Women in Leadership Positions

Yesterday, I watched the first pictures of Angela Merkel and Donald Trump.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I first admired her jacket--what a stunning color.

But as I watched the two leaders of the free world sitting together, I had to wonder what was going through her head.  Here's a woman who has worked her way through leadership positions slowly and with great patience.  She's been a political presence during much of my adult life--and I'm 51.

Trump has also been a presence, but not a political one.  I'll leave it at that, because my focus is Merkel.

Imagine Angela Merkel, this woman who has so much experience on the world stage, this woman who helped dismantle communism and reunite Germany--and she must keep a composed face during the various events yesterday.  She's had lots of experience at keeping that composed face, to be sure.  Growing up the daughter of a Lutheran minister in communist East Germany would provide essential training in keeping one's true feelings hidden.

I also thought about her vast education before she took on politics.  She has a doctorate in physical chemistry (quantum chemistry).  I tried to imagine a conversation between Merkel and Trump where they talked about what they had studied in their younger years--and then my head exploded.

Merkel's experience would seem familiar to many of us, still, these many years after Title IX and other protections were put in place in the 1970's.  How many of us spend much of our work days composing our faces and patiently following our own visions, while men around us bluster and bellow?  I know that I am fortunate in that I have never experienced the denigration in the work place that many have--and I have often been valued, perhaps as the quirky one with too much education, but valued nonetheless.  And if I haven't been valued, at least I haven't been undermined or harmed.  I can live with being ignored--in fact, one can often transform one's corner of the world when no one else is paying attention.

Poor Angela Merkel, having to be civil to the man who told the world that she ruined Germany by her compassionate approach to refugees fleeing for their lives.  If we looked for the difference in approach by both leaders, I come back to religious values, or lack of them, that undergird each one.  I wrote about these ideas in more detail in this post on my theology blog.

Of course, she's had lots of experience being civil to those who have been ugly; I'm sure Donald Trump is small potatoes compared to others.

This morning, I'm saying a prayer of thanks for women like Angela Merkel, solid leaders who get done what needs to be done.  May there be more of these leaders, both male and female, leaders of solid substance, not leaders of bellowing bluster.

2012 Poetry Give Away: The Better Late than Never Entry

The only image I can manage to import is the one above.  But I've decided to go ahead and be part of this give away, even though you won't have images of the books--although you can look on the sidebar and see what my books look like.

I'm actually going to give away three books.  I'm going to give away a copy of each of my chapbooks, but to different people.  And because I am still sad at her death, I'm going to give away at least one Adrienne Rich volume of poems--which one?  I'm not sure, because I have loved them all so much.  And to be honest, this deadline has whapped me in the head after sneaking up on me, and I haven't had time to do my due diligence to be sure that I can get a specific title.  But I'm sure that I'll find a copy of one that I have loved in the next few weeks. And if I find several, maybe I'll give away several.

If you want to participate by giving away books of poems, go to this post on Kelli's blog--but you only have until midnight tonight.  If you want a complete list of the participating people, Kelli's blog has a sidebar--lots of good stuff being given away!

The blogs in my sidebar are the writing and creativity blogs that I read most frequently.  I wish I could say I had a big project, but my next big project soon will be to get centered and focus on my poetry goals again.  It's been a busy half year of travelling and craziness at work and more illness than usual, including my grandmother's sickness and death.  I'm ready for some springtime renewal that lasts through the summer!

So, if you want to enter my drawing, please leave a comment and a way to get in touch with you (an e-mail address is the usual route) if you're the lucky winner!  I'll do the drawing on May 1 and mail the books soon after.  I'll get your address privately, so no need to post more than an e-mail address.  Or we could all post our addresses and send poetry postcards--wait, that's a different project (in August!).

Promotion of Self and Others

I've been having conversations with my writer friends and other artists about self-promotion.  I feel like I'm not great at self-promotion, but I suppose I could be worse.  For example, I don't feel queasy about sending out a mailing that announces a forthcoming book, but if you do, the best piece of advice that I've seen is to think of it as sharing good news, not asking people to buy your book.  And others might say that if you can't ask your friends and family to buy your books, then how can you expect perfect strangers to buy your books?

In her book Making a Literary Life:  Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers, Carolyn See advises authors to be compiling a list of addresses, and she says you should include everyone:  "These are the people who should know about your book.  They include--again--your old professors and schoolmates, your carpet cleaner, the guy who fixed your roof.  Before you say, 'Oh, I couldn't ask them,' think for a minute.  If these people aren't going to buy your book, then who on earth is going to buy it?" (page 221).

The other day a writer friend and I were talking about money, how it comes in and how it doesn't.  She has no problem selling her books but sometimes has trouble collecting the money--not because she doesn't ask/remind, but because institutions can be very good at ignoring bill collectors.

I've heard this piece of advice, and it strikes me as a good one for those of us who have trouble asking for money for our work:  create some sort of fundraiser.  I've heard of writers who do a reading with book sale proceeds going to support writers in MFA programs--for example, I've heard of a group of recent graduates who created a travel fund for students with a reading that they did.  How cool is that?

