New Poem in diode

Today is the launch of Volume 1 Issue 3 of diode, which contains "What Makes the Body Universal," one of my new poems. Thanks to Patty Paine and all the rest of the staff at diode for putting on such a great show. Hope you enjoy!

What I'm Reading: "Putting Your Poetry in Order" Katrina Vandenberg

I first met Katrina Vandenberg at the Arkansas Literary Festival several years ago. She was a visiting writer at the U of A and had come down to read from her beautiful book Atlas. Today, I've been reading her article "Putting Your Poetry in Order," which appears in the May/June 2008 issue of Poets & Writers. Using the mix tape as her model, Vandenberg runs through a series of 11 points to keep in mind when trying to order a manuscript. Each point includes a song title, of course.

As I'm about to set out to do just this kind of arranging with my second book, tentatively titled Glacial Elegies, the article couldn't have come at a better time. Perhaps the best piece of advice from Vandenberg is to avoid grouping poems that are too similar. This is a weakness of mine. I think I find comfort in lining up all the poems about a certain subject...as if they are protected in some way. I suppose I need to start thinking like a reader and not a writer when looking at the manuscript as a whole. What will make the groupings exciting? What will make them boring? Many readers do not read poetry books from beginning to end. Is there any way to anticipate the leaps?

The other item that stands out in the article is the reminder that the spaces between the poems are important, too. One of my favorite undergraduate professors opened my eyes to the white space on the page as a vital element in the poem itself, and now Vandenberg reminds me that in the collection, the white spaces become places of echoes and reflections that can intensify the relationships between the poems. Finally, close to the end of the article, comes this quote about a poetry collection: "It's a poem made from all of your poems."

As I begin to order and re-order the poems for the next book, I'll keep all of these things in mind. Thanks, Katrina!

What I'm Reading: "Islands Apart: A Notebook" Eavan Boland

This essay appears in the May 2008 issue of Poetry and asks important questions about poetic identity. The second section begins by questioning, "Who exactly is a poet? How do we recognize one, even when circumstances seem to deny the possibility of such an existence?" (Boland 136).

In the essay Boland takes an historical look at several Irish poets with certain opposing viewpoints and follows up with a look at a type of split in today's poetry world. She describes a type of poet today who is "skill-based." As Boland says, "He or she can -- or should -- lecture, lead a workshop, run an introductory class, teach composition, write a review, give a conference paper. In pursuit of all this, they are also expected to travel neatly, punctually, and soberly" (141). Let's be clear, Boland is not opposed to this set of skills; however, she calls attention to the "small minority ... of poets out in the world who don't want to do any of these things" (141). Ah, after reading the first half of the essay with a somewhat distant interest, I was now at full attention. Yes, I felt compelled to do all of the things listed for the skill-based poet. Why? Who had ever told me that I "needed" to travel, read, lecture, lead, etc.? I'm not sure anyone sat me down and instructed me in this. Having read one too many articles on self-promotion, once Blood Almanac became a reality, I just dove in without thinking too much about it.

Boland goes on to discuss the fact that the above skills are crucial to economic survival as a poet; however, she flips the coin and takes a look at those poets who cannot or wish not to be "skill-based." She asks, "Is it possible to suggest a category ... even an individual poet who might be marginalized by such an emphasis?" (Boland 142). Here the word "marginalized" lept from the page for me, having come of age in an undergrad English dept filled with feminist and post-colonial scholars. The first members of Boland's marginalized category are avant-garde poets, but it is the next set that interested me the most. She calims, "The down-to-earth question of availability might affect women poets" and goes on to discuss the difficulties of travel and time for women who are mothers and poets (Boland 142-143). I wish she might have included men who are fathers and poets as well, but from everything I've seen, the burden on mothers is still greater than on men in most cases. Boland finishes her category of non-skills-based poets with those who are shy, private, antisocial, introverted, etc., and then she discusses a refuge for these writers that can be found in prizes, retreats, fellowships, etc. She concludes where she began, with the idea that there have always been some poets who fit easily into the public persona of "writer" and some who have not (Boland 143). So, the essay doesn't offer any call to action; rather, it questions and illuminates and offers a new perspective...perhaps it is okay to slow down a bit on the "skills" and refocus on the private work of making poems.

