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My thoughts on writing and other random things as they come up. |
| This is a blog where I keep my thoughts and daily comments about writing and WDC. |
The Small Birds of Sound  by Jake Adam YorkThis poem is political, and important. I wish I could write about things that matter like Jake York did. One of my former teachers, Rose McLarney, suggested I study Jake's work. I loved the sound of this: "broke-glass catastrophes of voice," Here is information about Jake Adam York from the poetry foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jake-adam-york This is my last entry for Pursue the Horizon. |
| How Milky Way Was Made by Natalie Diaz I was going to try and stick to different poets for all 30 days but today I read this in The Best American Poetry of 2016 and I had to share it. For me this poem rose above all the other poems in the book. The poem talks about cultural loss, and physical loss of place, as well as the transformations we create to retain things. It discusses meaning making, and how we attribute story to things, like the stars. It opens a door on a culture I am unfamiliar with. It shows how actions can have ramifications, and attaches emotions to those consequences. It is political, environmental and personal. I like the move it makes from the universal (literal universe) to the specific. Love this poet. She's incredible. |
| Late Mammogram By Francesca Bell I like this poem because I have been trying to write a poem about mammography and breast cancer for years. I really admire the way she tied this to information about the mars rover, and how that enhanced the described experience. So many times, in poetry, when a good poet unites two unrelated things, something beautiful appears, or some new meaning is created. This poet also wrote a very ribald poem (also at Rattle) that I love, but if you are senstive, don't go read it...(LANGUAGE!!!) Poet's website The poet's fascinating bio |
| It's been a while since I have posted! I've been up to my eyeballs with grad school, and I got a new boss, and several new projects that are near and dear to my heart! I had to do an interview for this Campaign . I'm not much of a reporter or actress, but I believe strongly in the arts, so there is that I guess. The kids in the media department here did in awesome job on the video! (Especially considering what they had to work with). Not sure how long that link will be up - but it's for the Summer Art Academy Which this year includes a FREE Art History class for Jr High and HS students, so if you are in Oklahoma, and have kids that age, or are a kid that age, sign on up!Hope everyone is well! Sorry to be such a slacker, I'll try to do better! :( Best, Sil |
Feeling a little bit like a roadie on a Rock Star crew - these grad school students are pretty dang good with poetry. Some of the stuff they write blows me away. I have to up my game, and quickly! But, WOW! :) C |
| OH MY - I WISH I COULD GO!!!! Nerd Con .Who could not love a thing called Nerd con? This looks amazing!!! |
| Wanted to share a couple things. First, this article about inaccessibility.Next, this free online poetry class from Coursera.Then, this from Midwestern Gothic Looking for a copy editor. .Have to dash - hope something in here is valuable to you today! Best, Sil |
Grad school orientation is today and I'm VERY nervous. Which is really kind of unlike me. I don't get nervous often. I think it has less to do with the fact I'm so old. It hasn't bothered me to attend classes, but it feels different to actually be part of the program. I'm constantly feeling funny about it. Like I don't deserve to be here. And I'm afraid that others will look at me and wonder why I am here, so late in life, and taking a place that might belong to some young person that will do more with it... Maybe writing this will help me get over the nerves.... |
Today I am reading Julia Cameron's Artist Way. I'm hoping it will help me get some Mojo back - in prep for grad school. I need to fill the well - quickly! I'm working through Artist's Way with Rivermama   and so far so good...I'm doing the daily pages, and have completed half of my artist date for this week. We start on "Week 1" on Saturday.I'm also reading and loving/hating "Birds of a Lesser Paradise."
Birds ...well, it's one of those "Come on baby make it hurt so good" books. It's so incredibly sad I'm weeping all over the place, but it's so well done....! It's like Swamplandia but better. Reading "Birds" on Scribd, which I also love, if it would only play nicer with my Kindle! In other news - I fell in love this week with a new piece of technology. I want a Microsoft Surface. I love the way you can hand write with the stylus, which has a very pen like point. I wish they weren't so expensive! It would be so awesome for grad school. What is new in your day? |
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Lately, I've been immersed in the time of year that equals HS Softball, and doing all the associated parent events (publishing the program, raising money, organizing things) and I haven't had much time to read. However, I been driving a lot, so I downloaded a book to help with my reading fix. I downloaded from my public library the audio edition of "H is for Hawk."
(I have also checked out the print book but I can't seem to get in to it...). Anyway, I'm really enjoying the audio edition, more so then I did the print! The audio book is narrated by the author, and she has a real passion for the work, and a gift for audible storytelling. And WOW is she good with language. If you need a good audiobook, you might give this one ago. |
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I submitted a couple works as part of the Oklahoma Poetry Association's anthology, and they are out now:
It was a fun project, but I wish they had let me know my works has been accepted before they published! :) Best, Sil |
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| Ten minute novelists had this link up regarding an upcoming conference in OKC, and they mentioned some free webinars: . Hope you find something of interest! Do you find webinars helpful? If so - what has been your favorite writing webinar? On another note, do you enjoy writing podcasts? And if so - what is your favorite? I like Sherman Alexie and Jess Walter's Podcast , but I find several helpful. |
| When my life gets insane, I like to wallow in escapism. The more stressed I get - the more I like to watch things that don't matter - like Hallmark movies, or Lifetime movies. This last weekend I watched two Hallmark movies that were both "book" related: Perfect on Paper and Love by the Book They were both exactly what I needed at the time. Both had little life lessons buried in them, which I find reassuring. These were several things that I could tie into things going on in my life, and things that pertain to writing. Anyway - if you need to to escape, and a little romance, check them out. Best, Sil |
Today I am reading a book called Small Blessings.
