Monthly Archives: December 2011

Poetry 2011

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Poetry 2011

Make Friday Write

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I feel like I should do some grand recap of the year, but I don’t really feel that drive to do so.  Instead I just have a few things to mention in my final Friday post of the year.

One thing that you’ll notice I am working on at the end of the year is creating an archive for Referential (complete!) and moving over any long lists of things like 2011 Appearances etc to their own posts. I’m leaving non-fiction, fiction and photography just under their headings because I don’t have enough that warrant starting a new heading. Or I don’t think they do. I also left the Self-published heading up by itself, but since I publish the most in poetry, that needs a new page.

Just a few additional notations for today. I was thrilled to be mentioned not once, but twice! on Karen Weyant’s blog. I’m looking forward to picking up her award winning chapbook in 2012. She mentions me in a best of list (wow!) for 2011 and in a list of books coming out in 2012.

The second item I want to mention is also shown in the included picture. Many of you know that my husband gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I have a whole other post I want to do later on about using it, but I wanted to share Folded Word’s appeal, and terrific offer, of 99 cent chapbooks for e-readers! You don’t even have to have an e-reader but I want to show you how good an excerpt from The Wait of Atom looks on the e-reader.  So why not finish off the year with some 99 cent chapbooks? There are also fiction ones.

Now, for a poem to share. I didn’t have much to work with as I haven’t written a great deal lately, but little ideas are coming to me in bursts. I also have several essay ideas. Guess that Pushcart Nomination got the juices going again for essay writing. On the fiction front? Nada. Unless you want to count all the poems I fictionalize . . . Like the one below? Do you think it is?

–and the poem is gone!

Look forward to seeing what you guys might have to show as you finish out 2011. Comments welcome on my work and on anything you post. As always I will take down any pieces of writing posted in comments (including my own poem above) one week from today.

Here’s to 2012!

2011 Appearances

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2011 Appearances, Workshops Etc
  • January 13th 2011 – Jackson’s Java – Open Mike – 8pm
  • January 27 2011 –  Writer’s Night Out – Networking and Open Mike – Dilworth Coffee in Concord, NC – Writer’s Night between 5-7 and open mike starts at 7
  • February 18th 2011 – Bethlehem Library Poetry Reading -7pm
  • February 24th 2011 –  Writer’s Night Out – Networking and Open Mike – Dilworth Coffee in Concord, NC – Writer’s Night between 5-7 and open mike starts at 7
  • March 11th 2011 – Mouthful Reading Series - 7:30pm – Community Center in Boston, MA - Open Mike and then Featured. I read in the open mike
  • March 29th 2011 – 7pm - RCCC LitFest Open Mike following featured reading
  • April 7th 2011 – 8pm – Jackson’s Java – Sponsored by Iodine Poetry Journal
  • April 28th 2011 – Writer’s Night Out Concord – 7pm – (Writers meet up before at 5) Dilworth Coffee
  • June 24 2011 – 7pm – Green Rice Art Gallery – Open Mike
  • June 30 2011 – 7pm – Dilworth Coffee Concord – Open Mike
  • September 8 2011 – 8pm – Jackson’s Java – Open Mike
  • September 10 2011 – Bookmarks Festival - Signing from 11-12 at the Barnhill’s booth/Table
  • September 13 2011 – Poetry Hickory – 5:30 reading starts. I’ll be one of many reading from the Best of Poetry Hickory Anthology!
  • September 25 2011 – McIntyre Books NCPS reading – 2pm
  • October 11 2011 - UNCC Writing Project Fall Conference - Presenter
  • October 14 2011 – Barnhill Books in Winston-Salem – 6:30 PM. Featured followed by Open Mike
  • October 20 2011 – Event hosted by Malaika Albrecht and Jodi Barnes - Lazy Lion Bookshop, Fuquay-Varina, NC 6pm

Review: The Book Thief

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The Book Thief
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a long, very poetic story which I’m glad I read. There isn’t much to say about the book itself as it is skillfully put together.

Thinking over the book, however, makes me ask the question again: what is Young Adult literature? I know a lot of young adults read this particular book and I think it is definitely a worthwhile read, but it is also a very powerful book that any age could read. So, why list it as Young Adult? When “Huckleberry Finn” was published was it listed as Young Adult?

Just asking the questions.

A quote from the book: A definition of not found in the dictionary – not leaving – an act of trust and love, often deciphered by children.

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Video

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I have been saving up my thoughts on quite a few videos so why not do a bit of a video round up? Especially since I have had MAKE A VIDEO on my to do list for quite a while now. I did that as well! I made a video for my upcoming chapbook An Amateur Marriage.

But first, I watched a very powerful movie recently called SKIN about a girl in apartheid South Africa who is born with dark skin to white parents.

For fun I’ve linked to a short YouTube video which explains curse words without actually letting you hear them . . .

