Arts Coast Magazine – Literary

By Carlene Cobb

By Carlene Cobb. The Women Behind the Words: Celebrating the Women of The St. Petersburg Press showcased the literary achievements of 10 female authors with connections to St. Pete, at The Studio@620. … Read More

By Ralph Wimbish

By Ralph Wimbish. A lawyer, a politician, a trailblazer. Bette Wimbish was all that and more. She was my mother…. Read More

By Tyler Gillespie

By Tyler Gillespie. To me, alligators represent our state’s history – its beauty, its complications. They demand we avoid them while asking us to take a closer look. This can be fertile ground for writers who choose to approach the page at their own risk…. Read More

By Sheila Cowley

It’s not easy to earn a living as a full-time artist. We asked a range of visual, literary and performing artists how they made the transition to a full-time career… Read More

By Ashlyn Fransen

By Ashlyn Fransen. Writers in Paradise at Eckerd College is widely renowned in the literary community. Visiting author Luis Alberto Urrea said, “There’s a palpable love in this space that you don’t find at other conferences.”… Read More

By Kaitlin Crockett

. . . One of the things that keeps me coming back to Letterpress in my art practice is the way it engages my senses. When much of my day… Read More

By Sara Ries Dziekonski

By Sara Ries Dziekonski. These are poems from the workshop I facilitated at the Gulfport Senior Center, by a wonderful group of four women. Every week we read poems, wrote poems on our own and community poems, and shared our creations…. Read More

By Sara Ries Dziekonski

Poet Sara Ries Dziekonski is based in Gulfport and served as a Creative Pinellas 2021 Professional Artist Fellow. She was recently honored as the first ever Runner-Up for the 2024 Press 53 Award for Poetry, and shares 3 recent poems… Read More

By Sheree L. Greer

By Sheree L. Greer. We make time for the things that matter to us – and sometimes the biggest hurdle to “finding” time to work on our writing is acknowledging and affirming that our writing is important, that our writing matters…. Read More

By Gary Mormino

By Gary Mormino. Tierra Verde may have marked the most dramatic chapter in the high-stakes dredge-and-fill derby. The project was so immense that the New York Times announced the audacious plans to build a city on 15 uninhabited keys on Boca Ciega Bay – and Guy Lombardo touted this swank Pinellas destination while touring…. Read More

By L.L. Kirchner

By L.L. Kirchner. I heard of Kali before I saw her image. “Kali is the goddess of divine transformation,” boomed my yoga philosophy teacher. “Beware of following Kali,” came the next words from my teacher’s mouth. “She will destroy your life.”… Read More

By Yuki Jackson

By Yuki Jackson. Across cultures and time, poetry has been intertwined with protest. The elements of protest – using the voice towards progressive change – often align with the purpose and structure of poetry…. Read More

By Jennifer Ring

By Jennifer Ring. At work, Takeya Trayer encourages kids to tell their own stories, teaching animation camps for kids. Outside of work, she tells her own. The children’s book, “My Mommy is My Daddy” is Trayer’s way of introducing her nontraditional family to the world…. Read More

By Nicole Slaughter Graham

The African American Heritage Association announced the “I Love Banned Books” book club, which aims to combat educational censorship, will take place at St. Pete’s Tombolo Books starting in October. The book club is designed for children in the 1st through 12th grades and … Read More

By Frank Drouzas

By Frank Drouzas. “Books are the tools that we use to make sense of the world,” says educator Nikki Hill, adding that children will be deprived of profound literature with ongoing book bans. Lenice Emanuel says books are being banned in schools “because they understand that there’s power in knowledge.”… Read More