blue trajectory

A Couple of Mentions

2012-01-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Just a couple things I noticed whilst shamelessly Google-stalking myself:

Thanks so much to Eclectica, the very first journal that published me, for mentioning my chapbook in their new issue's editorial.

And I just noticed that this here blog is listed in New Pages' directory, here.

Cool.

What else? It's January -- not much to say about the weather, although to its credit it's been unseasonably warm. More importantly, it's a new year, and I'm still feeling good about that.

This Year's Resolution

2011-12-30T17:52:00.002-05:00

Change everything.
That's all.
No, I don't mean that literally.
Of course.
I mean it, though.

New Melusine...

2011-12-12T00:06:00.001-05:00

... is out. And I'm posting about it absolutely everywhere, including here. And then I'm going to get some sleep, I hope, after eating a salad and maybe some ice cream.

Update: I was apparently so tired last night that I forgot to actually include the link in question. It's here.

December

2011-12-09T17:56:00.001-05:00

It's been a really tough couple of weeks, but one of a handful of bright moments came when I received two literary goodie-packages in the same day: the new issue of Tiger's Eye with three of my poems in it, and The Medulla Review anthology featuring one of my poems.

I feel a strong need to write something in the way of poetry to help me work through some really sad recent news, and I did start on a piece last week, but I know you can't rush these things. In the meantime, I'm working on the new issue of Melusine, hoping to launch it by Sunday night. This one has a photo essay and some fun cover art by a promising new photographer, so I'm looking forward to seeing it take shape soon.

Review of Judith Skillman's The White Cypress

2011-11-14T19:13:00.001-05:00

My review of Judith Skillman's new collection has been published in The Iowa Review's blog -- very happy to be featured there, and I've become quite a fan of Skillman's work over her last few collections, so it was a pleasure to be able to delve into the particularly rich material she covers in this one.

And that's about all the news for today. Late autumn still has me feeling a little drowsy and a little taciturn. I think some humans still have a gene for some vestigial form of the hibernation instinct. If I were a scientist instead of a poet, I would check into that hypothesis. But the very fact that I would posit it is probably sufficient proof that I am not a scientist.

In the Book, So to Speak

2011-11-04T18:29:00.002-04:00

Daylight Savings Time hasn't even ended yet and there are still plenty of green leaves on the trees, but I'm already feeling that late autumn melancholy. Maybe it was the freak October snowstorm last week, which was just an annoyance for me in that it reminded me winter's going to insist on coming around again this year, but it knocked out my parents' power up in Pennsylvania for almost a week, which was pretty scary.

And maybe I drank a few too many jack-and-cokes last night because I was feeling stressed about various non-writing-related things that just haven't been going so well lately. But at least on the writing front, life has been kind lately. It's good to have at least one area of life going one's way at a time. At the least. More would be OK, too.

So here's my entry in the Poets & Writers directory: http://www.pw.org/content/janelle_kihlstrom

Blue Trajectory (My Chapbook) is Now Available...

2011-10-17T23:40:00.000-04:00

So October has been a good month, lit-wise. I now have some really exciting news to share. My chapbook, Blue Trajectory, is, as of today, available from Dancing Girl Press and can be purchased here.

I can't wait to see my copies. Dancing Girl's editor, Kristy Bowen, did such a beautiful job with the cover. I'm really proud of how it looks, and I hope anyone who checks it out will enjoy what's inside. I think the poems sort of cohere; for the most part, they feel like they belong together. Some of them started out as part of another chapbook project with a slightly different theme, but they ended up following a different, well, trajectory, and I'm happy with where they ended up.

