Why not write Because the baby is crying, the bath water runs, lettuce waits to be washed, your toddler yells for you to wipe. Or an old vet phones, please won’t you help? or it's the Good News shelter needing you to scrape the dishes and throw away the trash. There's a bottle, scotch that’ll make your teeth grow hair like weeds sprouted in the garden. Maybe you’re just too polluted or not buzzed enough; all you can think of are butterflies and that’s so … [Read more...]
Crazy-making devil
Hey there-- Long time no post. Did I tell you I have a small poem ("Rue") on The Remembered Arts site? Here is the link to my little poem about wishes undone. The photograph by Tyler Shaddix is beautiful and perfectly suited to the text. Thanks to The Remembered Arts for featuring my work. For various reasons, as far as writing goes, I have been in a funk. Today on Twitter I found this quote by Franz Kafka and it seemed to sum up my mood these days. "A non-writing … [Read more...]
Hot links and hot licks
Hey there. Yesterday was Mick Jagger’s birthday. I celebrated it at The Rolling Stones Exhibitionism. We took the water taxi from Union Station to Navy Pier. I share some of pics below. Now for the hot links. There’s “Twenty-Two Poem Hacks” by Carmen Giménez Smith at the Poetry Foundation blog. I am going to print it out and keep it for reference. Maybe you will relate to “Ten Types of Writers Who Can Go Fuck Themselves” by Gabino Iglesias at Clash. I don't know … [Read more...]
New books and writing tips
Hey there. I have not been around because life got in the way. July got off to a rocky start. But here are some new books for you to investigate and some links to writing and reading. Daniel Chacón's latest book is The Cholo Tree, published by Arte Publcio. Margarita Engle (the U.S. Young People's Poet Laureate) has a new book called Forest World. It comes out this August from Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Jen Cullerton Johnson (who is also a Kiss Me Goodnight … [Read more...]
News and calls for submissions
Good day! Hope your St. Valentine’s Day is sweet. I’ve been traveling so the pic at the left is taken from a plane. Every time I am on a plane and look out the window at clouds I think of Joni Mitchell's song Both Sides Now. Here’s what’s new with contributors. Donna Hilbert has some dynamite poems about her mother in the February Verse-Virtual—here’s the link. Tekla Dennison Miller has a new book published by Oak Tree Books. It's called Mother Rabbit. Here’s … [Read more...]