Monday, October 31, 2005

Emerson says, "Happy Halloween!"



















"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. See the little witch hat my mom made me wear? I can't wait for all those little kids to come to our door tonight. This year's pumpkin is pretty cool. It was a 25-pounder!" - Emerson, husky

beatnik poet face

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

nightcap: a glass of wine, "medium bodied with flavors of strawberry and spice"

Likes:

  • cranberry and white chocolate chip scones
  • Oregon Chai – instant chai tea latte mix … simple and tasty
  • Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (addictive sweetness, similar to but better than their Chai Tea)
  • writing with gel pens
  • wearing scarves
  • sidewalks carpeted with golden-orange leaves
  • Rockwood Boulevard
  • artsy wine bottle labels

Indifferent:

  • Houses with Halloween decorations

Recently spotted within a walk or bike-ride radius of our house -

  1. Creative: a historic home with the simple decoration of Dracula’s crooked tombstone next to the stone steps leading up to the house
  2. Tacky: blow-up ghosts
  3. Cliché: white cotton fake spider web stuff stretched everywhere
  4. Freaky: a collection of mannequin heads decorating the front porch (seriously, there were about 15-20 heads!)

Dislikes:

  • taking I-90 to work and feeling like a “commuter”
  • “decrapitating” the backyard (i.e., picking up Emerson’s poo)

* * *

If you come to our house on Halloween you might just get…a juice box or Sour Skittles.

* * *

In the book bag:
Always BeginningEssays on a Life in Poetry, by Maxine Kumin
Published by Copper Canyon Press (one of my favorites), 2000.

This book is divided into six parts. I’m skipping around as the essay titles interest me. So far I’ve enjoyed:
“Interstices”
“Swimming and Writing”
“Motherhood and Poetics”
“For Anne at Passover” (Kumin’s analysis and explanation of this background personal context of this poem by the same name.)

. . . and I realize now that if I listed anymore essay titles, I might as well list the entire table of contents.

Kumin and Sexton were best friends, although that's not how I became interested in her. I first became interested in Kumin’s poetry after I read an interview with her from an anthology of poet interviews (whose title I can’t recall now). I’ve partially read through her book of poems The Long Marriage (I think is the title)—although I might be confusing Kumin now with Carolyn Kizer in this regard. The essential factor regarding my greater than keen interest in certain poets is when I’ve obtained biographical insight into their lives as writers…what forces breath into their poems, what feeds their writing life—hence my fascination with Sexton and Plath.

In regards to more contemporary poets, Paul Guest is a poet whose work I really enjoy. I read his first book last spring for thesis hours, based on Jonathan’s personal recommendation. I found Paul’s blog, heard an online recording of him reading his poems (from Slate.com), and have had brief email correspondence with him. I look forward to his second book of poems.

Meeting a poet face-to-face also makes a considerable impact on the amount of interest I have in a certain book, or in that entire poet’s body of work. It definitely increases the amount of compassion I have for that poet, whether stemming from my admiration in their accomplishment (as in, “You worked really, really hard to get this manuscript of poems completed and ready for publication”) or my respect for their character (i.e., thought going through my head: “I don’t always understand or love your poems, but there are a few I really enjoy…either way, because you are such a kind and interesting human being, I like your poetry”). I won’t list their names here, lest they someday are inclined to google their name to see who is “blogging” about them. (Yeah, like they have time for that!)

Throughout my limited exposure and intermingling with writers (of both poetry and prose) at readings and/or workshops in Seattle and Spokane, here is a list of the most memorable… Sherman Alexie, Malena Mörling, Gerald Stern, Michael Van Walleghan, Rick Bass, Anne Lamott, Rita Dove, Dorianne Laux, Lief Enger.

I think writers (as a type of celebrity, as opposed to actor celebrities) are the most gracious and kind. Don’t you agree?

I remember my response to a high school student who was questioning why I was making such a big deal (i.e., showing excitement) about Leif Enger reading in Seattle (author of Peace Like a River), and I responded: “He’s like the Tom Cruise of fiction.” Perhaps this was a slight mis-exaggeration, but my point at that time was that Enger’s book was incredible and therefore Enger was cool. His book was becoming more popular (this was fall of 2002), gaining interest from a broad range of literary readers, and I was trying to make a point to this particular 17-year-old that Writers are cool people, too—worthy of our attention…people who have achieved success; who impact our culture, cause us to think, contribute worthwhile substance to our lives.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

distractions

"The northern city of Turin [Italy] passed a law in April to fine pet owners up to $598 ( 500 euros) if they do not walk their dogs at least three times a day." - from the article "Rome bans goldfish bowls, orders dog walking"

Death Cab for Cutie on NPR.

More from NPR:

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Nebraska poet

Great story on NPR today... Poetry: At Home with Poet Laureate Ted Kooser

Very cozy, touching--and at the end of the interview with Melissa Block he reads his poem "So This is Nebraska".