Clean Slate

I've just spent half a day doing a deep clean of my office space, and tomorrow morning I can begin getting back to the work I love the most. I've dusted off the stacks and stacks of lit mags and books that have collected in the last 3 months. The only issue now is where to begin. I'll keep you posted.

Slowly, I Return

to greening. Each year, this particular time in the academic calendar has the power to flatten me with exhaustion, and when I slowly return to the world, I am each year shocked by its greening. It was a nice change today to set aside my schoolwork and just sit and look out my window, where the little tree that shelters me has leafed out most fully.

I have taken the day off. The cardinals sing intermittently, and the house next door, recently sold after a year on the market, is undergoing some work involving power tools, while the sun lets loose its wide-awake.

Words, as you might tell, are cluttering behind my tongue again, and I am impatient for May 16th, the day that marks the end of my responsibilities at school.

Hiatus

Unfortunately, the end of the semester workload is preventing me from updating the blog with new posts. Please check back in a week or so, when I should have survived the brunt of the grading. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back soon!

ALF

Today, Pulaski Tech hosted several creative writing workshops at the Arkansas Literary Festival. I had a great time working with Caroline Lewis, my colleague at PTC, as we presented several writing exercises designed to break writer's block. We had a standing room only crowd, all enthusiastic and all eager to write.

If you are in the area, consider attending the festival. There's a lot more to do this afternoon, and tomorrow afternoon has a great line-up as well.

Oh, and some good mail yesterday. Jill Gerard of the Chautauqua Literary Journal has taken "In the Delicate Branches" for the 2009 issue.

Opening Day

Best tip on learning how to deal with rejection: become a Cubs fan. I've mentioned this several times in the last year, but being a Cubs fan is a sure way to become accustomed to the ups and downs of sending work out for publication.

Today was Opening Day at Wrigley Field: Cubs v. Brewers. It was a brilliant game through the 8th. We went into the 9th 0-0, where we promptly gave up 3 runs. Sinking low, beginning to despair, until, what's that, a rally, a tie 3-3 at the end of the 9th. A quick run by the Brewers in the top of the 10th doused the momentary rush of glee. Alas, we lost.

Still, I'm glad it's baseball season again. Every day is a new chance to win, and today, I did have a win. Marck Beggs accepted two poems for the next volume of the Arkansas Literary Forum. Thanks to Marck for the support and for the publication in support of Arkansas writers. Check it out, and get ready for the chance to play again tomorrow.

Thank You SIUC

Just arrived home from my trip to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which was spectacular on all counts. The lovely Allison Joseph invited me to be this year's judge for the Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest, sponsored by SIUC's Creative Writing and Women's Studies Programs. The contest included entries from both undergraduates and graduates at SIUC, and I have to say making a final decision was made difficult by the number of strong entries. Congratulations to all the winners!

Both Allison and Jon Tribble excel at hosting, making me feel at home the moment I arrived. Many thanks to Jon for rescuing me from the Google Map directions, which had me exiting at Lick Creek and traversing the back-country hills for about 20-minutes before I broke down and dialed for help.

Thanks to all of the students, faculty, and staff who showed up for the ceremony and reading! I was glad to have met the wonderful poet Judy Jordan and fiction writer Jacinda Townsend, as well as students, Krishna Pattisapu, Amie Whittemore, and Travis Mossotti. I also got to reconnect with students Jason Lee Brown and Andy McFadyen-Ketchum, both of whom I met at AWP Atlanta.

All in all, this was one of the best trips I've made for the poetry side of my life. Thank to you all!

New Poem Available Online

Hey all, check out the latest issue of The Dirty Napkin. I've got a new poem there; the poem was written in an assignment exchange with poet-friend Angie Macri, so some thanks belong to her. Each issue features a picture of one of the poems written out by the author on a napkin of their choosing. This serves as the cover art, which I think is kind of cool. Check out 1.1's cover of Jane Mead's poem if you get the chance. As for my poem, "On the Fabric of the Human Body," it looks like you will need to subscribe to hear the audio.

