http://www.ralphsneeden.com/readings daily 0.75 2023-10-12 http://www.ralphsneeden.com/readings/2016/3/10/98qgptamjqazu7k9f1hsaq156pqw57 monthly 0.5 2016-04-05 http://www.ralphsneeden.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/f0b5c7f9-20fc-499a-834e-d496dc2fdfd0/IMG_0377.png Home http://www.ralphsneeden.com/nonfiction daily 0.75 2026-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1634477116470-SEHWI9FG1YVVVMBVWWD4/IMG_3326.jpg Nonfiction photo: G. Evans https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/45252213-0cc7-4d91-ae39-20915df9acbb/tempImage3zndFp.jpg Nonfiction - Ampflwang A new essay just out. About my pilgrimage to the town where my father was shot down during WWII, the elusive territories and games of national identity. The limbo between flight and capture. Memory and speculation. But it’s also about now. Click HERE to get the Winter 2026 issue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/174eeaeb-0443-45ac-af20-0f746e558e36/IMG_0065.JPG Nonfiction - Through the Lens of the Littoral A review of The Legible Element in The Common magazine, by Matt Miller. (image: Wooley Pond, Little Peconic Bay, Long Island, circa 1965) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/908e1a62-fb66-490a-b2ff-6a0d349b87cb/FullSizeRender.jpeg Nonfiction - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/8e713ebe-704c-407f-adc7-09d4997bbcde/Screen+Shot+2023-12-11+at+9.30.38+AM.png Nonfiction - Make it stand out “The Legible Element astounds…At times, bathed in the past, "Django" reminds one of the best essays of E.B. White. The emotional heart of the book, it yields to others on surfing, the sport that inspires Mr. Sneeden to paddle forward on coasts both local and distant. It shapes his life and, ironically, grounds him as an escape from a mutable world and its ephemeral experiences.” —Daniel Picker, in The East Hampton Star https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/71b6145a-6c96-4342-a662-86d6f710ce19/LE+Cover.jpg Nonfiction - July 2023 THE LEGIBLE ELEMENT—A collection of water-centric personal essays, from EastOver Press “…elemental, cerebral, sometimes dangerous, and completely enrapturing for anyone with a love of wild, liminal places.” —Alex Wilson, editor, The Surfer’s Journal “Ralph Sneeden’s lyrical and ontological essay collection […] An inventive and deeply introspective blend of poetry and prose,The Legible Element probes place through the element of water. With keen observations on desire, delight, and dismay, Sneeden beckons his readers to the humbling power of nature.” —New England Review https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/41ff37e2-7a37-4843-8c5c-dc83e5eb9b41/IMG_5431.jpg Nonfiction - My conversation with John Irving about The Last Chairlift and other things… This project was an energizing way to kick off my pivot from teaching full-time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1634477553577-ADV3TA718EN2A988GAAC/Screen+Shot+2021-10-17+at+9.29.25+AM.png Nonfiction - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1591710786521-M1IGGJWBTHC7ZSUC43FI/3B975D47-4E50-4AF6-BFCB-B95F600A9EFB.JPG Nonfiction - Memory and the First Coast: California Revisited This was the first in a series of water-related essays that has been evolving for over a decade, and it has finally found the perfect home at The Surfer’s Journal. Such a privilege to have more work—especially such a long piece— in one of the most inspiring (and gorgeous) physical magazines around. Grab a copy! April/May 2020, Issue 29.2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1543442854124-2LSR64R60SPDFL9997DB/RGS_Collage_2.jpg Nonfiction Clockwise from the top: Chilmark (yes, a Mac Plus) circa ‘88, Peterborough, Bridgton, El Dorado, Duxbury, San Diego (Thanks to M. Page for graphic arrangement) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1539258437497-WYFLWNBUDR8592DVU8E9/IMG_3341.jpg Nonfiction - “Blaenavon”— Derelict machinery at “The Big Pit,” Blaenavon, Wales https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1517276017033-4VFFH6LWPWRE7JX5IHBX/Southampton67_0011_2_2+copy.jpg Nonfiction - "Fostered Alike By Beauty and By Fear: Wordsworth, Montale and the Landscapes of Childhood" The Little Peconic Bay, right, lagoon to the left. Viewed from the bluff at Jessup Neck, Long Island, New York, circa late-1960's. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/47ff8127-96ba-4cd2-8477-18fdf1b6943a/tempImagez3tUnZ.jpg Nonfiction - "The Legible Element: On Hopkins, Surfers and the Selves of Waves" —AGNI Online June 6, 2016. AND, reprinted in issue 26.1, February/March, 2017 of The Surfer's Journal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/f315855e-82af-45dc-a95b-f8c9957400b1/IMG_5028.jpg Nonfiction - “Looking for Ice”— in The Common magazine, November 1, 2016, Issue 12. A memoir about the dangers and joys of skating, youth hockey, and the tensions between manufactured and natural ice… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1543509307074-107Z2P810Z5XILP92K9E/IMG_0073.jpg Nonfiction - "Django: Elegies and Improvisations with Small Boats" Craft in question, before