Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, June 22, 2007
Are you ready for a life in poetry? Take this Quiz to find out!!!
there really is a quiz at the bottom. but read this first. or don't. i mean do whatever you want, it's your poetry quiz.
after a strict diet of panels, readings, workshops and more readings, i can safely say i have sated my "hunger" for a writing conference. it's been a good week with moderately bad food. dining hall fare is really rather atrocious. plenty of fake cheese every day of the week. for instance: cheese pizza every day of the week, tuesday - macaroni and cheese (not cheddar..think no name brand velveeta), wednesday - cheesy fiesta rice (same cheese), thursday - broccoli cheese and rice casserole (same cheese), friday - mozzerella sticks (different cheese, but i think equally disgusting). those are the things i didnt eat.
but i didnt come here for the meal plan, so on to a critique of the real thing.
the workshop- i have to give our last minute instructor bruce bond huge "props" (i dont feel comfortable using that word without quotation marks) for taking on the class with very little notice and keeping with the theme that li young lee had set out to tackle. li young lee's was Poetry and the Mind of God. bruce bond altered that a little to Poetry and the Unspeakable. So we still talked about the conscious/unconscious/psyche but in a more romantic vein. i imagine lyl would have approached it in a colder manner if that makes any sense. Even though my work, i think, could not even sit beside the shade that the Romantic umbrella casts, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions and analysis of a few classic poems. Also, in the same way that i appreciate the experimental/languagey sensibilities that john brings to his reading of my work, i found bruce's reading of my poems to be helpful and often insightul of a different direction for the work to take. so that was good. as for the other workshop participants, i dont want to sound snooty, but i found their suggestions to be less helpful. the other participants came from a variety of backgrounds, skill levels and aesthetics. the class was split evenly in terms of age, about half were middle aged and the other half, in their early/mid twenties. there were some undergrads, some in low-res mfa programs and some stay at home moms. based on their suggestions, i felt like they were where i was at a couple of years ago. they wanted obvious poems. every last detail spelled out. i've been moving away from over explaining things. so to a lot of their suggestions, i would just smile and nod, and make "no" exclamations in my head.
readings- unfortunately, i did not attend all of the many many readings that were made available to us. there were so many crammed into a tight schedule, it was hard to figure out when we would have time to write. the most enjoyable readings: sean doolittle - a pulpy fiction, cop and crime stories guy, was an entertaining reader. plus, they dont call it pulp for nothing. and stephen dunn - he read stuff old and new and it was thoroughly engaging. i guess just like any reading, he really gave life and character to his poems. my two favorites of the night were oldies, Decorum - the one about a creative writing class debate between fucking and making love, and this other one i forget the title but it's a sweet little poem about his wife's belief that crows travel in threes and his skepticism.
the panels- the panels were mostly geared toward fiction and non-fiction writers, and they were at ten in the morning, prime time for rolling out of bed and taking a shower. so i only attended the very last panel entitled, A Life in Poetry. This was interesting but also a relative waste of time. they just seemed like very rote, surfacey questions that i've heard a hundred times. maybe if better questions had been posed it would be different. well here's a small sampling of some of the questions. Why don't you take this quiz and see if you are fit for and/or already living "A Life in Poetry."
1. What keeps you going?
a) Bad writing
b) A big cup of coffee and a tingling in my fingertips
c) Well, the world doesn't demand poetry, it's not a hot commodity, so at some level I write because I am compelled to.
d) The ideal of poetry changing lives and changing the world. Poetry can end war.
e) That beautiful and haunting, at once stale and crisp, aroma of cash.
2. What do you do when you get writer's block?
a) There's no such thing as writer's block.
b) I broaden the scope of my reading.
c) I drive a nail through my cheek, pour acid on my leg, anything to inflict pain upon myself because all poetry stems from pain and tragedy.
d) You know someone once asked William Stafford about this and he replied with three words, "lower your standard."
e) All of the above.
3. What motivates your writing?
a) Bad writing.
b) The ideal of poetry changing lives and changing the world. Poetry can end war.
c) You know, I keep journals lying around and I like to keep up with what's current in the media.
d) I drive a nail through my cheek, pour acid on my leg, anything to inflict pain upon myself because all poetry stems from pain and tragedy.
e) That beautiful and haunting, at once stale and crisp, aroma of cash.