Kooser, in this interview, discusses his daily writing routine--gets up at 4:30 in the morning and tries to write poetry until 7:00. Yikes! But he does admit that 9 days out of 10, no worthwhile poems result. But that at the end of the year, if he has a dozen good poems, that is good enough. "Be there when the geese come in"... or as Jonathan Johnson says, "It's like money in the bank." That investment of time in writing drafts, journal writing...nurturing the writing life.
Speaking of Nebraska, the summer issue of Prairie Schooner has 2 of Johnson's new poems in it.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

quote of the day

"You're not qualified to govern this country at this moment in time if you don't understand the uses of TV. In fact, those in public life should be required to watch it. It's like Google Earth for the national psyche, hovering over the landscape, zooming in."
- Anna Quindlen, Newsweek columnist


Just this weekend I was introduced to Google Earth by my brother-in-law. Very cool.

What I mean is....

To follow-up on my previous post title, I reference myself with Plath and Sexton only on the basis of the historical context, and lineage, of women's poetry and the understanding that Poetry as an artistic expression of the human experience--and as such, the Poet draws from her own life for context and ideas, as either a focus or a springboard to another idea. Other than that, I do not associate or connect with either Plath or Sexton regarding their lifestyle or personal values. The more I've been reading about Sexton's life, the more appalled I am--at the same time I feel sorry for her. Not only did she engage in self-destructive behavior (though her mental illness did make her incapable of making safe decisions, for the most part), but she made really bad choices with her daughters--including sexual abuse. (Read Middlebrook's book regarding the details.) I plan to read Linda Gray Sexton's memoir next, Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton. (That's one way to get back at your mom!)

Plath and Sexton were both extremely passionate about Poetry, obsessive even in some respects and perhaps unhealthy in ways.

Are we women poets all destined, statistically, to a lesser life expectancy?

Monday, October 17, 2005

Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and .... me?

I've been indulging in biographies about these two fascinating poets. This weekend I finished reading Her Husband: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, by Diane Middlebrook, which focused on the "literary marriage" of these poets and their mutual impact on each other as artists. And I just found some intriguing study questions for this book (as well as some Q&A responses with the author, a Spokane native). Middlebrook read all the other published biographies of Plath during her research for her book, which creates a more balanced and credible perspective. (Now I've started Anne Stevenson's biography about Plath, Bitter Fame--such a dramatic title!)

After reading in Sexton's biography (also written by Middlebrook) about Anne's friendship with Syliva, I wanted to detour for a little bit and catch up on my understanding of Plath. I am awed by Plath's intense determination to be a (famous) writer--a tenacious pursuit she exhibited throughout her life. And the irony of her being more famous after her death (like most writers)--which made Anne jealous. (And the romantized view of the writer's life ending in such dramatic fashion.)

Middlebrook documents the literary life of Sexton and how her life circumstances bled into the creation of her poems, detailing the specifics of how those poems were first drafted and the real-life inspiration for them. For example, I knew I had read somewhere a mention that Sexton and James Wright had an affair, but it wasn't until Middlebrook's biography that I learned the specifics of this connection. (Though it was brief as an "affair", they had a deep friendship and she dedicated one of her books to Wright.) Middlebrook then examines those loves poems which Sexton actually composed for Jim. So now, I'm slowing down with the biography and cross-referencing--looking through Sexton's Complete Poems and a collection of her prose and interviews, No Evil Star, which includes Sexton's memoir essay of Plath.

more later...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Today's food for my brain

Today on NPR . . . Joan Didion, Writing a Story After an Ending. Very touching. Some interesting comments by Didion on her faith or lack thereof. "I suppose it would be comforting [to have a certain kind of strong faith], but there is no way I could have it," she says in the interview. Sad. And after a pause in the interview, while Didion needed to collect her thoughts (and subside some tears), she was informed that her memoir was nominated for the National Book Award.

And the
Quills winners. Anne Lamott was one of the nominees for the Religious/Spirituality award. And I'm slightly embarassed to say that I know of Debbie Macomber, the Romance winner. She's from Port Orchard, WA. My mom is a big fan of hers, all starting with Macomber's series of "Dakota" romance novels. I accompanied my mom once to an "Author Book Signing" event at Waldenbooks in the mall. There was no one in line, virtually no one else in the store except the bookstore employees and Debbie and her daughter. My mom got her book signed and a small tea sample. She was thrilled (my mom, that is).

Sunday, October 02, 2005

back to poetry

age: 30 years, 10 months
significant life event: got married
next significant event: changed my last name, made maiden name my new middle name

I like the physical name change which corresponds with the life-circumstance transition. Not only am I learning to live with my new husband, but learning more about the way his analytical-science mind thinks. Learning how to be a more patient and selfless person. Learning how to love him better each day.

Not much poetry being written these days. Notes in my head. Ideas. Images.

I'm working full-time as a Technical Writer right now. At least that is one aspect of my job. I review (proofread/edit) background investigation reports on subjects seeking access authorization to privately-owned (corporate) nuclear power plants. I train the investigators on how to write succint, logical, and organized investigation notes, how to follow procedures, etc. I write the procedures, actually. Sometimes I do some investigating as well. Despite working long hours each week lately, I have had some time to read. Especially today while my husband was flyfishing in Montana with his father. (Think River Runs Through It.)

On the nightstand bookshelf:
Anne Sexton: A Biography, by Diane Wood Middlebrook
Poetry and Ambition: Essays 1982-88, Donald Hall

and Jeremy's back....with a picture of my dad, Chico (the family chihuahua), and me (see Sept. 19th post).

....one last thing...Rebecca, in Colorado, are you reading this?