ken Block to investigate voter fraud after the 2020 election, he knew it would be contentious. But Block had studied voting fraud for a decade and he promised a fair and objective review of the votes to determine if there was fraud.
After an exhaustive search, Ken Block found no appreciable fraud in the 2020 election.
His findings form the basis for his new book: Disproven: My Unbiased Search for Voter Fraud for the Trump Campaign, the Data that Shows Why He Lost, and How We Can Improve Our Elections. He found minimal evidence of deceased voters and duplicate votes, debunked voter fraud claims, and provided suggestions for improving election integrity. Block also reflects on the impact of his findings on Trump supporters and his role within the Republican party.
The post Voting expert Ken Block: No appreciable fraud in the 2020 Election first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-Songwriter Leslie Mendelson will be in Columbus on March 15 with Six String Concerts. We spoke recently about her most recent album, In the Meantime, and her forthcoming album After the Party. The latter gave her the opportunity to work with multiple producers, a new way to create an album. The lead song on After the Party, “Other Girls,” examines what it’s like to discuss your emotional responses to other people to your partner, always a sensitive subject. It hit a chord with me, because, like many people, I’ve been in relationships with jealous and not jealous people. Leslie calls “Other Girls” a way to deal with jealousy and empower women. We ended by discussing her amazing opportunity to open for The Who and solo Roger Daltrey.
The post Do you like “Other Girls?” Leslie Mendelson thinks you should first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer songwriter Richard Schindel returns to perform at Six String Concerts on Saturday, February 24th, 2024. We spoke recently about his latest endeavors.
Shindell described his recent past as, “I’ve been living here in Buenos Aires and… I’ve been writing poetry. I recently started a substack project, which comes out once a week, which is very eclectic.” The eclectic nature of his Substack is evident in the breadth of topics and genres Shindell covers, from short essays to photographs to even recipes, such as his mother’s sweet potato pone recipe. As he puts it, it functions to “broaden [his] creative practice and just throw a lot of stuff at the wall.”
Listen in to hear more about what stuff sticks to the wall, what falls off, and why we each have night-driving anxiety. Then, get tickets for his Feb 24 concert.
The post Richard Shindell: Throwing stuff at the wall first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Drive through rural Ohio, and you’ll see thousands of stands of trees, surrounded by brush and plants. You may wonder, “Could I eat any of those?” At times like this, you really need someone like Mimi Prunella Hernandez, who holds a master of science in herbal medicine and is a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild. Her recently released book, National Geographic Herbal, 100 Herbs from the World’s Healing Tradition, documents edible and medicinal herbs.
Hernandez says that the book was the result of “a couple of lectures [she] did at a medical school in Portland,” with her storytelling ability being one of the most noteworthy aspects.
I come from a lineage of storytellers
-Mimi Prunella Hernandez
We discuss which herbs are best for the garden and which are surprisingly useful, such as the invasive kudzu plant. She describes how to make tea from honeysuckle and how to learn to enjoy even bitter plants like dandelion and burdock roots or artichoke leaves. Hernandez also gives her top herbs to grow in a summer garden, such as basil and oregano, among others.
Listen in to learn more!
The post National Geographic Herbal: Mimi Prunella Hernandez first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
New Orleans singer-songwriter, lyrical guitarist, and composer Joy Clark will appear with Six String Concerts in Columbus on Friday, November 10th with guitarist and singer-songwriter Brooks Williams. I spoke with her about how she grew up playing music in church, her latest single “Guest,” and how she plays guitar lyrically.
JOY CLARK AT PRIDE-FEST FAUBOURG BEER NOLA.
PHOTO CREDIT NKECHI CHIBUEZEDoug: Joy, what is a lyrical guitarist?
Joy Clark: That’s a good question. Thank you for having me first. The way I play is pretty melodic. And even if I’m soloing or playing something that’s not so singer-songwriter-esque, it’s still very lyrical. So the way I approach playing guitar is as if I’m playing and singing words, even if I’m not.
Doug: So what does mean on the finger level: are you just staying longer [on the strings]? You’re not playing staccato? And, I say this having very little musical ability, so I’m just curious. I’m always fascinated when I see somebody described that way and I’m like, man, I wish I knew what they meant.
Joy Clark: There are many approaches to playing guitar, but it just means I’m not only strumming, I’m picking out… This is a good question. This is hard to explain.
Doug: You’re strumming and picking.
Joy Clark: I’m strumming and picking, but in the absence of actual lyrics in the song, it sounds as if I’m playing lyrics.
For the rest of our interview, check out the link below, and then see Joy Clark on November 10.
The post Joy Clark: Lyrically welcoming her Guest first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Image from PublicDomainPictures on PixabayHis website describes Craig Carothers as a renaissance man who is a singer, songwriter, producer, recording engineer, background singer, booking agent, graphic designer, photographer, Tex Mex connoisseur, left wing inactivist, and a collector of exquisitely obsolete gadgets. And during our talk, he added another label: “a novelist of sorts,” since his work is “trying to incorporate other people’s stories and … [create] songs to try to get to a particular kind of a point.”
We also discussed how long it can take to write a song and how Carothers whiles away time during long drives between gigs.
He will appear with Six String Concerts on October 6th.
The post Craig Carothers: Singer-Songwriter and much more first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
It’s been a long journey for cartoons and comics, which started in newspapers and broadsheets and on low-grade comics paper (some of which is slowly collapsing in boxes in my house). But comics and cartoons are big business now: witness the MCU and to a lesser and darker extent, the DC Universe.
But no matter what your comics or cartoon interests are, you can find like minded people at this years Cartoon Crossroad Columbus (CxC) from September 27 to October 1.
I spoke with CxC’s co programming chair Ben Towle, who described Columbus as a hub for cartoon and comics interests. From the CxC to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library at Ohio State University to Columbus College of Art and Design’s comics and narrative practice program, Columbus has many ways to learn about, celebrate, and engage with comics.
Guests at CxC this year include Raina Telgemeier, who Ben describes as “if you are a parent and you have kids who are or have been eight to ten years old, I can guarantee you they know who Raina Telgemeier.” Daniel Clowes will also give a talk about his work, which ranges from Ghost World to Art School Confidential to Wilson to this year’s Monica.
So get out of the house before winter arrives and see some creativity in action.
The post Cartoon Crossroad Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio writer John Scalzi will be honored at a reception on September 21, 2023, as part of the 2023 Ohioana Awards at the Ohio Statehouse. Ohioana Book awards have been bestowed on many famous Ohio authors, from James Thurber to Toni Morrison.
Listen in for our discussion of his most recent book, The Kaiju Preservation Society”, his well-known blog Whatever (including his recent take on House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s preposterous letter to Georgia Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis), and Scalzi’s music CD called “Eternal.”
The post And the Readers’ Choice Award Goes to… John Scalzi! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I recall hearing “greed… is good” spouted by Micheal Douglas’s sleazy character, Gordon Gekko (a lizard, get it?), in the ’80s movie Wall Street, but it seems that it’s gotten much worse since then. See The Wolf of Wall Street, possibly another movie to inspire youth to be disregard decency in pursuit of ever more excess. Sounds like a recently deposed presidential failure, no?
Eighties Wall Street raiders never went away, and they’re gaining ground, according to federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou, in the form of private equity firms. Ballou views such firms as a threat to the economic stability of the country. His recent expose, Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America, was published in May, and his New York Times op-ed the same month shines more light on the issue.
Listen in to hear more about the problems with private equity, problems that Ballou sees as aided by the US government.
For more about the dangers of private equity, listen to Terry Gross’s Fresh Air take on “How private equity firms are widening the income gap in the U.S.“
Briefcase by Shahid Abdullah from Pixabay
Flames by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The post Brendan Ballou on the Problems with Private Equity first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
“Cannel City-Amburgy Coal Zone (Pikeville Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian; Jackson North roadcut, Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA) 2” by James St. John is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
You may have heard of Darrell Scott through the repeated use of his song “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” on the TV show Justified, but his back catalog is full of equally compelling Americana and country music.
My family is from Harlan County, Kentucky, on both sides. They moved away from Harlan and the coal mines just over 100 years ago. They went to tobacco farming… So I have a 200 year plus history in Kentucky with my family.
Darrell Scott
Scott sings movingly of the coalminers’ plight after their mineral rights were snatched up cheap. Justified frequently “put [the song] in such a dramatic and closing place within the show” that viewers took noticed and learned more about an artist whose songs have also been covered by Garth Brooks, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, The Chicks, Keb’ Mo, and Faith Hill, among many others.
But as famous as he’s become through the years, being a songwriter brings a certain amount of anonymity. “That’s the illusion in the music industry. We all pretend that the person singing the song is the one who wrote it. And that’s fine,” Scott says wryly, “As long as the royalties come through.”
Darrell Scott will be in Columbus on Saturday, May 13, 2023 with Six String concerts.
The post Darrell Scott is Justified first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Each Ohio Poet Laureate gets to choose a personal project. The current poet laureate, Kari Gunter-Seymour, chose to focus on addiction. “I feel so strongly about the way addiction is being treated in this country, almost ignored,” Gunter-Seymour says. Addiction is, in many ways a peculiarly Ohio issue, since “Ohio has come in second many times for overdose deaths.”