And of course, we can support our writer friends.  Many of us have no trouble supporting other people.  If we have a wide enough network, maybe we don't have to worry about promoting ourselves, as long as we're promoting each other.

Here's a great post about ways we can help our writer friends.  And of course, many of these suggestions we can adapt to promote our own work, if we're so inclined.

Poet Laureate of the Wine Shop

Does my title make you think that I have an exciting announcement? Alas, no, I have not been invited to be Poet Laureate of anything, although it is one of those occasional fantasies I have. When people ask me my dream job, I say Poet Laureate of the U.S. Then I have to explain what that job is, and when I mention having an office at the Library of Congress, I often have to explain what that is, and by then, that discussion thread is worn out.

No, I have not been asked to be the poet laureate of a local wine shop, but they do send me e-mails with wine descriptions. Yesterday, one of the descriptions said that the wine tasted like brambles--not brambleberries, that English word for blackberries. Isn't brambleberry a delightful word? No, the wine tasted like brambles. And I thought, hmm, I'm not sure I would know what thorny vines actually taste like. And then my brain raced off, and I wrote a surprise poem, thus proving that the poetry brain can find inspiration in all sorts of unlikely places.

I wrote a dark poem, one that wanted to reference Litttle Red Riding Hood, but I'm not sure it did. I wrote a poem with broken boot heels and whiskers. It had nothing to do with work or with nuclear war. Hurrah! I can do something different.

I'm tempted to write to the wine store to thank them. And that idea sent my brain in a different direction--what if they asked me to come do a poetry reading and wine tasting? Wouldn't that be fun?

I've been thinking about alternate places to have a poetry reading as I've been reading January O'Neil's blog posts on the subject (like this one, where she talks about the poetry reading at the YMCA swimming pool). So, I've been thinking about doing readings in improbable places, but a wine shop . . . why didn't I ever think of doing a reading in a wine shop? It's actually not improbable, as some of our local wine shops also have areas where people can sit and sip wine.

National Poetry Month is upon us--I need to strategize, and maybe that strategizing will involve arranging a reading or two. Local poets, who is with me?

What if the inspiration-sending wine guys asked me to be the poet laureate of the wine store? Would I say yes? I say it's my local wine shop, but it's really not. It's about 18 miles south of me, in Coral Gables, which in any other part of the country would be a mere zip of a drive, but here, it takes 45 minutes.

Still, I'd probably say yes, particularly if they gave me free wine. Yes, I'll write poems for wine. In fact, I've often thought that poets would make the best writers of wine descriptions. I'd do that too. Hmm. Maybe I've found a new dream job.

Planning for the Future You Want to Have Part 2

Most of us don't have writing lives that consist of day after day, month after month, year after year of success. If your writing life is like mine, you have a year that has a success, perhaps something remarkable, like publication of a chapbook or a book with a spine. And then, maybe you have year after year of plodding along, with a poem publication here, a reading there, but not the remarkable high mark of a book publication. You might wonder if you'll ever get to a high mark again.

You might also wonder if there's something you should be doing in the relative quiet of the down time to get ready for the increased pace of the high mark time. I've written about that before in this post, as has Kelli Russell Agodon in this post. You've probably already done some of these things. For example, most of us have some sort of bio, and maybe we have bios of varying lengths. Many of us have created blogs and websites. If we're writers, those kinds of tasks play on our strengths.

Here are some other things to think about.

I've spent more time in the past 2 weeks than I like to think about trying to figure out how create an address database and import it into Word to make mailing labels. Finishing Line Press will send out 100 postcards to promote my new chapbook in the pre-publication time, but I have to send them mailing labels. You'd think these huge, widely used computer programs would be easier and more intuitive, but I know better. My spouse, who has done more work with these programs than I have, couldn't figure it out. I knew we were very close to having our list of labels, but I could only get one address onto one label; it was maddening. For me, the missing step was to hit the Update Labels button. If I had been on a tight deadline, or if I was a serious procrastinator, I'd have been out of luck when I hit this glitch.

It's holiday card time--why not start typing those names and addresses into a database now, while you have time?

You should also start a file where you keep photos of yourself that you like. You might protest that there are no photos of yourself that you like. Well, start working. Look at the photos of others that you do like. Try out those poses. Most of us have a digital camera and most of us have family, friends, and partners. Surely one of those people would like to play with you as you try out different poses in different locations. Kelli has a great post on photo sessions, and Sandra Beasley talks about author photos done by professionals in this post.

I'm late to the world of digital cameras, and I'm late to the world of Photoshop. Photoshop reminds me of my brain. It will do far more than I need it to do. But I have forced myself to learn some of the elements: to change a color shot to black and white, to crop and edit. And later this afternoon, I'll use my newish printer for the first time to learn how to make old-fashioned photos. I've gotten so used to storing and viewing pictures digitally that I've never used my current printer to create photos. I should have been playing with all of this earlier.

