It's Not Too Late, It's Just Right -- A Gift of Poetry Classes

Come write with us on Ground Hog Day!

It's a fact that I often write better with a writing friend or a group than I do alone. Perhaps this is because the energy of cool writers coming together infuses the atmosphere with creativity and banishes the banality of laundry. In any case, Kelli and I have decided to extend the excitement we have for writing together once a month (a practice we've done for several years) to writing with a small group of other poets. We figured everyone needs a poetic pick-me-up in February and so here's to a new adventure. We hope you'll join us.

I think we have just  7 more spots available, so if you're interested drop me an email at 
srich18 (at) gmail.com and I'll hold your spot while you mail in your check.

PS Why not give yourself a Christmas gift?

Here are some more details for you--

Amazingly, this class is now full with a short waiting list. Thank you so much for your overwhelming response!

Generating New Poems and Sending (Polished) Poems into the World

February 2^nd, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Lake Union Area Seattle

For those poets who want to begin several new poems and then submit (more polished) work to literary journals.

Join Susan Rich & Kelli Russell Agodon in a 4 hour class, February 2, 2013,  which includes writing exercises, how to submit your work and a discussion of which journals suit you best.

Not only will we discuss submitting your work, but before this class, Kelli & I will have you send in 3-4 finished poems and we will prepare a submission for you-- including a cover letter, SASE, and choose the literary journal best for you.

Let's start the new year right with new poems and new publications.

Generating New Poems and Sending (Other) Poems into the World


Please join us!

Limited to 16 participants

To Register and Have Have Us  Hold Your Space:

Mail your check for $96 (made out to Kelli Agodon) to:
Kelli Agodon
PO Box 1524
Kingston, WA 98346

New Poet (to me) : Pippa Little and Overwintering

Pippa Little, Award Winning Author of Overwintering

I always believe that poets whose work I admire will be admirable people and more often than not, it turns out to be true. This was certainly the case with  Pippa Little whom I met last summer after she won a fellowship to attend my workshop at the Anam Cara Artists Retreat on the Beara Peninsula in the west of Ireland.

Only after we'd been together several days did Pippa quietly mention that her second book of poems Overwintering would be out this fall. And I'm so glad she did. I've been reading and rereading these poems for the pure joy of her language. I've started word lists from the book which include the delectable: eyelash, lipstick, seahorse, and sea-coal (what is sea-coal). And then there are her rhymes: obsidian, vermillion, and pavilion --- all handled with amazing subtly and grace in a villanelle honoring the statue of Franz Kafka in Prague.

Little's work manages to be personal and global sometimes in the same poem. As with all good poems, it's much more a pleasure to read the work then words about the work and so here are two of my favorites.

AXIS

Lying in his last bed
my father remembered his feet
far down in the dark, lost
like a ticket:

cold and soft untouchables
they are forgetting about shoes,
about the metallic lips of the stairs
about the earth's axis.

         Pippa Little

(I've ingested this poem over and over. It only gets better and better.)

And here's another that I keep returning to --- although each time I am surprised.


HOPE

Hope is winter light --
its wordless drench on skin.

Is a button from the button tin
cloudless tone just right
for the coat you're walking in --

hope is a three-toed signal in the snow,
a bird paused here
that's all you know --

hope is a pocket-stone forgotten long ago
found by your hands and known
as corm is married to loam:

is day arriving numb and slow.
Hope is a coat, that's all.

You pace the cracks, each step
a whisper: don't let go
while catching up, behind, that echo,
letting go, letting go.

         Pippa Little

Spend some time with this poem -- especially if you are returning from a walk in the snow. It does the work of beautifully describing the sensation of a journey in fresh snow (both looking inward and outward) and of saying something unsayable about hope. And perhaps loss, as well.

Overwintering is published by Oxford Poets / Carcanet Press. Lucky for me it is available in the US as well as the UK. Highly recommended for your holiday reading. I promise this is a poet we will be hearing more from. She is just getting started. After winning major prizes in England for her first book --- and then taking a decade or so off to raise a family; she is back --- just reaching her full powers.

The Next Big Thing Series - Cloud Pharmacy (my forthcoming collection)

Taken Care Of by Nicola Slattery

The Next Best Thing


by Susan Rich







I was delighted to be tagged by author Midge Raymond, for this project in which writers answer the following questions about their latest books, and then tag a few more writers who do the same. This is sort of a literary chain letter just in time for the holidays.







Below you’ll find the questions Midge answered about her forthcoming novel, My Last Continent.







And, you’ll soon hear from the fellow writers I’m tagging — Geraldine Mills, Kimberly Fahner, and Katharine Whitcomb who (hopefully) will answer the same questions about their own Next Best Things!













Below are my answers to these repeating questions.




What is the working title of your book?




CLOUD PHARMACY



Where did the idea come from for the book?




I woke up one morning and just knew that this was the title of my next collection. Then I second guessed myself for a few months. The poems come from longing, from love, from the idea that love is not what we expect it to be. Cloud Pharmacy also looks at surreal events and tries to imagine life beyond the ordinary in terms of art, catastrophe, and the well lived life.










What genre does your book fall under?







This is an easy one - poetry. Of course, poetry is a rather large and wide genre. The book contains many ekphrastic poems (poems based on visual art) as well as poems dealing with new coupledom.







Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?