Her passion is evident in not only her poetry project with Ohio prisoners overcoming addiction but also in her views on the true culprits: “Big Pharma needs to stand up and take its beating for what it has done to the population of our country.”
Aside from working with addiction and recovery, Gunter-Seymour has strong ties to the Women of Appalachia project, which involves the 420 counties in Appalachia:
Our work is informing folks all over the country and across the pond that Appalachians in general, and in particular, women are not barefoot, we have teeth, we are not underfed, we’re not over fed, we’re not under-groomed. Most of us are well educated. And if we’re not educated in school academic settings, we’re highly educated in horticulture and animal husbandry, and those other things that those who are caretakers of the land learn, and they get passed down from generation to generation.
You can see and talk with Ohio Poet Laureate Gunter-Seymour when she appears at the Ohioana Book Festival on April 22, 2023
The post Big Pharma needs to take its beating: Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Former Ohioan and author Prince Shakur published his debut memoir When They Tell You to Be Good in October 2022. It received both the Library Journal and Okayplayer Best Memoir of 2022. In it, he delves into his childhood and growing up as gay and black in the midwest.
In our interview, we discussed his memoir, upbringing, family trauma and his experiences with state run violence, the aftereffects of which he sees as always close to him, as close as the images on his cell phone. He will appear at the 2023 Ohioana Book Festival on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
The post Trauma is on my phone: Prince Shakur first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Former two-term Ohio governor and author Richard Celeste has released his memoir, In the Heart of It All: An Unvarnished Account of My Life in Public Service. He describes his life from his early years near Cleveland, Ohio, to Yale, to a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford, and points beyond, including the Ohio State House and governor’s mansion. He will appear at the 2023 Ohioana Book Festival on Saturday, April 22.
Running a lightly funded campaign his first time angling for governor, Celeste employed guerrilla tactics such as having his name announced over airport public address systems so as to gain name recognition. He also “dropped political literature in the precincts of every political writer for one of the Ohio major newspapers on the same day, and … on the doorstep of Governor Gilligan, as well.”
Listen in to hear more about his illustrious career and then attend the Ohioana Book Festival to hear him speak in person.
I talk at the beginning [of the book] about the advice from my two grandmothers: one was to … always hold something in, keep things secret. And the other grandmother said .. “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Richard Celeste
The post The good, the bad and the overhead announcements: Richard Celeste’s autobiography first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Author Becky Cloonan at GalaxyCon 2023 (Credit: Doug Dangler)I met Becky Cloonan at the 2022 Columbus Galaxy Con, where we discussed her comic book writing, the influence of comics on the movies made from them, and the sweet freedom that comes from self publishing. Listen in to find out why she loves comics.
I don’t think comics necessarily are influenced by [comic book-based] movies. I think it’s the other way around, and I think it should always be that way.
Becky Cloonan
The post “It’s like eating dessert all the time:” Becky Cloonan’s comic book writing first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinn/9613773/“I’m great at multitasking,” some people say. But does leading a harried existence of constant interruptions, shifting our attention when the boss calls, or when a client needs “just a minute of your time,” or when the spouse or kids need you right now have a cost? All of these interruptions shift our focus, tear us away from what we’re doing. Individually, changing focus seems minor, just another part of modern life, but researcher Dr. Gloria Mark says interruptions add up and they’re stripping away our ability to have sustained focus. Dr. Mark, prolifically published psychologist and University of California’s Chancellor Professor of Informatics, has recently published Attention Span. Among her research findings is that the average attention on any screen was two minutes, 30 seconds in 2004. It was 75 seconds in 2012. In the last five to six years, it’s 47 seconds.
Are you still with me?
Listen in to hear more about her findings and what kinds of hope she sees for our ability to focus.
We know from decades of laboratory research that when people shift their attention [there’s a] correlation between the stress as measured on heart rate monitors and attention shifting… We also know people make more errors when they switch their attention.
Gloria Mark
The post Think multitasking helps you? Dr. Gloria Mark says no first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Genre-spanning singer/songwriter Roberta Lea writes soul, pop, RnB, and country songs and was named one of “12 Artists to Watch in 2022” by Nashville Scene’s Country Almanac. Her single “Sweet Baby Ray” was awarded Song of the Year at the 2022 Veer Music Awards and was recently inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023. She will be in Columbus with Joe Crookston and Six String Concerts on February 17.
Listen in to hear about her songwriting process, having friends pressure her into releasing a song, and why her husband is blameless for another of her songs. YOu can learn more about her at iamrobertalea.com
The post Barbecue and romance: Roberta Lea visits Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Image by Dennis Larsen from PixabayImagine being a slave on a southern plantation whose mistress died and you were under suspicion. Obviously, you would need to leave as soon as possible before retribution. The most reasonable course of action would seem to be going north, but what if you don’t know anyone in the north? Without family, who would help you? Who could you trust?
That’s the conundrum facing John Billingsly, the protagonist of Eric Walker’s book Lost Souls Recovered, who must leave his mother and their slave cabin on a plantation in Richmond, Virginia, to find safety with a cousin in Mount Hope, Alabama, a decidedly southern direction or, as Walker puts it, “into the belly of the beast.”
Author and amateur genealogist Walker heard stories throughout his life from family members describing the struggles of their African American ancestors. Eventually, he decided to take these stories and make them into a fictional representation of his family with this book.
The creation of the book itself is a saga years in the making, with Walker putting it down for a decade after it was written and edited. Listen in to hear about how he got started with his writing, how he wound his way through a variety of publishing options, and what he’s working on now.
The post Into the belly of the beast with Eric Walker first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Some authors plot out their books in detail. Some write by the seat of their pants. And some, like JD Blackrose, combine these approaches to create works in a variety of genres. Her books include The Devil’s Been Busy, A Wrinkle and Crime, and The Summoner’s Mark series. Her dark fantasy story “Welcome, Death” appears in The Jewish Book of Horror and looks at the pogroms of 1918 and 1919. She also has an urban fantasy series, a genre she finds attractive because “one of the great things about urban fantasy is that a lot of the writers are female.” You can read more about her work at www.slipperywords.com.
The post Plotter + Pantser = Plantser: The writing of JD Blackrose first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
When someone asks “Where are you from?” is your answer a region? An area of a state or country? Or do you think of the home where you lived as a young person?
For Trent Wagler and the other members of the Steel Wheels, where they’re from is all of this and more, an amorphous assortment of memories that have meaning to them. As Trent put it
“when we talk about home, sometimes you really do think about the old windows or the drafty heat, or the weird wobbly floors of an old building as home. But, of course, for most of us, it’s the experience of the sounds and smells of dinner being cooked or the laughter of your friends or family in that space.”
If you’d like to catch up with the sounds and smeels of home, the Steel Wheels will be in town with Six String Concerts on January 21, when you can buy their latest, Everyone a Song Volume Two, featuring the song “Where I’m From.”