And of course, the challenge comes in staying current with all the old and new technology, with all of our collections (of poems, of photos, of addresses), while at the same time continuing to write the poems (or whatever creative work we're doing). And we have to do all of this, most of us, while maintaining some sort of job that will pay the bills and spending time with partners, families, and friends, and taking time for rejuvenation. Ah, the eternal quest for balance!

Black Friday Looms--Plan Now

On my theology blog, I wrote a post about preparing for the holiday season now, a week before the biggest shopping day of the year. Many of the suggestions are applicable to the non-theologically inclined. After all, it's not solely religious people who end up irritable and frazzled by the end of December.

This week-end makes a good time to think about our holiday shopping. Maybe we want to be brave and think about how much gift giving/receiving we really need to do. A few years ago, my family members all agreed to donate to one charity that we all selected, and we've continued to do that.

One year, before our charitable giving initiative, my family experimented. We said that we would give gifts under $10 or gifts that were handmade. It seems to me that poetry is the quintessential art for this experiment. Most of us have a huge supply of poems and some access to either technology or art supplies. Why not select a poem for each family member? Make a broadside or a video. Import some illustrations. Take some photos that go with the poem. Or write poems specifically for the people on your gift list.

Even if we can avoid the holiday gift giving frenzy, there are other times of the year where we find ourselves giving presents: birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and all the rest. We might think about how our gift giving dollars can support poetry.

I plan to write a blog post about my favorite books of poems that were published in 2o10, but I might not get that list together before next Friday's shopping frenzy begins. So I thought I'd point you to some of my posts from last year.

--If you want to give books with a spine for the holidays, this post offers suggestions with a brief description.

--If you want to give chapbooks (perfect for people who aren't sure they even like poetry), this post offers suggestions with brief descriptions.

--This post explores other ways to give gifts that also support poetry (a subscription to a journal, for example).

Many of us find ourselves exhausted several pounds heavier in January, with more credit card debt and more regrets. Let's vow to make this year different. Let's look for holiday strategies that can nourish us as poets and enrich our creative communities. Instead of a heavy holiday meal, let's have a poetry potluck. Instead of baking cookies for everyone on our list, let's invite our friends over to bake together. Instead of giving stuff, let's give experiences (a date for lunch or a museum or a movie--in February, when we need a treat). Instead of a huge party, why not a do-it-yourself writing retreat of an afternoon or evening where our friends gather for a shared bottle of wine (or hot cider or cocoa or sparkling water) and some writing prompts.

Now is the time to strategize.

Unconventional Poetry Reading Opportunities

This seems to be the season for poets to be on the move going hither and yon for readings; Sandra Beasley always makes travelling for poetry promotion sound heavenly (go here for an example). Sandy Longhorn has a great post about her recent poetry reading and how it came to be. Once upon a time I would have felt jealous. Now that I've had some seasons of doing my own poetry readings, I'm less jealous. After all, I could go on the road to read too, if I wanted to do a bit of organizing.

When Pudding House published my first chapbook in 2004, I knew that I wanted to get out there and promote it. I wasn't exactly sure how. So, I thought about where I have friends and family--I could travel to promote my book, but cut down on expenses by staying with friends and family. Added bonus: I got to see friends and family, and they were happy to come be part of the audience. It's comforting to know that there will be friendly faces in the audience.

And then, once I'd chosen locations, there came the hard part. How to find reading opportunities? I Googled the most obvious possibilities: reading series and book festivals. I realized that almost every community seems to have some kind of book festival. And so, I got to the hard work of applying.

I applied all sorts of places, even places where I was fairly sure I wouldn't be accepted, like the National Festival of the Book on the Mall in D.C. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I had always assumed that smaller, regional book festivals accept everyone since they have so many participants, but based on my limited experience, that doesn't seem to be the case. But my searching for book festivals led me to some other possibilities.

When I was at USC, the Women's Studies department was always doing interesting things, so I wrote to all the Women's Studies departments that worked for me geographically. That search didn't lead me to readings, but it led me to non-university women's centers, which did lead to a great opportunity.

I discovered that the Women's Center of Jacksonville was having an art exhibition that tied in to the themes of my chapbook. And so I wrote them and asked if they had thought of having a literary component. They wrote back to ask if I'd come to do a poetry workshop and said they would also organize a reading, which I'd share with some Jacksonville writers. I said sure. It was a fabulous week-end.

Many blogger poets lately have been having cool sounding readings in conjunction with art museums (read Kelli Russell Agodon's post about the event here and Susan Rich's post about creating the event here). I've always thought that museums made natural partners for poets. I'd like to begin thinking about some kind of proposal for a local museum.

I also wrote to every state that has a Center for the Book. Here in my own town, the Florida Center for the Book has offered amazing readings and workshops, like the ones I attended with Marge Piercy in 1999 and in 2001, Richard Jones. During these times of budget cuts, those centers might be grateful for a local poet who can organize a multi-poet reading.

I also thought about schools, which have been the primary places where I've seen poets. So I wrote to a variety of English departments, which didn't net me any invitations. I wasn't surprised in a way; after all, back then, a lot of English departments had the kind of budgets where they could invite more famous poets.

