Ten years ago, Mentor & Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets began as a project that Blas Falconer, Beth Martinelli, and Helena hoped would offer poets useful resources that would teach, challenge, and inspire. Each essay discussed a specific poetic element and included a writing prompt. The project was originally published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2010.

Praise for Mentor & Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets:

“Mentor and Muse is perhaps the most complete recounting of the various ways poets find themselves elected and pursued by their art. While many of the essays focus on elements of craft, their real subjects are inspiration and how poetry casts its mysterious spell.” —Michael Collier

“Anyone who has ever wondered about the importance to poets of the placement of a single punctuation mark, or why they grow so excited about the feel of a word in the mouth or the shape of an image in the mind’s eye, will find the answer in this generous collection of essays.” —Kate Daniels

In March of 2018, they launched Mentor & Muse online with the hope of inviting more poets to join our ongoing conversation. The online project includes craft essays, interviews and conversations addressing poetic tools, and tributes to poetic mentors. Whenever possible, they post the discussed poems (or links to poems available online).

The first ten issues include essays, interviews, and tributes from Jericho Brown, Shara McCallum, Sarah Rose Nordgren, Matthew Olzmann, Sandy Solomon, and others. And, in the last three years, Mentor & Muse curated theme issues: a tribute to Lucille Clifton, and installments on translation, the poetic line, and (coming soon!) poetic closure.

To read essays, write poems, or review submission guidelines, visit Mentor and Muse. And, be sure to check out the archive!