Poem in BluePrintReview

My day, which started out with another reluctant trudge from a warm house into the cruel, unseasonably cold air, (well below freezing with a wind chill factor that makes me want to cry) has been brightened (and warmed) considerably by seeing my poem, "Photon," in the new issue of BluePrintReview, paired with a cool photo by a Norwegian artist.  I love the way this journal thoughtfully marries words and images.

Speaking of  "cool" and "Norwegian," I'm wondering what happened to the cold-toleration genes I apparently didn't inherit from my Norwegian/Swede grandmother and Swedish grandfather, who both spent their childhoods in places that would make the temperature outside here in Maryland seem like sweater weather.  Well, maybe not.  It's hard to imagine that.  Cold is cold, to some extent, no matter where you're from.  Maybe three wool sweaters layered on top of each other.  But if it really is just "all what you're used to," then I'm definitely not used to this.  Maybe in the middle of January, but not before it's even officially winter.

But at least it's an excuse to drink more fancy coffee in the morning and hot toddies in the evening.  A friend sent me some hot cider packets in the mail last week and my man brought home a huge box of assorted holiday coffees the other day, and since both of those things go wonderfully with butterscotch schnapps, I am going to brave the cold for an extra five minutes after work tonight in order to purchase a bottle.

New Poem in decomP

My poem looks so happy in this issue.  (Or maybe I'm projecting my own feelings onto it.  I'm pretty happy, anyway.)
You could check it out here, or check out the whole gorgeous December issue here.

New Melusine

Fall/Winter is out there.  Yay.  I think it's a good issue.  But now I am very sleepy.

Poem Accepted in Tiger's Eye

I'm having one of those happy weeks that makes up for some of the dry spells, submission news-wise.  Today I got the great news that a poem of mine will appear in Tiger's Eye.


The good news is helping me stave off a post-Daylight Savings Time autumnal mood, although I know it's coming.  Every year I have to mourn that extra hour of daylight.  I think many of the trees, particularly the cherries, are still in peak color around here, yet there is that imperceptible feeling that Fall is on its way out, and it feels like I missed the precise moment/day, or week, even, when this happened.


It's like this every year, only more so each one, where I watch the maps on the weather forecast and chart the progress of color on the trees that line the road on my way into work each day.  For a long time it seems the peak hasn't quite arrived.  I try to keep my eyes peeled for it, and then at some point, out of the blue, I realize that it's already passed.  It's the same way with Spring, again with the cherry trees.  I'm starting to understand Japanese poetry better, the older I get.

UPDATE:  Tiger's Eye later contacted me about publishing four more of my poems, (so two in their upcoming issue and three in the next) which was certainly good news.  It's just always encouraging and inspiring when an editor or reader really connects with a batch of work.

Poem Accepted in BluePrintReview

I love this journal for the thoughtful way it marries words and images, and look forward to seeing a poem of mine there next month.  BPR has a great blog, too.

What else?  It's autumn... doing lots of autumn things this weekend:  making the annual batch of pumpkin soup out of the jack-o'-lantern; raking leaves and mourning the loss of color; drinking 1-3 hot beverages a day, mostly caffeinated; preparing for the end of Daylight Savings Time.  I loathe losing that extra hour of daylight, but at least it's compensated by an extra hour's sleep tomorrow morning, and since I work on Sundays, it's a very appreciated hour.  And then in the Spring, the price to pay for getting the hour back is lost sleep, but only for one night.  It seems sort of fair, as things go, and I like that.

Poem accepted in decomP

It seems that good news always comes on good days for me lately.  (As if I needed more incentive to aim for good days.)  So after an unseasonably chilly and drizzly week spent dealing with car repairs and other automotive crises, yesterday was a beautiful, warm October Saturday spent very pleasantly and capped off with an acceptance from decomP, a journal I feel really excited about appearing in, of a very recent poem.  It's always encouraging when a recent poem is accepted; it makes me feel like I'm not that far off-track, if at least some of what I'm doing is working.

P.S.  On the topic of work, it's occurred to me now and then that I should put more work into this blog, update it on occasions other than acceptances, publications, and Melusine-related stuff.  I used to keep other personal blogs and I've been slow about adapting this one for that use... what to say and what to spare the reader?  After all, there is Facebook, which I've been stubbornly reluctant to link up with my personal lit-world... pondering how everything fits in the scheme of things.  But more blogging-type blogging may be forthcoming... or not... still pondering.