Of course, I should have really written to people that I knew, but most people that I knew weren't teaching Creative Writing classes. How could I be a visiting poet for my colleagues that taught Composition or Literature?

An experience I had later answered that question. In 2007, I had a reading at an arts festival at my college (in Newberry, South Carolina) and then 5 days later, I needed to be at Lutheridge (near Asheville, NC). Obviously, I didn't want to drive back to Florida and then north again in two days, but I felt like I needed something to justify staying. So my grad school friend and I collaborated.

She was teaching a British Literature survey class, the second half that covers the time period from the eighteenth century to the present. Some of my poems revolved around literary figures like Keats and the Wordsworths. So, I did a hybrid kind of presentation: I read my poems, and I did a bit of teaching about the biographies and the literature that inspired the poems. I handed out my poems and the poems that inspired them. It was a great experience. The students stayed alert and interested. They had questions. They said that I had made them think about literature in a whole new way--but of course, they were Southerners, raised to be polite. Still, it was a great experience, which has made me wonder about other ways to be a visiting poet than the traditional Creative Writing classroom experience. If we've been to graduate school and been the least bit social, we probably have a network of friends teaching a variety of classes across the country. When I taught a heavy load, I'd have been happy to host a writer friend who was willing to cover his/her own expenses (since I've never taught at places that had a budget for bringing in outside speakers). And students benefit from the experience in ways we can't always anticipate.

I've noticed that some academic conferences have become more open to literary readings. In 2005, a group of us read work that used the history of the early U.S. as inspiration. We read at the annual conference of the Society of Early Americanists, a group of historians. When I first started thinking about reading at conferences, I thought about major conferences, like the AWP. But the world is full of regional conferences, many of whom would be open to all sorts of possibilities, if you can put together a proposal. This website has tons of academic conferences which are looking for proposals; it's almost overwhelming.

Now the clear problem with my proposals is that they don't necessarily pay. But I didn't go into poetry hoping to be rich; that's why I've continued to stay in academia. I've found that if I have a poetry reading lined up or a paper presentation, it's easier to get time off from work; you might even work for a place that would pay your travel expenses. But even if you don't have a travel budget at work, much of this travel could be tax deductible, depending on how you organize your financial life.

I know that poetry won't pay the mortgage, but I'm happy to have it in my life. I see myself as sort of a poetry Jehovah's Witness, traveling the country with fliers that I press into strange hands, reminding people of a mystical reality shimmering just beyond the horizon of daily life.

Promoting the Poetry through the Packaging

I knew that Kelli Russell Agodon was doing something special with the packaging of her latest book of poems, Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room. I ordered a copy for both me and my dad (it was his birthday, and I love giving volumes of poetry as presents), and my dad's got to him first. He mentioned how unusual the package was that came in the mail. So, I couldn't wait to see what she had done. And it impressed me so much that I decided it was worthy of a blog post.

Since both of our addresses are fairly easily found with just a few mouse clicks while searching the Internet, I decided not to censor the addresses. Of course, I would redo this posting if Kelli should write me to say, "Eeek! What have you done?!!!"



Here's the package that I took from the mailbox.

Did Kelli have a special stamp made? That would have never occurred to me!

Look at the beautiful return address card; I'm impressed with how much information she puts on the card.

She wraps each book in tissue--what a classy touch!

And a post card (again, with essential information)--a great personal touch.

Some cool approaches to book marks. I'm guessing that she made the bookmark in the shape of Emily Dickinson. I'm still researching post cards and book marks. I can't determine whether or not it's cheaper to do these things on the home computer or to pay to have them done.

All of the materials together (notice the other side of the rectangular book mark).

I got this package, and I thought of all the opportunities I had missed, all the times I sent my chapbook to a reader in a plain envelope. I think that I put an order form in with each chapbook I sent, but I really like Kelli's approach much better. So classy, so many ways of reminding people how to be in touch, and more subtly, who publishes the book and the title.

Long ago, with my first chapbook, I didn't have a website or a blog. Now I do. I'll be interested to see what a difference it makes with my second chapbook.

April Ends

Here we are at the end of April. I only made it through 20 days of writing a poem a day. More thoughts on that later, perhaps. I'm trying to feel good about the poems I have that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't been writing a poem a day. I'm trying not to feel bad about how many times I had to resort to haiku. I'm trying to think about the fact that I got some manuscripts in the mail, and that's valuable too, even if I wasn't writing poems this week.

I will likely post my book give away results a bit later than everyone else. I'm away for the week-end and my computer access will likely be limited. But I'll post results on Monday, if I don't post them earlier.

There have been several posts this week that have set me to daydreaming, even during a hectic work week. I thought I'd mention them, in case you're in need of inspiration too.

Susan Rich talks about her book launch party and reading here. It's great stuff, especially if you are new to the world of poetry readings. I'm particularly intrigued with the idea of having party favors that tie in to a poem in the collection. I've spent some time mentally going over the poems in my various manuscripts and wondering what might work. Or maybe I should write something new, with a heavenly component (Susan gave out violet scented chocolate), something so swoon-inducing that people will forget to take pictures.

