A Really Good Week

It started last weekend, when the fall digital chapbook issue of blossombones came out, and I was ecstatic over what a gorgeous job the women at BB did on the issue and what great company they'd placed me in, with my e-chap being featured alongside the work of Nicole Cartwright Denison and Kristen Orser, two awesome poets.

Meanwhile I was printing out and binding the final draft of my thesis, which I delivered to the M.A. program's offices on Friday night, immediately before downing a glass and a half of wine and going up to the podium to read five of my poems at the program's thesis reading and reception. Of 10 writing students (half fiction and half nonfiction) at the D.C. campus and a similar number in Baltimore, I was the only poet, so, of course I was feeling no pressure at all ;) But since I take my terror of public speaking as a given, I managed to psych myself up enough (threatening years of self-recrimination is always a good technique) that I actually read as well as I felt I possibly could, which is good enough. Since then, I have been breathing one long sigh of relief. After three decades in school, though, on and off (mostly on) it will be very weird being merely an alumna. But I don't even want to hear the word Ph.D. This is the end of the line (almost definitely.)

Besides, I've got stuff to do: putting together another collection, Melusine, sleep...