Richard White's Poetry

NaPoWriMo Day 25 – Whiskey, Defined by Firelight

Day 24 of Na/GloPoWriMo is here ✍️🔥 Today’s prompt invited us to stretch language in multiple directions at once—layering metaphors onto a single image, shifting tone, pausing to define a word, and then circling back to where we began. It’s a challenge in control and …

NaPoWriMo Day 23 – The Art of a Villanelle

What’s so good about Thursday? Well—during Na/GloPoWriMo, it’s another reason to write. ✍️🍂🔥 Day 23 brings us into the world of form with the villanelle—a structure built on repetition, rhythm, and restraint. Inspired by Kiki Petrosino’s “Nursery,” today’s challenge is to create something that echoes …

NaPoWriMo Day 22 – “Two Men, One Fire”

Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Day 22 of Na/GloPoWriMo 🔥🥃 Today’s prompt leans into something both playful and deceptively deep—writing a poem where the speaker is in conversation with themselves. Inspired by Jaswinder Bolina’s “Mood Ring,” this idea of duality—of being both the voice …

NaPoWriMo Day 9 – The Maple Speaks

Today’s prompt draws inspiration from Marianne Moore, a distinctive voice in modern poetry known not only for her style, but for her fascination with the natural world. Many of her poems step into the lives of animals or closely observe them—works like The Fish, The …

Where the Wind Keeps What We Lose

It’s a measure of time. A quiet ritual. A way to sit with what lingers when the day has burned itself down to embers. Whiskey and the Autumn Wind—is meant to settle in the chest like a slow warmth, something that doesn’t ask for attention, …

From Autumn Warmth to Winter Reckoning

Written by @RWhiteAuthor There is a season when the world begins to let go gently. Leaves loosen their grip. Light softens. Even grief feels warmer in the amber hush of October. Whiskey and the Autumn Wind lives in that space—the place where loss has arrived …

When a Review Becomes a Fireside Conversation 🍂🥃

Some books ask to be finished. Others ask to be savored. Whiskey and the Autumn Wind belongs to the latter—a collection meant for slow evenings, low light, and a glass poured with intention. When a reader described the poems as something to be “sipped like a fine bourbon by a crackling fireplace,” they captured the spirit of the book perfectly. This is poetry that lingers, that speaks softly, and that stays with you long after the final page.

A Year Tempered by Wind and Ink

A reflective year in review and a look ahead to 2026—new poetry, Whiskey and the Winter Wind, and the launch of The Gemini Project, an MFA thesis novel exploring truth, power, and deception.

A Year in the Echo of Words — A 2025 Reflection

The wheel of the year turned like a slow tide, and here we stand at its close — rich with stories, hardened by truth, softened by grace. In the quiet places between sirens and silence, 2025 became one of reckoning and resolution. This year I …

✨ March of the Writers: Day 9 – Healthy Habits ✨

Maintaining healthy habits is crucial for writers to thrive creatively and mentally. Setting a writing schedule, taking daily walks, and limiting social media have helped me find balance and reduce stress. Small changes can make a big difference in both writing and life. What healthy habits have been game-changers for you? Share your tips and join the conversation on my blog!