I also like the idea of giving out a door prize. And I really like the idea of having a few printed poems for people. People want to be able to concentrate on our poems, but many of us do better with some printed words in front of us.

For more pictures and comments, head over here to Kelli's blog. While you're there, you might wander to this post, which has some interesting thoughts on what makes a good poem. It could make a great mini-lesson plan, for those of you who need to teach and find your wells running dry.

Elizabeth Adams has a great post on social networking here. I, too, have a love-hate relationship with all these networks. I've enjoyed being back in touch with old friends and making new ones. But I miss the old-fashioned networking, where people would have a meal together. I read about poets who get together for a day of poetry writing and good food, and I weep with missing some past times of my life, where we all had a Saturday we could devote to quilting and fellowship.

April turned out to be a more hectic month than I anticipated. This past week has been the kind of week where I've been grateful for meetings that included lunch. Once I would have turned my nose up at a sad turkey sandwich. These days, I'm grateful, because I haven't had time to cook a delicious pot of something wonderful to bring to lunch. I find myself snagging the leftover lunches because I know the meeting group has already paid for the food which will likely be thrown away. Yes, my life has come to this.

So, once I get back from my week-end trip, it's time to set some priorities. More home cooking. More vegetables. More face time with friends. I'll settle for online messages and box lunches, but they won't sustain me forever.

Planning for the Future You Want to Have

I've been thinking about making a book trailer (or 2 or 3) for books that I hope will be published. Even if I never use them, it might be an interesting exercise.

Of course, I guess I should figure out how to make the sound work. I haven't actually tried that, so it may not take much time.

I like the idea of making a trailer for a book that doesn't exist yet. I know this is an exercise that might drive some people to despair. But I like that idea of envisioning a future that isn't quite here yet.

I've been enjoying Sandra Beasley's posts over at She Writes in the Countdown to Publication series. In this week's post, she talks about author photos and cover art. Earlier, I talked about Kelli Russell Agodon's post about things you should be doing to get ready for your book, right now, even if you don't have a book.

I think there are several advantages to this approach. One, when the book is finally accepted, my life might be different. I might not have time to do this things. Now, before there's a book, I have the luxury of time, the gift of not feeling panic induced by deadline. Now I can try things, without anyone looking if I fail.

That's one reason why I want to keep experimenting with book trailers and visual poetry. I want to master this now, before I feel the pressure of a book release (please, God, let me be that lucky to some day feel the pressure of an impending book release!).

Maybe we need some time away. A writer's retreat. Leslie Pietrzyk has a great post on preparing for your stay at a writer's colony. They might be good tips for your every day writing life too. Buy yourself treats. Who wouldn't like a new towel? Upgrade your pillow. Stock your pantry with snacks that will see you through.

One last thought about visual poems and book trailers. Last night, I showed my students what I had been working on, along with some of the other animated poems that are out there (thank you Sandra Beasley for creating your 2 poems and for calling my attention to this form!). We had been having a low energy evening in the classroom. Nobody's fault, really. But we're on the other side of midterm, and I can see how tired my students are. No matter how energetic I was, they didn't perk up.

So, we took a break, and I fiddled with the computer--and I got it to work! I've had a week of technology triumphs that I usually don't get to enjoy. I cued up all the pages I wanted them to see. They returned.

They watched intensely. They talked about poetry in this form as opposed to poems on paper. They talked about animated poems as a new art form. We talked about who should get credit, when it's really a collaborative process. It was quite rollicking.

I think having a radical change in direction for part of the night helped reinvigorate us. I think that poems in animated art form are closer to the creative work they prefer and closer to the creative work they do.

I also wonder how much of this is generational. I showed my visual poem-in-progress to two of my colleagues earlier in the day. They said how much they preferred their poetry delivery system to be more traditional: words on paper, books.

I think animated poems and book trailers will be a way to get more readers. Diane Lockward has a great post where she proposes doing both--and she's absolutely right. In a twist I haven't anticipated, these new forms might be a way to attract the attention of younger readers/viewers. Will viewers/readers who fall in love with our animated poems love them as much in an old-fashioned book? Will we eventually create something in terms of a larger collection for readers/viewers who want animated poems? Intriguing.

Patron Saint of Diarists (and Bloggers?)

Today is the birthday of Samuel Pepys, perhaps one of the most famous diarists ever. Much of what we know about the English time period of the Restoration we know because we have his diary. He wrote about the Coronation of Charles II, the plague years, and of course, the Great Fire. He also wrote about his sex life and other details of regular life. He wrote for 10 years and his journal fills nine volumes.

I used to think that it would be exhausting to write that much. I used to think that I could never fill nine volumes. Now, of course, I can't imagine transcribing all those journals into electronic form. I have a box of journals, which will probably moulder away, because I simply don't want to type them all into a computer. Let some graduate student do it several hundred years from now, if my life is deemed that important.