Emma Thompson, Scarlett Johanson, Johnny Depp, George Clooney --- there's room for everyone in poetry. I can see Salma Hayek as Hannah Maynard quite easily.







What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?







Love in middle age co-habitates with art forms of every age.







How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?




House of Sky is an ongoing process that started three years ago. I will keep adding poems, taking out poems, and revising the book for another year. It's a first draft until it's published.







Who or what inspired you to write this book?







I am interested in finding different ways to keep poems fresh (that makes them sound like milk or eggs). House of Sky is my fourth book and I needed to really ask myself if I still had something new to say. I believe the answer is yes.







What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?







This is my most personal book to date.

Yes, You Can Do Something to Honor the Memory of the Children of Newtown

Read  What You Can Do to Help: The Sandy Hook Massacre at Sharon Greenthall's blog, Empty House, Full Mind. As she reminds us, writing letters (more than emails and petitions) makes a difference. As writers, we know the power of the well crafted phrase. Here's our chance to do something. The resource list she's compiled goes beyond writing your senators and congressional delegates -- although that is the first step. We can make a difference. Don't let the murders of the Sandy Hook elementary students be in vain.

A Reflection on Newtown Tragedy from Canadian Teacher and Poet, Kim Fahner

I met Kim Fahner this summer at Anam Cara in West Cork where a group of international women gathered for my ekphrastic poetry workshop. Kim's passion and humor, her intelligence and poetic sensibility are all at work in this piece. As a Canadian, Kim's perspective on the recent Newtown, CT seems important to share. Thank you, Kim. This is posted on her blog The Republic of Poetry.

“Stop all the clocks…” A Reflection on the Tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut


December 16, 2012 by kimfahner


Some wouldn’t dare to venture to write something about yesterday, potentially because it could be too soon. I fear, though, that not speaking about it would be an injustice to those lost to the violence. As a teacher, this is my worst nightmare. We practice lockdown drills often at school and it’s hard to get students to realize how real the threat could be. I often reference Columbine, but then I realize my students were likely toddlers at the time. The word “Columbine” still sends shivers down my own spine. It’s the same sort of evil shudder that I feel when I recall the Montreal Massacre each December 6th. There is no rhyme or reason to violence, especially when it has to do with guns and mental illness.


I know many people find the long gun registry issue here in Canada both volatile and controversial, but I have, for a very long time, been in favour of such a registry. What is the problem with registering a gun? If you’re only using it to hunt, as so many do here in Northern Ontario, then that’s reasonable and you have nothing to hide, really, so why protest the registry? It’s always puzzled me a great deal as to why there is such an uproar. I think having a long gun registry was something that made Canada, well, Canada. It’s a shame, I think, that’s it’s gone now.


Don’t get me wrong; we here in Canada have had issues with gun violence, but not to the same extent or frequency as our neighbours to the south in the United States. We are quite separate from the gun culture that is prevalent in America and I think we need to maintain that distinction, more and more with each tragedy that occurs south of our border. (I am not naive, though; gang violence is on the rise and the Eaton Centre shooting in Toronto this past summer is proof of that too.)


The Montreal Massacre, on December 6th, 1989, is the one tragedy that marks what was my first year of studies as an undergraduate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. I had just turned nineteen. I still recall the way the news of that horror, of a man shooting fourteen female engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, rippled through the halls of my school as people heard of the tragedy. For many months, female students walked more cautiously, thought more carefully, and felt fear press up against them. For all that feminism could bring us, it could not stop the bullets that killed those fourteen ambitious young women in Quebec and that was frightening.


To continue reading click here

Registration is Open: Hedgebrook at SAM

Hedgebrook Salon @ The Seattle Art Museum
Saturday, January 12, 1-6 pm
SAM Downtown (map)
Nordstrom Art Studio and Simons Board Room

CLICK HERE FOR EARLY REGISTRATION


Event Description:

Women artists have taken over SAM with the awe-inspiring exhibits: Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou and Elles: SAM . Now SAM and Hedgebrook will come together so women writers can give voice to the art. For one day only, come and engage in creative writing workshops. Choose from two sessons, one led by Seattle poet Susan Rich and one by Hedgebrook Executive Director and playwright Amy Wheeler.




Fueled by playful writing exercises, you'll spend the afternoon in the galleries writing in response to the dynamic artwork, then have the opportunity to share your fresh work in the galleries, surrounded by the art that inspired them. At 5 pm, we'll raise a glass to celebrate women writers and artists. Open to women writers, ages 14 through adult. Co-presented with Hedgebrook.


All tickets include gallery admission, writing workshops and reception.

Early Bird (ends 12/31/2012):

$99 for 1 person

$149 for 2 people


General Admission:

$125 for 1 person

$199 for 2 people


Click here for registration




Group rates available! Email Louise for details.

Hedgebrook Salon at SAM with Amy Wheeler and Susan Rich

Frida Kahlo at the Seattle Art Museum

I'm honored to be teaching a poetry writing workshop at the Seattle Art Museum in support of Hedgebrook on Saturday, January 12th from 1 - 6 pm. This workshop is open to all lovers of art and poetry ages 14 and up. The show  Elle: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou is the inspiration for this salon. Hedgebrook Director Amy Wheeler will also lead a workshop on writing plays and visual art. Writing inspired by visual art is a tradition that begins in Greece, the word "ekphrastic" literally meaning to speak out. Included in the price is a free ticket to see the show as well as a reception. Oh yes, you will also be supporting one of the best writing residencies in the country. 

