Andrea Beltran: Poet Tree

Tip Jar for Writers

2012-02-28T08:00:00.003-08:00

I came across this post via Random House's Twitter yesterday: 105 Writing Tips from Professional Writers. It's brimming with advice for the beginning writer, the writer facing "writer's block," fiction writing and poetry, and even lifelong learning.

A new favorite tip of mine is one from Margaret Atwood: "A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason."

Do you have a new favorite from this list? What about a tip to add to it?

Circling...

2012-02-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

The poem I've selected for the week is Ed Roberson's "As at the Far Edge of Circling." I'm reading a book of Roberson's poems this month and while his work is quite different from the poetry I normally read, I am enjoying this little reprieve from the usual, and I find some of his poems take me into a dream-like state...

I'm going to be away from the blogosphere this week, but I'm sending positive thoughts for a lovely week to all! I look forward to seeing everyone and reading your blogs soon.

What does this week hold for you? What writing is speaking to you most right now?

Smile, Andrea

Fill Your Paper...

2012-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart" - William Wordsworth

This is exactly what Karen Gielen has done...Just see the incredible creations she's been sending through the mail to me during this month of letters. I'm in awe of her! And I'm so happy to have her as my pen pal!

I'm going to drink a mug of her "Creativi-tea" every day! Which one speaks to you the most? Have you received anything that inspires you through the mail during this month of letters?

The Portable Poetry Workshop: Connecting Content - Thematic Shapes of Poems

2012-02-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

Pen and Paper by mlpdesign via Flickr

I know poems have shapes. I've even seen a poem about a rabbit crafted in the shape of a carrot in forum for an online class I was taking. People can get creative with their forms, certainly, but I've never thought about a poem being organized in a thematic shape.

While I don't think a lot of poems are crafted with this in mind, I find it interesting to observe poems with a possible thematic shape in mind. Jack states that in some poems, "the poet's aesthetic sense and the perceptions stemming from the topic create the organizing principle that composes the poem's thematic shape."

The end of the chapter offers writing exercises according to both argumentative and natural shapes. I've shared one from each below along with the example Jack offers:

Argumentative Shapes - Centripetal
Holding the thesis of your poem in mind, associate images, scenes, and tropes located outside the immediate situation but whose connotations move the material inward toward the unstated central thesis.
An example of this shape is Louis Simpson's "The Silent Piano."

Natural Shapes - Circular
In your closure, return to the same idea that your opining lines suggest, but do so as an "enriched restatement." An example of this shape is one of my favorite poems, Mark Strand's "Keeping Things Whole."

--

And now, because it is Valentine's Day, a centrifugal thematic shaped poem (I think): The Meaning of Zero: A Love Poem by Amy Uyematsu.

Do you have a favorite Valentine's or Anti-Valentine's Day poem or story?

So Emotional

2012-02-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Whitney Houston is gone. Every time I turn on the television and see the news, I can't help but think it isn't real. I'm stunned.

One of the first songs I remember falling in love with is "So Emotional." Whenever one of my good friends and I heard this song come on the radio while hanging out at her grandmother's pool on a hot afternoon, we immediately began screaming out the song with our squeaky little voices trying to compete with Whitney's. No one can compete with her. Music won't be the same without her.

The poem I've selected for this week is in tribute to Whitney: "The Role of Elegy" by Mary Jo Bang.

May her soul rest in peace and her family and loved ones find healing and peace in their hearts after their tragic loss.

What memories does Whitney Houston evoke for you? What was your favorite song of hers?

---

Some other links I thought I'd share:

An inspiring article on working toward success by Dan Blank: "Being a Success, Without Being a Bestseller"

Many of us can relate with this question: "Can there be a day to celebrate failure?"Read an excerpt from Paige Taggart's poem "Get Your Slip On" via The The Poetry

Are you as crazy about Pinterest? (It has become a bad, bad habit for me!) Check out these boards for book-lovers! And if you have any others you follow and would like to share, please let me know!

Super Bowl Observations

2012-02-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

The Giants were victorious against the Patriots this past Saturday! Super Bowl XLVI drew a record-breaking 111.3 million viewers. Some people don't care for football, some people shed tears at the end of the season. I'm not going to go all sports-fanatic-crazy on you, I just want to share three things from my Super Bowl experience this year:

1. I've written in the past about football and writing. I think athletes are similar to writers in many ways. Eli Manning is the perfect example. He's long been in the shadow of his older brother and is largely ignored by sports media. Does it look like it bothers him one bit? No. He's just there to play the game he loves. He works to perfect his game, ignoring the naysayers. He's never given up, no matter the pressure. He's at every practice and every game, no matter the weather or other obstacles he may face. He is like the writer. Doing something he or she loves. Dedicated, no matter what anyone says, no matter the lack of recognition for your talents, you know the drill. The underdog didn't give up. Neither should the writer. Eli received the MVP award for this Super Bowl. There's an MVP award waiting for the writer who doesn't accept defeat.

2. I wasn't all to impressed by the commercials this year. A handful made me chuckle. The Ferris Bueller tease made me wish there were a sequel coming up in the near future. I was disappointed by every other commercial portraying the woman as merely a sex object, and I lost count of how many women in bikinis or underwear I saw. But then there was the Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial that set everything right. And for that, I am thanking a poet.

3. And we can't overlook Madonna's halftime show. Madge looks like she hasn't aged one bit since the early 90's. My grandmother couldn't help but comment on her appearance either, and it made for the quote of the night: "She sure is pretty, but I bet you she can't cook like we can." As soon as she said this, she gave my grandfather, then my husband, a good stare down. There's always hoping, Grandma! ;)

Did you watch the Superbowl? Why or why not? Anything you did instead?

You Are Not Connected to the Internet. ?

2012-02-07T09:18:00.001-08:00

Below is the screen I stare at this morning (because the Blogger app doesn't want to allow me to insert it above.) After months of battling with my Internet provider over poor service, I changed providers. My appointment for new installation was yesterday and we all know how this usually goes, unfortunately.

Because I work from home, I am at the mercy of said Internet providers and sometimes I feel as if they're conspiring against me. Rather than let negativity and piling papers plague my day, I'm seeing the light at the end of this tunnel, even if it's just a fleck.

What does this mean? Tackling some much procrastinated about revisions and working on an idea for a poem that hatched yesterday.

Not being connected to the Internet is keeping me from all the usual distractions to my writing. Today I'm grateful for this screen.

Do you shut down the computer to allow yourself more time to work on what you love? Do you feel the lure of the Internet takes away from or contributes to your productivity?

Consider the Hands that Write This Letter and Other Good Finds Sunday

2012-02-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

The poem for this week is Aracelis Girmay's "Consider the Hands that Write This Letter." I find it pairs well with this past week's welcoming of the Month of Letters. Above are two postcards from the incredibly talented Karen Gielen. She's sending me inspiration through the mail!

A few other good finds this week:

If you're in need of a good writing subject, this just might trigger some inspiration: Rare Albino Hummingbird Spotted in Virginia.

Speaking about inspiration, I know it's silly, but somehow Ryan Gosling is now a Literary Agent on Twitter and he's fantastic at romancing the writer to write (and daydream a little)!

A different way to revise one's writing certainly caught my attention while reading an interview with Anne McGovern posted in flashquake's "Five Question Friday" blog feature.

The world may have lost Wislawa Szymborska but her wise writing will forever live on. Case in point, her poem "The Joy of Writing." May she rest in peace.

And lastly, if you are participating in the Month of Letters, Spotify created a playlist for your letter writing.

How has your week been? Any good reading or writing? And who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl if you're watching, or perhaps being forced to watch? For me, it's Eli Manning and The Giants all the way!

Best wishes for a beautiful Sunday, Andrea

Time For Yourself, Postcards, and More Postcards

2012-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Just a few postcards today...

Some observations for today, and I guess we can call them lunch observations since I did all this during my lunch break:

1. It's important to schedule time or yourself, even if you don't feel you're in need of any. I work from home and only interact with people via phone or email so it can get a little glum in my office now and then. So, I took myself to lunch today and decided I'm going to do it once a week. Even if it's just for my tried-and-true tuna sandwich smothered in green chiles and avocado.

2. Who knew postcards could become an obsession? Yikes. I'm participating in the Month of Letters and putting a little poetry spin on it. Short poems on postcards. I'm enjoying picking out poems to go with the image on them. So far, I've sent out "Green Striped Melons" by Jane Hirshfield and "Michiko Nogami (1946-1982)" by Jack Gilbert. I can't wait for the weekend!

3. In my search for postcards, it seems no one really carries them anymore. I got lucky that one of the Barnes & Noble stores in my city still has a few on the rack, but they're not stocking them anymore. (Too late I found this out after driving to the other store across town in hopes of a more plentiful rack.) I went to another small bookstore with no luck, then even made my way to Hallmark, but they've discontinued them as well. Why? These perfect little cards say so much with just one image. Are postcards dead? Am I going to have to start making my own?

4. The mark of a productive day is a chocolate smudge from a York peppermint patty on your keyboard, at least it is for me today.

How has your day been? What does the mark of a productive day look like to you? And if you know of a good place to buy postcards besides Amazon, will you let me know? Please and thank you!

Smile, Andrea

The Portable Poetry Workshop: Connecting Content - Triggering Words

2012-01-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

"Spring" by Dani via Flickr

Triggering words open up new opportunities for content and direction in our writing. As Jack Myers says, these words can act as "a semantic springboard that uncoils enough upward lift to give the poem new momentum." Such words can elevate theme, create or extend a metaphor's matrix, or even determine and/or lift a plot point.

The many different elements of just one word have the power to transform a poem. Have you ever had a word or series of words act as a spring for your writing? What it the sonic or the connotative quality of the word that set your pen on the page to either write a new piece or revise and old one, or was it something else?

Let's work on one of these exercises today:

From Jack's conclusion of this section for revision: Triggering riff - Choose a detail, image, or action in your poem, and then improvise a series of associated images, details, or actions.

Triggering word - chose a word that appeals to you in your reading today and write down other images, actions, and situations that you can associate with this word. Weave a poem from what you've written and allow the poem to end with the word you've selected.

I've been attracted to the words "safety pin" and "pencil" lately. What about you?

The Unexpected Day Off and Other Good Finds Sunday

2012-01-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

Via Public Domain Photos on Flickr

My poem for this week is Alberto Ríos' delightful "We Dogs of a Thursday Off." What do you like to do on an unexpected day off?

Robert Lee Brewer wrote up an inspiring blog post about Twitter as fodder for our creative writing.

Speaking of generating some new writing, Diane Lockward offers an abundance of ideas for "When You Have No Ideas of Your Own." Are there other places you look to for writing inspiration?

Bethany Suckrow shares "Mingus at the Showplace" this week on her blog and reminds us that in our technology-riddled days, "radio hasn't died, and neither has poetry."

Have you heard about Findings? Reading's social side is ready to have a party.

Because I am hungry as I'm writing this blog, and also salivating while thinking of all the yummy things I'll be cooking up in the kitchen for our family night, I thought I'd include this recipe for making brownies out of cake mix. A couple of weeks back, I had a strawberry brownie I've been dreaming of ever since.

What do you have going on? Reading? Writing? Other simple pleasures?

Wishing you joy this week! Andrea

P.S. If you haven't read about the Month of Letters yet, I'd love to send you something through the mail in the month of February. I'm forgoing email for the handwritten note for 24 days.

Month of Letters and Poetry

2012-01-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Via Flickr by pocius

It's rare we receive handwritten letters or postcards through the mail anymore. I try to make an effort to send out hand-written thank-you notes every chance I get. Outside of that, everything is electronic right down to the bills. But I still love the hand-written note...

Yesterday, I came across link to Mary Robinette Kowal's blog via mediabistro featuring a Month of Letters Challenge. I want to participate and invite you to join me! The rules are simple:

1. During the month of February, send one item (letter, postcard, etc.) through the mail each day it runs. (24 items total.)