4. When you are just starting out as a writer, how do you keep your poetry from imitating your influences too much?
a) All artists learn from and imitate the masters. If you are a classical musician you might learn from bach and beethoven. You shouldn't shy away from incorporating those influences.
b) I broaden the scope of my reading.
c) I find the more you consciously try to imitate a writer, the more that writing is your own and vice versa.
d) When I was just starting out, I didn't care what my poetry imitated, so long as it was praised and published.
e) All of the above.
5i. When you write a book, do you conceive of the entire concept at once or piece it together?
a) Conceive of the entire concept.
b) Piece it together.
5ii. Why?
a) I don't think I've ever figured out the entire concept for a book from the beginning.
b) The concept keeps changing on me, so I don't figure things out until I feel like I have 80% of it done.
c) Because I am a poet.
d) I think piecing things together at the end is a sign of laziness. No real poet approaches a book without an idea.
e) Because Billy Collins does it that way and look where it's gotten him.
6. When did you first start referring to yourself as a poet?
a) After my first book came out.
b) When I became a teacher to support my craft.
c) I always ask my creative writing classes, how many poets do we have, and no one raises their hands. Then I have to explain, look, if you've written a poem, you are a poet.
d) After I graduated with my MA/MFA/PhD.
e) Tomorrow.
See how you did in my next post!
after a strict diet of panels, readings, workshops and more readings, i can safely say i have sated my "hunger" for a writing conference. it's been a good week with moderately bad food. dining hall fare is really rather atrocious. plenty of fake cheese every day of the week. for instance: cheese pizza every day of the week, tuesday - macaroni and cheese (not cheddar..think no name brand velveeta), wednesday - cheesy fiesta rice (same cheese), thursday - broccoli cheese and rice casserole (same cheese), friday - mozzerella sticks (different cheese, but i think equally disgusting). those are the things i didnt eat.
but i didnt come here for the meal plan, so on to a critique of the real thing.
the workshop- i have to give our last minute instructor bruce bond huge "props" (i dont feel comfortable using that word without quotation marks) for taking on the class with very little notice and keeping with the theme that li young lee had set out to tackle. li young lee's was Poetry and the Mind of God. bruce bond altered that a little to Poetry and the Unspeakable. So we still talked about the conscious/unconscious/psyche but in a more romantic vein. i imagine lyl would have approached it in a colder manner if that makes any sense. Even though my work, i think, could not even sit beside the shade that the Romantic umbrella casts, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions and analysis of a few classic poems. Also, in the same way that i appreciate the experimental/languagey sensibilities that john brings to his reading of my work, i found bruce's reading of my poems to be helpful and often insightul of a different direction for the work to take. so that was good. as for the other workshop participants, i dont want to sound snooty, but i found their suggestions to be less helpful. the other participants came from a variety of backgrounds, skill levels and aesthetics. the class was split evenly in terms of age, about half were middle aged and the other half, in their early/mid twenties. there were some undergrads, some in low-res mfa programs and some stay at home moms. based on their suggestions, i felt like they were where i was at a couple of years ago. they wanted obvious poems. every last detail spelled out. i've been moving away from over explaining things. so to a lot of their suggestions, i would just smile and nod, and make "no" exclamations in my head.
readings- unfortunately, i did not attend all of the many many readings that were made available to us. there were so many crammed into a tight schedule, it was hard to figure out when we would have time to write. the most enjoyable readings: sean doolittle - a pulpy fiction, cop and crime stories guy, was an entertaining reader. plus, they dont call it pulp for nothing. and stephen dunn - he read stuff old and new and it was thoroughly engaging. i guess just like any reading, he really gave life and character to his poems. my two favorites of the night were oldies, Decorum - the one about a creative writing class debate between fucking and making love, and this other one i forget the title but it's a sweet little poem about his wife's belief that crows travel in threes and his skepticism.
the panels- the panels were mostly geared toward fiction and non-fiction writers, and they were at ten in the morning, prime time for rolling out of bed and taking a shower. so i only attended the very last panel entitled, A Life in Poetry. This was interesting but also a relative waste of time. they just seemed like very rote, surfacey questions that i've heard a hundred times. maybe if better questions had been posed it would be different. well here's a small sampling of some of the questions. Why don't you take this quiz and see if you are fit for and/or already living "A Life in Poetry."
1. What keeps you going?
a) Bad writing
b) A big cup of coffee and a tingling in my fingertips
c) Well, the world doesn't demand poetry, it's not a hot commodity, so at some level I write because I am compelled to.
d) The ideal of poetry changing lives and changing the world. Poetry can end war.
e) That beautiful and haunting, at once stale and crisp, aroma of cash.