Information on registering via Hedgebrook included below.



Hedgebrook Salon @ SAM

Saturday, January 12, 1-6 pm
SAM Downtown
Nordstrom Art Studio and Simons Board Room

Women artists have taken over SAM with the awe-inspiring exhibits: Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou and Elles: SAM . Now SAM and Hedgebrook will come together so women writers can give voice to the art. For one day only, come and
engage in creative writing workshops led by Seattle poet Susan Rich and Hedgebrook Executive Director and playwright Amy Wheeler. Fueled by playful writing exercises, you'll spend the afternoon in the galleries writing in response to the dynamic artwork, then have the opportunity to share your fresh work in the galleries, surrounded by the art that inspired them. At 5 pm, we'll raise a glass to celebrate women writers and artists. Open to women writers, ages 14 through adult. Co-presented with Hedgebrook. [Tickets are $125, with discounts for early registration and group rates. All tickets include gallery admission, writing workshops and reception. Contact Hedgebrook for more information: hedgebrook@hedgebrook.org].

Through 12/31/2012:
$99 for 1 person
$149 for 2 people

Starting 1/1/2013:
$125 for 1 person
$199 for 2 people

Contact Louise McKay at louisem@hedgebrook.org for special group rates of 4 or more.

M. Louise McKay, Director of External Relations
HEDGEBROOK
whidbey: 360.321.4786
seattle: 206.325.6773
www.hedgebrook.org <http://www.hedgebrook.org/>

New Journal to Check Out, New Poems to Read

A sundial from the cover of Antiphon

When investigating new journals, I look for art work  that catches my attention, a graphic design that doesn't skimp on form or function. Antiphon impressed me in these categories as well as in the choice of poems the editors selected.

Perhaps I shouldn't admit it, but I had no idea what antiphon meant when I found this international journal publishing out of England. Now antiphon is one of my favorite words! Traditionally, an antiphon is a chorus or response of the congregation to a piece of religious music. However, the journal, Antiphon, is not Christian based. A broader meaning of the word includes a call and response as in the case of art responding to art. I like to think of antiphon as a musical echo, a connection of one imaginative rendition speaking with another artistic piece. My poem, Abstract, responds to a painting by Irish artist Julie Aldridge. In poetry terms, it's ekphrastic: a poem responding to a piece of art.

How cool is that --- for a journal to create an international conversation (poets live in Denmark, England, Ireland, Finland,  the United States) of art, of poetry in conversation? This online journal is in its second year, but I sense  it will be around for a long time to come. At least, I hope so. Poetry has gone global!  There are several journals that are working to let poets in the Netherlands, say, know the work of poets in Mexico or Sri Lanka.

Check out Antiphon, I hope you like it. The editors were a joy to work with; they responded quickly to my work and the publication went live within a month of my acceptance.

 This poem, Abstract, came about last summer while I was in Ireland teaching an ekphrastic workshop at Anam Cara, a lovely writing retreat in County Cork. The assignment I gave my students was to choose a piece of art in the residency that she couldn't understand, a piece of art that asked more questions then it answered. Isn't that where poems come from? More questions than answers...

What Better Way to Spend Ground Hog Day? Generating Poems and Sending (Other) Poems into the World

What better day to write new poems and send finished poems out into the world?

I love the idea of planning ahead to the end of winter. By February the cherry trees  begin to blossom in the Pacific Northwest and the scent of sarcococca (something akin to jasmine) rises super strong outside my door. What better time to write poetry?

Kelli Russell Agodon and I have decided to celebrate Ground Hog Day with a poetry writing workshop. Generating New Poems and Sending (Other) Poems into the World will be held in Seattle (South Lake Union neighborhood) 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 2nd.

The idea came to us at an Irish bar in Nye Beach, Oregon. I scribbled the first ideas on the edge of a napkin. Why not help writers launch their poems into the world? Why not link generating new poems to sending out "finished" poems for publication?

We're keeping the group small and hoping that you'll consider joining us. In the last few hours we've already had several people sign up. Maybe there's something about Ground Hog Day that just seems ripe for creativity? I believe so. Here is the information on our workshop and a link to sign up. All levels of poets invited: beginners to advanced writers welcome.



From the Class Description

Join Susan Rich & Kelli Russell Agodon in a 4 hour class of February 2, 2013 to do writing exercises and spend the last hour discussing submitting your work and answering your questions.

Not only will you discuss submitting your work, but before this class ends, Kelli & Susan will have you send them 3-4 finished poems and they will prepare a submission for you-- including a cover letter, SASE, and choosing the literary journal for you.

If you want to start the year out right with new poems and some older poems out in the world, please join us for this class.

Limit to: 16 participants

Last Week of the Quarter: He Writes, She Writes

And may I add: We All Write Our Own Work or It's Called Plagiarism 

She Loves Me Not, Robert Lamirande, Jack Straw Fellow

Big Mom and Cub

I believe in the grey world of Jack Straw Writer Robert Lamirande. I believe in his quirky style and dry humor which is never gratuitous but leads his readers to a deeper level of connection with his characters -- be they human or animal. Where else will you learn facts about polar bear behavior? Let me be specific: polar bears and their relation to humans.