Two Posts In One Week

2011-10-11T18:15:00.000-04:00

This one is just a short note about something I was excited to learn, that a book review I wrote will be appearing in The Iowa Review's online series. I am excited because it's a great journal and because, at the risk of sounding mercenary, as I'm not exactly flush with cash, the compensation they offer is welcome. But I'll be even more honest and admit it's really more the idea of being compensated for a piece of literary writing than the check itself. It just doesn't happen too often these days, and I can completely understand why. We can't afford to pay at Melusine. No independently funded small journals or presses can. There was a time, oh so long ago, when all creative writers were paid for their words, and those times have been fading faster and faster. I'm not really here to lament that fact. As long as there are day jobs or university positions and writers' retreats/workshops/conferences or coffee shops, writers who want to write and need to write will find a way to write and earn a living as well — as long as there are people who read, even if those people are solely other writers. But the people who read do have to continue to exist, in order for the writers to continue writing. Long may they. We, that is.

Another Month, Another Random Update...

2011-10-06T18:57:00.001-04:00

So now it's October. (I always feel proud when I manage at least one blog post a month.) In lit news, I got word yesterday that one of my poems, published in an online issue earlier this year, will be featured in The Medulla Review's second print anthology -- good times!

Before long, I'll need to start work on Melusine's first print edition -- kind of a daunting task, I must admit, since I haven't dealt with the offline printing process since my college's lit magazine, and that was not self-funded. But it will be kind of exciting. I'm looking forward to starting the selections at the beginning of the year -- the fun part. The new online issue is slated for late November, which has been the pattern for the past few years.

In more monumental lit news, I was happy to hear that Tomas Transtromer got the Nobel. Yes, he happens to be Swedish, but he's a hugely influential poet, not just in Sweden or in Europe but the world over, and has been for some time. And the man is 80. Now is the time. He fully deserved it, and I think it was a good choice.

Book Review in Lines+Stars

2011-09-07T17:15:00.000-04:00

Now that it's September, and feeling like September, with the remnants of a hurricane cooling us with a week's worth of rain, a little news: my review of Holly Karapetkova's debut collection, Words We Might One Day Say, appears in the new issue of the D.C.-based journal Lines+Stars. Read it if you get a chance. I seriously enjoyed and recommend the book in question. The rest of the issue is worth checking out, too, with the theme of "Distractions & Amusements." Now that it's September, of course, I'm wishing I had taken more vacations this summer. But even though we mostly "staycated" this year, we did manage to get in some distraction and amusement. Now it's back to business. Mostly.

July

2011-07-25T19:30:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a little while again, despite the resolution to post here more frequently. (Maybe I should just stop making resolutions -- err, I mean post more often ;)

But I've been keeping busy with a bunch of stuff, some of it writing-related. I'm finishing up the final revision draft of my chapbook and hope to send it out at the end of the week.

And then I'll probably take a hiatus from poetry for at least a few weeks, maybe a month, so I don't get that awful feeling of, oh, if only this new one could have gone in there; it's oh-so-much better than the others -- a feeling that often turns out not to be true, fortunately. No poem seems quite as perfect as it did the first moment after it was written. A workshop instructor once gave the wise advice that there should be a cooling-off period, at least a counting-to-10 period before sending a composition that still has that "new poem smell" off to a journal (imagery mine). Its imperfections will become apparent enough within 24 hours.

And I answered some editorial questions on behalf of Melusine for the "Six Questions For" blog, if you want to check it out here.

Well, until next month, I guess... enjoy the rest of your summer. It is too dang hot lately, but then winter is too dang cold. That's the way here in the Mid-Atlantic, anyway. At least there is September coming, and eventually another May...

New Melusine

2011-06-04T02:38:00.002-04:00

I have once again been burning the midnight oil working on a new issue of Melusine. (It's still Friday somewhere—specifically west of Vegas.) Melusine 3.1, the Spring/Summer 2011 issue is up for your reading pleasure, if you're interested. I think it turned out pretty well.

In other writing news? Hmm. I'm writing, indeed. Been sending stuff out here and there, including some fiction. Starting to polish the final draft of the chapbook manuscript, which is exciting. Despite the heat here in D.C., I love summer, but there's at least one reason I'm looking forward to Fall this year...

In the "Nice Problems to Have" Category...

2011-04-22T18:00:00.008-04:00

... I had to decline an acceptance for publication of a much earlier version of the chapbook manuscript that will be published by Dancing Girl Press this fall. As an editor myself, I feel sort of shabby about having to withdraw a manuscript after it was accepted, but I honestly believed that a year was the cutoff time to expect an answer one way or the other, since the maximum advertised wait time had been six months, and it's been over a year and a half.