The post The Steel Wheels: Where are you from? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Once again, Craft Studios and Ready-to-Bake Pizzas offers you the finest in Halloween merriment, from psycho killers stalking the innocent to teachers struggling with urges to massage therapists with unexpected clients – we aim to entertain and inform. We hope … Continue reading →
The post Craft Halloween 2022 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Once again, Craft Studios and Ready-to-Bake Pizzas offers you the finest in Halloween merriment, from psycho killers stalking the innocent to teachers struggling with urges to massage therapists with unexpected clients – we aim to entertain and inform. We hope … Continue reading →
The post Craft Halloween 2022 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Every so often a hero arises. A hero who can take the most far-out questions about science, do the research, and crunch the numbers so we get the answers we need. Randall Monroe, author of WHAT IF? 2: Additional Serious … Continue reading →
The post T Rex appetites and who owns the sky?: A conversation with Randall Munroe first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Every so often a hero arises. A hero who can take the most far-out questions about science, do the research, and crunch the numbers so we get the answers we need. Randall Monroe, author of WHAT IF? 2: Additional Serious … Continue reading →
The post T Rex appetites and who owns the sky?: A conversation with Randall Munroe first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The daughter of a 1950’s widowed working mother, Carolyn Aaron grew up in an unusual circumstances, some of which she’s used in her acting. She calls her civil rights activist mother an “inverse influence” on her character of Shirley Maisel, … Continue reading →
The post The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Carolyn Aaron: Make a difference to one first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Comic Sumukh Torgalkar will return to central Ohio after a few years on the West Coast to record his second comedy album at Madlab on June 3. Listen in as we discuss his comedy interests, the impact of the pandemic, … Continue reading →
The post Sumukh Torgalkar is back in Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-songwriter Jeff Black will appear on June 3 with Columbus’ Six String Concert series. He brings a back catalog of 12 albums and a new one that he’s in the process of writing, so be prepared for something potentially new. … Continue reading →
The post Get Blacklisted with Jeff Black at Six String Concerts first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Vance Gilbert has released 13 albums so far, with another one on the way that he’s been working on live in concert. When the pandemic struck, he switched to the live streaming concerts every Monday at 7:30pm. For the past … Continue reading →
The post Vance Gilbert: 107 online concerts makes him ready for a live one! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
In and out of care facilities for many years, Dr. Carolyn Bailey Lewis persevered and became director and general manager of OUB public media at Ohio University in Athens, where she served for 13 years as the first woman and … Continue reading →
The post Dr. Carolyn Bailey Lewis and Love and Loss: The Storied Nature of Nursing Home Care first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Author, speaker and media specialist Christina Dorr, PhD, will appear as part of the Ohioana virtual Book Festival on April 29-May 1. Her most recent book is Profiles in Resilience: Books for Children and Teens That Center the Lived Experience … Continue reading →
The post Generational Poverty in Ohio and Beyond: Christina Dorr first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I think I became aware of The Talk that African American parents have with their children a few years ago, most likely during the start of the Black Lives Matter movement. This is probably one of the surest signs that … Continue reading →
The post I have The Talk with Brendan Kiely first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ron Allan from Big Voice Productions in central Ohio has performed and taught voice acting throughout the Midwest and has over 30 years of experience. As he said during our discussion, “somewhere, right now, this minute, I’m on a radio … Continue reading →
The post How to have a Big Voice through voice acting with Ron Allan first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Cleveland poet George Bilgere’s latest collection is Central Air, which was released March 2022. He hosts “Wordplay” on Cleveland Public Radio, which has been described as the car talk of poetry. He joins the Ohioana virtual Book Festival on April … Continue reading →
The post George Bilgere at Ohioana 2022 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Celtic Folk rock group Tempest has a history of playing pirate songs and playing at WCBE. They will be in town on April 8 at Byrne’s Pub. I spoke with founding member and lead singer/electric mandolinist, Lief Sorbye, about how … Continue reading →
The post Tempest hoists the Jolly Roger at Burns’ Pub on April 8 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
On her way to selling over 30 million books, Lisa Scottoline has had plenty of time to imagine what’s the worst that could happen in any situation. And fortunately, she’s written about it. This time, it’s tailgating that turns into … Continue reading →
The post Who is in that car tailgating you? Lisa Scottoline says to be afraid; be very afraid first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
It’s that time again: time to reach into your wallets and purses and neighbor’s couch cushions and help support central Ohio’s NPR station, WCBE! In today’s show, I talk with Greg Moebius, General Manager at WCBE. We discuss the theme … Continue reading →
The post WCBE is putting the FUN in fund drive first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
You ever look at something and think, “Yeah, that’s hiding a terrible secret?” Tonight’s story is just that kind of event, a moment that made me shiver with fear when I saw a deadly contraption roaming the sidewalks and streets … Continue reading →
The post The ‘Bot first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Violinist Savannah Buist, cellist Katie Larson, and percussionist Michael Dause make up The Accidentals, who will perform in Columbus on March 12 with Six String Concerts. I spoke with Sav and Katie about their time as musicians, how the pandemic … Continue reading →
The post Multitalented: The Accidentals visit Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Cardiologist and author of Heartbreak and Heart Disease Dr. Stephen Sinatra believes that some habits could unexpectedly impact your heart health. During our conversation, we discussed the many ways that how much not getting enough sleeping at night can negatively … Continue reading →
The post Can contact with the earth heal you? Cardiologist Stephen Sinatra thinks so. first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Larry Griffin co-founded Capriccio Columbus 13 years ago and still serves as its artistic director. He’ll present this year’s Christmas with Capriccio concert on December 19 at Worthington United Methodist Church. Listen in as he describes the songs they’ll play, … Continue reading →
The post Christmas with Capriccio: A time to reflect first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels By Romi Azulay Every year, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with turkey and stuffing, with perhaps a thought of Native Americans briefly glancing their minds. Perhaps. Mark Mann and Michael Herring of Red Herring theater acknowledge these two separate … Continue reading →
The post Red Herring Theater: The Thanksgiving Play first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The 2021 Ohioana Book Awards will be presented on October 14 at the Ohio Statehouse. Listen in to find out who received an award and how you can get tickets to the free, open to the public virtual event.
The post 2021 Ohioana Book Awards: Be there (virtually) on October 14 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Continuing with my How’s It Going? series on local small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, I spoke with Lauren Powers from The Buckeye Dog Grooming in Clintonville. Listen in to hear about the changes necessary to keep pets and their … Continue reading →
The post Craft goes to the dogs: How’s It Going? with dog groomer Lauren Powers first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Well, what really happens in fiction, at least. Author Rachel Lynn Solomon has written four young adult books and her debut adult novel. The Ex Talk, is a Library Reads January 2021 pick. Solomon worked in public radio in college … Continue reading →
The post What REALLY happens in local radio stations?: Ask Rachel Lynn Solomon first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Steve Berry is a former attorney, an internationally renowned thriller writer, and founder of History Matters. He has over 20 million books in print in over 50 countries and 40 different languages. As part of his tour for his latest, … Continue reading →
The post Steve Berry’s new Cotton Malone novel goes to WWII first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
If you’re looking for a break from the various crises filling our lives right now, you might find some solace in reading up on a volatile moment in the United States’ past. This week we talk to Columbus author Karin … Continue reading →
The post Love and loss in the Gulf Coast: Columbus author Karin Cecile Davidson gives insight into her new novel first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The incredible impact of COVID-19 has been felt by everyone but few have been hit as hard as restaurants, live performance venues, and other public gathering place. In a series I’m calling “How Are You Doing?,” I’ll be talking with … Continue reading →
The post How Are You Doing? Natalie’s Coal-Fired Pizza first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Carrie Newcomer has been touring and writing albums throughout her long career. But, like it did for all of us, COVID-19 disrupted her life completely: “I’ve toured a lot over the last years, and within a month and a half, … Continue reading →
The post Carrie Newcomer: “It’s about how we process” first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
If you’ve watched Bruce Campbell in movies like the Evil Dead series or Bubba Ho-Tep or TV shows like The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.; Jack of All Trades; Hercules: The Legendary Journeys; Xena: Warrior Princess; Burn Notice; or Ash … Continue reading →
The post It’s cold outside but Bruce Campbell & the Evil Dead will keep you warm first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Joel Silverman, celebrity animal trainer and host of Animal Planet’s “Good Dog U,” joins Craft to describe some of the best training techniques that you may want to use on that new puppy you got over the holidays or during … Continue reading →
The post Dog gone tired of bad behavior? Joel Silverman has some suggestions first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What could be scarier than 2020? This was the problem that faced the crack writing and performing troupe here at the Craft Media Tower and Deli. We got straight to work to solve it and came up with the audio … Continue reading →
The post Craft Halloween 2020 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
My father was a school administrator for many years and I heard his enthusiasm for schools throughout my childhood. So I was intrigued by the title of Doris Caceres-Schumick’s book Public School Teaching Sucks, Period.: A Memoir of a Special Education/ESL … Continue reading →
The post Public School Teaching: Glamorous or Does It Suck? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohioana 2020 author Jodi Andes has worked at the Columbus Dispatch and was a senior investigator at The Ohio Attorney General’s office, where she conducted an inquiry into the con artist Bobby Thompson, the subject of her book, Master of … Continue reading →
The post Bobby Thompson: The story that the US government doesn’t want you to know first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Currently a doctoral candidate at Xavier University, 2020 Ohioana Book Festival author Kiya Renae has written three books: Through Her Own Eyes: This is Only the Beginning; It’s Ok to Be Broken: Highs, Lows, and Happy Mediums; and an as-yet … Continue reading →
The post 2020 Ohioana Book Festival Author Kiya Renae first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Along with her four sisters, Columbus, Ohio, resident Gabrielle C. Burton make up Five Sisters productions. Their recent YouTube release Old Guy features their late father Roger Burton as a man re-entering the acting field after having been away from … Continue reading →
The post This old guy talks to the creators of another Old Guy: Gabrielle C. Burton and Peri Gilpin first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Connie Schultz published her first book Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths, a collection of her columns for The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper in 2006. She followed this in 2007 with a book about accompanying her … Continue reading →
The post Connie Schultz’s move from reporting to fiction first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I don’t normally post the transcript of my interviews, but this episode makes sense to have it available. Doug Dangler From a secret location in room 100 of 540 jack Gibbs Boulevard, this is Craft. I’m your host Doug Dangler. … Continue reading →
The post CoronaVirus Update with Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser from the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I am pleased to have spoken with Sherrod Brown, the senior United States Senator from Ohio. Brown started his political career in 1975, as an Ohio State Representative. He was the 47th Secretary of State of Ohio and the US … Continue reading →
The post Senator Sherrod Brown on Progressivism and the Worst US President first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Members of Goose on the Loose, happening October 10-13 in Columbus Ohio, stop by to tell me about the festival that you need to attend.