I've said this several times on this blog, but I do wonder how historians and scholars will use the blogs that so many of us are keeping now. Will some poor graduate student not only have to consider my paper journal, but also my blog? And then there's all the rough drafts that I can't bring myself to throw away.

Are there authors who don't have to worry about future employers who can be completely free and open in their blogs? Can any of us really be completely free and open, knowing that at some point, those writings (whether in a blog or a paper journal or in a landfill) will likely be seen by others?

And of course, I wonder about how long we'll all be able to blog for free. How much storage space is there really out here in cloudland? The scholar in me mourns all the data that will be lost as we work out new protocols.

I wonder about all the people who have kept journals in the past, and how they would have responded to this brave new world of blogging. To me, blogging is a somewhat different medium than my old-fashioned paper journal. There's the privacy issue, of course. But there's also the linking aspect, which I love. Of course, I used to do this with my paper journal, where I'd keep book or record reviews or articles that spoke to me in some way. There's the aspect of blogging where I can include pictures, photos, and videos. Long ago I kept a scrapbook (back before scrapbooking became such a hot hobby, back when scrapbooking was just gluing stuff in a larger book). It feels similar.

Yesterday I spent a bit more time thinking about book trailers and video poems. I discovered that my work computer has Movie Maker on it, but I didn't have much time to play. It's work, after all.

Well, now I feel stupid. I just checked, and my home computer has Movie Maker. I wonder if I can make a poem with no sound, since recording has always been my downfall. Maybe Movie Maker makes it easier (then I'll really feel like a dolt, having never realized that the solution was right there). I wonder if I can use my own photos to go along with my poems. I know that Sandra Beasley uses iStockphoto, and lots of other people do too. But maybe for my first experiment, I'll just use my own photos.

What fun! But kind of terrifying too. I've been playing with the idea of collage for several years now, although my first collaging was in the world of fiber arts, not words. This week I've been playing with the idea of collage in poetry, which I'll say more about tomorrow. I can't help but see poetry videos and book trailers as a type of collage.

Will My Next Computer Be a Mac?

I don't really need a new computer yet--or do I?

I used to think that computing power is wasted on me. I have always used the computer primarily as a giant typewriter--but a typewriter with glorious time-saving power when it comes to revising and printing out new copies.

In later years, I've come to appreciate the ability to store numerous photos in one place, a place where they might not turn yellow with age (but they might disappear in a big electronic goof--a definite downside).

And of course, there's Internet use, which now probably accounts for much of my computer time, once we subtract work related e-mailing. I was early-ish to the Internet. I remember a time when there was no World Wide Web--no pictures, no video, not much commerce. I remember discussion boards and online games that required readers/players to use their imaginations to envision the virtual world. I was late to blogging, late to having my own website.

I don't think the fact that I was so late to blogging and having my own website hurt the book sales of my chapbook, but I'll never be sure. If I had been writing a blog when my chapbook was published, would I have had more sales?

I've certainly bought my share of poetry books because I loved the blogging voice of the poet. So, it's hard to say.

I've begun thinking about publicity for my next book, even before I've had a next book accepted for publication (the best time to do this thinking, I think). I've been reading about poem videos (on Sandra Beasley's blog here, here, here, and here) and book trailers (on Diane Lockward's blog here and here). I've been thinking about the fact that so much of this video work seems to be done on a Mac.

I've tried to do some basic recording on my Windows based computer and it was a complete disaster. Sigh. I tend to blame my own incompetency, but perhaps it's not me, but my equipment. And if the Mac comes preloaded with all this nifty stuff, that might justify the higher price. That, and the fact that Macs are easier to use, that my first love was a Mac, that Macs are less vulnerable to viruses and other Internet nasties, and I've never heard anyone voice regrets with a Mac purchase.

Maybe I should just blame Kelli Russell Agodon. I've been thinking about this possibility more intensely since she wrote this post on her blog.

Of course, it may be months or years before I actually make the switch. I tend to think about possibilities and research possibilities, but to have a hard time plunking down the money, especially when it comes to computer decisions, which seem fraught with peril.

But one thing that might tempt me to make the plunge earlier rather than later is that I feel this ever more pressing need to learn how to do some video creating--and I'm pretty sure that I can't do it on my old computer.

So, here's a creativity resolution. I'll give it a try on this rickety old computer . Let me see if it's really as useless as I think. And then I'll revisit this idea of buying a Mac sooner rather than later.

If You Need a Thanksgiving Escape

On my ever-growing list of technology things to conquer, I've now begun to ponder making my poems into videos. Sandra Beasely has created an inspiring pair of posts on animating poems: part 1 is here and part 2 is here. Would my creations be something akin to trailers promoting a larger book? Or would they be a separate art form? When I started blogging, I thought of it as a promotional tool. Now I've come to think of it as its own form of justifiable writing.

Of course, maybe creations can have more than one purpose.

Or maybe you want to create soul cards. Both Sandy Longhorn (here) and Kelli Russell Agodon (here) have written posts that make me want to rip up my magazines.

While you're at Sandy's site, check out her list of inspiring quotations here.

