Horror, The

About once or seven times a day, I think I've lost my _________ (phone, wallet, keys) and then begin to panic. And then all the ransacking. That's pretty much my mode right now concerning poems, too. Doubt, terror, ransack, repeat.

I wonder if this is a third book thing. I wrote an entire third manuscript, but now I want to just keep running with my current project and not return to issues in the previous.

This weekend I am going to let about 50 poems hang out together on my living room floor (cats permitting) to see if there are some connections I haven't considered previously.

So that's where I am right now. Making messes, many of them imaginary. There should be a literary term for that.

Tiny panics.

I don't have any large things to report except that I've had a nice handful of poems (many very new) picked up by several magazines that I love, and this has made me giddy. It has also made me totally dismantle most recent manuscript and wonder what I should be doing with all these poems (hacked down by 26 pages, etc). I'm not sure I'll have time to ponder this until winter break.

We've had some very rainy weather in Ohio. It's making me think about winter, which makes me think I better get the cupboards stocked up. Many of this week's plans derailed by being home with a sick kid, who is thankfully better, and I guess I welcomed the break from reality after all.

I may have written a new poem or two since I last posted. Trying to be diligent about sending work out. Trying to find a journal or two that likes funny poems. Realizing that liking some of my poems is, um, an acquired taste.

Wild and _____________.

Akron is a great place to be right now because SUMMER is BACK. Sure, it gets pretty cold at night, but who doesn't love a good pair of pajamas? And yes, the leaves are at their peak, but they look much prettier when you don't have a hat pulled down over your eyes and a coat zipped up to your nose.

Above please find this wall-climber we found today. Eric says in the picture it looks like a turd but it is not.

Lately I have had a lot of moments such as: Wow, this glass of water tastes delicious! Or: Just look at this tiny white flower! Or: My cats are so cute, I want to bring them to work with me! Maybe it's just being able to have a little more sunshine than expected for this time of year. I don't know, but I'll take it.

Partydown.

Today is one of those Tuesdays that feels like a Wednesday. But you know what? Who cares, because on the Friday of AWP we're having an amazing offsite reading for Barn Owl Review and Diode.

Barn Owl Review & Diode Offsite Poetry Reading
Friday, March 2nd, 7:00 pm
Fine Arts Building, Curtiss Hall
410 South Michigan Avenue (mere steps from the conference hotel!)
Chicago, IL, USA

Readers:

Jason Bredle * Traci Brimhall * Peter Campion * John Gallaher * Brent Goodman * Matthew Guenette * Rebecca Hazelton * Sandy Longhorn * Erika Meitner * Aimee Nezhukumatathil * Alison Pelegrin * G.C. Waldrep

This is the very first Barn Owl Review offsite reading ever, so we are extra excited, and I have to admit that this lineup make my heart get all a-flutter. So many awesome writers in one place.

In news not of the future, it seems warmer weather is back in Akron this week, and thank the dear lord for that. Several days of bone-chilling cold and rain made it rather difficult to be motivated. Now, sunny skies and temps in the upper 60s are making it rather difficult to be motivated. But I'm catching up nonetheless. It's week seven. I am already pining for the glory of winter break, even if it has the word "winter" in it.