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My short poem, "Flattened Grass," about what happens when the thing that has consumed you suddenly ends. In my case, it was a month of writing. Apparently my brain decided a departed carnival was the appropriate metaphor. 🎪 Sorry about the air conditioner humming throughout the recording! Done is better than perfect!

CW: death, alcohol Here's one of my earliest poems, "Renewal," inspired by the movie "Logan's Run." This was first published by aesterion out of California in their Spring 2026 issue.  I hope you enjoy it!

Drema reads her poem, "Sonshine," about a face painter who tells a story about a opossum and her dog. CW: death While this is not a polished reading, it is heartfelt and I hope it might ease your pain if you've suffered loss.  This first appeared on my blog, then recently was published by Bards Against Hunger.

Today I’m sharing a reading of my (Drema's) poem White Lake Fish. Poetry found me again last spring, and I’ve been following where it leads. Content note: this poem deals with death.

"Control: The Language" Read by the author, Drema Drudge, on a chilly winter's day. This was one of the earliest poems she (I) wrote. At least recently.

A flash of memory. A poem that knows exactly how it feels to be struck by something you didn’t see coming. In this brief reading, I share Some Said It Thundered, a poem about those sudden sparks that keep echoing long after the moment passes. Think Back to the Future, but make it poetry. Make it personal. Happy holidays, friends, and may your heart stay just flammable enough. Keep creating!  “Some Said It Thundered” written and read by Drema Drudge.  © 2025 Drema Drudge. All rights reserved.

Read by the author, Drema Drudge, on a fall night on a porch while listening to the leaves fall, with a raspy throat but a determined heart. Because the muse is always with us.  Written and read by Drema Drudge. © 2025. All rights reserved.

Just sharing another poem, "Fight Me in the Waffle House Parking Lot at Dawn," first published by The Daily Drunk. Many thanks to them.  As I say before I read the poem, this came to me while I was on cold medicine and was awake at maybe three a.m. and this little critter just showed up.  I really like it. Oh, and the onion rings line? Like someone taking out their earrings for a fight, right?  I'm not one for violence, but I will fight for art. And love. :-)  A truck drove past right as I was in the middle of recording, and I decided to keep the sound in. Why not? Fight Me in the Waffle House Parking Lot at Dawn Fight me in the Waffle House parking lot at dawn. Take out your onion rings and hand them to your bestie except, no onion rings here. You can’t handle The Roof wrapped in paper napkins. Shadow box four rounds or line dance your way back to town. Go inside, pick a spot at the counter and perform Americana. Norman Rockwell will see you now. Psst…I kinda like this little freak. Copyright Drema Drudge 2025. All rights reserved.

In this mini episode, Drema Drudge reads her original poem, All In, recorded live from her porch with a very vocal bird as uninvited co-host.  A quiet reflection on mutual wisdom. Background ambiance includes a determined bee and a loud, possibly judgmental bird. Written and read by Drema Drudge. © 2025. All rights reserved.

Andrew Najberg returns with a couple of short readings from his forthcoming releases and a discussion of the origins of his novels.  You don't want to miss this!  www.mfapayday.com

Our guests on this episode are the co-hosts of Once upon a Disney Podcast, Larry Brenner and Andie Redwine.   Check out their Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/onceuponadisneypodcast, and listen to their podcast most any place where podcasts can be heard.

Here's an interview with the co-host of MFA Payday, Drēma Drudge.  Her bio:  "Welcome! I’m Drēma Drudge, author. From reading cereal boxes on the breakfast table when I was a wee thing to reading my first chapter book in a mimosa tree which birthed my love for novels and twinned it with my affection for trees, the written word and I have been fast friends forever. I’ve also been writing in one capacity or another since I was about nine, starting with terrible poems and graduating to melodramatic stories in junior high. (No one explained to me then that my beloved books came from the destruction of my (almost) equally beloved trees!) Mercifully, I eventually discovered that there are books, classes, and programs on writing and I learned how to write! Now I have an MFA in Creative Writing. Read more about my books. I’m married to the incomparable Barry Drudge, musician (and writer) extraordinaire. We have two grown children, and we live in a charming small town filled with plenteous, splendid, trees and wide Victorian homes. Barry and I have been privileged to travel to some really cool places. My first novel ended up being written in six countries! As a result of our travels, I’ve ended up writing in some fascinating, gorgeous places, such as sitting in a pew in the Pantheon in Rome and writing in Recoleta Cemetery in Argentina. I’ve visited the homes, birthplaces, and graves of many of my writing and art heroes and have often had the opportunity to write in or about those very places, something my younger self never imagined possible." Southern-Fried Woolf Briscoe Chambers is not only the manager of her country music star husband, but a graduate student trying to complete her Virginia Woolf thesis by fall – the same time her cheating husband, Michael, has an album due to avoid being in breach of contract. No problem, right? Except his co-writer will be Velvet Wickens, his idol who has been opening shows for him. And who happens to be the one he’s cheating with. Now Briscoe has been asked by their record label to ensure the album gets finished on time. To accomplish this, they must all live together for the duration of the writing of the album. And by the way, Briscoe knows, and it’s triggering coping mechanisms she had thought were long gone. Fans of the writing of both Taylor Jenkins Reid and Virginia Woolf will enjoy this novel that has plenty of sweet tea, country music, Virginia Woolf, and heartache. In addition, the reader gets to watch over Briscoe’s shoulder as she crafts her essay and attempts to untangle her troubled marriage. Sign up for a free story over at  www.dremadrudge.com.

Recently we had a fascinating conversation with Helen Zuman.  Bio: After graduating from Harvard in 1999, Helen Zuman joined a cult—oops!—stayed for five years, then composted the stinky guck of that experience into fertile soil via Mating in Captivity, her award-winning memoir. Next, she published What Is a Sex Cult? How Cults Reveal Our Culture. As of 2023, she is working on a novel, provisionally titled Common App, in which a college application essay editor compromises the Republicrat candidate’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential election by taking creative license with his son’s Common App Personal Statement. Born in London and raised in Brooklyn, Helen currently homesteads with her husband in Beacon, New York, while dreaming of her next trip to Scotland. She listens to her favorite song, “Scotland the Brave,” three times a day. To stay in touch, sign up for her email list at helenzuman.com.

Just stopping in to say a quick hey from a beach on Lake Michigan and encourage you to find your happy place  and tell you to take a well-deserved artist's date!

Friend of the podcast, Chella Courington, returns to read from her “Hearts Forged in Resistance.” Chella Courington returns to our podcast to share her latest release, a dynamic volume of poetry called “Hearts Forged in Resistance,” pre-order price guaranteed until September 8, 2023. The book will be released by Finishing Line Press on November 10, 2023.  Listen to us speak with Chella about her hauntingly vivid poems and hear her read on this episode. You don’t want to miss this beautiful language and these evocative images, flowers of words, all.  (And hear her husband, Ted, say hello in the background now and again.)  Learn more about her on her website.  And if you haven't subscribed to our newsletter, why not do it now?