It feels a little bit like Olive Kitteridge, but better.
These are quirky people, but I feel almost immediately in love with them. Like within the first 5 pages. HOW did she do that? I MUST FIGURE IT OUT! I have a feeling it's something to do with how she makes the characters come to life, with their vulnerability, and something to do with tenderness. What book have you read lately that made you fall in love within the first 5 pages? Why? |
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| So This keeps bugging me. NAACP Leader fakes being black . So I'm going to ramble about it and try to sort some of it out in my head. I keep thinking to myself, why do we STILL make people identify as race A or race B? When can it just be the "human race." Americans are this huge melting pot of ethnicity and races. In many cases, it is difficult (if not impossible) to sort out lineage. Yes, we can go by records. But records are based on the idea that people always KNOW (who a parent is) and/or always TELL THE TRUTH, both of which can be questionable. In the end - why does it matter? It might matter for science. And in that case, we can go by DNA. But unless we are seeking cures or medical transplants, what difference does it make what race someone "self identifies as" or "belongs to?" This is not to say that what she did was right. People shouldn't lie, especially people in positions of influence. This whole situation, and the attention it is getting - is just sad. I wish job applications did away with checkboxes. No Male or Female. No White, Black, Hispanic, or other. "Human Race" ought to be good enough. And - why can't we all just get along. ....from deep within the Monday Trench Sil |
| It's so funny how lines can just pop out of something you are reading, and you think they are amazing, or somehow applicable to this time of your life. I love how fiction can communicate across time, and space, and give us paths or answers. How it's so neatly woven into a story line. It's also interesting to me how one line can mean so much to one person, and nothing at all to someone else. Anyway - I'm reading a novel called A Seahorse Year.
I'm reading it on Scribd (which I LOVE by the way, except it doesn't play nice with my Kindle Fire). I was touched by this line: She has always preferred a life of casual accretion. In fact, she believes in it, almost as an ars poetica: What accretes naturally always turns out to be exactly what's needed. Painting should be like riding a bike with no hands, a mixture of velocity and trust. I'm also struck by how much this tells about the character, Marina. What lines have touched you today? |
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I've been listening to a book on audio, "Tell the Wolves I'm Home" by Carol Rifka Brunt. My Scribd subscription has excellent access to audio books, and it's a great way to pass the time when you spend hours in the car. I struggle with audio books most of the time, I want to eat the words with my eyes. Eating the words with my ears is not as...satisfying. It has to be a pretty good book to hold my attention on audio. There are many interesting ideas in this book, and many wonderful sentences. One of my favorite: "The portrait that held all the words we could no longer say to each other." This made me think about poetry, and how poems, like paintings, are ways of doing the same. One of the interesting ideas in the book is the often mistaken feelings young people have that they confuse with romantic love, and how many different types of love there are, and how as we grow older, we hopefully recognize that there is room for many kinds of love in life. I wish I had read it instead of listened. But a book worth giving a look. (Young Adult). |
| Forgot - new work up at: Mothers Always write. Stage Mother .It's the first time I've actually had a lot of edits done to something I submitted. I kind of like the result!~ Great place to submit. |
| We made it through the first round of storms last night. OKC area got hit by tornadoes (AGAIN). My poor fellow Oklahomans! I think if I lived in that area, I would have to move. The problem is - where to move TO? Not too far from your job or your family. And not far enough is probably going to land you in the identical situation, because tornadoes are unpredictable. And so are earthquakes. And Bombings. We get dumped on a lot. More storms expected today and this weekend. I will keep everyone in my prayers. In less interesting/more writing related news - So I passed my poetry class. My teacher is leaving for another university, which makes me very sad. I learned a lot from her. I'm really glad I had the opportunity. We had a final conference and discussed my portfolio. I talked to her about how many times what I intended to come through the poem was not - and ways to make that clearer on the page. For instance, I wrote a poem about a young girl wearing "armor" - loud clothing, piercings, who walked around saying volatile things. The intention was that the empathy comes through - the compassion. But it didn't - it came through as if it were a judgement. That seemed to happen a lot - so I had to wonder. Are these hidden things leaking through? Do I really present as making judgements about people? What can I do to correct for this? Are these personal character flaws leaking through? Or am I just not careful enough with my language? I was kind of shocked in workshop when people thought i was looking 'down' on this girl, when in actuality, I was trying to make people feel empathetic for her. I remember what it felt like to be that girl. I suppose I learned many things from my poetry class - but perhaps the most important is that I need to be more careful with my language, and hyper aware of the appearance of assigning negative value to things when it is not warranted. Oh yea - If i hadn't mentioned it - - I got into MFA graduate school (Creative writing - poetry) at my home university. I start in the fall. Mostly thanks to my teacher, and my previous poetry tutor, both who wrote letters of recommendation for me, and everyone here who helped me to improve my writing over the last several years. I couldn't have done it without you! C |
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