Brenda K. Preuss
Brenda K. Preuss, M.Ed., is a retired veteran teacher of twenty-eight years. This author, poet, presenter, coach, retreat facilitator, and motivational speaker lives in Houston, Texas with her two fat-cat fur people, Fiona and Stormy.
Her book, The Care and Feeding of a Teacher, a hybrid memoir, rant, tell-all was born out of stories, poems, rants, lists, and other weird things from her life as a teacher and parts of her life before teaching that informed her teaching journey.
Currently, Brenda is maintaining a dedicated morning pages practice (as per Julia Cameron’s, The Artist Way) every single day, going on 29 years! She’s also stirring up another possible hybrid memoir/rant, tell-all that’s been simmering on a back burner in her mind for a few years. The working title of this book/podcast is, Don’t Wear a Cap—Dating Instructions for Men.
Her philosophy of critique groups is that they should be a safe, fun, warm, inviting environment where a budding writer can thrive. The writing and the writer must be gently encouraged to grow with constructive, useful feedback and praise that Brenda believes improves the writer, their process, and ultimately, their writing.
See more of her work at her website, www.brendapreuss.com.
Her book, The Care and Feeding of a Teacher, a hybrid memoir, rant, tell-all was born out of stories, poems, rants, lists, and other weird things from her life as a teacher and parts of her life before teaching that informed her teaching journey.
Currently, Brenda is maintaining a dedicated morning pages practice (as per Julia Cameron’s, The Artist Way) every single day, going on 29 years! She’s also stirring up another possible hybrid memoir/rant, tell-all that’s been simmering on a back burner in her mind for a few years. The working title of this book/podcast is, Don’t Wear a Cap—Dating Instructions for Men.
Her philosophy of critique groups is that they should be a safe, fun, warm, inviting environment where a budding writer can thrive. The writing and the writer must be gently encouraged to grow with constructive, useful feedback and praise that Brenda believes improves the writer, their process, and ultimately, their writing.
See more of her work at her website, www.brendapreuss.com.
Read "A Shitty First Draft", a poem by Brenda Preuss
So many “shitty-first-drafts”
that aren’t so shitty.
I get 5 minutes to share
seven months
worth of daily poems.
That’s over 200 poems.
Damn.
I pause…
I breathe that in.
Only seven months??
I had a parathyroidectomy
plus lost half my thyroid
in the process.
Got a crown on a tooth
Bought a duplex.
Turned 60.
Traveled on 14 different airplanes
Wearing a mask, of course.
Chatted with dozens of men online.
Got my left ankle surgically cleaned up and repaired
from a decades-old injury.
Had multiple multiple orgasms.
Feared
and braved
and loved
and hugged
And limped
And prayed
And rested
And spent 2/3’s of my retirement savings
on an investment property
And laughed til I cried
And cried til I laughed
And shivered
And sweated
And worked at the polls
And wrote
And wrote
And wrote
And still more words appeared on lined pages
I cooked and cleaned
And avoided such.
I folded and hobbled
And ordered
and spent
and paid
And drove opks (other people’s kids)
Dealt blackjack
Dog-sat in Oregon
I walked and walked
and picked up dogshit.
And wrote
And wrote
And wrote.
I talked and talked.
And listened and listened.
And then I had a damn-near
(that’s an actual word in Texas,
“damn-near” meaning really really close)
I had a damn-near
normal poop today.
I had to announce it
to my old/old friend
‘cos “old” people
want and need to talk
about their poop.
It needs to be an
Old old friend though
one you can trust with your
poop stories and poop issues,
but also one who is old
enough to appreciate
the importance of poop
in our health and our lives.
So yeah, I haven’t had a
“damn-near” normal poop
since my offer
to buy the duplex
was accepted.
“We” (me and my “innards”) just
paid our first mortgage payment
on our second mortgage.
And we have money in the bank
to pay our 2nd and 3rd ones.
For now…
I write
and write
and write.
Damn-near got another book written.
Feedback from Brenda’s critique workshop at the Houston Writer’s Guild Authorpalooza Conference in October 2023:
“Brenda made me feel confident about choosing a group by saying that I could leave mean and abusive ones. Plus telling me what you want in a group.”
“She made important points about critique groups while being fun and entertaining.”
“Interesting, funny, helpful”
Brenda's recommended reading list for new writers:
So many “shitty-first-drafts”
that aren’t so shitty.
I get 5 minutes to share
seven months
worth of daily poems.
That’s over 200 poems.
Damn.
I pause…
I breathe that in.
Only seven months??
I had a parathyroidectomy
plus lost half my thyroid
in the process.
Got a crown on a tooth
Bought a duplex.
Turned 60.
Traveled on 14 different airplanes
Wearing a mask, of course.
Chatted with dozens of men online.
Got my left ankle surgically cleaned up and repaired
from a decades-old injury.
Had multiple multiple orgasms.
Feared
and braved
and loved
and hugged
And limped
And prayed
And rested
And spent 2/3’s of my retirement savings
on an investment property
And laughed til I cried
And cried til I laughed
And shivered
And sweated
And worked at the polls
And wrote
And wrote
And wrote
And still more words appeared on lined pages
I cooked and cleaned
And avoided such.
I folded and hobbled
And ordered
and spent
and paid
And drove opks (other people’s kids)
Dealt blackjack
Dog-sat in Oregon
I walked and walked
and picked up dogshit.
And wrote
And wrote
And wrote.
I talked and talked.
And listened and listened.
And then I had a damn-near
(that’s an actual word in Texas,
“damn-near” meaning really really close)
I had a damn-near
normal poop today.
I had to announce it
to my old/old friend
‘cos “old” people
want and need to talk
about their poop.
It needs to be an
Old old friend though
one you can trust with your
poop stories and poop issues,
but also one who is old
enough to appreciate
the importance of poop
in our health and our lives.
So yeah, I haven’t had a
“damn-near” normal poop
since my offer
to buy the duplex
was accepted.
“We” (me and my “innards”) just
paid our first mortgage payment
on our second mortgage.
And we have money in the bank
to pay our 2nd and 3rd ones.
For now…
I write
and write
and write.
Damn-near got another book written.
Feedback from Brenda’s critique workshop at the Houston Writer’s Guild Authorpalooza Conference in October 2023:
“Brenda made me feel confident about choosing a group by saying that I could leave mean and abusive ones. Plus telling me what you want in a group.”
“She made important points about critique groups while being fun and entertaining.”
“Interesting, funny, helpful”
Brenda's recommended reading list for new writers:
- The Artist Way by Julia Cameron
- The Wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn—4 Complete Books by Florence Scovel Shinn
- Open Your Mind to Prosperity by Catherine Ponder
- You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay