by Mary E. Cronin | Jun 12, 2015 | Conferences-workshops, Uncategorized
Time to unplug and retreat from the hubbub of life for a few days. I am packing the laptop, notebooks and other fun stuff and heading north, for a six-day retreat with writer friends in a house in Vermont. These early days of summer seem like a good time to make...
by Mary E. Cronin | May 21, 2015 | Community connections, Poetry, Teaching, Uncategorized, We Need Diverse Books
I recently received a bundle of letters from the kids at St. Luke’s School in the South Bronx. I delivered a poetry presentation there in the spring, using Jacqueline Woodson’s BROWN GIRL DREAMING and Kwame Alexander’s THE CROSSOVER as mentor texts....
by Mary E. Cronin | May 6, 2015 | Conferences-workshops, LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, SCBWI, Uncategorized, We Need Diverse Books
It’s taken me a while to come down from the clouds after the NESCBWI Conference in Springfield a little over a week ago. The theme of diversity, “Think Outside the Crayon Box,” was delivered in multi-layered and invigorating ways all weekend long....
by Mary E. Cronin | Mar 3, 2015 | Community connections, Teaching
A friend of mine recently used the term “writing as service.” Bells starting chiming in my brain. Writing can be seen as many things: a creative outlet, a hobby or job, a business and source of income, a way of connecting to others. But the concept of writing as a way...
by Mary E. Cronin | Dec 12, 2014 | Teaching
Like most writers, I crave quiet time to get lost in my latest project and just let the words flow. Yet it’s my time in the world, especially my teaching time, that feeds my spirit and sense of connection. I teach creative writing in the women’s unit at the Barnstable...