2. What do you do when you get writer's block?
a) There's no such thing as writer's block.
b) I broaden the scope of my reading.
c) I drive a nail through my cheek, pour acid on my leg, anything to inflict pain upon myself because all poetry stems from pain and tragedy.
d) You know someone once asked William Stafford about this and he replied with three words, "lower your standard."
e) All of the above.
3. What motivates your writing?
a) Bad writing.
b) The ideal of poetry changing lives and changing the world. Poetry can end war.
c) You know, I keep journals lying around and I like to keep up with what's current in the media.
d) I drive a nail through my cheek, pour acid on my leg, anything to inflict pain upon myself because all poetry stems from pain and tragedy.
e) That beautiful and haunting, at once stale and crisp, aroma of cash.
4. When you are just starting out as a writer, how do you keep your poetry from imitating your influences too much?
a) All artists learn from and imitate the masters. If you are a classical musician you might learn from bach and beethoven. You shouldn't shy away from incorporating those influences.
b) I broaden the scope of my reading.
c) I find the more you consciously try to imitate a writer, the more that writing is your own and vice versa.
d) When I was just starting out, I didn't care what my poetry imitated, so long as it was praised and published.
e) All of the above.
5i. When you write a book, do you conceive of the entire concept at once or piece it together?
a) Conceive of the entire concept.
b) Piece it together.
5ii. Why?
a) I don't think I've ever figured out the entire concept for a book from the beginning.
b) The concept keeps changing on me, so I don't figure things out until I feel like I have 80% of it done.
c) Because I am a poet.
d) I think piecing things together at the end is a sign of laziness. No real poet approaches a book without an idea.
e) Because Billy Collins does it that way and look where it's gotten him.
6. When did you first start referring to yourself as a poet?
a) After my first book came out.
b) When I became a teacher to support my craft.
c) I always ask my creative writing classes, how many poets do we have, and no one raises their hands. Then I have to explain, look, if you've written a poem, you are a poet.
d) After I graduated with my MA/MFA/PhD.
e) Tomorrow.
See how you did in my next post!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
nebraska.
hot corn.
after what can only be described as one of the least efficient days of travel, i arrived in lincoln ne, safe and sound.
to document the inefficiencies of the day, the following:
fly out of sacramento 6:30am (Pacific)
arrive in minneapolis 11:30am (Central)
go standby on a flight going into omaha, departing 12:56pm (Central)
arrive in omaha, ne 1:56pm (Central)
catch a shuttle into lincoln 3:00pm ???
NOPE. 3:00pm shuttle is cancelled.
wait in the omaha airport until 5:00pm
arrive in lincoln via shuttle 6:30pm
settle into my "dorm" 7:00pm
NOTE: registration was from 4:00-6:00 and dinner was from 6:15 - 7:15 scramble desperately to find my group arrive at the dinner 7:10pm
catch up with the group in time for workshop 7:15
workshop
buy dinner 9:30pm
eat dinner in dorm and wait for internet. 10:30pm
the best parts of my day:
spotting "The Governator" shirts with pics of Arnold on t-shirts at the newsstand in Sacramento, while waiting at the security checkpoint. Available in Black, White, Grey, and Pink.
even weirder: all of the ones for sale said "The Governator" but one of the grey ones on display said "The Govenator" TYPO!
sitting next to Betsy McT and her daughter Ruby on the flight from Minneapolis to Omaha. She was a real artsy lady. From Brooklyn. We talked and talked, even though I dont usually talk to people on the plane. I found out she was really good friends with Tricia Sheehan-Currans who writes mostly fiction, but is also the managing editor of the Briar Cliff Review out in Sioux City, IA. Anyway, she said that I should send some work to TSC and that I should mention in the cover letter that I bumped into her good friend Betsy on a flight from wherever to wherever. So, you know what I will be doing come August 1st (the beginning of their reading period).
