We are capping off our season of conversations with Ben Berman, the author of three books of poems and the new collection of humorous and literary essays, Writing While Parenting. Ben ​has ​won ​the ​Peace ​Corps ​Award ​for ​the ​Best ​Book ​of ​Poetry, ​has ​twice ​been ​shortlisted ​for ​the ​Massachusetts ​Book ​Awards, ​and ​has ​received ​awards ​from ​the ​Massachusetts ​Cultural ​Council, ​New ​England ​Poetry ​Club, ​and ​Somerville ​Arts ​Council. ​He's ​been ​teaching ​for ​25 ​years ​and ​currently ​teaches ​creative ​writing ​classes ​at ​Brookline ​High ​School. ​He ​lives ​in ​the ​Boston ​area ​with ​his ​wife ​and ​two ​daughters.

Kaitlin’s conversation with Ben explores the intersection of creativity and parenting through the lens of his latest book, and how they can coexist.

Ben and Kaitlin talk about:

• Why ​Ben ​felt compelled to write ​a ​book ​in ​and ​around ​the ​subject ​matter ​of ​writing ​while ​parenting.
• The idea that disorder can be a catalyst for creativity and how being a parent as well as working with kids has shifted Ben’s perspective on creativity.
• The challenge of balancing creative engagement with parenting responsibilities – how we can make our children a part of our creative journey instead of seeing them as obstacles.
• The delicate balance between being fully present in the moment as a parent and detaching to think about it from a creative perspective and how Ben merges the two aspects through his writing.
• The ​relationship ​between ​form ​and ​content, and how ​the ​structures ​that ​we ​create ​allow ​for ​freedom ​or ​inhibit ​it.

More about Ben:

Website: www.ben-berman.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ben.berman.7927/

Pre-order Writing While Parenting here:https://bookshop.org/a/86159/9781773491110

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