Wow. I really don’t keep this blog up very regularly. Last summer at the Vermont Studio Center, I did a decent job — maybe something about being away from home (and surrounded by artists/writers?) made me want to write a blog, kind of like a letter home. Here at home — I’m clearly less inspired. Although, last year’s NaPoWriMo was also fruitful. Didn’t do it this year.
But this week, some news to share. First off, the anthology, A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry, edited by Stacey Lynn Brown and Oliver de la Paz, has found a publisher — The University of Akron Press. I’m mentioning it because the anthology will include a poem of mine, “Submariner.” Also, I just love persona poetry — love it as a writer and as a teacher. I find poems like Cornelius Eady’s “Brutal Imagination” cycle, and Ai’s dramatic monologues really affecting. Others I’ve enjoyed — Night Watches (Carole Simmons Oles’ poems about Maria Mitchell) and Grace Bauer’s The Women at the Well (poems from the p.o.v. of women from the Bible). And of course, there’s the notion my students and I bat around — that all poetry involves putting on a kind of mask or persona… in any case, I am looking forward to this anthology, which I think will be a fun read and a great resource.
Secondly, I’m sending copies of A Thirst That’s Partly Mine and Luck to a wonderful project — Fleeting Pages. Get a load of their mission: “Taking over (taking back?) a space, left empty by a failed big box bookstore, for one month, starting MAY 7th, and filling it with independent & self-published work of all kinds, book arts, workshops, and events. All revolving around written self-expression.” This is happening in Pittsburgh, where I lived & went to grad school years and years ago. This is the kind of stuff that’s happening in Pittsburgh over the last ten years. It’s one of the coolest cities ever. So say I. Anyhow, if you’re in the Western PA area, PLEASE consider visiting Fleeting Pages this month to support the cause and pick up some great indie lit. Or send them your work! I wish I could go myself.
Finally, I’m giving a reading this Thursday, May 12, starting at 7:30 at The Mill Fudge Factory (yeah!) in Bristol, NH. There will also be an open mic. It’s a fun space, and I’m hoping to read some new poems I’ve been working on this semester with my formal poetry/poetics class. Maybe see you there?
Liz Ahl 