Mary E. Cronin

Finding Just the Right Word

by | Sep 29, 2023 | Poetry

Slipping into someone else’s voice when writing a poem is one of my writerly challenges and delights. In my hospital-themed poetry collection for adults, Unity Hospital, the poems are in the voices of women who intersected with the hospital in some way: nurses, a...

The history of a hospital– in a poetry collection!

by | Sep 15, 2023 | Poetry

Over the past three years, one object of my writing obsession has been the hospital in Brooklyn where my grandmother completed her nurse’s training as a young Irish immigrant. The nurse’s residence was the address on her marriage certificate. It was called Unity...

Hope is a Drum

by | Sep 1, 2023 | Poetry, Teaching

Feel that drumbeat? School is starting. A new school year fills me with hope– hope for fresh starts, open hearts, new learning. I’m back to work in my job as an elementary school Literacy Coach. How perfect to kick off this school year by celebrating the...

“Make it poetic, but not rhyming.”

by | Aug 4, 2023 | Poetry

You might have heard this advice before; I know I have. A quick search on the internet finds lots of similar examples… “Tips for writing picture books: don’t write in rhyme.” “The editor loved the concept, but was not drawn to the rhyme.” I admit it—I love rhyme! But...