Arriving late to workshop - hot, sweaty and panty from walking seven and a half blocks, uphill in humid and hotness.
what lies ahead?
a deposit.
sleep.
breakfast.
meeting like minded folk.
writing & writing!
more from the land of hot cows and hot corn in the days to come.
after what can only be described as one of the least efficient days of travel, i arrived in lincoln ne, safe and sound.
to document the inefficiencies of the day, the following:
fly out of sacramento 6:30am (Pacific)
arrive in minneapolis 11:30am (Central)
go standby on a flight going into omaha, departing 12:56pm (Central)
arrive in omaha, ne 1:56pm (Central)
catch a shuttle into lincoln 3:00pm ???
wait in the omaha airport until 5:00pm
arrive in lincoln via shuttle 6:30pm
settle into my "dorm" 7:00pm
catch up with the group in time for workshop 7:15
workshop
buy dinner 9:30pm
eat dinner in dorm and wait for internet. 10:30pm
the best parts of my day:
spotting "The Governator" shirts with pics of Arnold on t-shirts at the newsstand in Sacramento, while waiting at the security checkpoint. Available in Black, White, Grey, and Pink.
even weirder: all of the ones for sale said "The Governator" but one of the grey ones on display said "The Govenator" TYPO!
sitting next to Betsy McT and her daughter Ruby on the flight from Minneapolis to Omaha. She was a real artsy lady. From Brooklyn. We talked and talked, even though I dont usually talk to people on the plane. I found out she was really good friends with Tricia Sheehan-Currans who writes mostly fiction, but is also the managing editor of the Briar Cliff Review out in Sioux City, IA. Anyway, she said that I should send some work to TSC and that I should mention in the cover letter that I bumped into her good friend Betsy on a flight from wherever to wherever. So, you know what I will be doing come August 1st (the beginning of their reading period).
Arriving late to workshop - hot, sweaty and panty from walking seven and a half blocks, uphill in humid and hotness.
what lies ahead?
a deposit.
sleep.
breakfast.
meeting like minded folk.
writing & writing!
more from the land of hot cows and hot corn in the days to come.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
waiting for the internet.
waiting for the internet to load pages sometimes makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. i know its because weve become so accustomed to fast things and instant gratification and bobloblaw.
i watched this superb movie today. its been sitting on the coffee table at home for almost 3 weeks now. i got it in the mail the day i arrived back in sacto. and well...lets just saying im not getting the most bang for my buck from netflix. ok the movie.
Little Children
real freakn good. kate winslet. patrick wilson. (he's got that kinda face that makes you say, um he's been in other stuff before. kinda like campbell scott and 6 degrees and dying young...but not really)
remember me?
it captures a good sense of the ennui typically associated with the suburban. the only thing that was a little offputting (sp?) at first was the occasional narration by some omniscient person. it reminded me of stranger than fiction only because thats the last movie i remember seeing with narration like that. but the real movie stuff i enjoyed. its a tad predictable. but i really like suburbia and things that examine it. i liked it so much that i started watching it again after it ended. the only reason why i didn't finish it was because i had to pick my mom up from work.
so put that in your chimney and let it smoke. :)
the broome's call in the middle of the afternoon put a feather in my cap. after talking to insurance agents all morning and early afternoon, it was real nice to catch up and speak in another language. i mean hello.
things i'm looking forward to in the near future and beyond:
the premiere of Rescue Me on FX. tuff problems abound!
doing laundry.
taking a cold cold shower.
successful job search leading to lots and lots of interviews, and one lucky job. (twss)
will traveler? not really. i just think its funny.
i watched this superb movie today. its been sitting on the coffee table at home for almost 3 weeks now. i got it in the mail the day i arrived back in sacto. and well...lets just saying im not getting the most bang for my buck from netflix. ok the movie.
real freakn good. kate winslet. patrick wilson. (he's got that kinda face that makes you say, um he's been in other stuff before. kinda like campbell scott and 6 degrees and dying young...but not really)
it captures a good sense of the ennui typically associated with the suburban. the only thing that was a little offputting (sp?) at first was the occasional narration by some omniscient person. it reminded me of stranger than fiction only because thats the last movie i remember seeing with narration like that. but the real movie stuff i enjoyed. its a tad predictable. but i really like suburbia and things that examine it. i liked it so much that i started watching it again after it ended. the only reason why i didn't finish it was because i had to pick my mom up from work.
so put that in your chimney and let it smoke. :)
the broome's call in the middle of the afternoon put a feather in my cap. after talking to insurance agents all morning and early afternoon, it was real nice to catch up and speak in another language. i mean hello.
things i'm looking forward to in the near future and beyond:
the premiere of Rescue Me on FX. tuff problems abound!
doing laundry.
taking a cold cold shower.
successful job search leading to lots and lots of interviews, and one lucky job. (twss)
will traveler? not really. i just think its funny.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
the park - aka tomato town's non-existent club scene
i went "clubbing" with my sister and some friends yesterday. my first mistake was deciding very early on that i didnt want to get drunk, and then following through, and not getting drunk.
