Monthly Archives: March 2010

Video Wednesday

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I am really challenging myself by making this video Wednesday. Why? Well, I already skipped it being Video Tuesday because I didn’t have a vlog read and as I type this (almost 10am EST) I don’t have a vlog ready yet either! Ok. So Late blog/vlog for myself but I have other vids I want to link so let’s get on it. For more info about my book check under publications tab and/or the book art in the side bar. (finally made the video and had it uploaded by 4pm EST but now waiting on processing, ah YouTube)

Last Friday night was the monthly Green Rice (last Friday of the month) Art Gallery reading. There were three featured readers and I was having a hard time deciding which one to list here! I did make a playlist where vids from February show up first. I’ve decided to post Rob Abbate’s reading because I didn’t record his book release party. The other readers were Scott Owens and Alan Michael Parker who were also fantastic so check out the playlist linked above.

And to finish out this short week of videos, I have many more to share soon! Is another poem from the YouTube Channel Favorite poem. This is a Langston Hughes piece I really enjoyed hearing read.

Have any vids you want to share? Questions about these and/or comments? Love to hear from ya!

Being a Mentor

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I like to study.

Yes.

Really!

And what does this picture have to do with anything? Well nothing really but I saw it on another blog and I had to use it.

As a scholarly type, I like to research on my own and in class but I was always puzzled by this notion that you have to have a mentor.

Which made me wonder, what exactly is a mentor?

Is a mentor someone you go and meet with on a regular basis regarding the topic you want to know more about? Can a mentor be a book? An invisible internet friend?

Do you have to have one?

These are just some things I am thinking about this morning. Also, at what point do you move past needing a mentor to being a mentor? Or do you ever?

What do you guys think? Do you have mentors? Have you mentored anyone else?

This, as always, doesn’t have to be tied just to writing. You can also discuss other aspects of your life, I just like a good discussion.

And, I’m with cookie – how can I delete the cookies? Maybe he is my mentor.

Monday Shout Outs

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When I’ve had a weekend of not following my ideas of reasonable eating, I just look forward to Monday even if it involves a headache and stomachache. Monday, you are a fresh start. Monday you are a day to look forward to in that I can start a whole new week with all kinds of goodies and shout outs.

  • First up today has to be for me. Sorry! I am not big on shameless self-promotion but this one is warranted because this Saturday *drum roll* at 1pm is my Book Release Party! at Joseph Beth booksellers.  There will be cookies and I’ll be reading from and signing my books. Perhaps even a little book chat. If you are in the area please stop by. If you aren’t, man I’ll miss you, but send your Charlotte area friends!
  • Next up I mention a book I finished reading but I’m not even gonna link to it because at best I give it a 3 out of 5 stars for the artwork but the story wasn’t working for me. It was the graphic novel The Lost Colony by Grady Klein.
  • Third on my list is a link to Todd Keisling’s blog and website. Todd is a fiction writer but I think any writer can relate to his blog entry on Why I Hate Being a Writer
  • Fourth I wanted to mention a project I was a part of for Empowerment4Women.  My photoem (photo and poem) are number 78 out of 85. The picture is of me in Nara, Japan with a poem entitled Gaijin that I hope will be in the 2nd poetry book I am shopping around.
  • I have a lot of items still on my list so looks like I’ll be doing a link round up at some point this week as well, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention an event I won’t be able to make tonight. Charles Simic will be speaking at NC State in Raleigh at 7:30 tonight! I LOVE Charles Simic but don’t think I can make the 5 hour round trip tonight :(

Hope that everyone had a good weekend and that they are starting to shake out to the cobwebs so the week can start. I’m gonna finish off a book review this morning and I have a new story to post for Referential Magazine. No time to be lazy! Feel free to mention your own shout outs in comments or on your blog and link them back to here. Love hearing from you guys!

Poetry as Performance

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Last night I had a fantastic time (that middle seat was mine) reading with John Hartness and Sam Morton as part of Carolina Writer’s Night which was held at Story Slam! Charlotte. This is a terrific venue where most events are a $10 cover charge but there are drinks for sale and a cozy atmosphere where you can support the arts. I think I am going to pitch a few events from there. Definitely check out their website if you are in the Charlotte area. They also rent artists space and you couldn’t get a better location in the midst of NoDa. A great bakery and used bookstore are way too close, I’d never get anything done!

The whole experience made we want to get involved again with performing. I think that is why I love to film events, to take pictures, to record the moments not just in words but in other mediums. I hope to find more ways to get involved as I am out promoting Paper House and out supporting the work of others.

Whether or not to “perform” your poetry is always an interesting debate. Feel free to continue that discussion here. My thought is that poetry came from an oral tradition and while I don’t feel the need to rhyme or write in metrics,  I think you should consider the way your words will sound read as well as the way they look on paper. That being said, the “poet’s voice” drives me crazy. You know what I mean, I hope! That affected voice that raises up at the end of each line. Anyone got a vid example? Want to call anyone out? I know, I’m evil!

Of course spoken word and poetry slams are different from what I am addressing here. I rarely memorize my poems, preferring to have the chance to pull out whatever piece I want to instead of having a few available to me at an event but I still love listening to specifically performance poets. I argue, however, that even if you aren’t a spoken word artist or a slammer you can still perform your poem, you can still give it the energy that shows the emotion behind the poem. Give your audience something more than just a da dum da dum da dum and tell them a little bit about the poem or you.

These opinions, of course, are just mine. Let me now what you think about poetry as performance.

Guest Blogging

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Had a great time at the poetry reading event held at Green Rice Art Gallery last night. Working on uploading some videos and I’ll be adding some photos to Facebook and my photo blog as well.

This is just a quick post for Saturday to generate some interest from guest bloggers. If you, or you want to refer someone you know, would like to guest blog on this blog let me know via email and/or in comments jessie.carty(at)gmail.com

I’m pretty open about subject matter. On this blog I’ve talked about poetry, writing in general, publishing, my life etc. I’ve conducted interviews, posted video links and poetry. I’ve even done poetry prompts and a variety of other things. You do not have to be within these topics I just want some interesting guests as I hit the road in April and May to give readings from Paper House around NC, SC and VA (so far, still looking for events and venues)

So let me know if you’d like to guest blog and if you don’t want to guest blog but would like a topic covered leave that as well.

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Friday Wrap-Up

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Friday and well the whole weekend is going to be a bit of a rush for me but I wanted to make sure to go ahead and get a posting in. I hope to catch up on commenting very, very soon!

  • Submitted: 4, 3 sets of poems and 1 story.
  • Accepted: 1 poem by The Northville Review. Yay!
  • Rejected:  7. 3 sets of poems (one with comments), 3 stories (one with ink/comment) and one essay.

Given all the rejection slips I spent a lot of time revising work this week as well but finally yesterday I had enough time to scribble down a few new words in the form of a poem draft and an essay. First new stuff in a week I believe.

Lots to do today with helping my sister do some packing for her move on Sunday to a new apartment and then tonight is the reading and open mike at Green Rice Art Gallery. I’ll probably read in the open mike and have some books with me. 7-9 tonight! Poor K guess he’ll just have to play one of 3 games he has going right now while I’m out and about.

Hope everyone had a productive week. Always like to hear about whether or not you sent your work out, was it accepted? Rejected? Funny stories about the whole process? Any good writing stuff for the week?

It’s a wrap on the week, but is it ever really?