In view of full disclosure let me mention that I have known Robert for almost ten years, since he first walked into my English 101 classroom. Since that time he has graduated from the University of Washington with a Creative Writing degree, published in several local journals, formed a band (played with more than one group) and started working for Microsoft. Not bad for a recent college graduate in hard economic times.

But for the purposes of listening to this podcast, know that Robert could do radio plays or voice overs if he wanted. His voice is a joy to listen to --- and his words are damn good too. If you have any trouble getting this to load so that you can listen to my brief interview with Robert followed by a brief reading, just click here.

She Loves Me Not

Feb 29th, 2012 by jennie

With easy humor and an engaging voice, Robert Lamirande relays the encounters of a young adult in the dating world. Readers feel embarrassed, hopeful, reminiscent, and discouraged as they experience the characters’ travails. Lamirande’s narrative is a breezy look into modern courtship.

Lamirande is a writer and musician whose work has appeared in Flashquake, The Splinter Generation, Bricolage, and several others. He has performed with Seattle bands Randal Cobb and Sound of Bagheera, and his music has appeared in the full-length feature film, The Curse of Duncan Carbuncle. He is currently employed as a writer by Microsoft, for whom he scribes 140 characters at a time.

SoundPages was produced by Jack Straw Productions as part of the Jack Straw Writers Program. All of the writers heard in this series are published in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology, and featured online at http://www.jackstraw.org/.

Music performed by Grand Hallway and recorded as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

THIS PODCAST CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE.

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Last Day on Earth and Poetry Daily

It's rare that I read a poem these days that moves me as "Last Day on Earth" does. The poem doesn't do any wild gymnastics or surprise me much in its form, but the slow unwinding of the evening, the northwest feel (although I suspect it's Maine), and the reference to death all hold my attention.

Of course the hypothetical movie reference captures my interest right away.

I need to remind myself that there's still a place for honest, old fashioned, narrative poems. This is especially so for poems that acknowledge our limited time on this planet and do so with humor (the dog no longer limps) and beauty "the cold towers of clouds."

Poetry Daily is a site that posts a poem a day picked from current journals and poetry collections. If you haven't yet discovered it, you're in for a treat. Every Sunday night I receive a posting that tells me the poems for the week. I think its been going since the beginning of the internet --- or close to it! I hope you enjoy.

Last Day on Earth

If it's the title of a movie, you expect
everything to become important—a kiss,
a shrug, a glass of wine, a walk with the dog.
But if the day is real, life is only
as significant as yesterday—the kiss
hurried, the shrug forgotten, and now,
on the path by the river, you don't notice
the sky darkening beyond the pines because
you're imagining what you'll say at dinner,
swirling the silky wine in your glass.
You don't notice the birds growing silent
or the cold towers of clouds moving in
because you're explaining how lovely
and cool it was in the woods. And the dog
had stopped limping!—she seemed
her old self again, sniffing the air and alert,
the way dogs are to whatever we can't see.
And I was happy, you hear yourself saying,
because it felt as if I'd been allowed
to choose my last day on earth,
and this was the one I chose.

LAWRENCE RAAB

River Styx 
Number 88 / 2012

Do You Identify as Bigenre? Call For Submissions

Submissions MUST be made online using the service Submittable; click here to upload a submission.

Additional questions? Check out our FAQ.
Call for Submissions: Anthology

Ashland Creek Press is currently accepting short story submissions for a book-length anthology focused on animals.

We’re looking for stories of how the lives of animals and humans intersect, particularly in regards to the conservation and protection of animals. We are not seeking stories about hunting, fishing, or eating animals—unless they are analogous to a good anti-war novel being all about war. Under these basic guidelines, however, we’re open to reading a wide range of short fiction with animal themes.

Stories should be from 2,500 to 7,500 words in length. Previously published stories are fine, as long as you have retained the rights to reprint your story in an anthology. Along with your story, please include with your submission a brief cover letter, including an author bio and acknowledgment(s) if the story has been previously published.

Anthology submissions MUST be made online using the service Submittable; click here to upload a submission.

We look forward to reading your work!
The Fine Print


Ashland Creek Press accepts no responsibility for lost or misplaced submissions. We will get back to you with a reply as soon as possible, but please know that it can take many weeks.

Ashland Creek Press is a boutique press with the goal of publishing books of high quality that often have trouble finding homes in traditional markets. We work with authors who are passionate about their work and about getting it out into the world.

A Student, An Interview, and Other Random Giving of Thanks

After waiting close to 90 minutes for Toyota Care to come today this represents the wheel of happiness

Let me just say this was not a good day. And yet. And yet here I am alive and warm, safe on a stormy night. I am doing my best (and it's working!) to find things to be thankful for. As I waited on the interstate this morning for someone from Toyota Care to come help fix a tire that had blown out, I watched out the rearview mirror as truck after truck swerved to keep from hitting me. Two different tow guys mysteriously got lost on their way to give aid. In the end, it was a kind state trooper who put on my spare in the rain, warning me to be careful as I got back on the roadway.

I am thankful for this state trooper who was good enough to offer help when he heard I'd been waiting over an hour for someone to arrive. Clearly, this is not in his job description; he went way beyond what he needed to do. I'm only sorry I didn't get his name so I could thank him more personally.