The post Goose on the Loose: Catch it! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
While Ant-Man floats in the endless expanse of the Marvel Universe Quantum Realm, scientists like Professor Nadya Mason at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign work diligently to discover what the rules of quantum mechanics really are. Professor Mason’s January … Continue reading →
The post How a Super Scientist Helps a Superhero: Nadya Mason Rescues Paul Rudd (someday) first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Dino Tripodis started gracing Columbus radio nearly 25 years ago as part of the Dino and Stacy duo, and he’s transitioned to podcasting with Whiskey Business, more writing, and a return to stand up comedy. He dropped by WCBE recently … Continue reading →
The post A message to Dino Tripodis’s mother: He’s working! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The universe is endlessly vast and can seem incomprehensible. However, it’s not as incomprehensible as you might think. In his book Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence, astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter explains a lot about what … Continue reading →
The post Paul M. Sutter Puts You in Your Place in the Universe first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I find dystopian novels one of the most interesting forms of science fiction. From 1984 to Fahrenheit 451, authors have created futures that we fear may come to pass (if they haven’t already). Margaret Peterson Haddix is known for her juvenile … Continue reading →
The post Margaret Peterson Haddix and the Children of Exile first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Almost everyone has seen the hilarious comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. From the Black Knight, the Taunting Frenchman, and the importance of knowing the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, the film’s many funny moments have a place in … Continue reading →
The post Spamalot comes to Columbus’s Palace Theater first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
“I never learned to do taxes at school but I know the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” The phrase “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell” has become a common punchline in a lot of jokes online, … Continue reading →
The post Think you know mitochondria? Think again says Michael W Gray first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
It’s here again: Halloween, that time of year when Craft goes a little crazy and gives the world a variety of questionable stories and interviews. We cover all the greatest Halloween hits: cannibalism, zombies, serial killers, where to buy super science … Continue reading →
The post Happy Halloween 2018 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio author Celeste Ng is the 2018 Ohioana Fiction Award winner for her book Little Fires Everywhere. Listen in as we discuss what it’s like to win an Ohioana award; how she ensured that she got the details right about … Continue reading →
The post Celeste Ng receives 2018 Ohioana award for fiction first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Did your school have mandatory square dancing lesson? Mine did, which may be why I’ll never wear western plaid again. Humorist and participatory journalist Henry Alford has not only written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Vanity … Continue reading →
The post Henry Alford: So you think you can contact improv? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
She’s one of Ohioana’s authors for 30 Books in 30 Days, so catch Mary Kay Carson on our YouTube Channel!
The post Mary Kay Carson at 2018 Ohioana Book Festival first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
One of my favorite exchanges in the first Lord of the Rings movie occurs after Aragorn tells the hobbits to stop eating and get walking: Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop ’til nightfall. Pippin: But what about breakfast? Aragorn: You’ve … Continue reading →
The post Billy Boyd: Art imitates life first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Actor Thomas Ian Nicholas has appeared in many films, starring in Rookie of the Year and playing Kevin Myers in the American Pie franchise. He’s also a musician, producer, and writer. His latest work in production involves magicians and vampires, … Continue reading →
The post Thomas Ian Nicholas: From actor to producer to musician first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Steven Wright is one of a handful of comics I’ve paid to see perform live, although that says more about how cheap I am than it does about comics. At any rate, it was great to talk to him and … Continue reading →
The post Steven Wright’s favorite joke first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
CEO and founder of Geben Communications, Heather Whaling is a fan of social media, not a surprise given her occupation. So the recent news about the Facebook privacy problems were of particular interest to her. Listen in while she describes … Continue reading →
The post Heather Whaling: Spring cleaning your social media profile first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
For legendary singer-songwriter John Gorka’s new album, True in Time, he casts his mind back to the past, with songs that explore memories and those we’ve lost. Join us as we discuss his songs and his songwriting. John Gorka will … Continue reading →
The post John Gorka: The past never dies. It comes back as songs first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Like many of us, Alberto Cairo is a polls-junky. Whenever election season comes around, he gets locked into the numbers. But for Cairo, it’s not just a seasonal passion; he’s devoted his academic studies to graphical representations of data in … Continue reading →
The post Visual Trumpery or How Alberto Cairo Confronts Fake News and Statistics first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio State University alum Michael Kardos had a problem. How could he keep his son busy while he was writing? The solution: promise to write story chapters for his son if he played quietly for a time. In a classic … Continue reading →
The post Michael Kardos: A book so good, it’s magic first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Christine Hayes is a Columbus native and columnist for the Short North Gazette. You might know her as Ramona Moon, the art car lady. Aside from gluing toys to her car, Hayes has edited a book of her father’s old … Continue reading →
The post Christine Hayes: Lost Restaurants of Central Ohio and Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Yo ho! Yo ho! It’s the pirate’s life for Steve! Ever since Steve Goble was a kid, he’s been enthralled with the adventure novel. Since he couldn’t be a pirate, Goble became a reporter for ten Ohio news publications and … Continue reading →
The post Steve Goble: Writing the pirate seas first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
How small can we go with computers? What happens as materials get as tiny as the dinosaur I’ve shrunk to the size of a pen? Amanda Petford-Long is a distinguished physicist in the Materials Science Division of the Argonne National … Continue reading →
The post Amanda Petford-Long: Let’s Get Small first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Dustin Meadows has been doing stand up for eight years. He’s released two albums, founded an alternative comedy troupe called Whiskey Bear Comedy, and frequently hosts The Pop Culture mixtape. He stops by Craft to talk about his new album, No! … Continue reading →
The post Dustin Meadows: Weezer, NuMetal, and finding your voice as a comedian first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Lori Erickson grew up on a farm in Iowa and grew up reading adventure novels by John L. Stoddard that inspired her to travel the world. In her newest book, Holy Rover, Erickson explores her love of travel and her personal spirituality. … Continue reading →
The post Lori Erickson: Monks Don’t Make the Best Interview Subjects first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Matthew Kahle is an associate professor at Ohio State and researches topology, geometry, probability, statistical mechanics, and combinatorics. He’s also enamored with Archimedes, one of the foremost mathematicians, scientists, inventors, and engineers of the ancient world. Kahle first heard about … Continue reading →
The post Matthew Kahle: Did Archimedes build a death ray? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Want a Marvel-DC cross-over on the silver screen? Well, the studios probably can’t hash out that legal mess, so you’ll have to settle for watching two radio shows collide. Johnny DiLoretto, host of Cinema Classics and WCBE Community Relations Coordinator, … Continue reading →
The post Craft Intern Adam Hribar hosts WCBE’s Johnny DiLoretto first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Rebecca Walker Reczek, Ohio State associate professor of marketing, will appear on January 21 at the Ohio State University’s Science Sundays where she’ll discuss “Do Healthy Diets Make Empty Wallets? How Consumer Beliefs Shape Food Choice.” Tune in to hear … Continue reading →
The post Rebecca Reczek: Are you spending your food dollars wisely? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
In the summer of 1992, I had moved to Columbus with my wife so she could attend medical school. I was working odd jobs, including a lunch and dinner shifts at a seedy Italian restaurant I was convinced was run … Continue reading →
The post Loudon Wainwright III returns to Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Journalist, novelist, and public speaker Masha Hamilton is the 2017 John E. Nance writer in residence with the Thurber House and will appear with Evenings with Authors on November 14. She’s covered conflicts across the globe, from the fall of … Continue reading →
The post Masha Hamilton on the perfume of people in war first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I’ve tried to meditate, but never got it to work. I’ve focused on my breath, let ideas go past unnoticed, and still haven’t gotten to the peaceful state described in writings about meditation. Serenity now! Ohio State University Associate Professor … Continue reading →
The post Ohio State University Professor Ruchika Prakash on mindfulness first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Brian Kilmeade, co author of three books, will appear with the Thurber House Evenings with Authors series on Thursday, November 2 to discuss his latest Historical Thriller “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle that Shaped America’s … Continue reading →
The post Brian Kilmeade co-authors book on Andrew Jackson first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
If it’s Halloween, it must be time for a Craft Halloween special. Here it is: all the heartwarming family fun you could ask for in a show filled tenderness, beauty, and a pile of cats and dogs burning in front of … Continue reading →
The post Craft Halloween Special 2017 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohioana Marisa Silver was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio and has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, an O. Henry Prize, and, on October 6, a 2017 Ohioana Awards. Join us as we talk about her time in Ohio (think overcast skies), her background working … Continue reading →
The post Marisa Silver: Sometimes you have to change first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
If you’ve watched CSI: Las Vegas, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and CSI: Cyber or even CSI: Pickerington and wondered what really happens during a crime scene investigation, then Lisa Black is the author for you. She spent five years working at … Continue reading →
The post Lisa Black: Murder in Cleveland first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Sally Fingerett was raised by wolves. Her words. Join us for an exploration of the childhood of this singer-songwriter and founding member of Four Bitchin’ Babes, how being Jewish and born on Christmas Day affected her, and the ways that … Continue reading →
The post Sally Fingerett: Raised by wolves first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Actor, producer, and author Bruce Campbell has been in a lot of movies that I’ve enjoyed, like the Evil Dead movie franchise, which is now a TV show on Starz Channel (Ash vs. Evil Dead). But perhaps my favorite is … Continue reading →
The post Bruce Campbell: Columbus and the Evil Dead first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio State Professor Nick White had a secret, one he didn’t want to tell himself or anyone else: he was gay. But, like most secrets, it eventually came to light, for him in a surprisingly hopeful way. The protagonist of his … Continue reading →
The post How to Survive a Summer: Nick White tells all first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
A nightmare scenario: cheap Nordic prices and a wild population. Join us.
