On Good Writing

Sentimentality - Richard Hugo

Welcome to On Good Writing, a pocket podcast where we touch on writers and artists about what it means to make true and good and beautiful work. This week we have a quote from the American poet, Richard Hugo. Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including the novels ⁠⁠⁠Ancient Highway⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103708/ancient-highway-by-bret-lott/], ⁠⁠⁠The Hunt Club⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103712/the-hunt-club-by-bret-lott/], ⁠⁠⁠A Song I Knew by Heart⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103709/a-song-i-knew-by-heart-by-bret-lott/], and ⁠⁠⁠Jewel⁠⁠⁠ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jewel-bret-lott/7c3901f93ccf69ff] (an Oprah’s Book Club selection). Formerly editor of ⁠⁠⁠The Southern Review⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.thesouthernreview.org/], Lott was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 2006. He taught creative writing for nearly forty years at the College of Charleston. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the country outside Charleston, South Carolina. ⁠⁠On Good Writing⁠⁠ [https://cypressjournal.substack.com/p/3ea] is a Cy.press Studios production. Cy.press Studios is a project of the Cypress Writers’ Workshop, a creative writing program supporting writers who seek to master their craft and cultivate the unity between art and reverence. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠cy.press⁠⁠⁠ [http://cy.press/]. The music in this episode is "Closer to the Flame" by John Lucas/Musicbed.com.

That’s the Trouble - Eudora Welty

Welcome to On Good Writing, a pocket podcast where we touch on writers and artists about what it means to make true and good and beautiful work. This week we have a quote from the great American writer, Eudora Welty. Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including the novels ⁠⁠Ancient Highway⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103708/ancient-highway-by-bret-lott/], ⁠⁠The Hunt Club⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103712/the-hunt-club-by-bret-lott/], ⁠⁠A Song I Knew by Heart⁠⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103709/a-song-i-knew-by-heart-by-bret-lott/], and ⁠⁠Jewel⁠⁠ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jewel-bret-lott/7c3901f93ccf69ff] (an Oprah’s Book Club selection). Formerly editor of ⁠⁠The Southern Review⁠⁠ [https://www.thesouthernreview.org/], Lott was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 2006. He taught creative writing for nearly forty years at the College of Charleston. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the country outside Charleston, South Carolina. ⁠On Good Writing⁠ [https://cypressjournal.substack.com/p/3ea] is a Cy.press Studios production. Cy.press Studios is a project of the Cypress Writers’ Workshop, a creative writing program supporting writers who seek to master their craft and cultivate the unity between art and reverence. Learn more at ⁠⁠cy.press⁠⁠ [http://cy.press/]. The music in this episode is "Turning Page" by Cathedral/Musicbed.com.

Putting Things Together - Toni Morrison

Welcome to On Good Writing, a kind of pocket podcast on the writing life. Each week, host Bret Lott offers a quote and a few thoughts to carry with us into the work of writing or any good endeavor that occupies our waking hours. We like to think of this as the start of a conversation on writing and art and what it means to pay attention to the preciousness of life. This week, we hear a quote from Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize recipient and author of Beloved, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Return to On Good Writing next week to hear a quote from Eudora Welty. Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including the novels ⁠Ancient Highway⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103708/ancient-highway-by-bret-lott/], ⁠The Hunt Club⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103712/the-hunt-club-by-bret-lott/], ⁠A Song I Knew by Heart⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103709/a-song-i-knew-by-heart-by-bret-lott/], and ⁠Jewel⁠ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jewel-bret-lott/7c3901f93ccf69ff] (an Oprah’s Book Club selection). Formerly editor of ⁠The Southern Review⁠ [https://www.thesouthernreview.org/], Lott was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 2006. He taught creative writing for nearly forty years at the College of Charleston. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the country outside Charleston, South Carolina. On Good Writing [https://cypressjournal.substack.com/p/3ea] is a Cy.press Studios production. Cy.press Studios is a project of the Cypress Writers’ Workshop, a creative writing program supporting writers who seek to master their craft and cultivate the unity between art and reverence. Learn more at ⁠cy.press⁠ [http://cy.press/]. The music in this episode is "Stories" by Judah Earl/Musicbed.com.

Makeshift Things - Richard Ford

“Stories and novels are makeshift things,” says Richard Ford. “And there is nothing wrong with that.” This week, host Bret Lott shares a longer quote from Ford and reflects on what it has to say to us about the messy process that is writing. Return to On Good Writing next week to hear a quote from Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize recipient and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Beloved. Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including the novels ⁠Ancient Highway⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103708/ancient-highway-by-bret-lott/], ⁠The Hunt Club⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103712/the-hunt-club-by-bret-lott/], ⁠A Song I Knew by Heart⁠ [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103709/a-song-i-knew-by-heart-by-bret-lott/], and ⁠Jewel⁠ [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jewel-bret-lott/7c3901f93ccf69ff] (an Oprah’s Book Club selection). Formerly editor of ⁠The Southern Review⁠ [https://www.thesouthernreview.org/], Lott was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 2006. He taught creative writing for nearly forty years at the College of Charleston. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the country outside Charleston, South Carolina. On Good Writing [https://cypressjournal.substack.com/p/3ea] is a Cy.press Studios production. Cy.press Studios is a project of the Cypress Writers’ Workshop, a creative writing program supporting writers who seek to master their craft and cultivate the unity between art and reverence. Learn more at ⁠cy.press⁠ [http://cy.press/]. The music in this episode is Drifter Hymn by Lane King / Musicbed.com.

Stare - Walker Evans

In this first episode of On Good Writing [https://cypressjournal.substack.com/p/3ea], Bret Lott quotes Walker Evans, 20th century American photographer. He invites us to see that a writer or an artist or anyone who wants to make something true and good and beautiful is someone who stares and stares, trying to understand what’s going on, instead of assuming you know. “Assuming shuts down discovery and smothers it,” Bret Lott says, “which will kill a book or a story before the first sentence is ever written.” Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including the novels Ancient Highway [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103708/ancient-highway-by-bret-lott/], The Hunt Club [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103712/the-hunt-club-by-bret-lott/], A Song I Knew by Heart [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/103709/a-song-i-knew-by-heart-by-bret-lott/], and Jewel [https://bookshop.org/p/books/jewel-bret-lott/7c3901f93ccf69ff] (an Oprah’s Book Club selection). Formerly editor of The Southern Review [https://www.thesouthernreview.org/], Lott was appointed to the National Council on the Arts in 2006. He taught creative writing for nearly forty years at the College of Charleston. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the country outside Charleston, South Carolina. On Good Writing is a Cy.press Studios production. Cy.press Studios is a project of the Cypress Writers’ Workshop, a creative writing program supporting writers who seek to master their craft and cultivate the unity between art and reverence. Learn more at cy.press [http://cy.press/]. The music in this episode is Birds in The Clover - Instrumental by Thomas LaVine / Musicbed.com.