This all meant that instead of getting to campus 90 minutes early to  prep my classes, I got to my office just in time to grab my things and teach. Somehow, my students and I worked together and perhaps had more of a spontaneous class than if I'd had all that time to prepare. And when at the end of class, one student came up to tell me she had just signed up to take two more classes with me next quarter, I was pretty thankful. If this bright young woman thinks I'm teaching her something, all is not lost. Thank you, Scarlett.

In the last few days along with being sick, I've had the sickening experience of realizing that a poem that has already been published was still out at a few journals. So when the same poem gets taken three times but can only be published once, it's a first class problem to have. No other poem will do. All three places want only this one poem. Okay, I know this is not going to elicit any sympathy, but these acceptances ended up feeling more like rejections. After all, the journals had four other poems that were available but they only wanted poem X. I am thankful to have such first class problems.

FInally, thanks to Norelle Done for interviewing me for Seattle Wrote just in time for your Thanksgiving quick read. I am especially thankful that the article was just posted today.

Here's the beginning of the interview:

Q: How did you get your first collection of poetry published?
A: Thank you for asking me this question, Norelle. I like to tell how my first collection was published to poets and writers just starting out because it breaks expectation. I first contacted my publisher, White Pine Press, on behalf of Ingrid de Kok, a South African poet who I was researching while on a Fulbright to Africa. I asked Dennis Maloney, the editor, to consider her work for the press as she was highly regarded in South Africa but at the time, unpublished in the United States. When I met Dennis some six years later he told me I was the only poet who ever wrote to him on behalf of another poet. He was intrigued. Later, when my South African press contacted him to co-publish my book, he remembered my initial letter and our collaboration began.   Click here to continue reading

Happy Birthday to Poet Terrance Hayes

I first discovered Terrance Hayes over dinner in a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles. Terrance was speaking at the Antioch University graduation and since I was teaching there at the time, we were having dinner with the wonderful director, Eloise Klein Healey, beforehand. It seems hard to believe I didn't know his work --- but this was ten years ago. Now the world knows the work of Terrance Hayes. He's had a good ten years. And very well deserved. Check out his latest book Light Head or just learn more about him right here.

At Pegasus

They are like those crazy women

    who tore Orpheus

            when he refused to sing,

these men grinding

    in the strobe & black lights

            of Pegasus. All shadow & sound.

“I’m just here for the music,”

    I tell the man who asks me

            to the floor. But I have held

a boy on my back before.

    Curtis & I used to leap

            barefoot into the creek; dance

among maggots & piss,

    beer bottles & tadpoles

            slippery as sperm;

we used to pull off our shirts

    & slap music into our skin.

            He wouldn’t know me now

at the edge of these lovers’ gyre,

    glitter & steam, fire,

            bodies blurred sexless

by the music’s spinning light.

    A young man slips his thumb

            into the mouth of an old one,

& I am not that far away.

    The whole scene raw & delicate

            as Curtis’s foot gashed

on a sunken bottle shard.

    They press hip to hip,

            each breathless as a boy

carrying a friend on his back.

    The foot swelling green

            as the sewage in that creek.

We never went back.

    But I remember his weight

            better than I remember

my first kiss.

    These men know something

            I used to know.

How could I not find them

    beautiful, the way they dive & spill

            into each other,

the way the dance floor

    takes them,

            wet & holy in its mouth.

Terrance Hayes, “At Pegasus” from Muscular Music (2005 CMU Classics, 1999 Tia Chucha).

Harold and Maude at Highline Community College 40+ Years On

Harold Breaking the 4th Wall (with mom)

What a knowing glance; a look that jumps off the screen and into this moviegoer's mind forever. I first attended this film when I was fourteen years old. It played at the Allston Cinema on Harvard Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts for most of my childhood. Harold and Maude directed by Hal Ashby is the movie that defined my adolescence. 

A Motorcycle with Sunflowers for Wheels

I watched this film more times than any single individual rightly should. When I was a teenager I related to Harold more than I care to admit. I wondered why the adults around me seemed so dull and why the books in the children's room of the library were far more exciting than those in the adult section. Whenever I made a new friend I would find out if they had seen "Harold and Maude" and if they hadn't, I insisted we go. For a while, I had a boyfriend who worked at the theater so I didn't have to pay for all 20+ times I sat in the theater listening to Cat Stevens and crushing out on Bud Cort.

The film spoke to me on a level beyond my comprehension, beyond reason. I wanted to live life fully. Amusement parks, forests, and odorifics all held great allure. No, I wasn't looking for my own version of Maude except in that I was desperate to find someone that could pull me out of myself and show me a less conventional way to live. 

Now showing this picture to my Film Studies students, I watch closely as some of them adore the film and others seem repelled. Instead of identifying with Harold, I now find myself drawn more to Maude. It is Maude who has survived the Holocaust, survived her eighty years with a sense of wonder still intact, and lived life on her own terms. Perhaps it's together that Harold and Maude connect as one complete person. Perhaps that's the meaning of their bond.

The Morning After...

How to explain love? Poet Rita Dove says if you can explain everything that a poem means then the poem isn't doing its job. I'd like to add, ditto for film. Collin Higgins was just finishing graduate school when he wrote this script and Hal Ashby, the director had yet to make his mark in Hollywood. I can't argue that this is a landmark film except that it is a landmark in my life. And perhaps yours, too.