2. Respond to everyone who sends you something through the mail and this can count as one of your items sent.

I'm going to mix it up just a little. I'm going to send postcards with favorite poems and a small note in closing.

My friend Rachel Bunting raised her hand to participate and featured this same article on her blog to further the invitation along. She's also included a nice video of PJ Harvey advocating for letter writing.

Who else will I have the pleasure of sending a postcard to? Please say you. :)

P.S. If you would like to participate, please send me your address via email to drebelle81@gmail.com.

Happy writing, Andrea

Letter to My Writer Self

2012-01-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

Photo from Flickr - redcargurl

Back in December, I shared Jodi Picoult's essay "To My 16-year-old Self." I read it again this morning for some inspiration...mainly because I am contemplating a significant change in my life that hinges upon my writing. It got me thinking about composing a letter to my writer self, and I think I am going to make this an annual thing.

--

Dear Me,

Too many times you've stepped away from your writing out of fear. Even when you've had friends and an incredible mentor encouraging you. Even now you wish you could get all that time back. But you can't.

What you can do is focus on today. What can you do today? And what will you do tomorrow? Are you reading not just for fun but to improve your craft? Are you writing even when you don't feel like writing? Are you submitting even though your hand still shakes a little before finally clicking on that "send" or "submit" button? You should be. You'd better be. Because if you aren't, you already know you're going to regret it.

Remember that quote by Paulo Coelho you have etched inside all your journals? "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams..." Yes, you've written and read it enough that it should be etched in your mind every day.

You've already done so much in a year. You can't stop now. You're barely picking up steam.

Don't let this be something you relate to later on in life: "An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man's existence." - Honore de Balzac.

Write, write, then write some more. Read, edit, read, edit, and then write some more. You can do it. One word at a time. With everyone believing in you, you can't not believe in yourself.

--

What would you tell your writer self?

Poem Share and Other Good Finds Sunday/Monday

2012-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

The poem I've selected for this week is Francisco X. Alarcón's "To Those Who Have Lost Everything" and I'm pairing it with the article below.

"Artists React to Mexico's Drug War With Music and Poetry" by Betty Arcos in NPR. Growing up and now again living in a border city, I feel the issues discussed in this article touch upon a familiar reality: violence on the border remains a mute point in today's media. I'm with Lili Downs in hoping "No evil can last a hundred years."

I posted Perpetual Follies' 2012 Pushcart Prize Rankings last week. Here is an article in Luna Park from Travis Kurowski that offers a different perspective: "Is Something Missing from the Pushcart Prize?" What are your thoughts?

Diane Lockward guides us in deciphering when a poem is ready to send out into the world. When do you feel your writing is ready to submit?

If you read anything this week, please read this touching story about stories "passing back through the heart" by Natalia Sylvester on her blog: "The Difference Between Recording and Remembering."

Come across any good reading this past week? What's on your desk for this week?

Wishing you a week full of wonder, Andrea

Four Comforts After My Husband's Surgery

2012-01-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

My husband underwent surgery yesterday morning that will hopefully result in our beginning a family soon. The day was nerve-wracking and I don't know what I was thinking not taking the day off work (you know how Murphy's Law goes) but it ended with my being grateful for many things. Four stand out from the crowd:

1. We always know at some point in our lives, we tend to take the small things for granted. I try not to do this but the demands of work and life in general somehow sometimes overshadow the importance of these small yet essential things. Like how much time you enjoy spending with your husband on a daily basis. And how much he really helps around the house. Quiet time is nice, but too much quiet time, well, it's lonely, and I can't wait to have my husband back to his normal, jovial self.

2. Someone taking the time to come and sit with you at the hospital helps so much. Even though you pack a book or your laptop with you, these activities don't really distract you all that much when trying not to worry. Having someone to talk to, to wait out time with you, and help after surgery means more than most of us realize until we have it happen to us. I promise I will pay it forward. I'm blessed to have Tim's mom as my mother-in-law. The surprise of her face in the waiting room was and always will be a welcome one.

3. Chicken noodle soup is a staple after surgery. For the patient and for the caretaker. Even though I was beyond tired, I didn't want to leave Tim at the house by himself, and thank goodness I go a little crazy with vegetables at the grocery store and always have a surplus of chicken stock, pasta, and wine, because I had just what I needed to make my very first pot of chicken noodle soup. Yes, it was delicious. Tim lapped it up and was happy. I was even happier because after a stressful day, I felt as if I was seven again, sitting at my Grandma's kitchen table, enjoying a steaming hot bowl of feel good without a worry in the world.

4. A book is always a nice little escape from reality. I lost myself in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins last night. It was past my bedtime, but all I wanted to do was read one chapter. Just one. And then another flew by, and then this paragraph:

In late summer, I was wasting up in a pond when I noticed the plants growing around me. Tall with leaves like arrowheads. Blossoms with three white petals. I knelt down in the water, my fingers digging into the soft mud, and I pulled up handfuls of the roots...

What comforts does today bring you? What small things are your grateful for today?

The Portable Poetry Workshop: Connecting Content - Syntactical Transitions

2012-01-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

In this section, Jack Myers presents the poet as architect and illustrates the various methods one can employ in making connections and "building" a poem. There is hypotaxis, in which "the ordering of content proceeds through conventional forms of logic and the conventions of syntax, grammar, and language as a medium, and there is parataxis (or juxtaposition), which is "based more on the unconscious, associative kinds of connections."

More important than the technical descriptions and examples presented in this section is Myers' asking the reader to imagine a sign over the writer's "workshop" engraved with the timeless quote, "Writing is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration." He then offers a competing quote of John Keats', "If poetry comes not as naturally as leaves to the tree then it had better not come at all."

Instead of focusing on the architecture of a poem in this post, I want to focus on the inspiration behind the architect. What does the sign hanging over your "workshop" read? Does a poem/story/work of art build itself in your workshop or do you build it?

Poem Share and Other Good Finds Sunday

2012-01-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

I love mail! New reading material...

The poem for this week is "Changing Genres" and comes from a book I am about to start reading, Dean Young's Fall Higher. I thought the mail would never arrive! There are other poems from his book included at this link. Which one is your favorite?

The Washington Post brimmed with great stuff this week. "Is poetry dead? Or, in the age of the Internet, does it offer us what nothing else can?" The photo gallery heading this post is a must-see. What does poetry bring to your life?

Clifford Garstang's 2012 Pushcart Prize Rankings for Poetry are out. He also compiles rankings on fiction and non-fiction.

An eloquent essay on poetry and its shifts of focus in life is Roya Hakakian's "A Revolution On The Page: Finding Identity in Poetry" and includes "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke.

There is a new eBook Anthology of Contemporary Women's Poetry out. Read about Fire on Her Tongue on Diane Lockward's blog.

And last but not least, give yourself two minutes of joy by watching this video: The Joy of Books. What book would you want to see dancing along the shelves in this video?

Oh, and one last thing, the Winter issue of Rose & Thorn Journal came out this morning! I'm humbled to have two poems "Affair" and "Flying Ant" in their line up along with my friend Jill Klein's wonderful pair of poems "Migraine" and "Midnight Music."

Wishing you happiness in your week, Andrea

Penelope's Corner: Cheers to Rain and Turtles

2012-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

Penelope and her Red Umbrella

My Goddaughter Penelope is the source of inspiration for today's post. Children are the truest reflection of the world and they fill it with hope, wonder, and spirit. Three things I learned from Penelope this week:

1. Don't be afraid to go out in the rain. That's why umbrellas exist. Rain takes on many forms in life and it's just like death and taxes in that you can always count on it coming around at some time or another.

2. There is always time to say, "Cheers." Raise your glass and say it as much and with as many as you can. You don't need a special occasion for it. The moment you're in is the special occasion. Cheers!

3. This one needs a preface: Nicole (Penelope's beautiful mother) and I took a trip to Hobby Lobby the other night because she wanted to buy some beads and other accessories to make Penelope a bracelet for Valentine's Day. While we waited to check out, Nicole eyed a little turtle you could "grow" in water and decided she wanted one for Penelope. Penelope named the turtle "Shrek" and curiously eyed him as Nicole placed him in a bowl of water while explaining to Penelope that "Shrek" was now sleeping and would grow to full-size over the next couple of days. You could sense her anticipation. Throughout the evening, she kept asking to see the turtle. The next day, Nicole told me Penelope kept wanting to see "Shrek" all night long. The moral I gleaned from this story: Too often we are so busy with our lives, we forget the importance of watching life grow and the joy that can come witnessing the every day.

What or who has inspired you this week?

A poem for you today: "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes

Achieving Depth

2012-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

In a profile of Jack Gilbert, "The Ghost Inside," Sarah Manguso asks the poet what he feels is "the most important thing a poet must seek" to which he replied, "Depth and warmth."

Do you agree with Gilbert, and if so, how do you go about trying to seek these and hope they follow through in your writing?

Is there something else you feel is vital for a poet or writer to seek as well?

I'll close this post with one of my favorite poems from Gilbert, Failing and Flying.

Poem Share and Other Good Finds Sunday

2012-01-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

The poem I've selected for the week is "Poppies" by Jennifer Grotz. I came across the link to this poem along with a nice introduction by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Paris Review. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. My favorite lines in the poem are:

when the moths perch on the white walls,
tiny as a fingernail to large as a Gerbera daisyand take turns agitating around the light.

What does this poem say to you? Any favorite lines?

Other good finds of note this week are:

Today is Elvis Presley's birthday! Happy birthday, Elvis! Are You Lonesome Tonight? I'll keep you company. ;)

I'm a big fan of The New York Times' "Poetry Pairing" series. This week Jill Alexander Essbaum's poem "Precipice" is paired with a philosophy blog and a painting about time. Is there anything else you can think to pair with it?

A friend of mine, Jill Klein, has a lovely poem out in the new issue of Grey Sparrow: "My Breasts are A-okay." I love the sound in this poem!

Goodreads is holding a 2012 Reading Challenge. How many books will you pledge to read this year? I'm shooting for 64.

A funny comic for the week shared by Richard Fenwick via his Twitter account: Chicken Poetry by Doug Savage

How does your week look? Wishing you an inspiring one!

Grandma on Family, Excess, and House Work

2012-01-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Grandma (in her favorite color) and Me

I'm happy to revisit my lunch observations/Grandma's advice posts this year. My grandmother is in her eighties now and I realize how precious this time I have with her is. All the years I've had her in my life have been a blessing, only now I am able to fully appreciate them how I should. And being in her eighties, she is a little spitfire and not afraid to speak her mind to anyone but she's also the sweetest woman I know. (Well, my mom and her are tied.)

She wanted a Whataburger Jr. (a Texas staple) for lunch today. She always says she doesn't want fries but I know she secretly hopes I order some because almost on every occasion, she finishes mine...Now, on to the advice, and in her words:

1. I don't care who it is that ever asks you if you get along with such and such family member, be it in-laws or your own family, even if you don't care one bit for them, you always lie and say, "Yes." Except for your own family, and then you can admit it if you trust them. (I got a good chuckle out of this one!)

2. Too much is just too much. OF ANYTHING. And only YOU can know when that is. Right? You KNOW. (This also made me laugh, as we were talking about all the traffic on the roads and somehow this made her think about other things she didn't mention, and I think it is applicable to too many things.)

3. A woman needs someone to help her around the house. I don't care what anyone says. You can't do it all by yourself and if your husband doesn't want to help you, then you don't feed him. That will shape him up.

Whose advice do you look forward to and cherish in your life? What is the most memorable piece of advice you've ever received? In my case, Grandma's second rule for the day doesn't apply when it comes to her advice.

The Portable Poetry Workshop: Connecting Content - Cinematic Techniques

2012-01-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

"Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing." - James Tate

In this section, Jack Myers uses film as a metaphor for poetry, and through identification and explanation of various cinematic techniques such as cuts, visual transitions, alternate views, angles, and movements, one can see how a poem can be a film in its own right and in accordance with Tate's quote above.

