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.
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.
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.
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