05 March 2010

Uncontrolled burn.

Remember all of my sorrowful posts about not writing? Well, forget about them. I'm writing again, four new poems this week, and at least one more in the works for the weekend. Everything cleared up for me on an exceptionally unpleasant and challenging day last week.

And here we go again.

I'm so happy about this, but of course not sure what I'm doing, other than writing a series of poems on certain themes, using exactly 16 lines and some repetend. I plan to have the manuscript finished by the end of the summer. I hope that some of the poems are not 16-liners. A book composed entirely of 16-line poems might be ridiculous, or ridiculously awesome.

Now, of course, I feel annoyed doing anything (well, not anything, exactly) but writing poems. I've found a way to keep a word file open, and hop back into it between annotating student poems. The most important thing is that I am having a lot of fun. I just wish productivity wasn't such a roller coaster for me. Or a steroid binge. Or a purge. Whatever.

Tonight I get to take Michael Martone out to dinner, and then he's doing a craft talk at UA. This is one of my favorite aspects of the job.

Maybe a poem or two will pop into my head while I'm there.

Have you seen the sun? Doesn't it feel good?

Barn Owl Review #3 is at the designer's. We'll have a cover to share with you soon. I really think you will like this issue.

3 comments:

Justin Evans said...

Wonderful news, Mary!

My Telemachus manuscript started in a fury, and with a set form in mind---and then it started to evolve. I don't know if that helps or worries you.

I, too, did the majority of writing in a few months (between October 2008 and January 2009) and then things started to slow down and become more measured.

Sandy Longhorn said...

Yay, Mary! I wish I could draft the way you describe, with a Word document in the background, popping back and forth. My writing zone is much more restrictive. Can't wait to read the new work.

Susan Rich said...

Great news on your writing, Mary!
My new collection just arrived in the mail Friday. It seems a miracle that poems got "finished" and into the world. Let's hope we can both continue to do this as long as we can hold a pen in our hands -- or in your case -- tap a keyboard! All best.

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