I recently read "Jasper, 1998," a trilogy of poems by Saeed Jones. The poems employs a staggering of views from low-angle to bird's eye then returning to low-angle. The movement of these poems are that of a moving shot, "creating a sense of action to, through, and away from a scene." Hear Jones read this poignant and heart-breaking collection of poems. (And I highly recommend purchasing his chapbook When the Only Light is Fire at that same link. It was an incredible read, one still haunting me days after I've read it and I'm sure will continue throughout the year.)

Jack concludes the section by stating that poetry is "one of the most eclectic forms of art since it contains many aspects of the other arts..." What other art do you see most in poetry? What are your favorite techniques to employ?

In closing, here is one of the exercises offered at the end of this section, and since I am heavy into revisions lately, I am going to try this myself tonight:

"Cut shot - Crosscut technique: Next to an event in a poem of yours, juxtapose a simultaneous event that parallels or enhances the original event."

Happy writing! Andrea

P.S. If you like what you've heard from Saeed Jones, please read Jonterri Gadson's interview with him for Eclectica Magazine.

If Every Teardrop is a Waterfall...

2012-01-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

Lots of people are sharing their resolutions on their blogs, which is a great thing and I love reading them, but just in case everyone's resolutions are either spreading you a little thin in the blogosphere, I intend to keep mine short and sweet.

Yes, I make resolutions/goals at the start of the year. They act as my compass throughout the fleeting twelve months. I make two sets: three personal and three professional. This year, I'm adding another set for my writing (poetry) as well as my blog and they seem to go hand-in-hand.

For my writing:

Bring it into FULL focus. Attend a writing workshop in May. Take another online class at some point. Keep researching MFA programs and possibilities. Keep connecting with other writers and continue building my writing community.
Dedicate one hour to writing and one to reading each day. #52poetry will live on in 2012 and I'm adding one novel per month to the mix.
Strengthen my blog, which leads us to...

For my blog:

Blog three times each week. Sundays will be dedicated to a poem for the week along with various reading and writing notes/resources. Tuesdays will be for talking/learning/exploring craft and I will continue to sprinkle in bits of Jack Myers' The Portable Poetry Workshop. Thursday posts will be a tad more personal in nature and will include advice from Grandma/lunch with Grandma and will bring back lunch observations.
Increase readership of other blogs and engage more in conversation. I've found a good handful of blogs I enjoy reading for diverse reasons, but they are all central to writing or poetry in some form or another. I want to keep building upon this community and with you.
This is still up in the air but the wheels in my head are still turning about including a video reading once a month from a fellow poet/writer if they are willing. I've met some incredibly talented people and want to share the writing that inspires/moves me with the rest of you. (Fingers crossed.)

And last but not least, I always pick a song as my motto for the year, so without further ado, I bring you Coldplay's "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall." What are your resolutions and what song would you chose as your motto?

52 Poetry Books on the Wall

2011-12-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2011, a group of us on Twitter made resolutions to read 52 books of poetry this year, as suggested by Larry Lawrence, aka @TheAmericanPoet, and who accomplished his goal. We all followed along using #52poetry and I am happy for the little community we built as we shared the books we were reading and discovered some new poets through recommendations.

And I'm doing it again in 2012! And adding one fiction book a month to the line-up.

Here's my #52poetry list for 2011:

Curses and Wishes by Carl Adamshick
Enter chapbook by Robert Lee Brewer
Escape chapbook by Robert Lee Brewer
Paper House by Jessie Carty
All of Us by Raymond Carver
Flies by Michael Dickman
Lighthead by Terrance Hayes
After by Jane Hirshfield
Come, Thief by Jane Hirshfield
When the Only Light is Fire by Saeed Jones
Neon Vernacular by Yusef Komunyakaa
What Learning Leaves by Taylor Mali
The Memory of Water by Jack Myers
Words Under the Words by Naomi Shihab Nye
Transfer by Naomi Shihab Nye
Ariel by Sylvia Plath

The Colossus by Sylvia Plath

Next Extinct Mammal by Ruben Quesada

Hammerlock by Tim Seibles

Transformations by Anne Sexton
Blizzard of One by Mark Strand

Above the Hum of the Yellow Jackets chapbook Jackets by Carol Stephen
Come On All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder

That's 23 books, and I know I've forgotten a few, but I didn't start keeping a list until mid-year. (I know better for this year.) And I'm currently a quarter of the way through Tess Gallagher's Midnight Lantern.

Also, I read all issues of Poetry Magazine along with a number of excellent literary journals. And I added two new subscriptions for 2012.

What was on your reading list this year? Any favorites? And what is on your list for 2012?

Happy reading, Andrea

Decking the Halls

2011-12-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

As I finish wrapping, decorating, and decking the halls with many other projects, I wanted to offer a "Wrap Up" of sorts for my blog this year.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who visits and reads my blog and graciously offers feedback and insight. You all have enriched my life.

I started a two new traditions this year. One was to keep a daily journal of one thing I appreciate/love about my husband. I am working this week on compiling it all into a book for him just in time for his birthday on the 28th. While it is a gift for him, it was undoubtedly a wonderful gift for myself in that it made me focus on the positive daily. 2011 has been a tough year for us as we have tried to start a family and this journal helped me keep perspective on the incredible man in my life and what we have built together over the past eight years.

We also began a new tradition last night of Christmas light strolling through Eastridge. We bundled up in scarves and gloves, filled the thermos up with tea (we've decided on hot chocolate for next year), and off we went to gaze at all the creative light displays a few neighborhoods away. We even saw a jeep driving through all lit up. I regret not taking my camera!

One tradition that has been going strong for nearly a decade now is baking with my mom on Christmas Eve. We load the CD player with Christmas albums, we pour ourselves some sparkling white wine, and bake the night away. Rum cakes, red velvet cookies, lemon bars, fudge, turtles, the list goes on...It is my favorite way to spend time with my mom. The sweets are endless and so are the memories.

For some book reading: Letras Latinas shared a wonderful blog post on poetry collections published this year by a Latino or Latina poets. My reading list just grew.

For a fun blog reading: A wildly creative person with an equally creative "old school literary yearbook" whose rock band I want to be in.

For inspiration: Jodi Picoult's essay, "To my 16-year-old self" which begins with, "Since everyone is always telling you what's important in life, I'm going to tell you what isn't." One word: Incredible.

What are your holiday traditions? Any you care to start? And what's on your reading list?

I look forward to seeing you all in 2012!

Love, peace, joy and hope to you all, Andrea

Poetry: A Livelihood or a Way of Life

2011-12-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

This week, The The Poetry sent the thought-provoking article "Livelihoods of the Poets" from New York Magazine into my timeline. I had to read it a couple of times to let it sink in.

I'm disappointed to see this article did not include a unit of measure along the lines of "Reward for following poetry (or any other writing) as your passion: PRICELESS," or "Reward for poetry as a way of life: IMMEASURABLE."

What are your thoughts?

What Would Your Snapshot Be?

2011-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a fan of The New York Time's "Poetry Pairing" series. This past week, Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers" was paired up with reader-submitted photographs as a "visual time capsule" of sorts. A creative and admirable pairing, I think.

What photo would you offer for this pairing?

Mine is a photograph of my Godchild Penelope creating her "mini-art" over the weekend. For me, she is a perfect pairing of hope and art in many senses of both words.

Parting with a Book

2011-12-07T08:05:00.001-08:00

A few months ago, I began writing a found poem after each poetry collection I read. It started with Anne Sexton's Transformations and moved on to Naomi Shihab Nye's Transfer along with Jane Hirshfield's Come, Thief. I try to capture my favorite moments within each book and weave them into something for myself and further reflection. It's become my way of letting go of the book, a sweet parting of ways for now.

Currently, I'm on the last chapter of Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. I'm thinking about extending my found poem tradition to fiction books too.

What are you reading right now and what do you do once you've finished with a book?

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

2011-12-02T11:23:00.001-08:00

Mahalo wanted to help decorate the tree by eating ornaments...

The tree is aglow!

Last night, the tree was adorned. This is my favorite part of Christmas decorating. Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey serenaded us from their Christmas albums as we hung ornaments and sipped on spiked Egg Nog.

It's not quite the "glitter-gold" tree I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog, but I sure made a good effort and I love that it glows as brightly as I wanted when purchasing all those iridescent glass ornaments. And I couldn't go without keeping some personal ornaments on there.

Yes, that is an Elvis ornament hanging on the lower left of the tree. There are three to be exact, one that plays "I'll Be Home for Christmas," my favorite Elvis Christmas song. (Ok, ok. They are ALL my "favorite.")

The final touch is always placing the angel atop the tree, the same tree-topper I used to see on my family's tree each year while growing up. I loved her so much, my mom saved her and gifted her to me a few years back. The tree wouldn't be Christmas without her.

How do you like to decorate your tree? Do you have a real tree or an imitation one? What is one thing your tree can't be without?

And I found a lovely poem by Robert Frost for this occasion: Christmas Trees.

Happy decorating!

On Earth As It Is in Heaven

2011-11-29T07:10:00.001-08:00

Today, Jack Myers would have turned 70. Happy Birthday, Jack! So many of us miss you.

I came upon a poem of his this morning I think serves this occasion well: On Earth As It Is in Heaven.

Also, I'm giving away a copy of his The Memory of Water. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up. I can't wait to share this book with someone!

Recycle or Trash Bin?

2011-11-26T12:35:00.001-08:00

I found three poems at the bottom of my duffel bag today. Two of them are unfinished are are destined to remain as such, I think. I may steal a few lines from them at some point. I may just throw them away altogether.

Do you ever experience this? Do you ever look at a poem you've written and think, "Wow, I really need to experience the world a little more and get some new or better writing material"? I think I'm in need of some travel...

Good thing I have poetry to transport me. I'm taking my time with Jane Hirshfield's Come Thief. There are also a few lit mags on my nightstand waiting patiently.

There are four more days to enter to win Jack Myer's brilliant collection entitled The Memory of Water. One can never have too many books to read. ;)

I hope your Thanksgiving not only left your belly full, but your heart as well.

Working Along the Edges

2011-11-22T06:46:00.001-08:00

"Poetry, and all art, is a very dangerous, life‐changing enterprise if it’s done with heart and seriousness‐of‐purpose." - Jack Myers in the interview posted below...

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me the link to an interview Jack had about Richard Hugo, his mentor. I feel compelled to share it with you: Kent McCarter interview with Jack Myers about Richard Hugo.

At the interview's conclusion, Jack says, " I wouldn’t want to take responsibility for directly influencing the way someone has chosen to lead his life." He believed he had a different way of teaching his students, one where he remained in the periphery, working "along the edges, hoeing and weeding, alongside them."

He didn't just help me to tend and trim the perimeter, Jack taught me about the importance of the seed before it ever gets planted. And I think he deserves more credit that I know he would ever give himself. (I wish I could have thanked him myself.)

If you haven't read The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo, I highly recommend reading it. And if you haven't read Jack's The Memory of Water, I'm giving away a free copy of his book at the end of this month HERE.

Who has influenced your writing?

Poetry as a Reason for Living

2011-11-14T12:24:00.001-08:00

But only the poem you leave behind is what's important.
Everyone knows this.
The voyage into the interior is all that matters,
Whatever your ride.
- from "Littlefoot: A Poem" by Charles Wright

What is poetry to you?

*And if you haven't read The Memory of Water by Jack Myers, nominated for a Pulitzer, and its poem "Necklace of Moss" for a Pushcart, you can enter to win a free copy HERE (and read this poem!)

The Memory of Water Prize Nominations

2011-11-11T06:53:00.001-08:00

A few days ago, Thea Temple, Jack's wife shared some incredible news: Jack's poetry collection, The Memory of Water, has been nominated for a Pulitzer and one of its poems, "Necklace of Moss" for a Pushcart!

