Author

Roy Peter Clark

@RoyPeterClark

Roy Peter Clark has taught writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977.  He is the author or editor of 19 books on journalism and the writing craft including “Writing Tools” and his most recent “Murder Your Darlings: And Other Gentle Writing Advice from Aristotle to Zinsser.”

The power of the pun, from Shakespeare to Walter Cronkite to Roy Peter Clark

The power of the pun, from Shakespeare to Walter Cronkite to Roy Peter Clark

How a bit of word play launched Clark's career as the renowned writing teacher at the Poynter Institute and author of 20 books on writing
April 23, 2024
A whimsical request inspired some essential writing tools

A whimsical request inspired some essential writing tools

Writing scholar and author Roy Peter Clark responded to a quirky (and somewhat brash) letter with a lifetime list of writing wisdom
February 7, 2023
A tribute to the consummate reporter/writer: Francis X. Clines

A tribute to the consummate reporter/writer: Francis X. Clines

EDITOR’S NOTE: This tribute is shared with permission from our friends at The Poynter Institute.Frank Clines arrived at The New York Times in 1958, one year before the death of…
July 14, 2022
A 9/11 survival story: Honoring accuracy and voice in eyewitness accounts

A 9/11 survival story: Honoring accuracy and voice in eyewitness accounts

Writing scholar Roy Peter Clark reprises a cousin's escape story, and finds lessons for writers who help people recount personal stories
September 9, 2021
Lessons in the purpose of poetic language from a presidential inauguration

Lessons in the purpose of poetic language from a presidential inauguration

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of two posts today analyzing the power of the presidential inaugural poem delivered Jan. 20, 2020, by Amanda Gorman, and reflecting on its place in…
January 21, 2021
When writing news requires a distance from neutrality to "tell it like it is"

When writing news requires a distance from neutrality to “tell it like it is”

Writing guru Roy Peter Clark analyzes an "astonishing lead," and unpacks the notions of objectivity and detachment in light of current events
January 14, 2021
The news joins the rituals of mourning

The news joins the rituals of mourning

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with our friends at the Poynter InstituteI was half-way through an essay on how the experience of news — especially in the…
May 28, 2020
"When we came back to Paris it was clear and cold and lovely."

“When we came back to Paris it was clear and cold and lovely.”

My wife, Karen, and I happen to have for more than a decade a good Catholic pastor, Msgr. Robert Gibbons. Among his many gifts, he is a news junkie and…
May 20, 2020
When the narrative becomes the disease

When the narrative becomes the disease

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with our friends at the Poynter Institute. It’s happening again, as it always happens with disease. Our fear of contagion has turned some…
April 13, 2020
Stories are read twice in readers' minds: Once for information, then for meaning

Stories are read twice in readers’ minds: Once for information, then for meaning

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with the Poynter Institute.I have come to believe that all readers read all stories twice — all the time.The first reading comes…
March 11, 2020