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All of the previous
articles and spotlighted authors featured within Empire:ZINE are here in
their entirety. Click on the links below and go to their complete menus
on this page.
Author
Resource:
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Spotlighted Authors |
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Alcoholics
Anonymous - Dr. Bob & Bill W. - This
spotlight is not only a featured writer, but a book too. One
book. The "Big Book." The book that all of Alcoholics
Anonymous is about and encompasses.
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Alcott,
Lousia May - Alcott,
the second of four daughters, was born in Germantown,
Pennsylvania, and raised in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts.
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Angelou,
Maya - born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St.
Louis, was raised in segregated rural Arkansas.
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Badu,
Erykah - Born Erykah Wright and raised in Dallas, Texas, Badu always
knew she was destined to let her voice be heard.
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Baudelaire,
Charles - was a 19th
century French poet, translator, and literary and art critic
whose reputation rests primarily on Les Fleurs du mal; (1857;The
Flowers of Evil) which was perhaps the most important and
influential poetry collection published in Europe in the 19th
century.
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Borges,
Jorge Luis - When one thinks of
Borges, one thinks more of
a literature, than of a writer. Borges' stories and poems are aimed at the universe,
unlike the writer with clearly defined scopes and goals whose book only reaches those
goals.
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Bradley,
Marion Zimmer - Many Science Fiction and Fantasy writers have been lauded
with the comparison to Tolkein, and CS Lewis, and so many aspire
to write in this medium. Few if any are compared to Marion Zimmer Bradley, one of the
great mistresses of the art, for that it is a shame.
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Brautigan,
Richard - 1935-1984
American novelist, short story writer, and poet. An Introduction
to Brautigan, for those who haven't met him.
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Brodsky,
Joseph - exiled from his homeland of Russia in 1972, Joseph Brodsky
emigrated and
eventually obtained citizenship to the United States.
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Bronte,
Charlotte - a very personal and in-depth account
of Charlotte Bronte plus details of her writings and
books.
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Bronte,
Emily Jane - Thornton,
Yorkshire, birthplace of the famous Bronte sisters.
Charlotte, Anne and of course Emily. Emily Jane Bronte was
born on July 30,1818.
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Browne,
Jackson - was born on October 9, 1948 in Heidelberg,
Germany to Clyde Jack Browne and Beatrice Amanda "Bea"
Dahl. Also includes a complete discography with all lyrics form
albums.
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Chopin,
Kate - Born Catherine O'Flaherty on July 12, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri, Kate Chopin was the daughter of an immigrant Irishman, Thomas O'Flaherty and a French-American mother, Eliza
Faris.
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Clark,
Mary Higgins - was born and raised in New York. Her father died when she was ten, and her mother was raising Ms. Clark and her two brothers on her own.
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Cronenberg,
David - There is a large part of the viewing public that would never admit to watching and enjoying horror films. And the excuses vary, but most come back to the same point. Horror movies aren't scary.
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cummings,
ee - Cummings's innovative and controversial verse
places him among the most popular and widely anthologized poets
of the twentieth century.
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Field,
Eugene - a native of St. Louis, Missouri, started his journalistic career in 1873 as
a reporter for the St. Louis Evening Journal.
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Frankl,
Victor - takes the reader along with him back into a part of history many still find hard to comprehend...the Nazi death camps.
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Hemingway,
Ernest - is lauded as one of the greatest American
writers of the twentieth century. Considered a master of the
understated prose style which became his trademark, he was
awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in literature.
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Kellerman,
Jonathan - A book in review: "Survival of
the Fittest."
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Kerouac,
Jack - Rocky Mount, North Carolina provided legendary writer Jack Kerouac with
inspiration in-between his cross country journeys
in the 1950's.
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King,
Stephen - (b. Sept. 21, 1947, Portland, Maine, U.S.),
American novelist and short-story writer whose many novels and
story collections, and the numerous films adapted from this
large body of work, have established his reputation as the
leading author of horror fictions in contemporary literature,
and with reviving the genre of horror fiction in the late 20th
century.
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Koontz,
Dean - writes novels that take us into worlds filled with
adventure and suspense, dealing with extraordinary topics such as technology, time travel,
serial killers, and much more.
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Joel,
Billy - Piano man? Back street guy? Rock & Roll
idol? Who is the real Billy Joel? Why is his music
loved and listened to by so many
people?
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Lennon,
John - Born in working-class Liverpool, England, on
October 9, 1940, John Lennon became an integral part of the Fab
Four from 1962 to 1970. John's first wife was Cynthia. Also
includes and extensive photo album.
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Morrison,
Jim - James Douglas Morrison was born to Steve and Clara Morrison
in Melbourne, Florida. A Navel officer, Steve was forced to move his
family around a lot when Jim was a child, and some say that fact led to Jim's unique method
of speaking out.
