A place for language, poetry, domesticity, and the Ice
Trusting the Lean
I went for a bike ride this morning after taking a break for 2 weeks. I’d gotten a nice cold/cough, and didn’t want to exacerbate it. But I missed taking a ride in the early morning. At 6:00 am, there aren’t many cars on the roads, and only the stalwart walkers are on [...]
As you may know, my friend Oliver is teaching forms again, and is writing the forms with his class. I got on a forms kick in April when I was doing poem a day, and had already written a villanelle and 2 sestinas. I think I may even have posted them briefly. I think the [...]
My friend Oliver is teaching a forms class this summer, and he’s been posting about the forms he’s teaching. So I’m reaching in and as any good former Catholic, picking and choosing the ones I want to try. Writing in form is like doing calisthenics–it’s not always fun, but it involves counting and is good [...]
I’ve gotten to a place where I can look at the poems I wrote earlier this year with fresh eyes. I realized it was time when I read the poems and didn’t immediately think they were awesome, or poignant, or find myself skimming to the end. When I get to the point where I look [...]
Thanks to January O’Neil for this prompt, to make me remember what I’m supposed to be doing.
1. What’s the last thing you wrote?
A poem for NaPoWriMo… the week my father-in-law died. It’s called “After the Roses.”
2. Is it any good?
It’s okay. Drafty.
3. What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
A poem when [...]
Traditionally, by the Saturday of AWP, my cohorts and me are so burned out and tired of craft talk, business talk, and readings that we need a break. So we typically go to a museum. This is made most easy in Chicago, when we go to the Art Institute, but here, we went to the [...]
I’m debating whether or not to commit to National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), which requires a commitment to writing a poem a day through the month of April (which, by the way, is National Poetry Month, so support your favorites and buy poetry books!). I’ve got so much already planned and committed for April, I [...]
This week has been a rough one for poetry. I started out great on Saturday, and mailed out two manuscripts to two contests, mailed flat stanley back to his house (sorry about the tardiness!), and thought about and started revising a poem. Then I got lost in cake making, which I do love to do. [...]
Last year, during my poem-a-day September, I wrote a series of poems that I wanted to make into a crown of sonnets, but didn’t out of pure laziness. This afternoon for my lunch break I edited the seven sonnet-ish poems into a crown of sonnets. I know it still needs work (calling them “sonnets” would [...]
Today started rough. The kids fought leaving the house. This week has consisted of: Sam hitting Claire in the stomach for no reason; Claire pushing Sam and taking things from him; Sam and Claire screaming in the van; Sam and Claire not getting out of the bath or listening. So I’ve resorted to the dreaded [...]