dismemberment http://www.ralphsneeden.com/about daily 0.75 2025-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/bc7b7ccc-ad04-4872-baea-e2a3f63ce6e5/IMG_7862+4.jpeg About photo: G. Evans-Sneeden http://www.ralphsneeden.com/wind daily 0.75 2025-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1606172339270-IPXASMW4MDBLBF9U0CBF/image.jpg Wind Indicators Mendocino http://www.ralphsneeden.com/publications daily 0.75 2025-11-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/f07193b4-e7a0-4857-8f88-e77b4e7b02f3/Screen+Shot+2025-11-07+at+8.41.41+AM.png Poetry - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/28b3f04b-e8cf-490e-8c9e-89d6e7e334ff/tempImageJyxUuW.jpg Poetry - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1e18bdae-694f-443c-bdef-69d13260a949/Screen+Shot+2023-02-24+at+9.47.08+AM.png Poetry - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/461cb5a5-c4aa-44b9-a89c-414292da5fb6/Screen+Shot+2023-02-24+at+9.35.07+AM.png Poetry - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1621177814499-SWQ34SXH54RVTP9MH5LL/BPR.jpg Poetry - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/c372373e-c188-4d7a-a04b-a967e31bd7e4/Ey84YdSWUAQn1Qx.jpg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1568932999320-P1DY24F1215FEZZSM30X/NER-40-3-cover-front-and-back-1024x714.jpg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1494519532871-GLAPQSMMNEHN7QMX1B45/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1486483280857-D0I6XSAWP1VJURILI97I/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/7c8e8a4d-b9d9-460b-9ac2-c8f3bc89721f/img20201209_17331011.jpg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1479324212333-5UKC6U1310Q0ED5CQOU9/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1486483706014-NV1D1SGVBUU0Y7JPM0B6/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1494520505078-PY7P6NU0FAAIPP7JPX2J/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1494520217814-A5M721PA032LCODVHK59/image-asset.jpeg Poetry https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/1494520756809-30Q1GS0CAIU4RG9SPNPZ/image-asset.jpeg Poetry http://www.ralphsneeden.com/discussion-workshops daily 0.75 2025-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/ad545b3f-4ea8-414a-b338-fe7ca9fc2222/IMG_0452.JPG Discussion Workshops - Make it stand out The Pacific has robust metaphorical possibilities, for musicians and teachers… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/5e3acbc2-9598-4263-a49e-b3cc218af9da/C3F5F583-6A05-4E5F-B5B2-BC818BDE15FB.PNG Discussion Workshops Clockwise from top left: tools of the observer’s trade, world’s biggest invisible roundtable attempt, debriefing after “class” in Jackson, MS. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/8235d767-9cc0-4d96-835e-822c8f9ac8ec/IMG_0139.jpeg Discussion Workshops - Make it stand out After small group work, the culminating final session (Pacific Ridge School, Carlsbad, CA) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/d9f0d1b0-0b87-46f4-afc9-64cbec7de119/IMG_5939.jpeg Discussion Workshops - Make it stand out For a deeper dive into the origins of my dedication to the discussion-based classroom, click this image to read my essay, “The Cooperative Wave”, included in the anthology published by my former employer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/2376de3b-0f8a-40a8-a43e-51136ada0073/IMG_0043.JPG Discussion Workshops - Make it stand out Post-workshop revels at Southridge in Surrey, BC (2012). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/f921e7e8-c1da-4c88-b3f4-cad9bcb9465a/IMG_0813.jpg Discussion Workshops - Make it stand out Contending with the distraction of a panoramic view. West Cork, Ireland. On a retreat with the Memphis University School’s English department (June, 2025). http://www.ralphsneeden.com/writing-workshops daily 0.75 2023-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/a8a32b2c-1a8a-468d-8a8b-a00155b1d959/422F8999-E2BC-4CE4-96E5-11B2EF849306.PNG Writing Workshops TOP: At the North Shore Young Writers’ Conference at Waring School in Beverly, MA with Kevin Carey and Colleen Michaels. BOTTOM: A session at the Damariscotta Lake Writers’ Conference Kieve in Nobleboro Maine. http://www.ralphsneeden.com/books daily 0.75 2024-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/60fedd80-8764-431b-b3b0-54e8ae007cc4/51VNOwMd7zL.jpg Books Cover photo: Kenny Hurtado https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/f0308288-6de1-4cf1-ba5b-50459ee8f88b/ETOJ1.jpg Books Cover photo: “Santorini” by Katina Houvouras https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d0ec75356fb00921351db9/bd911f79-633f-4d88-8fa8-fd57892e1101/LE+Cover.jpg Books Cover image: “Eaton’s Neck” (John Frederick Kensett, oil on canvas, 1872) http://www.ralphsneeden.com/read-me-om daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377097104716-HDI53XJVV0DKZ24A3T68/51e453dee4b06abd3403c22e.png Read Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377096775448-0L7B4Q54H1VLOGFF1DPR/synthetica+%2820130821%29.jpg Read Me https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1377096507573-1MU42OOOOGIM9URAJ9D9/515c4225e4b0afec1218b21e.png Read Me