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Morrison,
Toni - With seven extraordinary novels and four major literary
awards, including the 1988 Politer Prize and 1993 Nobel Prize under her belt, Toni
Morrison is in the midst of a more than fulfilling career as a master novelist.
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Peart,
Neil - was born September 12, 1952. Peart is married,
and only child Selena died in a tragic car crash in August 1997.
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Poe,
Edgar Allan - People often refer to Edgar Allan Poe as
the father of the detective story–and to "The Murders in
the Rue Morgue" as the first of that genre–so it may seem
appropriate that much of Poe's life story remains mired in
mystery.
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Rand,
Ayn - on February 2nd, 1905, Alice Rosenbaum was born in
St. Petersberg Russia. Her early life was comfortable, and she
received a good private school education.
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Reznor,
Michael Trent - Born
May 17, 1965, Michael Trent Reznor, the "tormented genius" of rock and roll
came
into the world as any other child.
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Rice,
Anne - was born in Mercy Hospital, New Orleans, on
October 4th, 1941. She was the second of four daughters born to
Katherine and Howard O'Brien, and was given the name Howard
Allen O'Brien, after her father.
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Sheldon,
Sidney - Sidney Sheldon began his tremendous career writing award winning works for
television, film and the stage during the middle of the twentieth century.
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Sexton,
Anne - "Drowning [is] not so pitiful as the attempt to
rise." This proclamation was posted in a correspondence to Felicia Geffen [The
American Academy of Arts and Letters] from the poet Anne Sexton in November 1963.
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Springsteen,
Bruce - When Bruce sang "the amusement park rises
bold and stark," he was *not* singing about either the
Palace or the Casino . . . he was singing about the Asbury
Amusement Park, a bona fide outdoor amusement park complete with
ferris wheel, roller coaster, tilt-a-whirl (that's the one in
"Sandy"), sky ride, and many other rides.
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Steinbeck,
John - was born on February 27 in Salinas, California.
He was the third of four children and the only son of John Ernst
II and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck.
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Steiner,
Rudolf - was born in Kraljevec, Austria (now in Croatia)
in 1861 and died in Dornach, Switzerland in 1925.
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Taylor,
James - Over the past 30 years, Taylor has written some
of the most impressive music of the pop music era. He is
undoubtedly one of the most original singer-songwriters in the
business and has influenced hundreds of singer-songwriters
today.
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Welch,
Kevin - It's fairly safe to say that singer/ songwriter
Kevin Welch has always been a bit of a rebel. A sentiment which
might explain why his sound has been labeled everything from
alternative country to good ole' American roots' music.
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Wharton,
Edith - Born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24th, 1862. She was the
third child and only daughter born to George and Lucretia Jones in the prosperous, social
life of New York City.
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Wilcox,
David - is a
singer/songwriter and transplanted buckeye residing in
Asheville, North Carolina, and to his chagrin, is most often
compared with the likes of James Taylor. |
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Techniques
and Techniques
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 "How
to Write Poetry" - many excellent resources for you to learn how to write better poetry - or if you
are a poet already, to polish your and advance your skills to new
heights. [
READ IT ]
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How to write an effective cover letter. It would be nice to know that after all your hard work and effort, someone actually took the time to read your cover
letter. [ READ IT ]
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What
is 'General Poetry'? - dissecting po-et-ry at a
very basic level and approach. [
READ IT ]
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Meter, Rhyme Scheme, Sonnets, Sonnet Resources, Helpful Hints, Joining a Poetry/Writing Workshoppe, Sonnet Poet's
Spotlight.
[ READ IT ]
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Rhyme and meter in poetry and
some examples of how to do it. Learning about Sijos. Also
- tools to improve your poetry.
[ READ IT ]
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Discussions
about how motivation is the single most important factor of your writing life.
Also, more about Sijos.
[ READ IT ]
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Starved for romance? OK, lets talk about romance
and poetry. Discussion about using metaphors. [ READ IT ]
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Making revisions to your writing is a tough and often sensitive
subject for many writers... let's find out a painless way. Also,
more about similes.
[ READ IT ]
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Here's an exercise guaranteed to increase your ability to write crisp, evocative images.
Tools to write better poetry.
[ READ IT ]
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The Ode and Personification. [ READ IT ]
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How to Write an Essay - An essay can be defined as a short literary composition which expresses the author's personal opinion on a topic. Neat definitions like this are tempting, but it's difficult to make modern essay fit into such a structured little
box. [ READ IT ]
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Dead
Poets Circle |
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Bronte,
Charlotte - a very personal and comprehensive account of Charlotte Bronte plus details of her writings and books.
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Bronte,
Emily Jane - Thornton,
Yorkshire, birthplace of the famous Bronte sisters.
Charlotte, Anne and of course Emily. Emily Jane Bronte was
born on July 30,1818.