The post Ikea Idea first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Columbus comedian Leslie Battle is no stranger to struggle. What makes her special is the ability to make others laugh with her at life’s trials and oddities. Listen in as we discuss the decidedly unfunny event that led her to comedy, … Continue reading →
The post Comedy from pain: Columbus comic Leslie Battle first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio State University Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Theatre Jennifer Schlueter is a playwright and her latest, Patience Worth, premiered in March in St Louis and will have a two-day run on May 19-20 at Ohio … Continue reading →
The post Letting the past have its say: Jennifer Schlueter and Patience Worth first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Life is made up of surprising coincidences. Examples: Colson Whitehead was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for fiction on April 11 for his book Underground Railroad, and he’s in Columbus on April 28 with the Bexley Library. AND he’s this … Continue reading →
The post And the winner is…Colson Whitehead! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Character riggers create digital puppets for animation, the code that brings to life your favorite personalities like Po in Kung Fu Panda or Toothless in How To Train Your Dragon. Cara Malek worked as a rigger on both of these … Continue reading →
The post Cara Malek: How to zip a two-headed dragon first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I had a great talk with author and bookstore owner Linda Kass at the 2017 Ohioana Book Festival. Her book, Tasa’s Song, is a fictionalized version of her mother’s life during World War 2. Kass is also the owner of … Continue reading →
The post Ohioana Interviews: Linda Kass first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What drives an assassin? What makes someone break past societal barriers and kill a president? Jennifer Chiaverini , author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, The Spymistress, and Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule, explores this territory in Fates and Traitors, a fictional history of … Continue reading →
The post Jennifer Chiaverini on the women around John Wilkes Booth first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I enjoy talking to illustrators because I’m fascinated with how their brains are wired so differently from mine. I can draw a stick figure and a smiley face. Beyond that, my drawings look like a toddler accidentally got ahold of … Continue reading →
The post C. F. Payne: Matching heads and bodies on a magazine cover near you first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Junk. Most likely it’s what you think you need to throw away. But for the organizers of Junk Bash, it’s something to be treasured. According to Mercantile Fairs Director of Operations and Outreach Suzanne Perreault, Junk Bash brings together people with … Continue reading →
The post Junk: It’s not what you think first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
When author and documentary filmmaker e.E. Charlton-Trujillo decided to go on a book tour a few years ago, she also took along all the equipment to make a video. This was second nature to her because of her experience, but … Continue reading →
The post Author and filmmaker e.E. Charlton-Trujillo first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Neutrinos. Those weird little particles you might remember from physics class. No charge, smaller than electrons, but incredibly fast. What good are they? Ohio State Professor of Physics John Beacom knows the value of neutrinos and he talks about them … Continue reading →
The post Professor John Beacom Gives Us All Security Clearance first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Here’s a fun little tale all about nationalism, sports, and Oscar Wilde. Huge thank you to Columbus actor supreme Christina Yoho, who not only knocked the voices out of the park but also started this rolling by asking me to write … Continue reading →
The post The Sun Never Sets first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Parents are complicated. Over a lifetime, children watch them transition from the infallible arbiters of childhood into the frail collection of ailments endemic to old age. Phillip Lopate’s mother was an exceptionally complicated person. Two decade ago, Lopate interviewed her … Continue reading →
The post Essayist Phillip Lopate returns to exploration of family first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Imagine you’re a painter. Beyond needing natural talent, hard work, and technique, how do you find a subject? If you’re Andrew Wyeth, creator of the famous 1948 painting Christina’s World (below), you get lucky, kind of, in that your subject … Continue reading →
The post The surprising inspiration for Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ever wonder how many kinds of fish are in the sea? That’s easy compared to the task for the international Tara Oceans Expedition: what kinds of microorganisms infect those fish and other marine life? The three-year mission of Tara was to sample … Continue reading →
The post Matthew Sullivan: How learning about the ocean’s tiniest creature helps humans first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ever lie under a bed as a kid, hiding from adults or siblings, looking for something to do? Jonathan Byrd did. But unlike many other kids, he started to play the bed springs, one weird ‘”plonk” after another in a … Continue reading →
The post Jonathan Byrd: From bed springs to the world’s stages first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ever listen to a meditation or relaxation recording and wonder, “What do they really tell me while I’m relaxing? What if it’s something bad? How do I know I can trust being relaxed?” Yeah, maybe I’m a little paranoid. I … Continue reading →
The post The Prometheus Protocol first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Many of us grew up reading the Hardy Boys (me) or Nancy Drew, wondering who Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene were and how they could write so many books. Julie Rubini and Marilyn Greenwald had the same questions and did some … Continue reading →
The post The Mystery of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew: Julie Rubini and Marilyn Greenwald first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Mark Erelli has released 16 CDs, 6 collaborative and 10 solo, including his most recent For A Song, his first solo album of original material in six years. During our conversation, we talked about the ways that crowdfunding is … Continue reading →
The post Mark Erelli: How to grab an audience’s attention softly first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Nationally syndicated columnist Connie Schultz won a 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her work with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, teaches journalism at Kent State University, and is the the author of two books including … and His Lovely Wife: A … Continue reading →
The post That time a Pulitzer Prize winner accidentally called me a journalist: Connie Schultz first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
It’s another A-lister on Craft: Mariah Carey! Listen in for exciting news on her new career in the Rockin’ New Year. A HUGE thank you to the inestimable Shawn Gould and ayote&olympic hiphop hard by Annon (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under … Continue reading →
The post Mariah Carey on Craft! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-songwriter Jeff Black has a lot of fan; and some of them are policemen, at least according to his podcast, Black Tuesdays. He’ll be in Columbus on December 3 with Six String Concerts. Listen in for the path less traveled and … Continue reading →
The post Jeff Black songs can get you out of speeding tickets (probably not) first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I’ve got a lot of people to thank you for this episode: Interviews with Loreena McKennitt (CAPA), Craig Johnson (Thurber House), Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzuto (Nest Theatre), Origins (The Ohio State University Department of History) And thank you to folks … Continue reading →
The post Thanksgiving special 2016 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What are you thankful for? Your health? Your family? Your friends? Thanksgiving Day, 2016, I’ll be broadcasting an hour-long Craft special on WCBE, 90.5 FM, and I’d like you to share a few minutes of what you’re thankful for with WCBE … Continue reading →
The post I’m Thankful for [This] first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Guest host Maureen Metcalf, CEO of Metcalf & Associates, talks with Dr. Dale W. Meyerrose, Major General(Retired) about leadership and how to lead a group of people who may not have a direct reporting relationship to you. Meyerrose was the first … Continue reading →
The post Maureen Metcalf and Dale Meyerrose first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What you’ve been fearing is finally here: the 2016 Craft Halloween special, with stories from around the globe and your neighborhood. Clown: Written and performed by Doug Dangler Pets I: Written and performed by Mallory Laurel, Cade Leebron, Neil Grayson, Meg … Continue reading →
The post Craft Halloween 2016 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Join Columbus Unscripted for the Columbus Improv Festival on October 20-24. On the show today, Barbara Allen and Bill Sabo talk to Kelly Buttermore from the podcast From Justin to Kelly about improv, life, and how a really bad show … Continue reading →
The post Improv! This weekend! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Bill Shkurti has lived a fascinating dual life at Ohio State University: as an undergraduate from 1964-68, he experienced life as a subject of the administration, but from 1990-2010 he was an important part of the administration. These two sides led him to … Continue reading →
The post BIll Shkurti on The Ohio State University in the Sixties: The Unraveling of the Old Order first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Many authors have explored the Kennedy family, but one little-explored member is Rosemary, the disabled daughter who was kept away from the public eye for most of her life. Kate Clifford Larson remedies this situation with her book, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy … Continue reading →
The post Kate Clifford Larson – Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What’s a dog owner to do? You can live in one of the top 10 best places to live in the United States, Littlefield, and still not have freedom to let your dog off leash at the dog park. And … Continue reading →
The post Life is Ruff: Suzanne Berne on The Dogs of Littlefield first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
There’s always that one guy you know in high school who has questionably sane ideas. In my high school, that guy was Jay. He liked to play “The Knockout Game,” the object of which was to be knocked unconscious. He liked to … Continue reading →
The post A Brief History of Vice first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Patty Larkin is renowned for her guitar skills, songwriting and singing prowess. She’s been a staple of the folk-urban scene, with 13 albums to her credit. She’ll be in Columbus with Six String concerts on September 17. Listen in for … Continue reading →
The post Patty Larkin: Finding the Miraculous first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Looking for a good read this autumn? Check out new books from Amanda Flower, who works in a variety of genres: Amish, children’s, magical, and contemporary.