Just as Thea said in her Facebook post, I'm sure all who were blessed to know Jack "wish he were hear to hear and feel the buzz..." I wish I could hug and congratulate him right now.

So, I'm passing the buzz on. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, because I am more than grateful for the fate of meeting and learning from Jack, and in remembrance of him this November 23rd, I am giving away another copy of The Memory of Water. You can read my review on Goodreads about Jack's book here.

Entering is easy, simply leave me a comment with your name, email address, and a note or memory about someone who's most influenced your life. I will draw a name randomly on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. And as with all good things, I hope you share the news. ;)

Happy Friday, everyone! Andrea

The Portable Poetry Workshop: Connecting Content - The Image Narrative

2011-11-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

The image narrative: the "story told, in coherent form, through a series of the poem's images and perceptions." Jack offers the poem "Summer" by Cesar Pavese (the one who first spoke of a poem's "image story") along with "TV Room at the Children's Hospice" by Michael Ryan as examples.

Segues and white space in a poem act as connectors of the images within the story on their many different levels. Jack offers the poem "Paper Bird" by Robin Behn as an incredible example of the use of white space. (If you haven't read this poem, you must!) I think Behn's poem "Living with Sister" stands as a wonderful example of both segue and white space as a technique within the image narrative:

"Living with Sister" by Robin Behn

On a side note, this particular section within this chapter had me chuckling to myself today. Jack asked me to read in class one day and the word "segue" was in the poem he chose. I had never come upon this word before and butchered its pronunciation. He waited patiently, not once trying to interrupt, and once I gave my final, what I thought was successful, utterance of the word, he smiled his kind smile, half grinning, and launched into a mini-lecture about what a segue does. I am sure the class was fond of me that day. I've never forgotten that word.

Well, and white space, that was a lecture he dedicated a full day to, and I had some sort of epiphany during that lecture resulting in my crafting of poems with words spaced out all over the page. Sporadic placement poems is what I shall now call them. It even inspired a poem I titled "White Space." Jack got a kick out of it. He must have thought I was crazy.

To poetry and fine teachers, Andrea

Y Después (And Then)

2011-11-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

Lately, I find myself thinking in poetry. Or rather, the things I want to say are in poems I've read. Yes, I want them to speak for me.

Yesterday, I wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. I know all the words that have come before have been wrong. So, I figured these particular lines I had read would make it a little more clear. But I can't find them. I've scoured all my books and journals, but these few lines seem to want to remain hidden, out of my grasp.

These come close at least:

Y Después, A Cento

To You,

Today in El Paso all the planes are asleep
on the runway. The world

is in a delay. The labyrinths

that time creates disappear. Always
you were given one too many, one
too few. What almost happens, doesn't.

What might be lost, you'll lose.

We find out the heart only by dismantling what

the heart knows. We must unlearn
the constellations to see the stars.

The sky is the only store
worth shopping in for anything
as long as a life. If the moon
smiled, she would resemble you.

You leave the same impression

of something beautiful, but annihilating.

Your absence has gone through me

like thread through a needle. Everything
I do is stitched with its color.

I wish I had the power of not looking
back. Not the power of having a wish
granted, but the power to look at my wish
and see behind it.

Love, Me

Sources:
"April Snow" by Matthew Zapruder
"Y Después" (And Then) by Federico García Lorca translated by Ralph Angel
"Three-Legged Blues" by Jane Hirshfield
"Tear it Down" by Jack Myers
"Rebellion against the North Side" by Naomi Shihab Nye
"The Rival" by Sylvia Plath
"Separation" by W.S. Merwin
"One Last Wish" by Jack Myers

All This and More

2011-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Robert Lee Brewer's November Poem-a-Day Challenge has begun. You can follow/participate in the challenge on Twitter by using the #novpad hash tag, or by stopping by Robert's Poetic Asides blog. Every day during the month of November, he will be posting a new prompt for you to explore with your pen and paper or keyboard. This is my second year participating and I'm looking forward to all the poetry this month.

This year, I am challenging myself a little more by reading a poem every day. A nice poetry pairing of sorts, but being that I do read a lot and try to read poetry every day, I want to make this challenge a little more specific. I want a continuous flow of poetry for the month, and am not really sure if this will create a nice flow, but it's a thought nonetheless. This extra poem a day will be outside of any book or journal I'm reading or anything I've randomly happened upon online.

I recently finished Lit by Mary Karr and was excited to read she is a poet. I'm starting with a poem of hers today. Tomorrow, I will read a poem by a poet she has been influenced or touched by, and so on down the line. Today's poem is "All This and More" and can I really say anymore after reading it? Brilliant.

Happy writing/thinking/living to all, Andrea

We Love the Ones that Won't Open Most

2011-10-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

So, the years go by and we find a few doors and windows.
Some are always open, some were never open.
Because we are crazy and stubborn,
we love the ones that won't open most.
- from "Able to Say It" by Naomi Shihab Nye

These four lines have been haunting me for days...

Carrying #Poetry

2011-10-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

I was searching through YouTube this morning in hopes of finding a clip of Naomi Shihab Nye reading from her recent book Transfer. No luck there, but I happened upon another clip of her talking about inspiration and carrying poetry with you.

Nye carries a note about Philip Levine's thoughts about the muse and William Stafford's poem "The Sky."

Do you carry a poem with you?

Your Heart Knows What Your Head Don't

2011-10-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

"When you give someone a book you're giving them the most imaginative of gifts, because you're taking a personal interest in what interests them." - W.H. Smith ad in Observer

The Writers' League of Texas posted the above quote on their Facebook page this morning, and I couldn't think of a better quote with which to begin today's post.

My mom recently gave me a copy of Lit by Mary Carr to read. Each minute dares me to put it down but I can't. I read a few sentences as I chew my morning cereal, sneak in a page when my boss isn't looking, try to read a chapter before I go to sleep. This book won't let me go. There is so much within this book that calls to me.

"What hurts so bad about youth isn't the actual butt whippings the world delivers. It's the stupid hopes playacting like certainties."

"He never gave up on me, I only stopped being matriculated."

"Your heart knows what your head don't. Or won't." (The heart as a metaphor discussion reappears...)

"It was dawning on me how uphill a poet's path was, and I confessed to her that if I had to be the choice between being happy or being a poet, I'd choose to be happy."

When was the last time you received a book as a gift? What significance did it bring to your life?

Books you've never written can hold your secrets. Years ago I gave up writing, yet, here I am with fingers poised upon a keyboard.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Substitution

2011-10-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

A poem can travels through both vertical and horizontal levels of meaning by way of substitution. The poet can chose to substitute the literal for the figurative or the abstract or vice-versa. Substitution can even become a poet's overall strategy or "organizing principle" whether employed as a technique or happening unconsciously.

There are a number of poems offered in this section as examples, but the one poet whose work comes to my mind is Matthew Zapruder. "Global Warming" and "White Castle" are two fine examples when it comes to substitution and the movement of meaning within poetry.

A substitution exercise from Jack: "Find some literal images in your poem and then add an abstract quality or specific detail to those images.

Happy writing, Andrea

Turning NO Around

2011-10-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know why some rejection letters come so early in the morning. You open your inbox and a "no" is the first thing to greet you. I'm sure I have more of these in my future's pipeline and in more than just the poetry realm.

I don't know where I first heard the expression, "Turn that frown upside down." I've always admired the clever saying. Now when I open up an email from a literary journal basically saying it's a NO, I'm turning this around and saying, "It's ON."

Read, Revise, Resubmit. Turn that NO around.

How do you cope with rejection?

Losing The iNNOVATOR

2011-10-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." - Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement address, June 2005

The world lost Steve Jobs yesterday, the true iNNOVATOR, an artist who helped to create our future, the ways in which we communicate, the ways in which we SEE one another. May he now rest peacefully.

A poem for Steve: Science by Robert Kelly

Echoing Steve's words: Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Logopoetics

2011-10-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

TECHNIQUE. Jack ends this section with a statement I feel is more of a question: "It's just a matter of whether the techniques are being invented in the making or are being applied more consciously as devices a book such as this can teach."

I'd like to know what he thought about Anne Sexton's Transformations. There are many varied streams of consciousness and clever uses of literary devices throughout her collection. Were these poems carefully crafted or had they already been created in her mind, longing for the page? The layers in Sexton's poems are exquisite. "The White Snake" comes to mind...

I tried my hand at the exercise this section concluded with entitled "Twenty Little Poetry Projects" by Jim Simmerman. I feel as if I've channeled John Ashbery in my attempt (think "Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape") and am still chuckling about my hen and her impending frying.

I think you can create a poem from each one of these "Twenty Little Poetry Projects." Have fun!

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Lateral and Digressive Moves

2011-09-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

I've learned a new word: leitmotif. Jack's definition of this word is "a recurring image, phrase, statement, trope, or theme in a work." How did I not know this word? I've known the definition and found myself weaving together recurring images, sounds, colors, etcetera, during my reading of a collection. Ones that come to mind: the different hues of blue that weave their way throughout Matthew Zapruder's Come on All You Ghosts, the image of the fly in the aptly titled Flies by Michael Dickman, the conversation sometimes turning into an argument with death in Jack's The Memory of Water.

What are a few of your favorites?

Thanks for the new word today, Jack. :)

Cliché of the Heart, Take Two

2011-09-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about my problems with "the heart" in poems, or rather, using it in my poetry. Yesterday, I came across a lovely poem in a set of three by Jane Hirshfield and find it to be the perfect poem in using the heart as a metaphor and effectively tying in emotion without sounding too sentimental. It slays "the heart" as a cliché in poetry.

SOMETIMES THE HEART IS A SHALLOW AUTUMN RIVER by Jane Hirshfield (It is last poem on the page.)

I can't wait to read Hirshfield's new collection Come, Thief.

What are you reading?

Poem and Prayer for a Friend

2011-09-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about a friend this morning who is an incredible example of strength and resilience. Her positive outlook is inspiring, infectious. I am praying for her today and in the days to come.

A poem for her: Li-Young Lee's "Persimmons" for "Some things never leave a person..." like light in a jar or a bird, small signs of hope if you notice them...

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; the shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

Appreciate life and all the people in it.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Horizontal and Technical Content

2011-09-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

I know that at this section of the book things may seem too technical, which is why I recommend reading this book for yourself. Through reading, the reader will be able to glean what is wanted and/or needed, and it won't feel so technical. (Craft is important!) This section is overflowing with golden nuggets.

A technical golden nugget: "A simple method for distinguishing the kinds and functions of content in a poem is to imagine to content of a poem in the shape of a cross..."

A simplified version of the cross Jack speaks of looks like this:

This cross then goes on to resemble more of a pinwheel upon consideration and examination of elements within different poems.

And now, more of a general golden nugget: "...The same cognitive processes we use in decoding our experience in the world are the same cognitive processes we use when we first read a poem."

What poem has given you the most fulfilling experience when reading? The most recent one for me is Mary Ruefle's "White Buttons."

The Mailbox is My Friend: Books and Stamps

2011-09-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

And we can get a little impatient with friends at times. Especially when you're waiting on a book or two. It's almost like Christmas in my heart when I am waiting for books I've ordered online. I can hardly wait until they arrive and I check the mailbox constantly.

I'm waiting on two books at the moment: Pym by Mat Johnson and What's Your Story?: A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction by Marion Dane Bauer. Three poetry books next on the agenda: Come, Thief by Jane Hirshfield, Transfer by Naomi Shihab Nye, and Midnight Lantern by Tess Gallagher. I'm grinning.

What are you reading?

Oh, and don't forget about the Forever poetry stamps coming from the post office in 2012! These in themselves are a great reason to send a hand-written card or note through snail mail. Is there a poet you'd like to see on a stamp?

Cliché of the Heart

2011-09-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have a problem with my heart. I mean my use of "heart" in my writing. Too often, I am being reminded that the use of the heart is too sentimental. I wish it weren't only a metaphor.

