Goose Hill

Contrary to the assumptions of non-poets, we do (frequently) stray from Wordsworth and Coleridge in our reading regimen. We don’t always take ourselves quite so seriously. It’s good for the brain. We even indulge in the occasional comic book or graphic novel, the latest action-hero blockbuster movie. When these experiences get under our skin and mingle with the high-literary voices in our heads, I imagine what comes out is something like Chad Parmenter’s Bat & Man: A Sonnet Comic Book . The subtitle of this work is very apt: the Batman legend retold Shakespearean—although, admittedly, the sonnets mostly follow the Petrarchan rhyme scheme rather than the Elizabethan. A wonderful juxtaposition of high and low brow literary themes. It is also a conversation between two people about dreams (nightmares) and a tortured memory of childhood.    It is a dream sequence, but it is also a coming-of-age story: repressed memories of a tortured early life and orphanhood rise t...

Happy International Typewriter Day , one and all!  I had my first IKEA shopping experience this Friday. It was a work expedition, but I brought along my own agenda as well: to buy a new work table for my bedroom, with the express purpose of holding up my trusty typewriter-sidekick, Hildegard.  My other writing spaces haven't been feeling as fertile lately. And since my big, anxious dog has finally graduated from needing to be confined to her crate during the day, there was a significant amount of space freed up that seemed perfect for the creation of a brand-new writing station. And here it is! Happy Typewriter Day to my best girl, Hildegard. (**wink wink**)

When I received the email today, I couldn't believe the words in front of my face: "Thank you so much for sending this.  We love it and would be interested in publishing it during our 2014 series if that suits you, most likely sometime in January-March." dancing girl press will be publishing my first chapbook Imago early next year. dancing girl press will be publishing my first chapbook Imago early next year?!   What?! I am ecstatic. I am amazed. I am shocked. I am excited. But mostly I am attempting to suspend my disbelief. Because if I don't believe it, who else will? I can't wait to see the fun collage-y cover design that dancing girl press's editor Kristy Bowen comes up with for my group of poems. And I can't wait to hold that little book in my hands. I am so humbled and proud to be a new addition to the wonderful dancing girl press chapbook series . I'm also very flattered to have been among the first round of acceptances for this...

Well, I'm back! The West Chester University Poetry Conference was a four-day whirlwind and I am already missing some of the amazing people I met there.  Although I must admit to some disappointment in my craft workshop on The Lyric, I think I was able to glean some very helpful bits of information to apply to my future writing. We read through this eye-opening essay by poet Elisa Gabbert called "The Moves: Common Maneuvers in Contemporary Poetry" in The Monkey & the Wrench: Essays into Contemporary Poetics , which I know I will be returning to again. This essay calls out 21 common "moves" used in the practice of contemporary poetry, of which we are all guilty. But guilt is not the idea. These "moves" aren't wrong except when they're abused in the name of bad poems. The object of this exercise was to become self-aware. By being aware of your own use of Gabbert's "moves," you are better able to use them with intent and underst...

Tomorrow I will be heading to my first-ever poetry conference: the 2013 West Chester University Poetry Conference . It has also been known as the West Chester Conference on Form and Narrative in Poetry, because of its specific focus on formalism.  I will admit that I am definitely a bit nervous about the craft workshops. They will be such a mix of ages and experience-level (and it has been at least five years since I've been in a workshop setting). I have registered for poet David Yezzi 's workshop on "The Lyric." But I am also very excited to be entering this new phase of the poetry-life. A lot of networking tends to happens at this Conference, and of course there will readings and events to attend for pleasure when we are not sweating it out in our workshops.