A Poem in The Southern Review and the Story Behind the Poem

Mr. Otis Travnic 2000-2010

One of the hardest poems I've written in recent times is about my cat Otis. He came into my life within a few months of my moving to a new city alone. Emphasis on alone. Otis was a one woman cat. He rarely allowed anyone other than me to see him, never mind touch him. He was my pet of a lifetime. 

After Otis died, I knew I needed to honor him in the best way I know how. And yet. And yet I knew writing about cats was no easy task. I told myself not to mention whiskers or tails or adorable ears.I needed to avoid even the hint of nostalgia or cliche. I read The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin which contains several eulogies to Merwin's dog. The fact of these poems inspired me.

If Merwin could write about his dog, then I could write about my cat. The poem took me over a year to begin. When I did, I found a fragment of a journal entry that I'd written and abandoned during the last three weeks of Otis's life. In those final weeks  I took care of him close to twenty-four hours a day. Now two and a half years later, this poem appears in The Southern Review. I don't know that I've ever been happier about any journal publication. This one's for you, Otis. 

Going—

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”— Anatole France

I photograph you every morning
In a cruel attempt to capture
A formal souvenir of what I love
After breakfast, and then
Each day a little less
You take a stand, examine finches
Windowpanes knocking

(to read the rest of  "Going—" you'll need to get a copy of The Southern Review, Fall 20012)

What is it about birds?

Varied Thrush Visits Back Deck in West Seattle

What is it about watching birds? On Saturday as I sat staring out the window, a host of unusual birds: a varied thrush, a northern flicker, and several junkos all came by. This all happened within a few minutes at about noon. I've lived here for almost thirteen years and never before have I seen so many different birds at one time.

The older I get the more birds astonish me. They're a gentle reminder of what is all around us. They help me practice the art of paying attention. If only I was better at remembering it. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I write. To remember astonishment.

Do You Have a Book of Poems Ready for Publication? It's time for the White Pine Press Competition

Photo Credit: Darren Hester

White Pine Press is my publisher and has been for the last twelve years. That's a long relationship in the poetry world; and I sincerely hope to publish with them for at least another twelve. I know Dennis Maloney, having met him only after the publication of my first book. I believe Dennis has been in this business for over thirty years because he believes in bringing poetry into the world.

Dennis chose my first book The Cartographer's Tongue / Poems of the World when I was just beginning my life as a poet. He took a chance on me. In this age of cynicism I love to tell my students that I had absolutely no connections or fancy awards; I can only assume that Dennis believed in the poems. And so if you have a book of poems that you are hoping to publish, I can wholeheartedly recommend White Pine Press to you. Submit your manuscript, I know it will get the attention it deserves. This was the advice I gave to my friend Kelli Russell Agodon and her book Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize for 2009. You'll never know unless you try!

Here is the information from the White Pine Press website

Manuscripts must be between 60 and 80 pages in length. Poems must be original, but may have appeared in magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks. Translations are not eligible.

Manuscripts must be postmarked by November 30th. They must be typed and should include a table of contents. The author’s name, address, email address, and telephone number should appear on the cover sheet only. Manuscripts will be recycled at the end of the competition. Please include a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope with your submission if you wish to be notified of the results. 

Manuscripts must include a $20 entry, reading, and processing fee. Checks should be made out to White Pine Press. The manuscript, along with a self-addressed, stamped postcard for notification that it has been received, if so desired, should be sent to: 

White Pine Press Poetry Prize
P.O. Box 236
Buffalo, New York 14201 
If you send the manuscript via express mail services, the manuscript should be sent to: 

White Pine Press Poetry Prize
5783 Pinehurst Court
Lake View, NY 14085 

Manuscripts are screened by the editorial staff, and a poet of national reputation makes the final selection. The name of the final judge is not revealed until the end of the competition. We alternate between a male and a female poet each year as final judge. 

President Barack Obama at Poetry Night at the White House

Poetry Night at the White House seems a regular event including Billy Collins, Rita Dove, and a host of young poets. My dream is to perform there one day. Well, one day in the next four years...

Today is the Day!

Make sure your ballot is in the mail by midnight!

Brian Turner , A New Journal (for me) and A New MFA Program Well Worth Checking Out

Thinking about MFA programs in Creative Writing? I know that my time teaching in the Antioch University MFA program taught me a great deal about the merits of low residency MFA programs. Since poet Eloise Klein Healey started the Antioch MFA program more than ten years ago, low residency programs have sprung up all over the United States. One of the newest programs, and perhaps the most interesting is the MFA at Sierra Nevada College directed by the wonderful poet (and human) Brian Turner. Click here to view a short video with Brian.

I asked Brian Turner about the program. Why would someone choose Sierra Nevada College over the other available MFA programs. Here is what he said:

 "In terms of the low-res MFA at Sierra Nevada College...not only does the program hold its residencies in a place of breathtaking beauty (the north shore of Lake Tahoe) but we also offer something that no other program does (as far as I know): our students study with working editors in the field for their entire last semester, honing their thesis manuscript. I wanted our students to experience something like I did when April Ossmann (who was the editor at Alice James Books when Here, Bullet was accepted for publication) worked with me on my own book. So, April graciously agreed to join us up at Lake Tahoe and she's the editor that our poets will work with during their final semester.

