So long.

You were a very strange summer, and now you're gone. Fall semester, here I come.

Reconstruction

This morning I realized that today's summer poetry workshop class will be the last time I'm commenting on student poems (in class) until Spring 2010. This semester I'm only teaching International Poetry, a big-ish lecture class of grad + advanced undergrad students. The rest of my load will be administrative. I'm sure that I won't be luxuriating in spare time by any means, but I really like the idea of only having one class to think about. Rewriting the syllabus is another story. But a good story.

Today it's clear out and not insanely hot. It's like we had a mini-summer for a few days. That's all I need. Leaves are already turning on some of the trees.

Missed the meteor shower completely, but I can use my imagination.

On the lookout.

Will you hate me forever if I say that I'm ready for summer to end? Correction: that I'm ready for this summer to end?

I have a syllabus to write, and I vow this year to actually get it done almost a week before the class starts. I'm only teaching one class, and I've taught it before, but I need to redo the syllabus.

Planning to take one, maybe two days off before the semester starts. How do you do that?

Many poems out at journals. I feel like a grad student again, only without the sim-sub issue. Oh the anticipation.

Have you joined Read Write Poem yet? It's cool.

There's a list of accepted AWP panels here.

The above picture is not evidence of such, but I got a new camera. It's like having a new eye that also takes movies.

Happy weekend, when it finally gets here.

Prohibition.

First, the good stuff.

Many of our semifinalist (and even a finalist) book manuscripts have been picked up by other presses. It makes me anxious, but I'm so happy for these folks. What an exciting flurry.

We are getting a ton of awesome submissions at BOR, too. I will soon be posting a list of BOR #3 authors. But don't panic if you're still waiting to hear. This is an especially slow summer for me/us.

Had a panel picked up for AWP! It's on the 21st Century MFA.

Second, the bad stuff.

I feel like an utter failure for my inability to engage with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which I'm reading for a book club that I moderate. I'm the girl who read certain Henry James novels in 36 hour nonstop sweeps, and enjoyed them. But Henry James didn't write about dogs. If Edgar Sawtelle (or similar) was written about cats, everyone would be laughing their asses off.

Perhaps if I had a vacation and nothing to do but lounge and drink Labatts and read this book, I would like it. But I don't think I will be getting a vacation for a very long time.

I conquered some administrative forms that were scaring me. I don't know why I get scared of things like forms made in Word with ultrawonky fields, but they terrify me.

Hoping that today is one of those days where I get a week's worth of work done.

I would like to write a poem today, too.