Why you sometimes need to shut down the music to hear the music.

A great practice to adopt if you want to write—whether prose or poetry or songs, fiction or nonfiction.

How becoming a parent helped me rediscover the joy and power of making music at home—just for kicks.

Becoming a writer is not a matter of accumulating clips and making a living with words; you have to earn your badge again and again.

This, I’m convinced, is the essential attribute and habit of artists of every medium, more important than particular talents or skills: They pay attention.

“What a beautiful day!” he calls from the driveway, pausing with his shovel wedged into the snowbank.

Celebrating the holidays, with young kids, in India.