We have a warm, friendly atmosphere in our writing community and I'm sure you'll enjoy your time when you come to visit us in the future.
 
Many thanks for spreading the good word with the writers and lovers of writing that you know--

Brian"

I also checked out the journal that Sierra Nevada College publishes and it looks like somewhere I would like to publish. You can take a look at the  Sierra Nevada Review right here.

The opportunity to work with an editor from Alice James, study poetry with Brian Turner, and to kayak on my down time seems too good to be true. If you are going to AWP in Boston this spring, this would be a great time to meet with faculty and staff. If you're not going to Boston, you can simply contact the program right now. Here's the link to ask a question or take a look at the admissions process.

One Extra Hour of Weekend ;-)

I have to say I'm fond of retro as a style of kitchen or bathroom floor tile; I'd rather keep it at that.
There are many new projects in poetry that I've heard of recently, along with some new books.

Stay tuned to this blog station!

Fellowship Deadline Approaching: Apply Now!

For a writer living in the Northwest, the Jack Straw Writers Fellowship acts as a rite of passage. I became part of a group of writers: fiction, nonfiction, and poets all comingling. Equally important is that the Jack Straw program is known for a diversity of writers in terms of experience, race, age, and styles.

Two years ago I was invited by Jack Straw Productions to curarte a group of writers. This year the curator is the wildly talented and open-hearted Stephanie Kallos who will select a group of twelve writers.

A few important things to know: there is no geographical constraint on who can apply. Past fellows include writers from Oregon and even Northern California. You would need, however, to visit Seattle on three to four different occasions during 2013. Also, fellows needn't be published; it is the quality of the work and the project proposal that matters.

The deadline is November 1st. If you are a writer looking for a push on a new project, want training in performance, or are interested in being part of a cool group --- get the application online now!

As a former curator I'm happy to answer any questions. Feel free to leave me a message here or via my website.

Tonight's the Night: At the Sorrento Hotel @ 6:00 pm

I will be reading right here tonight

Another week, another hotel reading! I'm reading at the Sorrento Hotel on Madison tonight at 6:00 - 7:00 pm. I think my secret fantasy is to be a poet-in-residence at one of Seattle's gorgeous hotels. Would love to see you out tonight for LitCrawl. Start at the Sorrento and work your way across various bars until you reach the main event at Hugo House with Elizabeth Austen. Come out and begin the weekend early! This is my favorite hotel bar in town --- well worth seeing!

Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde

"Give a man a mask, and he'll tell you the truth." 

Superior Donuts is Actually, Superior

The best play I've seen in a long, long time

If you live in the Seattle area or have a chance to see this play, Superior Donuts, where you live, do it! This is a play for poets and writers; the writing is nuanced and sharply observed. Tracy Letts is a Pulitzer prize winning playwright who lived and worked in Chicago where the story is located. I especially loved these two characters, Arthur and Franco, men who come to believe in each other. The story is a neighborhood story but it is the mixture of comedic timing and pathos that made this especially magical for me. And any script that names off Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, and Yusef Komunyakaa scores extra points with me. There's a spot on review at The Stranger comparing it with Pullman Porter Blues. Here are my favorite lines from Brendan Kiley's review. I've never thought of a play as a sonnet before but this seems the perfect albeit unlikely description.

The storefront-sized confines of Donuts give its characters greater fluidity and freedom, and their little tics speak volumes more than any sweeping gestures. August was a pretty good epic; Donuts is an exquisite sonnet.

Congratulations to Catherine Barnett Winner of the 2012 James Laughlin Prize

Catherine Barnett

Poet, editor, and teacher Catherine Barnett was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She studied at Princeton University and at the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.

Barnett is the author of two collections of poetry: Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced (Alice James Books, 2004) and The Game of Boxes(Graywolf Press, 2012), which was the recipient of the 2012 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets.

Of Barnett's work, April Bernard has noted, "With subtle and cumulative force, The Game of Boxes builds a complex poetic structure in which fundamental questions about motherhood, trust, eroticism, and spiritual meaning are posed and then set into motion in relation to one another. The mind is delighted, the spirit enthralled, by this wonderful book."

Her awards and honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Writers' Award. She also works as an independent editor and as Writer-in-Residence at the Children's Museum of Manhattan where she teaches writing to mothers in the shelter system.

Barnett has been the Visiting Poet at Barnard College and teaches at the New School and New York University.

A Poem for Friday - Matthew Dickman

Perhaps Far Too Pretty For This Poem

Fire

Oh fire—you burn me! Ed is singing
behind the smoke and coals, his wife near him, the rest of us
below the stars
swimming above Washington State,
burning through themselves. He's like an Appalachian Prince
Henry with his banjo
and whiskey. The court surrounding him and the deer
off in the dark hills like the French, terrified
but in love and hungry.
I'm burning all the time. My pockets full of matches
and lighters, the blue smoke
crawling out like a skinny ghost from between my lips.
My lungs on fire, the wings
of them falling from the open sky. The tops of Michelle's long hands
covered in dark spots. All the cigarettes she would light
and then smash out, her eyes
the color of hairspray, cloudy and sticky
and gone, but beautiful! She carried her hands around
like two terrible letters of introduction. I never understood
who could have opened them, read them aloud,
and still thrown her onto a bed, still walked into the street she was, still
lit what little fuse she had left. Oh fire—
you burn me. My sister and me and Southern Comfort
making us singe and spark, the family
ash all around us, the way she is beautiful in her singular blaze,
my brain lighting up, my tongue
like a monk in wartime, awash in orange silk and flames.
The first time I ever crushed a handful of codeine into its universe
of powdered pink, the last time
I felt the tangy aspirin drip of ecstasy down my throat,
the car losing control, the sound of momentum, this earth is not standing
still, oh falling elevator—
you keep me, oh graveyard—
you have been so patient, ticking away, smoldering—
you grenade. Oh fire,
the first time I ever took a drink I was doused with gasoline,
that little ember perking up inside me, flashing, beginning to glow and climb.