James Arthur recently reminded me (although he has a time or two before) that "The heart doesn't really have anything to do with emotion." I know, I know. I'm going to replace it with some other organ or body part. Eventually. I'm thinking about it, at least.

A poignant poem about both hearts: "His Heart" by Caroline Knox.

How do you deal with clichés of the heart?

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Techniques for Elaborating Content

2011-09-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Elaboration expands a poem. We can plumpen a poem through a number of devices and methods such as conceit, simultaneity, inner correspondences, slant imagery, creating a story within a story, and correspondence.

Who better to talk about elaboration than Richard Hugo? In this video, he touches upon the importance of elaboration: "The less you know about the town, the more you can add...subtraction is always more difficult than addition." Just listen to him read, "Degrees of Gray in Phillipsburg." Hugo skillfully utilizes the setting as his "triggering town."

Enjoy!

Iced Tea, Old, Old Recipes, and The Way to a Man's Heart

2011-09-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

I shared pecan chicken salad with my Grandma for lunch today. I also helped her put together her new recipe box and snuck in her recipe for her one-of-a-kind and top secret pie crust (she won't admit she is forgetting the recipe). Sitting at her kitchen table, sorting through old recipe cut-outs, I felt like I was a kid again, just off the school bus, enjoying my afternoon snack with Grandma. I'm still smiling.

Some lunch thoughts/observations:

Iced tea always tastes better when Grandma makes it. I can't explain why. It just does. I even buy the same kind of tea and put it in the same kind of jug. Maybe it's her ancient lemon/lime squeeze contraption that does it. I don't know. Refreshing.
I wish I could still buy Clabber Girl baking powder for 10 cents. 10 cents! I wish I would've remembered to bring that little cut-out with me just to show you. Instead, I remembered to bring some tasty cookie recipes instead. From scratch. Take that boxed mixes and pre-made dough! (I researched this a little online and it looks as if these recipes are from sometime in the 1940's. Wow.)
My Grandma says, "The real way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Just look at your Grandpa. He'd starve if I didn't cook or bake, and I realize it's my own fault!" They've been married for over 60 years now and she still makes him a different dessert every night. My husband gets dessert about once a week. I've got some catching up to do!

Wishing you a relaxing Labor Day and extended weekend!

The Memory of Water Book Giveaway Winner

2011-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Thank you to those who participated in this book contest for August! Even if you didn't win this book, I encourage you to read it when you have an opportunity.

The winner of Jack Myer's The Memory of Water is Nora Luongo! I hope you find this collection to be a keepsake, Nora.

I'll leave you today with a video of Jack reading one of his poems and discussing "Power Tools for the Spirit" recorded by The Art of Living Gallery:

What an amazing soul he was...

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: Generating Content - Techniques for Generating Content

2011-08-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

Jack believes the "original impulse" in our writing can be invigorated or "stimulated" by use of technical moves such as adding plot elements, characterization, or images. This stimulation can expand or shrink a poem either horizontally or vertically, and can even transform the poem altogether.

"The major problem in creative writing is creative writing." What do you make of this statement?

My go-to when revising a poem is to add description to open up a line or image. Some employ word play or tinker with words to give their poem more musicality. Others try to introduce more action into their poems. What methods do you use to invigorate your poems?

A poem to end this workshop: "Art Class" by James Galvin. "Let us begin with a simple line..."

Poetry you wish you'd written

2011-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm daydreaming about poetry I wish I'd written seeing as I'm having a little difficulty writing it lately. Wherever I am/I am what is missing. I keep hearing this in my head and know Mark Strand's "Keeping Things Whole" goes first on this list.

...The secret life
begins early, is kept alive
by all that's unpopular
in you...
Stephen Dunn's "A Secret Life" was given to me as a little cutout for my pocket by Jack Myers. This one is a close second to Strand's.

If I took the time to sit and work on a list, I doubt I'd ever leave the chair. While you're thinking of the poetry you wish you'd written, I'll leave you with words from another I wish I'd written, "The Words Under the Words" by Naomi Shihab Nye:

Answer, if you hear the words under the words
otherwise it is just a world with a lot of rough edges,
difficult to get through, and our pockets full of stones.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: General Considerations - Associational Logic

2011-08-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

...that which is "the kind of thinking that dreaming uses as logic when our mind moves from one thing to another through an unconscious process of juxtaposition."

Can we recognize it? Do we write and reveal our process or do we edit it out? Sometimes, I don't even know how I got from one place to another and oftentimes, this poses a problem for me during the revision process. Should I just let it be? I don't know how much logic there is in my poetry at times, although I know when I'm writing, it is making sense at that very moment. ;)

Jack concludes this last section of the first chapter with a noteworthy exercise:

Associating from the senses exercise - the following exercise is called "clustering." It uses the five basic physical senses as conduits to describe in a figurative way what something seems to be to the poet. Jack uses the emotion of fear as the subject and makes associations from there using touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. Below is my example for this exercise:

DOUBT

Touch - like an emerald silk dress with a small snag in the center, like a plum tomato with a moldy soft spot

Smell - week-old bananas, water with too much chlorine

Taste - like a fig that's not sweet enough - your tongue is expects sweetness but settles for the so-so

Sight - green dress above, bleach stain in a towel, a scratch on a camera lens

Sound - a bird that's run into a glass window, an iron steaming

What are you clustering? I hope it inspires a poem.

#BookCoverCrush - Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros

2011-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, with a little prodding from Evelyn, and after a lot of admiration for her video blogging about her book cover crushes, here is my first stab at it. And please check out her blog (this is Evelyn Alfred's blog here) to see and hear about her book cover crushes, as she always has great insight from week to week, and is a writer too.

Tell us your secret crush...

The Poetry Conveyor Belt

2011-08-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed at the rate some people can turn out poems on various social media sites. I even posted the following on my Twitter this morning: "Some people are conveyor belts of poetry. I'm more like Lucy at the chocolate factory and I'm ok with that."

Wrapped chocolates are the finished poems. They come down my Twitter stream quite rapidly. I admire the dedication these writers have to their craft. I do try to write every day, but I can't say I have a wrapped chocolate ready for the eating at the end of each day. Like Lucy, I tend to go at my own pace, eat a piece of chocolate yet to be wrapped here and there either by placing a poem in my "waiting-to'happen" pile or by chunking it all together (which I try very hard not to do in a fleeting wave of frustration) and continue with my work. Sometimes, the chocolates I'm wrapping aren't my poems at all but those of others, and I like to stuff them in my shirt and sometimes even my hat for the reading. The poems I'm reading and writing will all get wrapped eventually, and I may consume one too many calories, but I'm happy with this pace. Chocolate is to be eaten and enjoyed, and I'm trying to delight in every bit of the process!

How often do you write a "finished" poem?

Happy wrapping! Andrea

P.S. A little over a week and a half left for the book giveaway contest. See details on how to win your own copy of The Memory of Water by Jack Myers by clicking here: I want this book!

Diana Mini - 2nd Batch of Film

2011-08-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just picked up my 2nd batch of photos from my Diana Mini. I chose Lomography's Color Negative 400 film this time around, and opted to go with the half frame shot. All in all, out of over 70 photos, I have about a handful and a half of photos to work with. I wish there were more, but I am happy with the ones I do have.

As I am learning to work with this camera, I think this quote from Scott Adams best sums up how I feel thus far: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." I've got some keepers and even if they're not art to anyone else, at least they are art to me. ;)

Blame the Poets and Yes, Poetry

2011-08-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

The August issue of Yes, Poetry is out! Joanna Valente's introduction to this issue is compelling. My poem, Blame the Poets, has found an excellent home in it. You can read it here: Blame the Poets and Yes, Poetry.

Please don't forget about The Memory of Water book giveaway. Sign up here: I want this book!

To sharing poetry! Andrea

The Memory of Water Giveaway

2011-08-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

Those of you who follow along with my blog know the impact Jack Myers has left upon my life and my writing. His new collection The Memory of Water is one I want to share with you and I am launching a giveaway contest for the month of August. (Please see the contest details at the end of this post.) A touching review about his book is below along with a link to a few of his poems:

Review by Roberto Bonazzi

From The Memory of Water

I will be giving away one copy of The Memory of Water by Jack Myers, at the end of August. For the chance to win this extraordinary collection, you must take the following three actions:

Follow my blog if you're not already. Follow along with me as I work through my Portable Poetry Workshop Project, inspired by another of Jack's books.

Leave a comment for me below.

Twitter and/or G+ a link to this post.

The winner will be selected at random and announced Wednesday, August 31st.

I look forward to sharing Jack's poetry with you, Andrea

Action vs. Motion

2011-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I remember talks I used to have with Jack when I was experiencing "writer's block." I would tell him I didn't think I could write unless I was miserable, and at my present state of bliss, I could see no future in writing. Sometimes those memories make me laugh hysterically. Today I'm caught somewhere in between laughter and tears.

Jack would calm me down in his usual cool and collected manner by first asking me if I would like some tea. He would then go on to tell me that it wouldn't always be this way, that I would find more things to write about than love, heartbreak, and my parents' divorce. I'm so happy he was right on that point, but today, I find myself wanting to say to him, "I can't even write because I'm so miserable."

I have turned to pen and paper too many times recently only to give up on what I was writing because I could not get it right. I then turned to reading which has held my attention for a good while. Today, I tried to focus on revising past poems and am feeling the same way as with my writing. I just can't get into that frame of mind again, and I know I have so much that wants to pour itself out.

I read a quote today by Benjamin Franklin that really struck me: " Never confuse motion with action." I feel like I am sleepwalking through my life as of late. I really need some tea.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: General Considerations - The Discovery Mode

2011-07-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Jack talks about the discovery mode as a "method of organic composition in which content and form arise without preset ideas." Apperception, fixed form and free verse "intensions," not knowing, and complexity and simplicity are outlined in this discussion. I think a lot of things can be included in this discussion, as everyone seems to have their own "discovery mode" when it comes to writing.

Jack emphasizes a point made by Richard Hugo, "Scholars look for final truths they will never find. Creative writers concern themselves with possibilities that are always there to the receptive." Sometimes I feel as if I am desperately searching for truth and that is why I write. Other times, I just like to sit down and enjoy some word play, and sometimes, I really like what is staring back at me from the page.

I typically like to write free verse. When at odds with my muse, I follow advice from James Arthur and write according to a fixed form, my favorite being the villanelle. How do you prefer to write your poetry? What kinds of poems do you like to read?

In closing this chapter, Jack offers the "19 Questions" exercise. I will share one of his questions with you along with one of my own:

One of Jack's 19 questions: "Under what conditions have you experienced the joy of deep personal learning and insight? How does your understanding of and relationship to discipline fit into this? What would your personification of discipline look like? In this image, are you in service to it, or is it in service to you?" (Yes, that is all ONE question! And I think I sense a hidden writing exercise in this one.)

My question: In The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, the authors write, "Who you are contributes to your poetry in a number of important ways, but you shouldn't identify with your poems so closely that when they are cut, you're the one that bleeds." How do you feel about this statement and why? Any past bleeding experiences you'd like to share?

Happy Friday, all! Andrea

The Heart of Haiku Touched My Own Heart

2011-07-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for the uninterrupted plane ride this past week because I was finally able to finish Jane Hirshfield's The Heart of Haiku. It is an exquisite little book and will be joining others on my "Favorites" shelf. Some highlights from it:

In quoting Basho: "But unless things are seen with fresh eyes, nothing's worth writing down."

When the space between poet and object disappears, Basho taught, the object itself can begin to be fully perceived. Through this transparent seeing, our own existence is made larger.

To read a haiku it so become its co-author, to place yourself inside its words until they reveal one of the proteus-shapes of your own life.

Art can be defined as beauty able to transcend the circumstances of its making.

One useful way to approach a haiku is to understand each of its parts as pointing toward both world and self.

Feeling within ourselves the lives of others (people, creatures, plants, and things) who share this world is what allows us to feel as we do at all.

