Writer's Notebook, Day Seven-Hundred-And-Seventy-Nine

 I am going to try taking a break from talking about my family drama tonight, though it continues.  It is not any clearer to me today than yesterday, and I don't really know that writing about here would be helpful.  Indeed, it feels that focusing on work is probably important for me right now, both in terms of practical concerns and because it is a distraction for me.

I'm ready to send out my new chapbook, which I am thinking of titling Reflection.  I think it is quite good, as a collection, but I do worry about a reader not getting in far enough to discover the book in a real sense, as the second half impacts the meaning of the first in order to change the meaning of those poems.  I shared the work with Kevin Pilkington, a poet I studied with at Sarah Lawrence who has remained a mentor for me, and he was quite enthusiastic and felt that the approach was not one he had seen before.  I think it represents a significant piece of work for me, in a way that is not only about publication, and I do have hope it will be able to stand out in positive ways.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poem: Neighborhood Inhabitants

Neighborhood Inhabitants There was a fox once, and another time, otters, and now a peacock that we think got lost during one of the storms. She stays down on the other end of the street, though, does not visit us. We have a racoon family that stays in our tree some nights, and there is a baby lizard, a brown basilisk, who we have seen several times. It is not supposed to be here, is invasive and troublesome to the local ecosystem, as are the duck.  I hear there are giant snails now who eat stucco or concrete or something of that sort. I have not seen one, though, I just heard they are here and big as my fist.
Read more

A Writer's Notebook, One-Thousand-Eight-Hundred-And-Seventy-Three

I am still finding it difficult to get back to a more productive work schedule at the moment.  In part, I am sure it is that I gave myself permission to slack off a bit, and it is difficult to walk that back, especially because I am still writing and being productive, even if not to the same degree. I know it would be good to get back to doing more writing, but I also know that I am still meeting my core obligations, even if at a more minimal level.  Really, I just need to make the choice and force myself to stick to it.  To that end, I am planning to at least get back to work on my longer projects again tomorrow, even if I don't increase the poetry output right away.
Read more

A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Thousand-One-Hundred-And-Thirty-Three

I received my acceptance to attend workshop at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival next year and am very excited to be working with Matthew Olzmann, a poet whose work I have admired for some time.  He has a rare capacity for being simultaneously absurd and serious in ways that are hysterical, but with devastating insights underneath.  I feel quite fortunate to have the PBPF, and can say, honestly, that each workshop I have attended there has been incredible.  As a person who has taken many workshops in my life, and who often finds them wanting, I am always astounded at the caliber of the classes at the festival, both in the instruction and in the community of poets I have encountered.  I only wish it could be more than just one week out of the year.
Read more