I also feel shabby for complaining about wait periods, but it can be hard to wait sometimes, especially when it comes to "firsts." It was the same way while I was waiting for those first few journal publications, and this will be my first print chapbook. But sometimes with my own journal, I end up making people wait longer than the advertised time, and I feel shabby about that, too. It happens, and there are generally reasons -- the chief one being time and the lack thereof. The press in question is one I admire, and I know they are swamped with manuscripts.

But all's well, and I'm proud to be appearing with Dancing Girl Press, which to be honest was my first choice of publisher for this chap, although the version that DGP accepted wasn't the first one I submitted to them, and I have to be honest again and say that I'm really glad that's the case, because the revised lineup I have right now is the first one I feel really 100 percent confident about sending into the world. I tried to convince myself I felt that way about the previous versions, but it was more like 99 percent and falling with every re-reading.

That doesn't mean I think this iteration is perfect, or that any poem I'll ever write will be perfect, whatever that means, much less a book of 'em, but I feel good about it, and not afraid to see it in print. Let's be frank one more time: the thought of seeing one's work in book form for the first time is exciting, but that's a different matter than feeling OK about the work itself. I feel OK about this work. (And I'm fighting off with a stick the temptation to add a disclaimer, like "for the moment," durnit.)

March Mirth

2011-03-01T18:46:00.007-05:00

Yesterday my copy of the new Tiger's Eye arrived containing my poems "Sunday Blue" and "Mountain Bird." Beautiful issue with some really nice stuff, from what I've read so far. Looking forward to reading more tonight.

In other news, so glad it's March. I just realized that March is possibly my favorite month. It's not that I enjoy the weather and landscape of this end of the month -- the snow's usually gone and not much is left but the accumulated dreary -- but I do like the sweet anticipation of April.

By the time April actually hits, the daffodils in front of our house have shot up, the cherry blossoms are out in full force downtown and so Spring in D.C. has essentially hit its peak, always leaving me feeling that I've missed something.

On this side of the month, it's all about the waiting. All the good parts of the year, while not here quite yet, are swiftly on their way, and that always gets me to feeling giddy, yet still somewhat serene, because we're not there yet. There's still time to be reflective. Maybe this time of year has even prompted a few (mostly harmless) bouts of hypomania some years, but I'm no psychologist, so we'll just call them "happy spells." And wish a happy March to you.

Update: Less than an hour after posting this, I learned that the new issue of The Medulla Review had launched, featuring three poems of mine. Read the whole awesome issue here, or my poems here. March is coming in mirthfully indeed.

Dancing Girl Press Lineup for 2011-12

2011-01-18T17:34:00.007-05:00

I'm excited to see my chapbook title ("Blue Trajectory," also the title of this blog, not coincidentally) in the Dancing Girl Press Lineup for 2011-12.

Looking forward to the fall!

Also looking forward to the spring and summer in between. Winter, on the other hand, does not agree with me, although it is growing on me enough to be tolerable. I do find snow and even ice storms pretty and inspiring to look at, and sometimes a long weekend spent mostly indoors, writing, cooking, napping and watching movies, is kinda nice. This last weekend was one of those, and the back-to-work transition has been tough. The caffeine never quite kicked in today.

But then I'm always sleepy in the winter. All in all, if winter were downsized to half its length and the rest were split between spring and fall, I would be quite happy. Even the humid Washington summer could handle another week or two tacked on, I think — at the beginning, not the end.

What a Weekend

2011-01-09T15:32:00.003-05:00

I got some really wonderful news on Thursday. My first print chapbook, Blue Trajectory, will be published by Dancing Girl Press as part of its 2011-12 series, with the date tentatively slated for this fall.

I am pretty excited about this, so excited in fact that I remained cheerful on Friday even upon learning that our furnace is broken and needs replacement, and that the replacement won't be arriving at our house until Monday. After looking at the weather forecast, though, I started to get a bit apprehensive about my prospects of not freezing to death...

