-
Poetic circuitry
I just had tea with the lovely poet, person, and letterpress publisher Emily Hancock of St. Brigid Press. She’s planning an ecopoetry event at Stone Soup Books in Waynesboro, Virginia on September 13th, and I’ll be part of it, with Jeanne Larsen, Sarah Ann Winn, and, we hope, a relative of Karenne Wood to discuss…
-
Aiming vs. wandering
Oppressive weather, oppressive politics. Sometimes it’s hard to see a way forward, with billionaires controlling the show and the current government chipping away at the integrity of a voting system that was flawed to start with. My spouse remains an energetic activist anyway. In addition to writing for local and regional newspapers, he’s been making…
-
Wile E. Coyote, patron saint
Yeah, I know, Wile E. Coyote isn’t saintly, but all those years ago, watching Saturday morning Looney Tunes, young me empathized with him way more than with the smug, always-victorious Roadrunner. I hereby salute everyone giving creative chase this summer, painting tunnels on rocks, building devious literary contraptions to trap a fleeting spirit, even knowing…
-
Getting dirty for poetry
Spring cleaning seems like an obvious metaphor for revision and assembling a poetry ms. It’s not unlike casting a hard look at the poems you’ve accumulated and clearing out the debris that clogs their pipes, whatever elements might interrupt their force for a reader: cliché, unproductive digression, wordy moments. I’ve done some beyond-the-ordinary cleaning this…
-
Ephemerals pt. 4 (awe and otters)
This is the last entry in my “ephemerals” journaling, since early spring is fading in Virginia–where I’ve returned after the Alaska trip and a terrific residency at Storyknife. Quick note toward the future: I’m teaching a three-hour workshop, “Poetry from the Underworld,” via Poet Camp on June 28th, and registration is now open. I promise…