The post Amanda Flower at the 2016 Ohioana Book Festival first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
With over two dozen books, including the New York Times bestseller The Obituary Writer and The Knitting Circle, to her credit, Ann Hood, knows books. In her most recent novel, The Book That Matters Most, she asks readers to consider what … Continue reading →
The post Ann Hood: What book matters most to you? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Comedian Tim Northern is a featured performer for the 2016 Arch City Comedy Festival and he recently talked to Craft humor correspondent Samantha Tucker about his life, his comedy, and the best city for humor. Catch him here and then … Continue reading →
The post Arch City Comedy Festival performer Tim Northern first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Most of us have done something we’d like to forget: that time you had a few too many and sang Karaoke or that time you demonstrated a dance move and split your pants. Columbus, Ohio, blogger and journalist Andrew Miller’s book If … Continue reading →
The post Andrew Miller: no names changed to protect the (not-so) innocent first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Noah Adams will bring his 30+ years of radio experience to Fort Hayes on July 26 for “An Evening with Noah Adams,” a benefit for WCBE, 90.5 FM. I talked with Adams about how he got his start in NPR, … Continue reading →
The post NPR reporter Noah Adams in Columbus with WCBE, July 26 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
“Who is Donald Trump?” Mark Singer unsuccessfully (he says) sought the answer to this question in 1997 when assigned to write a profile for The New Yorker. His conclusion, that Trump “had aspired to and achieved the ultimate luxury, an existence … Continue reading →
The post Mark Singer on Donald Trump: Unmolested by the rumbling of a soul first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s Mandatory World Tour will tear the roof off the Palace Theater in Columbus on July 6. I got a chance to talk to the man behind “Eat It,” “White and Nerdy,” and tons of other songs that … Continue reading →
The post “Weird Al”: still the best way I know Michael Jackson songs first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Guest interviewer Sam Tucker sits down with Pulitzer finalist Lee Martin and gets the scoop about Late One Night,his latest novel. Listen in for an in-depth look at how this novelist works, and what voice he’s always ready to deploy.
The post Late One Night with Lee Martin first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Thinking about a family vacation? Guest Tony Anderson has pretty of great advice about what to take with you before you pull out of the driveway. Warning: some of Tony’s ideas may not be legal in all states.
The post Guest host Whimsy Slattershot talks with Tony Anderson about surviving The Road first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
This week’s tragedy in Orlando brings special urgency to Craft guest Jim Obergefell’s interview and visit to Columbus. Obergefell is a June 19 guest of the Columbus Pride brunch and spoke with guest host Byron Edgington about the book Obergefell co-authored with Debbie Cenziper, Love … Continue reading →
The post Jim Obergefell visits Columbus with the Pride brunch first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Author Joe Hill has blazed a trail in horror fiction with 4 novels, and his latest, The Fireman, is burning up bookstores near you. Special guest author interviewer Lucy A Snyder (Craft fans–both of you–will remember Lucy’s great 2015 Halloween story) fans … Continue reading →
The post Joe Hill: the fireman is coming to your town first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Author John Scalzi appeared at the 2016 Ohioana Book festival to discuss his latest novels and assure the world that Ohio is a hub of literary content. In return, I assured him that Ohio is less frequently incarcerating our literary … Continue reading →
The post John Scalzi: Ohioan for the drama first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Jessica Knoll’s Luckiest Girl Alive was the best-selling debut of 2015 and was optioned for a movie by Reese Witherspoon. Knoll recently wrote an article “What I Know” about some of the experience-based events of Luckiest Girl Alive. Join us for … Continue reading →
The post Jessica Knoll: working through anger first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
From science fiction to hard-boiled detectives to westerns, Ohio author John Hegenberger has written them all. We met at the 2016 Ohioana Book Festival and talked about his novels, why he never gets writers’ block, and the best way to get … Continue reading →
The post John Hegenberger at the Ohioana Book Festival first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What are you doing May 19? You could go to this show. It is at the Wexner Center. It features performers describing their lives. They all wrote six word memoirs. Larry Smith hosts; we talked recently Six word memoirs are … Continue reading →
The post Larry Smith’s six words for Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Playing over 100 dates every year, singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey travels almost constantly. Before his May 13 appearance with Six String Concert series he will play in Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Sheboygan, WI. What keeps him on the road and wanting to perform … Continue reading →
The post Peter Mulvey: Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sheboygan and Columbus first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I smell of cologne Can he smell my mistake? My heart screams for more But my head’s to blame -Stranger In Your Arms by Honey and Blue Honey and Blue, made up of Stephanie Amber and Adam Darling, is a … Continue reading →
The post Honey and Blue: which is honey and which is blue? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Laura Lippman is the author of six New York Times bestselling novels and an award-winning short story anthology, and the creator of the Private Investigator Tess Monaghan series. Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, before turning to novel … Continue reading →
The post Laura Lippman: writing about her hometown with fact and fiction first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
-Andy Ross Home-runs and stadium chants do not typically fill the pages of a poetry collection, but then again, Jill Bialosky is not your typical poet. The Ohio native’s latest collection, The Players, uses the baseball diamond as a landscape … Continue reading →
The post Jill Bialosky: The Players in our lives first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
-Andy Ross Writer John Scalzi is an Ohio resident and the author of several award-winning science fiction novels. He also runs a popular blog, Whatever. Scalzi was the recipient of the 2016 Governor’s Award for the Arts in Ohio. Scalzi … Continue reading →
The post John Scalzi: how to stay employed as a writer first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
-Andy Ross This past December, local graphic artists Dara Naraghi and Brent Bowman released Persia Blues Volume 2: Love and War on independent publisher NBM. The story interweaves ancient Persian mythology with the story of young Minoo Shirazi coming to … Continue reading →
The post Dara Naraghi and Brent Bowman: creators of Persia Blues first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
It’s not often that trees, orchards, and apples find themselves at the center of a conflict, but that is exactly the case with Tracy Chevalier’s newest novel, At the Edge of the Orchard. The book follows the saga of the … Continue reading →
The post Tracy Chevalier: at the edge of the orchard and history first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
For Canadian singer-songwriter David Myles, time is always of the essence. The musician’s songs transcend decades, genres, and influences. Known as an “acoustic guitar crooner,” Myles does not let any label restrict him, as he explained in his Craft interview. … Continue reading →
The post David Myles: a man out of time first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Coconut Cowboy is the 19th installment of New York Times Bestseller Tim Dorsey’s serial killer series, but don’t let that genre label fool you. Dorsey’s lethal central character, Serge A. Storms, prefers to be called a “sequential killer.” Where serial killers are … Continue reading →
The post Tim Dorsey and the coconut cowboy first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Career politicians, backroom deals, and Congressional contention are not exclusive to today’s political landscape. As author and historian Fergus M. Bordewich would be quick to point out, “the great American tradition of political trench warfare” was just as prevalent early … Continue reading →
The post Fergus Bordewich: Congress is historically contentious first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
For Trent Wagler and The Steel Wheels, “Winter is Coming” and it doesn’t have anything to do with Game of Thrones. The band’s most recent album, Leave Some Things Behind, was released in April of 2015 and focuses on the … Continue reading →
The post The Steel Wheels: leaving home is never easy first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
After being gifted 30 rolls of the now discontinued Kodachrome film, photographer Stephen Takacs set out to capture images of businesses impacted by the digital photo transition. His cross-country journey started in Portland and ended in Parsons, KS at the … Continue reading →
The post Stephen Takacs: how do I fit this camera into my Kia? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
-Andy Ross Ever wonder about the etiquette of nudity in a Korean spa? Samantha Tucker, a humorist and essayist enrolled in Ohio State’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, has the answer. In her first collection of essays, … Continue reading →
The post Samantha Tucker: so funny, you’ll have a kidney stone first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Many people think of Truman Capote as the campy talk show guest or the inspiration for the character of Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird. Melanie Benjamin wanted to know more about the author in his prime, before his high … Continue reading →
The post Melanie Benjamin: ruffling the feathers on the Swans of Fifth Avenue first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Today’s hour-long special on WCBE featured singer-songwriters Anna Nalick and John Gorka, Speakeasy’s Sumukh Torgalkar, and Ohio State’s History Talk. Thanks to all involved. “Pork packing in Cincinnati 1873” by Ehrgott & Krebs
The post Saturday hour-long special first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Singer-songwriters Anna Nalick and John Gorka will appear in Columbus on January 17 and 22 at the Rumba Cafe and Six String Concerts, respectively. Listen in to learn more about Anna Nalick’s songs after “Breathe 2 AM” and which song took John … Continue reading →
The post John Gorka and Anna Nalick: Together without knowing it first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
How to teach your kids not to be materialistic? Catie Curtis‘ parents set many interesting examples, including taking their children to the town dump and saying,”Pick something out, anything you want.” As she recalls, it was a great teaching moment … Continue reading →
The post Catie Curtis and the best place to find inexpensive treasures first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Part 2 of my talk with Columbus architectural photographer Brad Feinknopf and his thoughts on what it takes to get great images of buildings. Go here for Part 1 of our talk. Here’s Doug’s image discussed on … Continue reading →
The post Brad Feinknopf: What a hip, cool photographer really wants [Part 2] first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ever look at photographs of buildings, maybe with perfectly captured shimmering lights or passers-by caught just so, and wonder how they do it? Columbus architectural photographer Brad Feinknopf details some of the tricks of the trade and how he moved from his … Continue reading →
The post Brad Feinknopf: What a hip, cool photographer really wants [Part 1] first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
What kind of childhood frustration leads one to be a writer? Central Ohio nonfiction writer Nichole Reber’s path to a career in writing was sparked by her mother reading to her and Nichole’s curiosity about how her mother did this … Continue reading →
The post Nicole Reber: Frank Lloyd Wright in his underwear and other literary writing topics first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The 5th-Annual MAT Scriptwriting Competition has kicked off! Accepting submissions now! Posted by Midnight Audio Theatre on Saturday, December 12, 2015
The post The 5th-Annual MAT Scriptwriting Competition has kicked off! Accepting submissions now! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ohio State University professor Jeffrey H. Cohen’s latest book Eating Soup without a Spoon sounds like a minimalist cookbook bent on reducing the amount of silverware used at a meal. It’s not. It’s a look at the application of anthropological methods … Continue reading →
The post Eating soup (and grasshoppers) without a spoon with Jeffrey Cohen first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The last time Rebecca Frazier was in Columbus with Six String Concerts, we talked about her transportation, the most dangerous tour bus in America. This time, we talked about the impact her kids have on her touring schedule and writing and … Continue reading →
The post Rebecca Redux: Frazier back in town with Six String Concerts first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Guest host Maureen Metcalf is on a mission to find parallels between the arts and business. This week, she talks to Michael Sayre, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of NexDefense, about how his 25 years in the technology and industrial control systems industry … Continue reading →
The post How can business goals and social conscience co-exist? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Looking for allegory and science fiction? Donald Templeman has your hero: Crilen. Here’s a sneak peek at Crilen’s creator, Donald Templeman, at the Ohio ComicCon.