Well, before long, I was looking up pet-friendly hotels by the beach and was once again high on life until learning that the one with the jacuzzi was booked and the rest tended to be highly insect-infested, based on the consumer reviews. I guess it wasn't surprising that hotels that allow pets have insects or that the only pet-friendly hotel in town with a jacuzzi was booked, given that there is a new casino complex opening in town this weekend.

However, my mood was restored when my partner exhibited his latent HVAC prowess and came up with a temporary fix for the furnace that involved a little rigging and him keeping an eye on it for the few minutes that it's running.

So, all in all, things are well in my little world, although I was deeply saddened, not to mention freaked out and angry about the shooting incident in Arizona yesterday... another reminder that the polarizing, incendiary political language is damaging our country. Sure, the guy is obviously a deranged individual. But it's not enough just to say that. He is a deranged individual in the context of Arizona circa 2011. I hope what happened will make people come together to reflect, but in light of recent trends, I'm afraid that's not what will happen. I really hope I'm wrong.

Resolutions

2011-01-03T15:32:00.002-05:00

As a kid I made at least 20 each year. Now I am more realistic, and just barely managed to come up with nine:

Write stuff in this blog, like this, even if it's silly, because that is what a blog is for.
On the other hand, take breaks (whole days, if possible!) from the Internet now and then, because sometimes I suspect I am losing touch with three-dimensional reality. Also, the iPhone. It's neither a wedding ring nor a medical bracelet and shouldn't be treated like either.
Reach out more to friends and engage in simple kindnesses to acquaintances, even if it means risking occasional failure.
Worry less about deadlines and goals in terms of how they may validate my existence and enjoy more the process of getting there.
Cook food from scratch more often, or ever.
Clean the house more, because doing so always makes me feel better about life in general, and besides that, I'm less likely to trip on things. Also, be more responsible in general (although I didn't want to jinx that one by giving it its own number ;)
Learn to play the Moonlight Sonata.
Read more books, and less random Internet miscellany.
Write more—poetry, fiction, nonfiction. Write better, sure. That's always the goal. But, especially, write more, since the one has a way of leading to the other.

Happy New Year!

Poem in BluePrintReview

2010-12-15T14:17:00.003-05:00

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

2010-12-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-23T00:38:00.001-05:00

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

2010-11-08T15:20:00.009-05:00

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

2010-11-06T20:19:00.006-04:00

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

2010-10-10T13:56:00.003-04:00

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

2010-09-13T18:13:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-05T13:13:00.001-04:00

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

2010-06-28T22:05:00.000-04:00

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

2010-06-22T10:29:00.002-04:00

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!

2010-06-11T15:48:00.002-04:00

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...

2010-05-27T01:11:00.005-04:00

Spring/Summer 2010

Three Poems in Arsenic Lobster...

2010-05-02T13:27:00.001-04:00

... 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)

2010-04-22T23:53:00.002-04:00

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

2010-02-28T23:48:00.004-05:00

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...

2010-02-16T00:41:00.008-05:00

... 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...

2010-01-19T17:29:00.004-05:00

... 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.

Melusine's fall issue just launched...

2009-11-23T00:38:00.004-05:00

... and I'm very happy. I always forget how much time is involved in getting an issue together. It's a pleasant, leisurely process until that final stretch... but then it's such a great feeling when it's done.

Melusine 1.3

Now, back to some personal poetry projects and a little less time-pressing Melusine business... and of course, for right now, at least, catching up on at least a night and half's worth of sleep.

Poem in the new Wicked Alice

2009-10-16T16:44:00.007-04:00

Check out my poem, "Pastoral," in the fall issue of Wicked Alice (some great stuff in here -- and love the cover!)

Poems Accepted in Arsenic Lobster

2009-10-05T21:43:00.003-04:00

I'm thrilled that three poems of mine will be appearing in next Spring's Arsenic Lobster, that great online journal with the awesome name.