Things to ponder as we start the great feast preparations . . .

More Ways to Promote Our Work

I've been reading a great interview: Maud Newton interviews the writer Stephen Elliot here (and thanks to Leslie for the original link, here on her blog). I'm always on the lookout for ways both old and new to promote poetry, and Elliot has some good ones.

He had a great idea for getting his work into the hands of readers who would then get his work into the hands of other readers: "Prior to the book coming out I did this thing called the “Lending Library,” where I allowed anyone who wanted to read an advance copy of the book to get one. The deal was they had to agree to forward the book within a week to the next reader. 400 people signed up for the lending library."

What a great idea for those of us (which is most of us) who don't get many free copies to give away.

This idea led to his next great idea, a variation of the book promotion tour: "So when I decided to go on tour I contacted them [the people who signed up for the Lending Library] and asked if anyone wanted to host a reading or an event in their home. I said they had to promise to get at least 20 people to attend. A bunch of people signed up, and more people are signing up all the time."

He talks about how effective this process has been, in terms of attendance at his readings: "In every town I read there is someone who is responsible for the reading, someone who will be embarrassed if nobody shows up. Also, if there’s demand, I can do two or three home events in the same town. I could never do that if I was reading in a local bookstore. I’m not a famous author; for me to get 25 to 40 people out in Lincoln, Nebraska or Las Vegas or New Orleans, places where I don’t know anyone, is a really good turnout. The people hosting the events also often convince the local media to do coverage of the event. Also, the readings go much longer, the discussions often go past midnight, so there’s a much deeper connection."

Does this attendance lead to book sales? It depends: "I find book sales are more class based. The readings are a reflection of whoever’s home I’m in. If the person is more affluent than many of their friends will be more affluent and I’ll sell more books. I had an event where I sold more books than people in attendance. People with money will come to a reading and buy extra books to give as presents. In other places, where the average income is much lower, I sell a lot fewer books."

The whole interview is worth reading, but I always love interviews with writers. I especially love hearing about different approaches to writing, and about different approaches to promoting writing and reading. I've long thought that promoting one's writing, particularly one's poetry, is becoming more like being an indie music artist: the poet has to be the one to arrange the tour, figure out how to keep the van running, find a couch to sleep on, think in terms of connections across the country.

It wouldn't hurt to start thinking about these logistics before the book comes out. Many small presses have a very long turn-around time between acceptance and publication, but even those of us still waiting for a press to accept our book-length works might benefit from some thinking about this question: If you had a book length collection of your poems in your hand, what would you do to make sure that the world knew about your book?

Blog Anniversaries and Book Sales

Yesterday at work, I helped a friend and colleague get a blogsite set up--an appropriate activity as I approach the one year anniversary of starting my blogs (Nov. 12 for my Theology blog and Nov. 17 for this blog). It was also about one year ago that I created a website.

I'd been meaning to create a website for years, and I'd been longing to create a blog for almost that long. I had all the regular worries: being the victim of some strange cyberstalker, posting things that would embarrass me later, never being able to get a job again. So far, none of my fears have come to pass. On the contrary, it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience: I've written more than I ever would have thought possible, I've trained myself (again) to observe the fine textures of daily life, I've made connections with poets and other writers I admire.

Plus, I've learned new skills: how to work a digital camera and how to use blog/website creation tools.

Before creating my own blogs and websites, I thought about websites and blogs primarily as a tool to promote writing that I had already done. I wanted to create a website so that when I have a book-length collection of poems published, I have some promotion architecture already in place.

I didn't think about how much blogging would prompt me to write anew. There's not only the blog post itself, but the ideas that I capture and sometimes return to, as I write poems. There are the goals that I post, and the entries where I assess how I'm doing.

I have promotion on the brain, as I prepare my book-length manuscript to send to WordTech Communications. I really like their books, and their reading period is now open. They expect to sell 250 copies of a book within the first year, and they expect writers to promote their books.

I have no problem with that. When Pudding House published my chapbook, I did everything I could to promote that book, and I sold almost 100 copies through my efforts that first year. That was before I had a blog or a website. My secret weapon? My mother's Christmas card list. The same people who sent me graduation presents and wedding presents were willing to buy my book!

I think that blogsites can work similarly. I've bought many books of poetry because I like the blog of the writer. The blog can introduce poems, and the same themes that run through poems are likely to run through a blogsite. A website is a good spot to collect all the relevant information, but I don't find an artist's voice shines through in a website, the way it does in a blog.

I love being a poet because I have all sorts of ways of getting my poetry out into the world, and reaching new potential readers. A few weeks ago, a harpist that I met at an artist's retreat at Lutheridge (the Create in Me retreat) called to ask if she could use one of my poems as her Christmas card. I happily agreed, as long as she provided my contact information so that her Christmas card list could be in touch with me, if they were interested in knowing more about my work.

The monks at Mepkin Abbey have notecards for sale. I wonder how much it would cost to create some sort of artwork that featured my poem and have a notecard created. Hmmm. Something else to sell at poetry readings. I've read about visual artists who have much, much cheaper prints and cards to sell, since most of us can't afford the original painting.

