Every Dictator Was Once a Little Boy
The nurse repeats herself: This one’s a little prince, isn’t he? Neither parent is listening to her, but babies hear everything. Maybe this

A Gift For You: Awesome Book Idea, Just Add Writing
(Image Source) Friends, the past month has been surprisingly difficult, or, perhaps, difficult for a surprising reason. September marked...

You Need To Listen To Magic Lessons With Elizabeth Gilbert
Hello, Smarties. I'm taking the summer off from writing, so please just consider this some kind of non-written written form of...

This Abundant Chaos
Rattle & Pen is a biweekly column exploring the liminal space between raising children and creating art. This post was originally written...

Good Stuff!
Good Monday to you, readers! Welcome to another Good Stuff series, brought to you by a busy week during which I didn't get much writing...

Rattle & Pen: Seven for Today
Rattle & Pen is thrilled to welcome contributor Joanna Penn Cooper back to our site with this new essay, “Seven for Today”.

Rattle & Pen: Reboot
I'm sitting at the back of my son’s elementary school cafeteria while he waits for his turn at the mic. A few minutes ago, my son was in

Rattle and Pen: This IS What a Feminist Looks Like
Rattle & Pen is a biweekly column exploring the liminal space between raising children and creating art. This is a reprint of a piece...

The Very Hungry Pregnant Lady: Kid-tested, Smarty Approved
Christina talks to Emilie Sandoz-Voyer, the author of a fantastic new parody book - The Very Hungry Pregnant Lady.

This Thing I'm Doing: Putting Myself in the Way of Art
It's a heavy season in our country right now. We are struggling, friends, with an ugly presidential election, a scourge of racist police...