Poem Accepted in Gargoyle

2009-08-27T16:30:00.005-04:00

How can I not be excited about a poem appearing in Gargoyle? It's such a great journal that's been around for such a long time, based right here in DC.
And the editor was so generous in giving me a chance to rehab a few lines that were ruining the poem for him, that I have to admit he was spot-on about. As an editor now myself, I have a sense of just how generous it is to take the time to work with people when you're going through as many submissions as they're getting over there (a bit more than we've been getting -- but give us another 26 years ;)
The poem will be appearing in the issue coming out next summer.

New issue of Melusine

2009-08-02T22:25:00.003-04:00

Check out the summer issue of Melusine, which just launched. I'm really happy with it.
And now it's time to focus again on my own stuff, specifically sending out a few more submissions and prepping my first print chapbook manuscript... But for the moment, I'm taking a deep breath, and maybe turning in a little early tonight...

Two Poems Up on Thirteen Myna Birds

2009-05-18T14:56:00.005-04:00

"More About Mermaids" and "The Accident," are right here (for now, but not forever, so check 'em out.)
I really love the concept of this journal.

Meet Melusine...

2009-04-04T05:39:00.009-04:00

... my unruly firstborn lit mag.

Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century

New poem in elimae

2009-03-15T15:22:00.005-04:00

It's been another good month (dreary weather aside.)
I hope you'll check out my poem, Curtain, in the March issue of elimae. Yes, I'm very excited to see it there, especially because this poem marked a slight shift in my style, and seeing it published confirms that I might be going in the right direction.

I was also very excited to receive a copy of the first print chapbook of work published in Lines + Stars, and see my poem, published online in the fall of 2007, on the first page. The first print run was a small one, but more copies will be available soon, and I hope to stock up.

And now I'm looking forward to Melusine's launch, of course, and the start of National Poetry Month (preferably in that order...)

Soon...

2009-03-03T15:36:00.009-05:00

Most of my favorite journals are online these days, and one of the very best is the long-running lit mag (13 years is worth decades in Web years) elimae. I so very much wanted to be published in that mag, so imagine my joy when I got the news this weekend that one of my poems will be appearing there in just two short weeks. A poet's life is full of delayed gratification, so having only a fortnight's wait is actually quite a treat.
In other news, working to get Melusine out by the end of the month. Will post the new link here once it's ready for prime time.

A Really Good Week

2008-12-07T15:05:00.008-05:00

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...

Happy News...

2008-09-08T00:16:00.007-04:00

... from the editors of blossombones: 12 poems of mine will be featured in their fall special series of e-chapbooks by women poets. Very exciting! The series will be appearing later this fall.
And that was a great way to break my sort of dry spell lately. I guess, earlier this year, I'd gotten into the habit of submitting the wrong poems to the wrong places (for me) and hopefully this is the beginning of evidence that I've been reversing that trend in my more recent submissions.
In other news, this is my final semester in the M.A. program! Three decades of schooling are nearly at an end. And I'm serious this time. No Ph.D. for me (at least not in the foreseeable future -- never say never, I suppose ;)
So I just found out after my first thesis class last week that the first draft of my thesis is due next Wednesday, plus my submission to the class journal. And of course this is the week I've been under the weather and required to fill in at work through half my weekend. Needless to say, I am a busy, tired girl. But a happy one. As much as I generally dislike formatting documents in accordance with style guides, when it comes to the thesis, I'm actually enjoying it... well, I'm halfway done now, so we'll see if I still feel that way on Wednesday...
And Melusine is coming along very well. I'm just about to close submissions on the first issue and open them for the summer issue... just finalizing a few decisions. It's been such a fun project, but now I'll probably have to set it aside to pick up again after the semester's over. Then it will be consuming most of my attention until the debut issue comes out next March.
So, all in all, a good start to the fall season (my favorite part of the fall season, when technically, and meteorologically, it's still the summer.)

Melusine Now Accepting Submissions

2008-04-04T19:03:00.005-04:00

Check out my other (very "Other" -- OK, that joke never gets old for me; sorry, guys :) blog for the latest news:

Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century: Blogging the birth of an online quarterly of art, essay, poetry & fiction.