MATTHEW DICKMAN


Mayakovsky's Revolver

W. W. Norton

We Did It! What I Learned Doing The Improbable Places Poetry Tour

Novelist and extraordinary friend, Harold Taw, reading in his pajamas!


Wow. The inaugural event of The Improbable Places Poetry Tour + 1 surpassed my wildest dreams. We read poems (+ one short story) in our pajamas, read poems (and one short essay) bouncing on the Author Suite's bed at the Alexis Hotel, and celebrated in style. The quote of the night belonged to one attendee, "I never expected to have so much fun at a poetry reading."


So what made this a different kind of poetry event? Well, what didn't make it different?

Elizabeth Austen, Susan Rich, and Kelli Russell Agodon doing glam shots before the show



1. Everyone tells us to wear comfortable clothing when we read, but no one tells us how perfect it is to read in our pajamas. This not only made us feel very much at ease --- it interested the audience!


2. Be part of something bigger than just one night. Thanks to the sensational arts scene in the city of Seattle, I was able to write a grant to Arts Crush and be part of an entire arts month. This made it possible for the poets (and novelist) to be paid for their time --- something I whole heartedly believe in --- and for food, drink, and publicity. Thank you, Arts Crush! We couldn't have done it without you.

The after party where over half of the audience followed us into the elevator to come mingle in the Alexis Hotel, Author Suite



3. Have an after party along with the poetry! Thanks to dear friend and San Diego poet, Angie Vorhies, who offered us her bedroom, the "author suite" for the after event. Over half the audience came with us for light refreshments and an encore reading.


4. Location, location, location. I think this is a good part of the magic. We chose a well located downtown hotel that already caters to book lovers with its highly rated Library Bistro and Bookstore Bar. The Alexis Hotel was kind enough to donate The Gallery Room for part one of our reading. Thank you, Alexis Hotel!

Susan Rich and Harold Taw getting ready to start the day


5. Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. I can't emphasize this enough. While I may have written the grant for this event and conceived of the idea (with great inspiration from Colleen Michaels original The Improbable Places Poetry Tour at Montserrat College in Massachusetts) --- this was truly a joint effort. It was Elizabeth Austen who secured our venue, Harold Taw who took care of all publicity including making flyers and postcards at the last minute, Kelli Russell Agodon who made sure the day was beautifully documented and Angie Vorhies who made the party happen. Thanks also to Jeff Wasserman for doing a last minute elevator tour of the hotel and assisting with a dozen last minute details. It takes a village to pull off a great event.


6. Expect the unexpected. That's what I think we did right here. From reading in our pajamas to inviting everyone up to a party to doing one last encore reading directly from the bedroom (there were French doors opening out to the large living space) audience members seemed genuinely delighted. For many people, attending poetry events is not a something they do everyday or even every year. Most of the audience were not poets. Hopefully we sent out a message that poetry readings can be filled with powerful poetry and fun --- not to mention being inclusive enough to invite a prose writer along.

Pretending she's not nervous but she is

7. Keep the momentum strong! And to that end, we have just put together a Face Book event page for The Improbable Places Poetry Tour +1 so that you can check out more photos and keep up-to-date on where our improbable poets travel to next. Here is the link -- if you have a Face Book page we'd love to have you join us!

Notice Angie's tee shirt "I'm with the Banned" just in time for Banned Books Week!

8. Build in time for celebration -- whatever feeds your soul the most. As much as I loved the event, I loved the after the after party just as much. Once the room was cleaned and the tables and chairs put back in their corporal places, six of of us sent for room service and talked well into the night about poetry, films, hotel rooms, and laughed a great deal. Bathing in the glow of what you create is crucial, at least for me. Once all the zillion details have come off without a hitch, the real fun can begin for the organizers who no longer have to organize a thing.

Kelli Russell Agodon reading from the bed - her first time reading in her pajamas in public


9. Write new work to match the venue. I almost forgot this one as it seems so obvious. Our event was called "Bedroom Suite" and we all chose pieces (some brand new, some very old) that fit with a hotel bedroom including love affairs, manservants, monsters in the mini fridge, and what books to bring on vacation.

Elizabeth Austen reads from Every Dress A Decision - Finalist for the Washington State Book Award 2012 

10. Be inclusive in every way. We asked our audience to suggest communities that we might bring The Improbable Places Poetry Tour to next and two people suggested great venues. I think for the next event it might be fun to invite people to send in poems for a sort of open mike segment. I love the idea of including as many people as possible in new and creative ways. If you have an idea, let me know by posting a comment below or sending me an email at srich18ATgmail.com

The sleeping poets and Harold Taw after a hard day's night