----

There is so much about haiku I didn't know, and I am sure I still don't know. I look forward to learning more and writing more of it. I will end this blog with a question and a haiku:

What is your favorite haiku and why?

Year after year,
the monkey's face
wears a monkey's mask
- Basho, translated by Jane Hirshfield

What are your Scratch and Dent Dreams for your box of Now?

2011-07-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Give this video three minutes and you won't be able to take your foot off the gas pedal. Eric Darby's "Scratch and Dent Dreams" makes me think of everyone who gives up too soon or says "some day" too often, especially poets and writers who allow the naysayers to get them down. Sometimes, the biggest naysayer is staring back at you in the mirror. No more.

What are you going to place in your box of "Now" and what tools will you need? Where will your "tomorrow" go? Start mapping it out and chart your progess.

Happy writing, Andrea

Mayfly (Gone Too Soon)

2011-07-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Cancer. That ugly thing rears its head again this month and consumes yet another life, a sweet young woman not even 21 years old. She leaves behind a son who turns 5 this Saturday. She became engaged the week before hospice came in. She was a mayfly, created and given to this earth for a short while. Time never seems to be on anyone's side...

Who knows how long a life is? Do we want to know if we are born a mayfly? If the ones we love are?

"Mayfly" by Douglas Florian is my poem for Viviana today. "Its life is over/Far too soon." May she rest in peace now.

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: General Considerations - Mental Preparation

2011-07-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

"Writer's Block." We all experience it at one time or another. Sometimes, it feels like a drought that might never end. Everyone has a special term for it, as if by acknowledging it and naming it, we think it might just empathize with us and let up. Jack Myers has a perfect analogy for it: "A bouquet of cut flowers might still truly be flowers, but they are cut off from their source, what nourished them, and any possibility of growth."

Do we just allow the flowers to sit in the vase? Do we try arranging them in different ways, change the water, trim the soggy stems? In what ways do you deal with your "Writer's Block"? Do you have a certain name for it? Do you just let the visitor in until it decides to leave and ignore him/her all the while?

Jack ends the chapter suggesting an exercise for when you are feeling at odds with your muse:

1. Think of a special object in your life and write down all the detail you can about it. "See stereoscopically."

2. Fuse your feelings into the object you've chosen, writing about its meaning to you and the feelings it evokes.

3. Associate the object with something it reminds you of or something that comes to mind. Try using a trope as you expand your writing.

4. Affirm your belief in this object and write about how you may or may not live without it going forward.

If you're like me when battling "the block," you will probably scratch and scribble all over what you've written at some point and want to wad your paper into a ball and bang it into your forehead. A piece of advice: don't scribble and scratch so much that you can no longer make out what you've written, and definitely resist making a shape out of it. Calmly place it in your "To Tackle When I'm in a Better Mood" pile and walk away. The poem will find you again.

Happy writing, Andrea

Decay, Working on Gone, Arthritis: Poems published this month.

2011-07-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to have poems in Rose and Thorn Journal and The Houston Literary Review this month:

Decay and Working on Gone

Arthritis (page 5)

Happy Friday, Andrea

Quotes about #Poetry from Richard Hugo in The Triggering Town

2011-07-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

A few of my favorite quotes from this magnificent poet:

It is impossible to write meaningless sequences. In a sense the next thing always belongs. In the world of imagination, all things belong.

Never worry about the reader, what the reader can understand. When you are writing, glance over your shoulder, and you'll find there is no reader. Just you and the page.

Knowing can be a limited thing.

You owe reality nothing at the truth about your feelings everything.

But in art, as seemingly in life, things happen without cause. They just happen.

It is narcissistic, vain, egotistical, unrealistic, selfish, and hateful to assume emotional ownership of a town or a word. It is also essential.

...you will always be chasing a way to write. Actually, you never really find it, or writing would be much easier than it is.

Words love the ridiculous areas of our minds.

Ultimately the most important things a poet will learn about writing are from himself in the process.

Never want to say anything so strongly that you give up the option of finding something better. If you have to say it, you will.

Richard Hugo's The Triggering Town is a book destined to stay on your desk and speak to you when you need it most. I hope you will read it.

Do you have any favorite poetry/writing quotes?

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project: General Considerations - Creativity and Consciousness

2011-07-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Jack Myers states, "In studying the basis for human life, you would quickly see that nature itself loves to create." Taking a look outside my office window proves just so: my lantana, merely leaves weeks ago, is robust with clusters of white blooms; the anthill just outside my patio looks twice its size from the time I last observed it; a spider has woven an intricate web upon the decorative door I've placed behind my wisteria bush. Just this introduction to the chapter makes me want to write a poem.

But then, Jack pushes you off the diving board and forces you to the deepest part, the subconscious mind. He talks about parts of the self and how they must "connect" in order to create. He offers Wordsworth's definition of poetry and goes on to say, "This state of receptivity that forms the atmosphere for creativity seems to be galvanized into action, many times on the unconscious level, by the power of suggestion triggered by our associations and powers of deduction." The first thing that comes to mind is his advice to me to always "read as much as I can, when I can" and to take time to "watch" the world.

This then leads me to think about the "definition" of poetry: how many definitions are there, which one is most valid, what about its evolution, etc, etc, etc. What is your definition of poetry? Can one truly define it? The poem that comes to mind when pondering this is John Ashbery's "Paradoxes and Oxymorons." What are your thoughts on what this poem is saying? Megan Snyder-Camp suggests that "What I get, rather, is exactly what I need, which shifts with each reading."

"The poem is you." - John Ashbery. Now get to reading, and writing. Watch the world.

My Poem Made the Cut in the April PAD Challenge Results

2011-07-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe it! What an honor! Congratulations to everyone who participated in this poetry challenge and to all those who were chosen. It is great to stand among you all.

To see the 2011 April PAD Challenge Results, please click on this link ---> Top 50.

If you aren't familiar with Robert Lee Brewer's PAD Challenge, you can find details about it here: http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/CategoryView,category,NovemberPADChapbookChallenge.aspx. There is a new one beginning in November, and there will another challenge following in April. This has been a great resource for me in getting the poetry juices flowing and some words down on paper despite the days my muse has seemed to step out for a bit. If you haven't followed him on Twitter yet, please click on his name above to go to his page. He can open your eyes to a different poetic horizon and you can find a great, supportive community within his blog readers and followers.

Thanks for supporting me, my blog, and my poetry. ((BIG HUG))

The Portable Poetry Workshop Project

2011-06-25T08:26:00.001-07:00

Now more than ever, I wish I could talk to Jack. I want his guidance, his wit, his poetry reading suggestions. I've been reading and rereading his poetry collections. This week, I turned to his The Portable Poetry Workshop because I need to be in class with him again. The semester has begun.

What I always admired most about Jack was the way he could make the intangible accessible, like magic. I'm still in awe even as I read through the introduction pages: "The nature of poetry itself, beyond language and the art's elaborate history of conventions, is all about process, shaping whatever we are trying to sculpt from inchoate fog that allows us to feel what it is to be human." Jack talks about specific things he feels are most important to making writing a habit, more a "sacred" practice: sacred space, reading, imitation, feeling, free-writing, and journal writing. I'm working my way down this checklist now.

One thing Jack always reminded his students was the importance of writing everyday. It was one of the points he chose to emphasize in his last email to me when I told him I had begun writing again: "Scratch that itch even if it means doodling; it'll pour out poems eventually." I'm scratching that itch, Jack, and following along with you in this new workshop.

Apt for the first day of class, Jack Myers' poem, "On Sitting" - http://tpqonline.org/myers.html

Happy reading, Andrea

From the Photo Shoot to the Photo Lab

2011-06-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

This bull is my Diana Mini experience thus far, but I'm still smiling!

The first photo shoot went great. Not really a planned photo shoot, but just a place I wanted to go back to because of all the photo opportunity. I guilted my mom into joining me, but who would've thought we would've had so much fun being silly with a camera lens?

I forgot to advance my film a couple of times, fidgeted with the focus a little too often, and kept finding myself wanting to "check" my photo to make sure my shot came out now that my convenient little digital camera has programmed me to do so. Those digital cameras sure spoil us. I was afraid I was too close, too far away, not enough light...aaaahhhh! The perfectionist in me was a little disappointed, but I had to roll with it. I can't be uptight about taking photos. What then is the point?

On way way to the photo lab, I was plain giddy. I think I called a handful of people to tell them what I was doing in hopes they would share in my excitement. Nostalgia set in. I felt like I was fifteen again, disposable camera in hand with film loaded with pictures of my high school crush who was completely unaware of my sneaky photo-snapping talents. I couldn't wait for the 1-hour processing time to pass. Finally, photo folder in hand, I started thumbing through to see what I had captured.

The photos are a little grainy. Some of the shots I was looking forward to didn't come out because there was not enough light. Either that or I forgot to take off the lens...(I somewhat recall having forgotten to do that! Thank goodness for Mom!) But, I did get some great shots. Some I don't even remember. Now, what do I do with them? Do Diana Mini photographers digitally enhance their images? Is that cheating? I still have a lot to learn! I feel like I'm sitting in my first college poetry class, and even though I've written tons of poems up until now, I am now realizing I know a lot (and I mean A LOT) less than I think I did. I need a teacher/coach/mentor!

Below are some shots I thought I would share. I welcome any and all lomography tips and advice!

I have no idea how this happened, but I love it!

Mariachi Strings

Lifting La Virgen

E-books for Borrow

2011-06-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I haven't been a lover of e-books in the past. There is just something about the real thing I can't part with. Maybe it's the sound of the pages as I turn them with my right hand, the way I like to dog-ear my favorite passages and make notes in the margins, maybe it's just the way the paper smells. I can't explain it. But earlier this year, my husband confronted me with an issue he thought I needed to come to terms with: I am a book junkie. I have too many of them. Can one really have too many books? I buy books one day and abandon them halfway though as I head out the door for my next "bookstore browse" session. I have a problem. I admit it.

So, I gave in on the whole e-book thing. So many people already had a Kindle and cradled it daily, even took loving pictures of it, like it was their new baby. The Kindle-envy took long to catch on. Actually, I don't think I really ever caught the Kindle-envy, but I did decide to commit to spend less money on books (e-books cost less than those in print) and be a lot more disciplined when it came to the reading and buying of them. I downloaded the Kindle application for my iPad and made my first e-book purchase, Paper House, a touching collection of poetry by Jessie Carty. I was sold. I was in the mood to Kindle.

Now, I still love my paperback books, but I am a bit of a fan of instant gratification. When I am looking for a book, I want to read it right then, not leave the bookstore disappointed at not finding it on their shelves and then head home to order it online and wait for days to receive it. Thank goodness for e-books in this sense. Thank goodness I can rent e-books through my local library, although their selection is limited and poetry books are impossible to find. And now, thank goodness for ebookfling.com, where you can swap Kindle and Nook e-books for a nominal fee ($2 per book.) You can also earn credits by sharing your purchases with others. I just had to share the good news with you today! I'm off to explore more on this site.

Happy reading! Andrea

What is #poetry?

2011-06-13T16:06:00.001-07:00

Everyone has their own definition. You prefer some styles over another. This or that, depending on your mood. I liken it to wine: your taste buds evolve over the years, but you always have that certain sweet spot.

What is poetry to you?

For me, each poem is a life song. Everyone can sing along, no matter their voice. Or, they can choose not to sing at all. Maybe, they'll come back to the song with a greater appreciation and understanding years later. No matter, you can compose your own song, sing your own lyrics, develop your own melody. Sometimes, your heart and mouth get ahead of your mind. Sing it out and share with the world.

First Load: Through This Lens is Wonderland

2011-06-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Finally, a morning to explore the putting together of my Diana Mini!

The first film loaded is AgfaPhoto Vista 100. I'm working on memorizing Lomography's "10 Golden Rules" and think I'm probably going to struggle most with #6: "Don't think." Ha! I won't have a problem with the first rule though.

Now, what to shoot? Wonderland awaits...

Poem published in flashquake!

