A lot has been going on at the website in the last few weeks. We took on an intern, Blossom Akpojisheri of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We’re sorting things out with a photo editor, Allegra Boverman. And the website became financially self-sustaining. It’s a lot to celebrate all at once. Considering Erika and I founded this…
Tag: Adam
TED Talks and Writing and Bowels
One of the issues with writing is that people always compare themselves to the rest of the world. It’s understandable to read a short story by Hemingway; to admire the master-class in compression and repression; and think to yourself: “I could never write like that.” That’s an easy way to score points against yourself. Because…
Birthday Suit (Big Cat, Little Cat)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Birthday Suit The Birthday Suit and the Paradox of the Cat I think I like cats because they combine some of the best traits–affection, playfulness, musicality–with some of the worst traits–distrust, schadenfreude, lack of accountability–of people. A cat will break something and just walk away. A cat will play with its…
Mental Health Awareness Month 2023
There’s a joke about a writer. Mental Health Awareness Month was around the corner and this writer, being an expert in mental health–from both experience and education–was given the reins that month: their editor expected them to write weekly articles, daily blog-posts, and hourly tweets. The strain was so intense that the writer went mad….
Catching Up With Poetry
Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? We did. And we’ve been celebrating it joyfully as part of our annual 30 Days, 30 Poems project. Oh So That’s Where You’ve Been All Month. But Why? We love poetry here. It’s no secret. We know there’s something magical about finding a poem that feels…
National Poetry Month 2023: Introducing 30 Days, 30 Poems
(Some thoughts about poetry from Erika, on behalf of, and with input from, the 2 Rules team.) More Inspiring: Cute Boys or a Great Film? The movie Dead Poets Society came out when I was fourteen. I didn’t have a chance to see it before leaving for summer camp, but my mother and a friend…
Discipline the Breath: What Poetry Does
So first of all Happy World Poetry Day! It’s no secret that we here at 2 Rules of Writing <3 us some poetry. In fact, we’re dedicating the month of April to sharing poetry from all over the world. We have people weighing in with their favorites from Hong Kong, Sweden, Nigeria, Australia, and that’s…
Low-Hanging Fruit (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Low-Hanging Fruit Low-Hanging Fruit and Comedy I grant you that size isn’t a funny issue for everyone. There are people who are bullied for their size; made to feel less-than, etc. Telling jokes about these kinds of traditional topics is an art that presents interesting challenges. What I was trying to…
Storyteller… Replaced (The Dr. M Chronicles)
Well… I’ve been replaced as storyteller. Or, at least, it’s only a matter of time. My nephew, Dr. M, lives in Bangalore with his parents. Anuja and her mother live nearby. I call him once a week to tell him a story. The time zones work out so that it’s midnight my time, but I…
Jokes (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Bad Jokes Dumb Jokes I have a particular relationship with bad jokes. I come from a family of bad-joke-tellers. And I swore I would be better. That sounds like a joke; or the premise for one. But it’s actually not. My parents and grandparents and uncles and so on would say…