the park is an older scene. lots of mid thirty to fortysomethings. and the music is a tad on the technoey side. lots of cuts of top 40 stuff but never an entire song. and then there's your standard get the older people to dance stuff like i love rock and roll and pour some sugar on me. which are all fine songs but...well, its just such an incongruous scene.
anyway, we get there and eat dinner at this restaurant thats attached to it. i dont remember a dress code or anything. but i wear ok stuff. jeans, t-shirt. and black pumas (new). when we move to get into the club at 9pm because we're there ridiculously early and things dont get hoppin until 11, the guy is like um...we have a strict dress code and we dont allow sneakers. but then hes kinda nice and is like, well you can go in, but i'm just giving you a heads up if the people in there see you they'll probably tell you to leave. you'll be good until 9:30. i didnt get kicked out. but i was very conscious of my shoes and all the bouncery people all night. its not like they were very noticably rubbery or anything. they were all black! i dont get why they'll let in 60year old ladys and some short banditos, and that their dress code doesnt rule out t-shirts, but they are 100% N-O on runners.
it makes me miss the backer a lot a lot.
its getting really hot in sacramento. it was 96 today. and no breeze. and how come there arent any good movies out? and how come i never remember to watch will traveler?
i played chinese chess with my mom tonight. not to be confused with chinese checkers. i lost. it was a good brain tickling time. my sister went to 2nd saturday, this art walk thing around town. sklip skloop.
Friday, June 8, 2007
ringette?
when i first moved to canadia i wanted to play hockey. but they didnt have hockey for girls. and i wasnt good enough to join a boys team. i mean, i had taken regular ice skating lessons but had no concept of real hockey skills. if i really wanted to join a boys team i could have probably played on a team with 5 year olds...i was 11. but i didnt play with boys. i saw girls playing this sport that pretty much looked like hockey. and thats how i was swept into the world of ringette. hmm...i had to go to the league president's house where her daughter showed me all the equipment i would need. she giggled when she pulled out the "jill" which was this tiny piece of padding akin to a boys "jock."
anyway, i played ringette for 3 years before they came out with a girls hockey team.
i was really good my first year because i was playing in the house league. and then in my 2nd year, i played for the rep team, which was full of girls who had all been playing since bunnies (5 and 6 years) and they were real cocky and bitchy like um, can you skate faster? and no one wanted to be my partner when we had to do passing drills because i sucked. and then in my third year, well...i started hating ringette. and i would pretend that i was sick for practices. but then i felt bad for not going to practice but only showing up for games, so i stopped showing up to games too. i think i missed half the season. but i was on a good team and we won a few tournaments. and then girls hockey arrived and i was all ringette what?
period.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
the old blog...and new ringtones.
so i found that old blog from a long time ago. it looks like i started it in 2004 which makes sense because that was the year i was bored out of my mind - just graduated, working at the furniture store and waiting to hear about grad school - sounds freakishly similar to what i'm doing now...which i guess explains why i've started blogging again? hmm...an interesting pattern.
mclychee.blogspot.com - to read about my 3 year old insecurities and preoccupations. i also apparently figured out how to post pictures back then. i'll have to re-figure that out.
i am now a proud owner of a super wicked cool gold razr. i cradle it gently in my palm and slide it ever so carefully into my pocket all the time. in about a week i'm sure it'll be all scratched up. but i miss my old CHiPs ringtone. and the peanuts one that would only go when my sister called. now i just have the lame cingular ring. (by the way did anyone notice that cingular has become AT&T again?!) of course i cant transfer the sweet ring over and i cant find it either. it makes me a little sad.
on a super awesome note, i gave in to the media bundle which gives me a zillion text messages a month (read 400) so start texting me to make it worth my money.
erm...erm.
mclychee.blogspot.com - to read about my 3 year old insecurities and preoccupations. i also apparently figured out how to post pictures back then. i'll have to re-figure that out.
i am now a proud owner of a super wicked cool gold razr. i cradle it gently in my palm and slide it ever so carefully into my pocket all the time. in about a week i'm sure it'll be all scratched up. but i miss my old CHiPs ringtone. and the peanuts one that would only go when my sister called. now i just have the lame cingular ring. (by the way did anyone notice that cingular has become AT&T again?!) of course i cant transfer the sweet ring over and i cant find it either. it makes me a little sad.
on a super awesome note, i gave in to the media bundle which gives me a zillion text messages a month (read 400) so start texting me to make it worth my money.
erm...erm.
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