9 to 5 Poet

Tonight was a really good night. 

My husband is just completing Thesis I, which means he is 90% done with his MFA. The only thing he has to do is revise his thesis before September.  Literally, he’s in the home stretch. But revision, as many of us writers know, is probably the most challenging aspect of writing, so he’s got the hardest 10% left.

But he’s approaching it in a really smart way.  He sent his manuscript to 5 friends he really trusts, (5 talented writers I might add) and asked for critique. He gave us a couple of months and then hosted a mini-party to discuss the work.  The party was tonight. 

What’s interesting about this group of people is that none of them know each other — they come from different spheres of our lives.  Yet we all played nicely with each other and (I hope) gave him enough encouragement and direction for the final leg of his journey.

I am amazed at the way he’s approaching the final stage of his master’s degree. He’s been pursuing this frickin’ degree for 6 years, while working full time.  Despite all of these challenges, he’s trucking along and approaching his work with care and ambition.  I feel pretty lucky to be part of this process.

To prepare for tonight’s bash, we visited the Farmer’s Market and purchased bushels of produce, including fixings for salad, green peppers for stuffed peppers, mushrooms for pasta, and the above cherries for dessert.  Between the great food and the lively conversation, we had an awesome night.

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I’ve been dreaming up this collage for days and I finally had time to make it today.  The funny thing is, it didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.  But I like it so much better in this way.  I love that mistakes, revisions, and evolutions in ideas end up making a better piece of work than a perfectly planned piece. 

Say what you want about Charles Simic, but this review of his latest book by Katha Pollitt is fantastic!  I really feel like I got a picture of his new (and 19th) book, That Little Something, as well as the scope of his life’s work.  Personally, I really like Charles Simic (in small doses) and I now have the next book on my summer reading list.  I also now want to read more from Pollit.

Funny how reviews do two jobs at once. 

I have just posted the first issue of Asphalt Sky!  It took a bit longer than I expected (as every project always does), but I’m really proud of the result.  Kate, Jo, and I worked very hard to find the best poetry, art, and fiction possible, and I think we have a lovely diversity of artists, poets, and storytellers.

I hope you check it out!  If you like what you see, I’ve opened submissions for Volume 1, Issue 2.  Please submit by September 1. Find out more at the submissions guidelines page over at our new and improved site.    Thanks!

On Sunday, I was hanging out with some friends, and one of my really good friends lent me the greatest book.  It’s called Look! Up in the Sky! and it is an anthology of comic book poetry.  As soon as he turned it over to me, I thought, I wonder if Jeannine Hall Gailey has any poetry in here, because she wrote an entire book of comic book poetry.  In fact, she is!  She has two of her poems from Becoming the Villainess in there.  I felt smart and in the know, for a moment.  Don’t worry, it passed.

Throughout the past couple of days, I’ve been flipping through the book, and it has some great poems in here.  I think it stretches the theme a bit, to include all sorts of heroes and villains.  But I’ve enjoyed much of the poetry inside.  My favorite, for now, is a poem by Samer Saliba called “The Pussy Doctor,” which describes what it feels like to grow up with a father who is a gynecologist.  (This is the the stretching it part — the dad is a hero, in the poem.)  The best line: “Whenever my dad saw me crying and called me a pussy, I had to take his word for it.”  Brilliant!

Yes, I am still here.  But, I feel like I’ve got a writing hangover, similar to that I experienced after NaBloWriMo.  Even though I tuckered out on NaPoWriMo 5 days early, I’m a little tapped out. I’ve also had to play some catch up on reviews (Page 4 of the PDF for my Uptown Girl review), so I’ve had a momentary retreat from blogging. 

However, I have been doing other things (yes, there are other things) including…

• Seeing a Twin’s Game with my hubby, as well as Mr. Horrorpants and his wife. The Twins are actually on a winning streak, although that phrase will probably jinx it.
• Enjoying the beautiful weather - it’s finally above 50 degrees.
• Recovering from the massive report I had to coordinate at work.  I am so glad it’s done, never to be coordinated again.  I hope.
• Reading my next book to review for Uptown Neighborhood News, State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy
• Watching Season One of The Riches– I have a huge crush on Eddie Izzard now.
• Finishing Asphalt Sky.  I swear to God it’s coming out soon. 