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Dante
- was a poet born in Florence, Italy on
May 29, 1265.
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Emily
Dickinson - On Dec. 10,1830 at Amherst, Massachusetts, Edward Dickinson and Emily
Norcross Dickinson was blessed with a baby daughter.
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Elitot,
Thomas Sterns - realized by his
experiments with the language, his sometimes abandonment of English syntax
and punctuation, technical innovation, and by his subject matter –
which, more often than not, centers in loneliness, disillusionment,
faithlessness, betrayal, and the withering away of love.
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Emerson,
Ralph Waldo - A founder of the Transcendental movement and
the founder of a distinctly American philosophy emphasizing optimism, individuality, and
mysticism, Emerson was one of the most influential literary figures of the nineteenth
century.
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Faulkner,
William Cuthbert - A preeminent figure in twentieth-century
American literature, Faulkner created a profound and complex body of work
in which he often explored exploitation and corruption in the American
South.
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Whitman,
Walt - These first few lines from Walt Whitman's poem "Song to Myself"
more or less show Whitman's style in his poems. Simple and personal.
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William Butler Yeats
- In his early Pre-Raphaelite days, William Butler Yeats
"hid his face amid a crowd of stars."
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ANGST |
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The
Existence of ANGST - True ANGST writing requires true ANGST in your own life. The aforementioned 'psychological push' may come in many forms, that of a single or series of traumatic experiences, being an outsider in social settings, or many other things.
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What
is ANGST? - The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
"Anxiety, anguish, neurotic fear; guilt,
remorse." So what is ANGST WRITING? Angst is a form of writing
that encompasses many other styles (prose, poetry, letters. etc.).
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The
Feelings of being alone - the feelings sparked by being alone, are very vivid and striking.
A look at the writing that results.
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Arthur Rimbaud, a 19th century French poet who changed the face of modern
poetry, all between the ages of 15 - 19. Interesting isn't it?
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Eternal
Metamorphosis - On The Theory Of Change And It's Impact On Writing
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Jim
Morrison - was widely recognized as being the front man for the famous
1960's band the doors, and was seldom recognized for his quiet and more
reflective pastime - writing.
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Charles
Bukowsi - who, of all people, was a victim of his own stagnancy.
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The
work of John Milton. Also - Revelations: A
conceptual comparison between religious myth and the human
condition.
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HUMOR |
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"Man's
Answers To Ever Question A Woman Ever Asks" - you
just gotta read this ladies! [
READ IT ]
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"The
Singing Bird Clock" - The other day I was strolling along in
the local discount mart when what should I spy but a "Singing Bird Clock." Wow, for under $20 this was a deal!
[ READ IT ]
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Fran E.
Fine...aka "The Nanny", O.J. Simpson jokes
and a look at a horny parrot. [ READ IT ]
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Dennis Miller - whether or not you like his political views, you have to admire someone who is blatantly honest, and hilarious at the same time.
[ READ IT ]
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Great
"women oriented" one-liners and a trip to a
Nymphomaniac Convention [
READ IT ]
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Hollywood quotes,
one-liners, and trivia from stars of the Golden Age of
Hollywood all the way up to the present day that proves that it has always been a dog-eat-dog, yet humorous town.
[ READ IT ]
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TOASTERS!!!
- A hilarious look at toasters.
[ READ IT ]
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"Material
Safety Sheets" - facts every informed person should know about the opposite sex.
[ READ IT ]
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INFLUENCES |
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"Criticisms"
- both constructive and destructive, can teach. Yet, a
criticism being constructive or destructive depends much
on how you and I receive it. [
READ IT ]
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"With
Every Drop Of Ink" - a look into the writer's
thoughts & influences behind this piece of poetry. [
READ IT ]
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"The
Day the Cat Disappeared and I Realized How Alone I Was, etc...". [
READ IT ]
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"To
Teach, To Preach" - the preacher, the professor,
the prophet, the fool; with a pen in each hand... can they write all the rules? [
READ IT ]
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"Relaxing
and Enjoying a Bookstore" - Have you ever just wanted
to relax and enjoy yourself at a bookstore? Pick up a book, open it,
ruffle it's pages while you are convincing yourself you have $50.00 extra
to spend on the special edition in hand?
[ READ IT ]
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"Taking
AND Making the Time to Read!"