The post Donald Templeman and allegorical science fiction first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Jason Gay is the sports columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Seriously. I didn’t know that The Wall Street Journal covered sports. I originally imagined that it only covers polo, but no, Jason Gay covers a variety of sports, after previously writing … Continue reading →
The post Jason Gay: Little victories add up first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
To celebrate the release of The Fourth Messenger, I’m hosting the Craft Book Giveaway Bonanza during the Saturday, November 14, broadcast of my interview with Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng! The broadcast is paired with a great discussion of the … Continue reading →
The post Fourth Messenger and the Migration Crisis first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Ray Bradbury and the apocalypse. Edgar Allen Poe and pet abuse. Nothing sentimental or lovely: Audrey Niffenegger’s latest book, Ghostly, will haunt your reading hours. Listen in for her discussion of the writing, loss, and which story she’d have most liked to … Continue reading →
The post Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler’s Wife author brings the ghosts first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Having, like Sting, left the teaching of English to follow his passion as a singer-songwriter, Mike Vial has developed a variety of new songs, new techniques, and new artistic outlets to enhance his music. Lately, he’s turned to writing haikus … Continue reading →
The post Mike Vial: Balancing joy, sadness, and teaching as a songwriter first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Happy Halloween. It’s time to face your fears: not run from them like this guy. –> So listen to the Craft Halloween special with stories from Lucy A Snyder and Doug Dangler, and voice work from Columbus actor Christina Yoho, OSU student … Continue reading →
The post Top two reasons to be fearful: The Craft Halloween 2015 Show Stories first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Gregory Maguire is the author of the bestselling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a reimagining of the Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch’s point of view. It’s also the basis … Continue reading →
The post Get Wicked with Gregory Maguire first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Part one of my video interviews at the Ohio Comic Con this fall. Herb Bellamy and David Brown tell me about comics, how they work and how they started reading them. Enjoy!
The post Herb Bellamy and David Brown at Ohio Comic Con first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Back by unpopular demand: an hour of Craft on the mighty WCBE! Featuring Sarah Vowell, performers from the 2015 Columbus Improv Festival, and Ohio State University comics, it will broadcast at 3 pm on October 24 – unless you know … Continue reading →
The post October 24 Comedy special first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Her voice is like no one else’s, and so is her writing: Sarah Vowell has a new book releasing on October 20: Lafayette in the Somewhat United States. What questions would you ask her about life, writing, and what made Lafayette such … Continue reading →
The post How to get a free copy of Sarah Vowell’s new book first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Celebrated essayist and bestselling author Sloane Crosley has made the genre leap to fiction with her latest The Clasp. Listen in to learn what made her realize she is part of a group that is “cracked in the head:” authors. Explore … Continue reading →
The post Sloane Crosley: “cracked in the head” first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Caroline Cotter, in town with Six String Concerts, has a secret weapon for songwriting inspiration: crafting. Listen in to hear how her love of creating things led to her writing one of her favorite songs, La Marionette.
The post Caroline Cotter: How Craft led to a Great Song first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
When author/director Eric Dean Seaton attended the Ohio State University, he had a big car and big plans. The first paid off when he rented it out for football players to take dates around town and the second paid off … Continue reading →
The post How to Make Money with a 1973 Dodge Polara: Author/Director Eric Dean Seaton first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I talked to Larry Smith earlier this summer about his Six Word Memoirs project and the Columbus variant, Six in the City. He had a booth at the 2015 Columbus Independents’ Day Festival and I got an update on his plans. … Continue reading →
The post Catching up with Larry Smith first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Karin Slaughter’s debut novel, Blindsighted, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. Since then, she’s released over a dozen books which have sold over 30 million copies. She’ll be a guest author … Continue reading →
The post Karin Slaughter: Writing murder from life’s tragedies first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
The Columbus Comic Con is upon us! I’ll be attending doing interviews, so say “hi” if you see me. Below is a sneak peak of the Con with Lou Ferrigno, the original Hulk. I remember watching this show as a … Continue reading →
The post I Hulk Out with Lou Ferrigno first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
With poems in “The Paris Review,” “The Gettysburg Review,” and “The Florida Review,” and a 2011 creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, native Columbusite Maggie Smith has created a strong following. She was a July 15 guest of the … Continue reading →
The post Poetry, Shapeshifting, and the Magic of Parenting with Maggie Smith first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
His new album “The Mispronunciation of Sumukh Torgalkar” (iTunes) was a hit on iTunes Comedy and Sumukh Torgalkar has been touring around the country from his base in Columbus, Ohio, as well as at the Arch City Comedy Festival. Listen in … Continue reading →
The post How Do You Pronounce Sumukh Torgalkar? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
You’ve heard her on “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me,” seen her HBO comedy special, or watched her animated character “Forgetter Paula” in Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out.” But how well do you really know Paula Poundstone? Listen to our interview so you … Continue reading →
The post How Well Do You Know Paula Poundstone? first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Comedian Erin Foley, appearing in Columbus on September 3-5 with the Arch City Comedy Festival, has done many things: toured extensively as a stand up comedian, hosted the popular podcast Sports without Balls, and released a CD, Lady with Pockets. But when … Continue reading →
The post Erin Foley: Outside Her Comfort Zone first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Comedian Stewart Huff, also in town September 3-5 with the Arch City Comedy Festival, has an unusual approach to comedy. First he’s on the road for hundreds of dates per year, hitting comedy clubs across the US. Second, he describes it … Continue reading →
The post Stewart Huff – On the Road and in Danger first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
I’ve had the good fortune to talk to several of the comics with the Arch City Comedy Festival and it’s shaping up to be a great event.
Listen in to my talk with Beth Stelling to learn more. This week, WCBE will broadcast my talk with Stewart Huff. Check back in a few days for that talk, which includes a discussion of how he’s used confrontation in his act for comedy as well as occasional police action. And then, the very fun Erin Foley makes her third appearance on Craft.
The post Arch City Comedy Festival just a week (or so) away! first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Saturday, July 11, tune into WCBE, 90.5FM, to hear NPR and ABC correspondent Cokie Roberts, 6-word memoirist Larry Smith, comedian Erin Foley, and writer/actor Ali Wentworth.
Listen in to my talk with all of these fine people at the top of their Craft.
The post Saturday MegaSpecial with Cokie Roberts, Larry Smith, Erin Foley, and Ali Wentworth first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Tune into WCBE on Saturday, June 27, to hear my talk with the fine folks from Columbus Speakeasy.
Jillian Corron, Barbara Allen, Karl Boettcher, Pam Cummings, and Sarah Fulmer tell me about their stories, what being storytellers means to them, and how others can get involved.
Here’s the Speakeasy Missing Episode!
The post The Speakeasy Saturday afternoon special first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
“‘That’s what presidents do these days,’ we think nowadays, ‘They cover things up.'”
James Tobin, professor of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami University and speaker of the above quotation, offers The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency, a fascinating look into the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one that seeks to discover why a belief has arisen in the past few decades that there was a conspiracy to keep quiet about Roosevelt’s polio.