And look for the classified in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers.

New poem in Prick of the Spindle...

2007-12-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

... Vol.1.3, which appeared online yesterday. Love the artwork...

Camelot

Happy holidays, poetry people! (and anyone else who may be reading this :)

Poem accepted...

2007-12-02T01:34:00.000-05:00

... to appear in Prick of the Spindle later this month.
This will be my fourth publication. Slowly but surely, right?

In any case, it's a happy start to the holiday season, a.k.a. the bleak midwinter. But bleakness outdoors just means more time huddled inside writing. As you can see, I'm making a valiant effort to keep a positive attitude in the face of my least favorite time of year.

And yet another semester's coming to an end. This has been a really great one. I needed one of those. The summer term workshop went pretty well, too, but after this Fall, I finally feel like I'll be ready for the thesis in a year's time. I'm starting to have enough decent stuff in my portfolio to work with that, even if writer's block struck toward the end, I'd be OK, with enough hearty revision. But of course, I have no intention of letting writer's block strike.

Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century

2007-10-22T02:27:00.001-04:00

Please check out my brand-new, other (very "Other") blog, documenting the slow but sure progress I hope to make toward producing an online quarterly that delves deeply into what it means to be a woman artist/thinker in this modern but not all-that-modern age.

Melusine, or Woman in the 21st Century: Blogging the Birth of an Online Quarterly of Art, Essay, Poetry, and Fiction

Third publication

2007-09-14T15:11:00.004-04:00

I was thrilled to get the news, while still on vaykay, that two poems of mine were included in the September issue of Lines & Stars.
L&S is a new D.C.-based online mag run by Rachel Adams, an alumna of the JHU program, a seriously talented poet and a fun person to know.
Still shaking off the jet lag, I started a core course in Poetics this past week, the last one I'll need before taking the thesis except for one elective. It looks like it will be a good one.

Another workshop comes to a close...

2007-08-12T13:20:00.001-04:00

... and I just turned in my final project, 10 poems stapled together, in some particular order (at least that is the intention.)
As an afterthought, I found a photo I took on my phone and played around with Gimp (open source version of Photoshop, and just as fun to use as a verb; e.g. "yeah, I Gimped it") but as an after-afterthought, I probably should have played around some more. But, hey, my brother's the artist in the family.

Now I've just got one more core course and one more elective to go before the thesis. I'd be happy to take a fourth workshop as an elective, if one is offered. We'll see. The downside to my upcoming much-needed vaykay "abroad" is that it will eat into tuition funds, possibly delaying my finish date. The upside is that it should provide plenty o' inspiration.

Speaking of the particular poetic possibilities* of late summer, (*too much alliteration, I know ;) have yourself a happy epagomenal season!

Second publication credit

2007-07-20T20:27:00.000-04:00

I was born in July, and this is my lucky month, apparently.

These three poems appeared just this Tuesday in Wicked Alice, another one of my favorite lit zines, especially for its focus on poetry by and/or about women and its wonderful grrrly edge.

And the editor, Kristy Bowen, is an amazing poet in her own right. I just finished reading The Fever Almanac, which I highly recommend. The poems are tight and polished, yet evocative, and the voice is spot-on consistent.

I have a few more things out there waiting on answers, but I need to send out another batch or two. It's always easier when I'm not taking a workshop simultaneously, but that's no excuse, I know...

First publication credit...

2007-07-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

... well, for all practical purposes. I published a few scattered poems as an undergraduate in my early 20's, under a pseudonym. One even one third place in The Ledge's annual contest. (I kind of wish I hadn't been using the pseudonym for that one ;) But then life got a little ahead of me, and I had to run and catch up for a decade or so. Glad I did, or I'd probably have less to write about now.

Inclement appeared the first of this month in the July/August 2007 issue of Eclectica.

I was so jazzed to see how perfectly they fit the underwater sea photography theme of the featured artwork with the poem's winter setting. The design was so lovely, I almost forgot to read the poem. But then, I'm already fairly well acquainted with it at this point ;)