So life is good.  Just not very bloggable right now.  And that’s okay. 

Of course, I’ve been reading. My review of Rae Armantrout’s Next Life (78 pages) is up at read.write.poem. 

Then last night, I finished A Very Good Year  (276 pages) by Mike Weiss.  This is an interesting book — it follows the production of one wine (Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc) throughout its lifespan, from growing on the vines to being consumed by a couple of people.  What’s interesting is that Weiss balances the tutorial on winemaking with the character study of the people who are involved in making the wine.  You end up caring about the vineyard owners, the farmers, and yes, even the marketing guy.  At the end, there is a bit of suspense as we wait for the Wine Spectator rating.  I swear, I never thought that could be exciting, but it was.

So that’s what I’ve been reading. How about you?  Any recommendations as I swing into a (hopefully) less busy season at work?

Total For 2008: 3056 pages
Genres: Memoir (3), Essay (1), Graphic Novel (1), Non-Fiction (3), Poetry (4), Comic Book Anthology (1)

Back at the beginning of NaPoWriMo, Christine wrote an article at read. write. poem., that summarized some experimental forms.  One of the forms she described was the Rothko, which a poet writes when looking at a painting by Rothko.  There are other artist-forms, and people commented on other possible permutations. 

After that, I thought a Frida Kahlo form would be cool.  Kahlo created self-portraits that relied heavily on her subconscious and her self-image, so I thought a self-portrait with flaws would be apropos.  I never wrote anything on it until this morning, when this poem occurred to me while I was showering. The subconscious is an amazing thing. 

Self-Portrait with Flaws
after Frida Kahlo

I am not sewn together or shorn.  I am
cobbled together and clunky.  I am unsmooth
and imperfect, a trembling vessel
riddled with dings. 
I am encased in shells, invisible
layers of lacquer and shine.  But I am also
spiderwebbed with cracks, thin fissures
zigzagged across my skin.  I am
permeable, though I rarely admit this.
Crack me open, like an egg
and you will find
the soft structure of my self
sleeping, unprotected, inside. 

I almost missed my nanapoopoo yesterday, because I worked all day then went to the MN Rollergirls championship bout. (Both my teams lost).  But I managed to stay on track during the commercials from SNL last night. 

Love Song Set to Our City’s Skyline

By our city’s clear light, I almost see
our reflections in the river’s black shine
and downtown’s all-night illuminations.
Darling, see how we still glimmer and burn. 

Click here if you want to know why I have been singing “la la la la , death by chocolate”, since last night. (Sorry, I can’t figure out how to embed non-you-tube videos here.)

On the First Day of Spring

The World

I say yes to a world with green meadows,
flowers, to lying in sun. I also
say yes to fury, rage, broken asphalt.
I say yes to a world with everything.

(March 1

I decided to share this quatrain tonight, because I was thinking about the Big Yes Model. I know that sounds a little strange, but bear with me.

When I went to the education conference in Tennessee, Dr. Carla DiMarco was the keynote speaker. She is a psychologist and adult educator, and she was teaching us (a group of often overstretched student services administrators) about saying yes and saying no.

Her taught us how to use her Big Yes Model — a way to quantify and visualize what you want to say yes to in your life. To simplify it, it’s a grid that you fill in what you want to expend your precious energy on. You put your “Big Yeses” closer to your center. Then, you fill in your “flexible no’s, ” things that you may sometimes say yes to, but reserve the right to say no to. And finally, you fill in your “Big No’s,” the things that you never ever want to spend your time and energy on.

Simplistic? Yep, in a lot of ways. But, I was surprised by how many things in my Big Yes category that I ignore, let languish, or put off and by how many things in my Big No category that I live with. Overall, though, I was happy with how many of my Big Yeses I pursue.

So what are your Big Yes items? How are you honoring them today?