2011-06-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

Proud to have a poem published in this issue! My poem "16th Street Baptist Church, 1963" is on page 16...Please click on the following link to go to their site and read their Summer 2011 issue: Current Issue.

I'm running down this dream one poem at a time. ;) Andrea

Poetry, Photography, and a Poem for Memorial Day

2011-05-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I honor those who have sacrificed for my freedom and I thank those who continue to serve this amazing country. A moving poem (with audio), "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177382

I feel quite accomplished today. I've cleaned the house, done a little light bulb replacing and grocery shopping, baked a cake, watched a movie, revised some poems, and worked on a submission packet to Yes, Poetry.

Now, I'm off to figure out my new Diana Mini camera (one of the most unique and exciting gifts I've received) and embark on my photography/lomography hobby. I'll keep you updated as I head out to capture the world in a lens. (And check out the cool little lady below!)

Pajamas, "Healthy" Food, Cell Phones, and Jack Myers

2011-05-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Lunch observations for today:

1. I know pajamas are comfortable. That's why I and a great many other people like to wear them to bed. Their comfort and warmth are conducive to sleep. How is wearing them out in public, especially to a restaurant, conducive to dining? Ah, yes, you like to dine in comfort. I'm still puzzled. Sorry if you're not with me on this one.

2. If you are fresh from a workout at the gym and still in your gym attire, and are complaining to your gym friend about your constant workouts but lack of weight loss, please don't order a huge salad with fried chicken pieces and drenched in ranch dressing. And even though you've rationalized that half of a dessert (because you're splitting it) is "healthier" than a whole dessert, you've just erased your whole workout and then some. But, if you're all about working out to maintain your weight and eating what you want, eat on. I will be open to sharing a peanut butter filled chocolate whoopie pie with you on my designated cheat day. ;)

3. Out of 8 other tables around me, I was the only lone diner, and couldn't help but notice that only one table of four women were enjoying a lively conversation. The rest of the tables (7) were all withdrawn from any conversation or human interaction, opting instead for a wide-eyed interaction with their cell phones. And I continued to watch at this lack of human interaction for minutes on end. And then when their food arrived, well, you know what happened. Am I the only one saddened by this?

And on a side note, I have been thinking about teachers who have touched my life because it is National Teacher Appreciation week and came upon a poem that reminded me of a special teacher in my life. I almost wanted to write "former teacher" but that would not be appropriate. Jack Myers' instruction and lessons live on in my life not only through his memory, but through his books and poetry, especially now as I read his final poetry collection The Memory of Water. Jack, I'm still watching, listening, and learning. And yes, still writing. I miss you, and I thank you.

Smile, Andrea

Poetry vs. Technology vs. The Bed

2011-04-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

I got in trouble last night for reading poetry on my phone. I blame it on the Poetry Foundation's new app for my iPhone. It is too easy to pull up a poem while I am in bed waiting for my husband to finish brushing his teeth or something of that nature. I'm sorry that he decides to get in bed once I am mid-poem and has to wait for me to finish reading. And if I love the poem, I will spend an extra minute or two adding it to my favorites, sharing it on my Facebook or Twitter, or even reading a little more about the poet and then maybe reading another poem or two from them. You can see how easily the cycle perpetuates itself. So, am I getting in trouble for reading poetry, or am I in trouble for being a technology fanatic?

I liken all this to a lot of men's passion for sports. Let's talk basketball more specifically. The NBA Finals are in full swing. When my husband wants to turn on the television to catch a score on SportsCenter or just a few minutes of a certain game, I don't get upset about it and feel completely irrelevant. And I know that just like a Lay's potato chip, he can never have just one. One minute turns into an hour...it is a mean cycle too. I long ago resigned to the fact that my husband loves sports, many of them, and when he is watching a game or highlights, he is indulging in his passion and will pay attention to me after that. I don't try to have a conversation with him while he is mid-game or try to distract him with imaginative things. It is what it is. And he does it in bed too.

I guess what I really should be worried about this year is the NFL and them possibly not having a season. I love football, but I love poetry more.

Smile, Andrea

Revisiting poetry: One way to celebrate National Poetry Month

2011-04-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

A favorite website of mine, www.poets.org, has a list of 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. Because I am way behind on any writing this month due to work travel, I have been reading a lot more poetry and this morning, I decided to revisit a poem I encountered a while back in a college poetry class. I never appreciated this course as much as I now know I should have, but I did keep the books from the coursework. I was planning on browsing through the book and reading a few poems, but once I pulled the book from the self, it seemed to want to open itself to George Gordon/Lord Byron's "When We Two Parted."  Sometimes the world has a mysterious way of talking to you and you can't help but know you should listen even if you don't quite understand it. This poem greeted me with an astonishing silence and ended in tears.

If I should meet thee
   After long years,
How should I greet thee? -
   With silence and tears.

National Poem in your Pocket Day

2011-04-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Today is National Poem in your Pocket Day and the poem I am carrying around in my pocket to share with others is a poem that is close to my heart written by a significant poet and person in my life gone too soon, Jack Myers. A link to his poem "Cirrus" is below:

http://www.writersgarret.org/jackmyers.shtml

Happy poetry sharing, Andrea

A Spammer and a Poet Are Two Different Things

2011-03-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

I've been inundated by spam on my Twitter account as of late. These people follow me and two seconds later tweet me demanding I look at their blog or direct message me repeatedly with the blog links to their wonderful poetry they know I will love. I think to myself: Really? How do you know I will "love" your poetry? You don't know the slightest thing about me if you haven't even said hello.

I'm a poet, and yes, I want people to read my poetry, but I don't use Twitter as a means to shove my writing down people's throats and clog their stream of otherwise meaningful and productive conversations. Twitter, and other social networks for that matter, are about building a "network," communicating, and making connections with others who share your passions.

I read lots of things from my Twitter stream from people who I've connected with, who offer me valuable or positive information, and who I've taken a genuine interest in. Make friends then share poetry, and not always just your own.

Sorry for the rant today. I will end by sharing a few lines from Wendell Berry's "How to be a Poet:"

make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

First Loves in Poetry

2011-03-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

I just read an article by Billy Collins about his "first love" of poems on the Poetry Society of America's website. Billy Collins writes that John Donne's "The Flea" was the poem to ignite his love affair with poetry, to stimulate "...the first symptom of what was to develop into a chronic love sickness for poetry."

For me, the first poem to "turn me green" as Collins would say was Sylvia Plath's "Daddy." At that time in my life, the suffocating sense of the poem was something I could easily relate to. I had to read the poem for a college class and upon first read, kept going back and rereading the previous stanza. I read it repeatedly that night and like Billy Collins, still have that very book on my bookshelf complete with my lines and squiggles to highlight my favorite lines along with notes about how the poem made me feel. I chose this poem to recite for the class at the end of the semester. From then on, I was hooked. From then on, I looked to any poem that fell into my hands as a treasure to help me to understand myself, process my feelings, and interpret the world.

With what did you begin your love affair?

Wine, Strawberry Cake, Dancing, and Friendship

2011-03-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great week. :)

Lunch observations:

1. Diseno Malbec is a fabulous wine. It pairs well with everything, especially strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.

2. Everyone dances in their own way. No one can say they don't like to dance because dancing takes on so many forms. Some people dance with their feet, some people with their laughter, some with their hearts, and some with their children. I could go on... For me, if there is music, there is dancing - even if it just my smile doing all the hard work. ;)

3. The best kinds of friends are those you can spend an hour with but feel as if you've known a whole lifetime. You may only see them every couple of months, but it never takes long to catch up and you never run out of things to talk about.

Smile, Andee

Is it Half Full or Half Empty?

2011-03-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

Lunch observations for today:

1. Chicken noodle soup is normally consumed when your stomach needs soothing or your cold needs tending to. Today, I've found it is just good for the soul, kind of like a big bowl of ice cream at the end of a bad day.

2. It is during times of adversity that your friends will really shine through. Take note of them. Appreciate them. Be there with a bowl of chicken noodle soup the next time they need it. And you. The world has a funny way of putting things into perspective when we need it most.

3. There are those who dwell too much on whether their glass is half full or half empty. We should be grateful even if there is one tiny little drop in it. At least I am. :)

Smile and take time to appreciate life, Andrea

P.S. I've found a new poem to share with you: "The Word that is a Prayer" by Ellery Akers. A friend shared this with me today, and I couldn't say enough about the timing. I hope you enjoy it.

My Eyes Hurt: Too Much Reading

2011-03-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Can one ever be reading too many books at any one time? I think I've reached my limit tonight. And I still have some reading to do for my real estate classes. (sigh) So much for the glass of red wine, the long bubble bath, and Sade in the background...I will just have to dream about that relaxing moment tonight.

I spent a lot of time this weekend doing research on regional literary journals/magazines (with great success) and journals for those of us who are finally facing their fears and committing to submitting (with not a lot of luck - aka work in progress.)

For those writers in Texas and perhaps bordering the New Mexico region:

Borderlands
American Literary Review
Gulf Coast
Southwest Review - I currently subscribe to this one and love it
The Texas Review Press
Rio Grande Review
Front Porch
Iron Horse Review
BorderSenses
Houston Literary Review
Puerto del Sol

I will work on the 2nd part of my research and post a list in the future. If you know of a journal I should add to the current list or add to my future list, I would love your suggestion.

For now, happy reading, Andrea

Messy tables, Babies, Cupcakes, and Handwritten Poems

2011-02-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, everyone!

Lunch observations for today:

1. The way you leave a table says a lot of things about you, at least to me. And probably the person who buses your table once you leave the restaurant. Even if you know a place will bus your table, why leave it the biggest mess possible? How much of a mess can you really make when eating? And now on to positive things...

2. I wonder what babies are thinking while they are staring at you, hardly blinking, and managing a grin mixed with a look of bewilderment. I wish I could see what is going on in their mind. I hope they think I look happy.

3. I wish I would've taken a picture of it before I inhaled it: this miniature French toast and bacon cupcake topped with buttercream frosting and green sprinkles. Yes, I said French toast and bacon. It goes at the top of my list of flavors today. Sorry, red velvet. Move over, orange dreamsicle. I wish I would have bought a dozen of them!

4. I still love writing poems by hand. I can't do it via a computer. I don't know why. I think a handwritten poem on a page is a beautiful sight. How do you write yours?

Wishing everyone a day topped with buttercream frosting and sprinkles in your favorite color, Andrea

I Have a 6th Sense About Pregnant Women!

2011-02-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

I know this has nothing to do with poetry or MFAs or even my lunch observations, but this is so amazing, I just have to share!

A great friend of mine in middle school who I have not seen in at least ten years has been on my mind a lot more than normal lately. I've been thinking about her and telling myself I need to get in touch with her and send her a message. Today, when I checked my Facebook, I noticed she had posted a comment, and she is not the comment-every-day-or-every-minute type. It just struck me: she was pregnant. I knew it. It was too weird.

I sent her an email with, "Are you preggos?" in the subject line and that was it. She responded full of disbelief and excitement, asking who had given me the news and confirming she is 11 weeks pregnant. I told her no one, but I had just been having this weird suspicion. We are both just bewildered and amused! We really don't know what to say or think! Now she wants to know if I think it will be a boy or a girl. :)

Life continues to amaze every day! Praying for a healthy little one for her and her husband.