New Poem in Spilt Milk Mag

I've been having the best afternoon... Well, the weather's been lovely for one thing, and although a trip to the oral surgeon for an x-ray would not be considered a usual cause for joy, it got me out of work early, and I heard some good news about my wisdom teeth (they still need to come out, most of them, but the awesome surgeon scheduled my teeth-yanking procedure on precisely the day I wanted/needed... how often does that happen?)
But a more plausible source of my great mood is Spilt Milk Mag's notice that their new issue is up with my poem in it.
I was going to pick up an iced latte at the drive-through window, but I was afraid the caffeine would send me over the edge of giddiness.  Not normally a concern of mine, believe me!

Poem Accepted in Spilt Milk

I like the whole whimsical aesthetic of this U.K.-based online journal, Spilt Milk Mag, and am looking forward to the next issue which will happily contain a poem of mine.

A Happy Mailbox

It has been a good month for my mailbox.  Today the Arsenic Lobster anthology arrived, and I've really been enjoying the selections.  (Having two of my poems in there is pretty nice, too ;)
You can pick one up here if you're interested.

Book Review in Lines + Stars

I'm excited to see my first book review published outside of Melusine appearing in the new issue of Lines + Stars.  I got the chance to review Jehanne Dubrow's From the Fever-World.  Check it out here, if you like.

My Gargoyle Arrived!

I wasn't expecting it so early in the summer, so this was a wonderful surprise, and the issue looks awesome, thick and chock full of literary goodness.
(And I was pretty happy to see my poem on page 92.)
Again, I think my mood was a bit dark when I wrote it, but my mood was not dark when I opened that package.  This is my first publication in a print journal other than an anthology or college/grad thesis publication, so it's kind of an exciting thing.
I also learned recently that two of my poems from Arsenic Lobster would be published in their anthology for this year, so one particular lonely shelf of my bookcase is starting to feel a bit less lonely.

New Melusine, hot off the ether...

Spring/Summer 2010

Three Poems in Arsenic Lobster...

... and it made me smile to see an excerpt from one at the top of the issue's "toast".

Not that it's a very smiley poem, but I guess it has a certain grim humor.  I do think I was in a rather dark place last year when I wrote those poems, but I guess darkness can be inspirational.  I guess anything can be inspirational, really, even lightness, but like a lot of writers, I admit I have a tougher time writing when I'm over the moon.

Anyway, there's some seriously great stuff in this issue, and I'm just excited to be included in it.

Yay, I'm on the Kindle (Prick of the Spindle's Poetry Open Edition)

I don't own a Kindle, but I'm still very pleased by this!  Well, I was pleased just to be listed among the honorable mentions in PotS's Poetry Open, and then double-pleased to hear the contest's finalists would be featured in a special edition.  And I guess there's a touch of sheer vanity at the thought of infiltrating a new medium... in the same way, I suppose, that I'm pleased to see my name on Amazon for the first time beside the word "author."  Yeah, I never claimed not to be pretty silly.

If you have a Kindle or the equivalent, check it out:

Prick of the Spindle Poetry Open Competition No. 1

Maybe I'll get myself a Kindle one of these days, sooner rather than later, although I'm partial to the thought of an iPad, which looks like it would make a pretty good reader.  (Dreams.)

Honorable Mention in Prick of the Spindle contest

I'm excited to see my poem, "Things to Do on a Summer Evening," in the list of honorable mentions for Prick of the Spindle's first Poetry Open Competition.

Another new issue of Melusine...

... has hit the 'nets. I must admit I'm partial to the look of this one, aesthetically... the frosty background theme suits my winter state of mind and the art is pretty darn cool. The content's pretty excellent, too, if I may say so (I didn't write most of it, nor lift a finger with regard to the background or the art, so I think I may safely say these things. I did, however, spend an awful lot of time in the last few days sitting at this computer... ouch, my neck. But always worth it, of course ;)

http://melusine21cent.com/mag

New poem...

... in Caper, a really cool newish lit journal that editor Lisa Marie Basile describes as "a poetry and prose journal of the speakeasy aesthetic."
Something to brighten a new year that, so far, can use brightening.