- Learning how to set aside time each day to read... no matter how busy your
lifestyle. [ READ IT ]
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"W
R I T E R S B L O C K !" - What to
write about when you don't know what to write about.. [ READ IT ]
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"Organizing
your work AND yourself as you write" - Getting AND staying organized as you write. Also, helpful hints for writers who post at Spyder's Poetry
Empire. [ READ IT ]
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"ART; How It Influences What and How We Write" - vision in writing, visual art as the subject, visual art in nature, using the visual as the presentation, using visual art to inspire focus and mood. [
READ IT ]
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Writer's
Block - and when you are a poet, there isn’t
anything that feels worse, for without the words you can’t
write. I suppose the most terrifying aspect is the
incredible emptiness and the fear, that you may never be
able to write again. [ READ IT ]
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NEWSPAPERS |
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NEW
WAVE WRITING |
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New
Wave Writing - a look at a new way / style /
outlook of writing
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Dog
Walks Owner - I know this topic sounds quite unrelated to writing but I feel my own life would be less complete without my pet and that my writing would suffer
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New
Wave Writing in Prose: Abraham Lincoln rocks my world. (this letter can be found on the walls within
Brasenose college, Oxford University. Why? because it is " a model of purest
English, rarely, if ever, surpassed.")
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My
Tribute to Women - ... ... ... whoa!
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SCREENPLAYS |
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MOVIE REVIEW
- "American
Beauty" ...a MUCH closer look...
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MOVIE REVIEW
- "Girl, Interrupted" ...makes up for the bombs of this season. Every piece of this movie is significant. It is like an allegory, telling us that maybe some things shouldn't be so significant.
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MOVIE REVIEW
- "Down To You" ...is only down and out - With every new success and every new fad, there are those who take it to the edge until it becomes meaningless. A cliché of sorts, which through time becomes meaningless, and then later on, is re-invented into something with bite.
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SCREAM
2 - A profile of Kevin Williamson: one of the
most interesting things about the "Scream" films is how perilously close, seemingly on purpose, they come to becoming
exactly what they mock: schlocky b-horror flicks.
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Great
Comeback Lines - Comeback line: A line of dialogue used by one
character to silence another, usually ending a conversation.
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Woody
Allen - when Woody Allen isn't bemoaning his fate as tabloid journalism's bad- poster-boy of the nineties, he stays busy, year after year, writing and directing some of the most intelligent American comedies of the last two decades.
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Quentin
Tarantino - Say what you will about the writing of Quentin Tarantino: it's too violent, too talky, or even profane. I don't buy it. Not since Orson Welles co-wrote "Citizen Kane" with Herman J. Maniewicz in 1941, has anyone so single-handedly, not to mention single-mindedly, changed the way Hollywood allows writers to tell a story.
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HAIKU |
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Not Seventeen (English Language Haiku) -
seventeen . . . seventeen: the words echo in the halls striking fear in the hearts of haiku students and sensei alike. Poets are assailed by well meaning fans and critics chanting the haiku mantra - five-seven-five.
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ROMANCE |
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"Robert
J. Waller - The Bridges of Madison County, and Me"
- This story begins in Iowa, as so many stories do, deep
in the fall of 1991. I am still a graduate student,
just a budding intellectual, late 20's, with no idea yet
of how my time has flown and less of what the future
holds.
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Romance:
Another Point of View - romance is not just a
"Harlequin Romance" novel. The covers of these
paperbacks picture a perfectly shaped woman dressed in a
long, flowing dress. A wee bit misrepresentative of what
real life is...
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LYRICS
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"How
To Write Lyrics...?" - forget all the formulas you've ever heard or read about on, "how to write lyrics." There are plenty of them. The "ABC formula", where you analyze whether line A rhymes with line C, and then line B against line A of the next verse or "free association", where you write what comes to mind and then arrange your song set to "verse-chorus-verse-bridge-verse-chorus"...whatever.
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"Diamonds
and Rust" - take
the time to go find your own old box and notebooks full of forgotten words
from long ago; after all this time, they're still waiting just where they
were left, and spend some time re-introducing yourself to the person who
wrote them all those years ago.
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"Signs
of the Times" - when writing is not fun
anymore. When we find our self searching for a subject to
write about... or we write about one subject over and over
again - when we loose the perspective of why we write in
the first place - which is to simply communicate with
ourselves and others.
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AN
INTERVIEW WITH JUDY COLLINS - an exclusive
Empire:ZINE one on one interview with singer / songwriter
Judy Collins.
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"Secrets
to Writing Lyrics" - I'm about to let you in on a little
secret that if you don't know by now will change your life for the better, in
any aspect you choose. If practiced, this secret will also help you shape your
lyrics, songs, and writing much more closer to the heart than before.
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"The
Recording Process" - in
this article, I want to explore with you the recording
process and how the studio can ignite the flames of creativity resulting in some
great songs.
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"Next?
Or Just Dreaming? - keeping your chops warm"
- You say the dream is alive. Inside, you know
destiny has a point in time where everything will come together and the time for
dreaming will be over, the point of realization will begin. What if destiny
deals you the point of realization, say… tomorrow! Are you ready?
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"The Child Within Us" - nurture creativity by re-discovering the child inside each of us.
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"Inspiration" - where it comes from that makes us write. |
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