Lunch Conversations,Evolving Paparazzo Culture, and Hacky Sacks

2011-02-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

Lunch observations for today:

I am often taken aback by the outrageous amount of gossip that goes on among women who are lunching together. I get it: women talk about women when they get together. I am guilty of this too sometimes. But today, I discovered another phenomenon: Men do it too. No, they don't get together and gossip about other men, they gossip about women! What she was wearing at work this morning, who so-and-so was caught talking to walking out of the office last night, etc. Now, that is some competition! I now have other tables of interest to draw my attention to at future lunch sessions.
I am now convinced all these advancements in technology, namely cell phones with camera capabilities, are allowing for the evolution of paparazzo culture. The new celebrity: you, the incessant picture-taker. No, not YOU. But, you know who I am talking about. You see these people all of the time, especially on Facebook. I mean, how many profile pictures can one really snap of themselves in a week? Wow. And today, I saw something I've never seen before and hope to never see again: a woman standing in the middle of Corner Bakery holding her cell phone as far away from herself as possible and smiling brightly to take her own picture. No, no one else was in the picture with her, and there was no notable landmark anywhere around her. Oh no. What is going on in this world?
Thankfully, a happy moment occurred right after this astounding one. Outside, I noticed four little boys standing in a circle playing Hacky Sack. It made my day to see that kids still find fun in such games (games that I enjoyed as a child) especially in this digital age. Even cuter about this scene was that all four boys were playing with flip-flops on.

Wishing you a hacky-sacked-fun-in-the-sun kind of day! Smile, Andrea

View from Her Deathbed

2011-02-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

My poem for One Stop Poetry's One-Shot-Wednesday:

View from Her Deathbed

She didn't want to see
the buildings in the skyline. She wanted
the trees, their sap misting upon her
face, her hands. Not the view
from the rooftop patio outside
the penthouse, the one
from the porch where the ferns nest
and the fat cat naps.

She said buildings were machines
built to support illusions of progress where prayer
was banned. Windows so high
people looked like frantic ants below
marching along to market, to cell phone
stores, to car dealerships, without paying
attention to the trees. Their branches growing
upward, reaching toward an unpromised
haven, hope directing
each trusting branch's extension.

She wanted to feel their breeze.

Feedback and suggestions always welcome. Thanks for stopping by.

Smile, Andrea

Poetry for Melancholy Days

2011-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

I was feeing a little melancholy this morning. I don't really know why. Maybe because I missed my early morning workout and my body was mad at me. Maybe because I have spent too much time pondering my life and future decisions. I don't know, but I just felt downright in the dumps.

I vented a little bit on Twitter, and then I sent out a call for poetry to help put a smile on my face. One of my new, sweet Twitter tweeps @jessicavarin came to the rescue and sent me a link with the following tweet: Try Gregory Orr. More hope than cheer. And then I found this poem ("To be alive" by Gregory Orr) to turn my frown upside down:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19233

Thank you so much, Jessica, for helping bring a smile and touch of hope to my day.

Do you have any go-to poems for when you are having a bad day? I'd love to get a collection going.

Smile, Andee

Haiku from a Tiny Tea Cup

2011-02-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

I shared lunch with my Grandma again this afternoon and we talked over a bowl of her hearty caldo de res and finished it off with some flan. While the food is always wonderful, the time with her is most filling. :)

Today, she was talking about her trip to Japan and the beautiful tea sets she saw. (She has quite the affinity for tea sets.) Because she has so many as it is, she didn't want to buy another set and risk it being damaged on the trip back home, so she asked the lady if she could buy just one cup. The lady went to the back and returned apologetically saying she could not sell her just one cup. As my grandparents were walking out the door, the lady handed them a bag and smiled. Once outside, my Grandma unwrapped it and found the cup and saucer she was eyeing. What a sweet gift: one perfect little cup and saucer. Although the picture makes it look rather big, it is tiny, adorable. A cutie doesn't even fit in it! She gave it to me today and said, "Now you have a piece of Japan in your home, mija."

A haiku inspired from our lunch today:

Nomu

I can't see the green
of your leaves, but I taste tea
from your tiny cup.

The Recipe for the Perfect Poem

2011-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

The Recipe for the Perfect Poem

rests on the bookshelf in the blue room
decorated with birds and brooches waiting
to be admired, waiting to find
warm fingers and a grin, waiting to see
the old why-haven't-I-noticed-this-before look,
the I-feel-like-I'm-musing-through-a-museum
eyes glassing over, before it snickers
at you. You can't remove items
from the museum. You can
simply warm the bench.

This is the firt draft, revised a couple of times in my mind. ;) Feedback/suggestions always welcome.

Poetry, Dreams, and Unresolved Conflict: Beginning my Unofficial MFA

2011-02-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1 is "Fiction" by Tim Tomlinson. I love reading fiction although I've never been a fan of writing it. And I can't say I've really ever tried too hard at writing it because poetry has always been the genre to woo me. I think fiction is going to be the hardest part. But, here goes nothing...

Getting started is usually the easy part for me in poetry. Usually. This chapter encourages one to write from one's life. I am asked to think about defining moments in my life, occurrences that sparked transitions and the like. Oh. No. I am getting stressed just thinking about logging these events down. Not that I've had a crazy, dramatic life either. OK, moving on. I'll do that after this section.

I know nothing about the rules of writing fiction, but I feel better now that I've read "You can't make discoveries about character types, humor, personal themes, the nature of your imagination, and a whole lot of things critical to the development of a writer if you don't get the material on the page. And you can't get the material on the page if you're hung up about rules" (15). I'm glad we got that out of the way. I can writer personal, I can write based on another's story, I can write about my parents. Well, maybe I won't write about my parents. What are the rules anyway?

Apparently, a good rule is being OK with not knowing where you are going. I am certainly OK with that. A lot of the time I don't know where I am going, I just know I am moving forward. At least I hope I am moving forward. That being said, onto the exercise:

"Select a line from a poem that resonates with you. You can substitute a line from anything... Next, consider a recent (perhaps troubling) dream. Then, recall a problem you're having with another person" (17).

Now that I have all of these collected in my mind, I am to begin a "fictional account" that will tie these three separate elements together:

1. Poem: "There's been a lot of fighting/in this little boat/though I've been as alone/as before I was born." - from "Life Boat" by Jack Myers.

2. Dream: A man I've never met was chasing me around my mother's house until I was finally able to shut myself into the laundry room. He punched a hole in the door and I could see him pointing a gun at me. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to shoot. I could hear the bullets, but nothing was hitting me. I could see the bullet holes in the door, all within centimeters of my fingers, my legs, etc. Then I woke up.

3. Conflict: A family member in my life who is very closed-off and selfish. It's cyclical. I don't understand it and am frustrated to no end. But, I still try. Why?

***Side note: On the dream portion, I found myself wanting to write a poem! I was even trying to craft my line-endings! I may have to go back and turn this into a poem...

OK: Weaving it altogether, this is what I've got:

He couldn't focus on anything other that the poem on the screen at the memorial. He avoided looking around at others for fear someone would catch his gaze and see how deeply his pain ran. In his mind came a barrage of bullets, memories; he could see them coming at him, shut his eyes, prayed.

He never did ask her if she received the birthday gift he'd sent her, the one he wrapped in her favorite color, although he knew she had. All he had to do was ask, but he didn't want her obligatory gratitude.

TBC...

Smile, Andrea

I'm Unofficially Working on my MFA in Creative Writing

2011-02-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, my good Twitter friend Jessie Carty posted a link to her post "Taking Your MFA Questions" on her blog. She generously shares her experience and insight on MFA programs along with a link to the article "Six More Myths about the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts" and other useful links. I discussed with her my desire to work on my MFA and my disappointment in finding out that I missed the deadline for applying for the program offered at the local university. I will have to wait another year. BUT I should have taken this endeavor more seriously. Even if I thought I had a month to prepare the application, I should have given this application a lot more weight. Lesson learned. I'm going to start working on it NOW. A favorite quote of mine is "A year from now you will wish you had started today," by Karen Lamb. This is going to be my motto for 2011. No more procrastinating. I'm running down this dream.

This all leads me to this: In this discussion on Jessie's blog, one of her blog follower's commented on a book she had that acted as a portable MFA of sorts. I have this very book! It has been sitting in my pile of books to read. Just sitting. No more. So today, I opened up The Portable MFA in Creative Writing by The New York Writers Workshop and read the eye-opening and motivating introduction by Tim Tomlinson. An except I would like to share:

"The book proceeds from the premise that there is a craft in writing and that, like the craft in any art, can be taught. As is also the case in any art, after the craft is taught the artist is on his or her own. Talent, determination, endurance, and luck are outside the purview of this book, although many of the exercises are designed to cultivate talent, encourage determination, and train for endurance. As for luck, we offer the insight of golf champion Arnold Palmer, who said: "The more I practice, the luckier I get.""

My Grandpa's favorite saying is very similar to the one above: "The harder you work, the luckier you get." I've never written any fiction (nothing at least worth remembering) or a memoir, or a play, but the way I see it, I have a lot more to gain than I have to lose. And for those of you who know my passion for poetry, you also know I am going to have the most difficult time not turning to the section on poetry and just starting there, but I am going to make myself proud and be steadfast in my new endeavor. At the end of this journey, I will have my unofficial MFA in Creative Writing and will be better prepared for beginning my official one. :) I will detail my progress here on my blog along with the occasional frustrations and pep-talks and hope you will follow along.

Smile, Andrea

P.S. There is also a Kindle version of this book available at Amazon.com. ;) Give it to yourself or gift it to a friend.

May You Now Rest Peacefully

2011-01-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago, I wrote a poem entitled "Stage 4" and dedicated it to my best friend's grandmother who had just been diagnosed with Stage Four cancer in her throat, lungs, and stomach. I've known Gram since I was 11 years old and she has been like a grandmother to me. Today, Barbara Wasiewski's soul has moved into Heaven, and she can now rest without pain, without sadness, and in the peace she deserves. I have been blessed to have known such a beautiful soul in my life. She will live on in our hearts. I can see her sweet smile now.

Because poetry always helps me get through trying times, I began browsing The Poetry Foundation's website and found a beautiful poem by Bryan D. Dietrich I thought I would share: "I Imagine My Father's Death." The last three lines of this touching poem:

He looks around marveling at this thing
his death has made, then sets out to find
someone, anyone with whom to share it."

I love you, Gram. I'm playing "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys and toasting to you with a glass of red wine tonight.

A Haiku Inspired by Lunch

2011-01-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

Beautiful bird I saw in San Francisco, March 2010

I did more reading than observing today, but this little scene stood out and inspired a poem:

Feathered Food Fight

Five birds fight for one
potato chip; four scatter.
Fat one wins again.

Ruin in the Franklins

2011-01-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

My poem for One-Shot Wednesday at One Stop Poetry :

Ruin in the Franklins

**I am submitting this piece. Wish me luck!

Lunch observations: Books in Public, Job Interviews, and Love

2011-01-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Enjoyed a nice lunch with myself today; twittered a little, mused a lot, and caught up on some reading. A few observations from my chicken-tortilla-soup-and-tuna-sandwich hour:

1. If you are reading a book in a public restaurant, expect to be stared and smiled at. People may even worry about you. These "observers" make me worry. There is nothing wrong with eating lunch by yourself, and it is even better when a book is your companion. Who cares what anyone else thinks. Read away. And don't look lonely or embarrassed. Be proud of the time you are taking for yourself. You are a student of life.

2. I don't know why people hold a job interview over lunch. How awkward! It is hard enough to eat on a first date, much less a first interview, without obsessing over what you should eat, whether you have food in your teeth, how you managed to spill that raspberry tea on your shirt, etc. How can an interview be successful when you are musing over a lunch menu, drinking tea, and eating a whole plate of food? You lose a lot of important time and conversation - at least that is my opinion.

3. Love is all around if you look at listen for it. In a time when we are inundated with
negative news delivered to our PDA's by the second, love is hiding out in the booth behind you, giggling and smiling. You may not know what the cute couple behind you might be laughing about, but you know that blended sound of two people's laughter makes you want to giggle along with them without any reason whatsoever. Just because. Then they round the corner and you notice this little old man is helping this little adorable woman put on her coat. He is having difficulty with his task because she is at least a head taller than he is and he can barely lift his arms from his sides. Yet, he persists. They giggle some more. He finally conquers the coat, grabs her hand, and they walk out smiling as if on their first date. This couple will never know the smile they brought to a stranger's face today.

Wishing you a happy day with lots of love and giggling in between!

Smile, Andrea