Tobin’s research into the changing legacy of FDR leads him to hypothesize that scandals and cover-ups by presidents from JFK onwards have jaded our views towards presidents, making the American public all too ready to believe that conspiracies exist at all levels, now and in the past.
Tobin will speak at the Thurber House on June 17.
Listen in to learn more about FDR and how he learned to live with polio.
The post The Complex Legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
All fourteen of Jeff Shaara’s novels have been New York Times bestsellers, starting with his first, Gods and Generals, in 1996.
It’s an impressive track record and he’s got an impressive family history, too. His father, Michael Shaara, won a Pulitzer Prize for Killer Angels, the source material for the film Gettysburg and the impetus for Jeff writing Gods and Generals, a prequel to Killer Angels.
Listen in to hear Shaara describe
- The difficulty researching the Civil War without being overwhelmed by the amount of information on it.
- Accurately portraying different time periods in novels.
- Writing a novel about the Korean War, under the shadow of MASH
Shaara will appear as part of the Thurber House’s Evenings with Authors on June 3.
The post Jeff Shaara’s History of Writing first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
-Tyler Clementi
Do you believe in ghosts? First time and Thurber House guest author Janis Heaphy Durham does. Listen to our interview with her, and you might too.
Durham is the author of the story of her husband’s passing, the seemingly impossible events that took place in the aftermath, and Durham’s journey to make sense of it all.
In May 2004, Durham’s husband Max died from esophageal cancer. Soon after his passing, a series of mysterious events occurred. Clocks stopped on his time of death, Durham heard her husband’s voice, and finally, a powdery hand print appeared on their bathroom mirror on the anniversary of Max’s death.
Durham was curious, but skeptical. Having spent her career in the heavily scrutinized newspaper industry, she approached these seeming attempts at supernatural communication with caution. To investigate the events that had occurred in her life, Durham began research into the afterlife.
Durham’s research visited upon several scientific fields and interests, ranging from consciousness studies to quantum physics. Her book attempts not only to share her story, but also to use her research to open up a larger conversation into the difficult subject of life after death.
Listen in to our interview with Janis Heaphy Durham to hear all about her adventure in detail.
The post Journalist makes the supernatural personal first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
And here’s part three of my talk with improv performers from Columbus Unscripted.
The post Columbus Unscripted, part 3 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
And here’s part two of my talk with improv performers from Columbus Unscripted.
The post Columbus Unscripted, Part 2 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Quick, give me three words:
Dog
Bicycle
Dandelion.
With input as limited as that, Columbus Unscripted improv performers can create a scene that will make you laugh. A few weeks ago, Barbara, Bill, Lamont, Lorinda and Kayla from Columbus Unscripted stopped by the WCBE studio to record an hour-long special for Craft, which was broadcast on May 2 at 3pm on the Mighty WCBE.
These performers are part of a weekly improv group called See You Thursday, and they have many events which are all highlighted on their website.
If you haven’t been to one of the shows, I recommend you give it a try and experience the fast-moving minds that spun my suggestion about hair loss into a story about a man shopping for a toupee being bedeviled by his back hair angel during his graduation from college.
Enjoy part one of our talk.
The post Columbus Unscripted, Part 1 first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
He’s killed 70+ people across 25 books, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it.
“I’m going through what’s on that page. Even if someone is getting killed, maybe I’m getting killed, or maybe I’m feeling what occurs before I’m going to have to kill this person,” said John Lescroart.
Lescroart knows of what he speaks: he’s published 26 novels, which have collectively sold more than 10 million copies in 75 countries, and his legal thrillers frequently top New York Times bestseller lists. He’ll bring all of this experience and emotional investment to the Thurber House on May 11.
Listen in to our talk about the craft of writing and what surprising areas fans have been asking more about recently.
The post John Lescroart: I’m Sorry But I Have to Kill You first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Tyler Clementi
What makes an Ohio writer? What style do Ohio writers use? Broad questions like these invite generalizations, generalizations which might be wildly different from one another. However, authors Celeste Ng, Gene Logsdon, and Thrity Umrigar, all visiting Columbus on April 25 for the Ohioana Book Festival, have some very similar ideas.
Ohioana is an annual celebration of Ohio’s strong history of literature, journalism, and all other forms of writing. Among the festival’s featured authors is Celeste Ng, the author of several short stories and one novel, Everything I Never Told You, which won Amazon’s best book award in 2014.
Ng comes from Cleveland, and she’s much attuned to what people think of when she says that.
“I feel like Cleveland has the sort of status of the—I was going to say ‘lovable loser,’ but maybe not even lovable.”
Although Ng says, “I love Cleveland, and I think of it very fondly, ” she thinks that Clevelanders have to deal with others’ perceptions of the city and Ohio at large. She describes her Ohio writing colleagues as “dealing with expectations versus reality.”
Author Gene Logsdon, whose career writing about food and agriculture has spanned 40 years, also asserts the value of his home state. “Your part of the world is just as important as anybody else’s,” says Logsdon.
“If you can understand Wyandotte County, you can understand the world.”
Logsdon has picked up on the sorts of qualities that might define the style or genre of Ohio writers: “I think that writers in Ohio are—how shall I say it—more practical.”
“They write with a plainness that I find invigorating.”
Thrity Umrigar, a novelist, journalist, and professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, identified something akin to the Logsdon’s practicality in her fellow Ohio writers. “There’s a kind of rust belt toughness, a sense of having survived something.”
Along with toughness, Umrigar straightforwardly identifies Ohio writers as good. “It’s an embarrassment of riches,” said Umrigar when reflecting on the various writers that have come out of northeast Ohio’s Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“It really is astounding, actually, when you think of it in terms of demographics and, sort of, regional size.”
Umrigar thinks that one of the virtues of Ohio writing is the supportive community of Ohio writers: “We really are there for each other. We encourage each other in our careers. That is a gift.”
The author finds that community to be a necessity because of the outside perspectives Ng also referenced. “We can’t look to the outside for affirmation. If there is affirmation to be had, we have to find it within ourselves and within our own communities,” said Umrigar.
When the Ohioana Book Festival arrives, that community of affirmation will be out in force.
The post Authors Ng, Logsdon, and Umrigar Bring Practical, Tough, Ohioan Writing to Ohioana Book Festival first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.
Columbus Ohio
Craft Productions, Limited, the parent corporation of Craft Broadcasting International, announced today that it has purchased long-time broadcast partner WCDE, 90.4 FM in Columbus, Ohio. At a press conference at the station, Craft President and CEO Doug Dangler issued the following statement:
WCDE has been a fine partner for several years with us and lately the time seemed particularly appropriate to purchase the station and all its properties: 3 microphones and a specially bent coat hanger that serves as the station antenna. Fortunately, I had the liquid assets remaining after an acquisition at Rally’s to allow for the leveraged buyout of all WCDE holdings.
Station manager Van Maraschino attended the press conference in the state of some excitement. “It’s a really great opportunity to begin broadcasting Star Trek- and Star Wars-related shows on an almost continual basis,” Said Maraschino. “I’m especially looking forward to our planned 9-hour documentary on Deep Space Nine.”
Dangler claimed that “thousands and thousands of Craft listeners demanded more content about writers and the creative process.” He went on to say, “Honestly, with so many people nowadays abandoning traditional pop, rap and country music stations for arts-based talk radio, it’s clearly a time when public radio stations can finally become a significant force for the arts.”
This announcement follows on the heels of controversy with the station’s morning “Van the Man Shock Jock Radio Hour,” mostly focused on last week’s controversial “Tote Bags Versus T-shirts” show in which Maraschino made several disparaging remarks about the low construction quality of PBS tote bags as compared to NPR t-shirts. The show garnered controversy and considerable ratings increase with stunts like loading PBS tote bags to breaking with cat toys and Jane Austen novels. Maraschino acknowledged the issues, “I know our investigation into PBS tote bags drew the ire of listeners. However, I have plenty of places to store ire so they can just keep it coming.”
Dangler outlined upcoming publicity campaigns such as “Dime a Dog” night, in which listeners will receive one free dog if they can remain awake during a complete hour of “Hearts of Place” radio, a show dedicated to songs with names like “Here There Be Silence” and “Everyone Be Quiet Now: I Think the Recording Equipment is Giving Feedback.” Also, Bobblehead Day is planned and will feature Limited Edition Van Maraschino bobbleheads for all listeners who donate more than $5 or an equivalently valued used car to the radio station.
Dangler also discussed plans for the Midwestern Regional Great Public Radio Voices Wax Museum. “I got the idea after I made an excellent bulk purchase of candles at Big Lots,” said Dangler. “We’ve already requested plans for a vanilla-scented of Harry Mose, host of Fresh Hair.” Dangler acknowledged potential problems: “At least one public radio enthusiast has deemed Tie Rise-All, host of MarketFace, as ‘too hot’ to stay in solid form as a candle wax sculpture.”
Please use the comment space below to give suggestions about other public radio changes you’d like to see, and Happy April 1.
The post Craft Purchases Radio Station WCDE first appeared on Craft: Exploring Creativity.