You know I also can not go long without my documentaries so I have to give a shout out to Senna even though I’m not a race car fan, but the documentary is so well put together and Best Worst Movie which means I really need to watch Troll 2 now. What movies do you know that are just “terrible” yet you have to watch them. I also watched Vanishing of the Bees which explained some of the theories I’d heard about the disappearing bees over the last decade, but still not as sure about this one. We also watched an older one about the Bikini Atoll recently. So much to know in the world. How can we even get close to being Renaissance people!

On the fiction front, I watched Let Me In last night which is a re-make of the Swedish film “Let the Right One In” which I loved (which is in turn based on a very popular book that I think my Kindle wants me to order . . . ) I think the original version is still better than the American one, but the American version doesn’t have to have subtitles (for those who do not like those) and was very well cast. My only real quibble with the American version is that the special effects are not as subtle (artistic) as those used in the original film.

Last on the “what I recently watched but didn’t make myself” list is a documentary series for PBS called Carrier. This was a very interesting set of 10 episodes to watch. I grew up in a military family, but somehow I never really felt that connected to the military. Several things I have read and watched lately have me thinking about that. It may be that I need to write myself any essay or something about that . . .

And – finally – I made a video for my upcoming chapbook. I read (and add images) for a poem titled “To the Boy in the Lobster Sweater.” Let me know what you think!

Review: 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth and Other Useful Guides

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5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth and Other Useful Guides
5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth and Other Useful Guides by The Oatmeal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the very first book I read on my brand new Kindle Fire (an early Christmas gift this year).

My rating, in some ways, is not completely fair to the book itself because the book itself is nearly a 5, however, the format of the book on the kindle notched it down just a tad into the 4 range.

Let’s talk about the book first: hysterical! I came across “The Oatmeal” website when planning a lesson on the semi-colon for my students. I bought a 2012 calendar based on several of the comics and I think I want to get the poster of just the semi-colon section to put up in my office. Not all of the comics are grammar related and might be deemed a little low-brow by some (like guys peeing in a public restroom . . . ), but I still enjoyed the book. I found myself laughing out loud at quite a few of the jokes so my childish humor was satisfied this holiday season.

The reason I have to mark the book down just a bit for its appearance on the Kindle is that you could not zoom in and some of the text was quite small. Granted, I have reading classes right now and perhaps I could have read it on my computer, but I think that is something the publisher should think about when releasing any further comic/graphic type books for devices with non-huge iPad type screens.

Read a few samples and then pick up a copy for you or someone else for fun!

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Make Friday Write

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Those of you who regularly visit know I missed last Friday. I could blame it on the fact that my husband took the day off, or that it was my first fully free day after a long semester, or . . . any other number of excuses, but I didn’t make it in. That’s all there is to it!

But, I do have quite a round up of things since then.

  • I wrote a writing prompt for a writing prompt website. Feeling stuck? Always a good place to visit.
  • I have a poem (it is the David Bowie one!) in the newest issue of Diverse Voices Quarterly. This lit mag is in PDF form and is the first one I’m reading on my Kindle Fire.
  • Yes! I have a Kindle Fire now! I’ve been debating ereaders since they came out, but my husband surprised me with making the decision for me :) Thank Goodness!
  • If you have a Kindle (or other device) consider ordering the new issue of Red Dirt Review? I’m one of the poets included in the newest issue.
  • My days of saying no Pushcart nominations are over! Would you believe that I was finally nominated for . . . an essay? Thanks to the editors of Blue Print Review reading the essay here (I had decided to self-publish it) and then asking to publish it!
  • Speaking of essays and/or non-fiction writing. Here is a really great article I read about how Creative People are “different” (just in case you didn’t already know that! There is science to it!)
  • A few of my poems have appeared in Young American Poets and they recently interviewed me as well.
  • For paper based reading (yes, I’m still doing a lot of that!) I finished a print issue of UCity Review. You should too.
  • I was originally going to link to three different recently scanned literary magazines, but instead I’m just linking to one. Let me know what you might find funny in there. Oh…and my maiden name was Arnesen. That’s your hint . . .

I wasn’t quite sure about posting a poem this week given that the only one I had had an almost naughty word . . . well, I’m including it below because it is what I am currently working on. It is part of what I will hope will eventually be a third full length manuscript. I actually printed out about 70 poems that were in that pending document (I had called TIGER temporarily) and ended up retiring some, revising a few, and in general moving things around until I had a more solid group of 5 with a tentative title of “Leading the Show”. We shall see where the project takes me. It definitely isn’t ready for submitting as a manuscript yet. About 30% of the poems have been published individual including an acceptance earlier this week by an online journal I haven’t been in before.

–and now the poem is gone

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Well before this wanders on even longer I’ll copy and paste some video related items I was going to discuss and leave the discussion now open to you. What is up in your writing world? Have a poem to post? I always take them down (and mine) a week later.

And – Happy Holidays!!!