We're in the midst of a major remodeling project, so not as much writing going on as I'd have liked. Still, the break is definitely a necessary thing.

What I'm Reading: Poetry March 2008

Spring Break! Finally a bit of time to sit and read, sit and think, sit and write. The first thing I grabbed this morning was the March 2008 issue of Poetry. I cracked the beautiful spine and began with the first poem "Nights on Planet Earth" by Campbell McGrath. McGrath is a poet I've struggled with in the past. Often, there are poets others are enthusiastic whose poetry I cannot get into. So, I was surprised today, when I immediately fell in love with this 3-part poem. Then, to my surprise, the magazine followed up with a mini-Q&A with the poet about the poem. While the poem stands alone, and I admired it before I read McGrath's comments on it, the comments were insightful and illuminating, opening the poem up again in a different light.

I glanced through the rest of the issue, and it turned out, there is a Q & A with each poet. Nice.

This journal is usually hit or miss for me, but I always find one or two poems that I feel justify the reading of each issue. In this case, many of the poems were hits for me, and I'm so glad to have the time to enjoy them.

Reality Check

Well, I intended this blog to be about the world of contemporary poetry and the writing life. Here is a reality check. Sometimes there isn't any time to write. Teaching at a community college means a load of 5 classes per semester and most of those classes are composition classes with a few lits thrown in. For those of you who don't know, comp classes are grading intensive. For example, I spent 10 hours of my weekend grading papers. Little chance of writing there.

If you want to write and think that teaching is the way to go, understand this: unless you have a tenure-track job in an MFA/PhD program where you teach 2/2 or 3/3, you might not get the kind of writing time you are looking for until the summer.

Off-topic reality check: today is the end of year 5 in the Iraq War, beginning of year 6. By all accounts the number of soldiers killed in the war will reach 4,000 within the next days/weeks. When I began training to teach, I never would have predicted that I'd be in the position to have a former student killed in combat in a protracted war. It hasn't happened yet, but the odds of it not happening at all aren't looking very good.

UCA ArkaText

I've just returned from my appearance at the University of Central Arkansas and want to say a big thanks to Terry Wright, the Department of Writing, and all the students and faculty who attended my events.

The connection to the audience is one of the most important things for me, and being able to give a reading and just talk with others interested in poetry, gives me such a boost. Everyone was warm and welcoming and gracious to a fault, even when I flubbed the name of the department. What more could a writer ask?

Expertise

Well, we had a snow day Friday, and I promptly fell victim to the cold my husband has been fighting for the past week. I spent Saturday/Sunday sleeping, for the most part. I apologize for the lapse!

My appearance at UCA has been rescheduled for this Thursday, 3/13/08, which makes me happy. I really do love getting out and talking to other writers/readers.

On NPR this afternoon, during a discussion of the current candidates for the presidency, one of the guests talked about expertise, given how much air time the topic is getting for the candidates. This is what stuck with me. He cited several studies that apparently show that it takes ten years to acquire any kind of expertise in say chess, baseball, etc. Two things came to mind at almost the same time: teaching and writing. I've been teaching since the fall of 1999, and I think the 10-year rule is bearing itself out there for sure. In fact, it might be more like 20 for me. I'm only beginning to feel sturdy in my approach to teaching composition, lit, and creative writing.

Writing is a bit more difficult to age. I've been writing my whole life, so do I just count the years since my MFA program? Probably. It's when I learned how to make writing a serious part of my life and to pursue publication. Does having published a book make me an expert? I'm not so sure of that, either. It certainly has taught me a lot about perseverance and the business side of writing; however, every time I sit down to start a new poem, I sometimes think I'm starting from scratch with the blank page.

For Every 20 Rejections

there is one acceptance. Today's came from diode, a newish online journal that will be publishing my poem "What Makes the Body Universal" in May. The editor, Patty Paine, said some really nice things in her email, which always adds extra delight to the news.