Happily, most people can still afford a book of poems. But there are so many other ways to reach readers. Some cost only time, like blogging. Others require more of a financial investment. I wonder what else is out there that I haven't thought about or tried yet.

On this Day, in 1492

On this day, in 1492, Columbus began his journey to "discover" America. Of course, he had other plans, and plenty of other people had been here before him, some discoverers, some settlers (for a great book on the subject of the "discovery" of America, I highly recommend Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World).

So, if Columbus left today, that means it took him 2 months to get to his goal. I suppose that's not long, in the overall scope of things. And yet, at Charlestowne Landing, I saw a boat that was a replica of the boat that some of the first English settlers used to get here. It was teeny-tiny. I can't imagine sailing up the coast to the next harbor in it, much less across the Atlantic. Maybe it would have been easier, back before everyone knew how big the Atlantic was.

I've often wondered if Columbus (and other explorers) ever woke up in the middle of the night and said, "What am I doing here? I could have just settled down with my sweetheart, had a few kids, watched the sunset every night while I enjoyed my wine." Of course, back then, a lot of options were closed to people, and that's why they set off for the horizon. No job opportunities in the Old World? Head west! Sweetheart left you for another (or died)? Head west!

It's easy to feel full of enthusiasm at the beginning of a project. Far harder to keep up that enthusiasm when you're in the middle of a vast ocean, with nothing but your instruments and the stars to guide you, with no sense of how far away the land for which you're searching might be.

I'm guessing that many of us have similar feelings during our creative lives. Maybe we have a manuscript that we feel is good, but no publisher has chosen yet. Maybe we have a batch of poems that seem to go together, but we have no sense of how to assemble the manuscript, while at the same time, we know we need to create 20 more poems. Maybe we have a vision of the kind of job that might support our creative selves, but no idea of how to get to where we want to be from where we are.

What can we learn from Columbus? To answer fully would take more research than I have time for right now. But I keep thinking of the ship's logs and the captain's journals. Perhaps we need to do a bit more journalling/blogging/notetaking/observing/calibrating/focused daydreaming.

Or maybe we need to just set sail, knowing that we're going to be out of sight of land for awhile. Maybe we need to get over our need for safe harbor, for knowing exactly where we're going.

Or maybe we need a benefactor. Who might be Queen Isabella for us?

And we probably need to know that while we think we're sailing off for India, we might come across a continent that we didn't know existed. Columbus was disappointed with his discovery: no gold, no spices, disappointing land. Yet, he started all sorts of revolutions with his discovery. Imagine a life without corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes. Imagine life without chocolate. Of course, if I was looking through the Native American lens, I might say, "Imagine life without smallpox."

Still, the metaphor holds for the creative life. Many of us start off with a vision for where we'd like to go, perhaps even with five and ten year plans. Yet if we're open to some alternate paths, we might find ourselves making intriguing discoveries that we'd never have made, had we stuck religiously to our original plans.

Independent Musicians and the Internet--Any Lessons for Writers?

I continue to be intrigued by all the ways the Internet, and faster Internet connections, creates possibilities that wouldn't have been there ten or twenty years ago. And since I've always wished for musical talent, stories about musicians call to me more than say, stories about stockbrokers. And there's always the hope that stories about creative people will inspire me, even if they're working in a different discipline.

Today's story in The Washington Post intrigued me because the musician built his audience by posting a song a week on his blog. He's become successful with no radio airplay--that would have been close to impossible twenty years ago. He decides which cities to visit by how many people write to him to request that he visit. He prints T-shirts and burns CDs on demand, so he's not lugging around excess inventory.

It's that song a week on the blog that hooked me. At some point, I plan to see if my acceptances have risen since I created my blog and my website. I feel like they have, but I haven't looked at my records to be sure. And I like to think that by the time of my next book publication, whenever that may be, I'll have created a wider audience by my blogging efforts. I know that I've bought books by poets who have created blogs that I enjoy.

And of you're really interested in these stories about how technology is changing the daily fabric of our lives, you might read this story while you're at The Washington Post website. It talks about the way we're watching T.V. programs, while not necessarily watching the T.V. What impact might that development have on poetry? Right now, I'd tell you not much--but then again, ten years ago, I wouldn't have conceived of all the intriguing ways we're using the Internet.

Publicize that Book!

Over at January's blog, Deb recommended this site, which has lots of ideas for how to promote a book. I suspect that many of us who have been following publishing can be surprised at how much we'll need to do to support our books. Still, it's always good to have some fresh ideas.

I'd also recommend this page of the 52 Projects website. Lots of great ideas here.

A book I return to again and again is 101 Ways to Make Poems Sell: The Salt Guide to Getting and Staying Published by Chris Hamilton-Emery. Go here to read the first chapter. If you've been submitting to journals for any length of time, the 50 Dos and Don'ts at the end of the chapter will probably seem self-evident to you. But the rest of the book is full of good ideas to help you build your profile and sell your book.