Slavic mythology, poetry, and the creative life.

This is a space for the stories that linger. You’ll find Slavic myths retold, original poetry, book reviews, and honest writing about the creative life — the work behind the work, and the life behind the work. Old stories have always carried something we haven’t quite named yet. That’s why we keep returning to them.

Featured Article
  • 5 Best Apps to Manage Your Home Library

    When I moved house in 2023, moving my home library was a special slice of hell. It took me six months to arrange my bookshelves the way I liked them and to finally feel comfortable and settled in my reading space. I used the upheaval as a reason to install…

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  • Maggie O’Farrell’s Land: Book Review

    I read Land by Maggie O’Farrell a few weeks ago, and it took me time to understand how I felt about it and what I wanted to say. O’Farrell’s book is wide open, like the land itself. She takes a place, a windswept peninsula in the west of Ireland, puts…

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Explore by Topic
  • Slavic Mythology

    Gods, spirits, and old tales

    My Poetry

    Poems for the moments that don’t fit

    The Creative Life

    On writing, making things, and building a creative career

Latest Articles
  • On the New Year’s Eve

    On the New Year’s Eve

    What is it about these lights That makes us feel joy and cheer Is it their sparkling warmth Or the memory of someone dear

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  • A New Take on Historiographic Metafiction: Atkinson and Donoghue

    A New Take on Historiographic Metafiction: Atkinson and Donoghue

    Bunty chops up the blood-glazed kidney, the idea of testicles never far from her mind. She hates cooking, it’s too much like being nice to…

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  • The Night

    The Night

    The indifferent sun sets and on the horizon remain all of the past regrets the world, now their domain Hooded shadows roam the night frightened…

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  • Boredom

    Boredom

    Boredom is settling in again Like a thick layer of aged dust On the topmost shelf in the library Where no one seems able to…

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About Me

I’m Erna — writer, poet, devoted cat lady, and a marketer who came to it the strange way, through stories. Slavic mythology sits at the heart of this space, alongside original poetry, book reviews, and honest writing about the creative life.

Pull up a chair. There’s always something worth reading.

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MY BOOKs
Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface is a poetry collection about the things we don’t say out loud — the secrets, the weaknesses, the quiet monsters of everyday life. Read more.

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New myths, new poems, new stories — whenever they’re ready.