Last Place Effort

I am not revving it up AT ALL this Nash Po Month. In fact, my output has been abysmal. I've always been a tad contrarian, but this year I am just plain out of steam. I wrote for the first 10 days or so, and then I needed to face facts: I was two weeks behind on grading, I hadn't seen my kids in several days, and the house was a mess. Besides, I had six Nash Po Month readings on the horizon. Who has time to actually *write* during this month o po?

It's been a decent month of revising, however. I dug up a few poems I haven't been able to finish in years, and maybe they are getting closer to being done. Also, Ms. Contrarian broke the cardinal NPM rule and submitted a bunch of poems to magazines. What the hey.

It's also been a great month for reading poems, however. The Winter 2010 issue of The Southern Review, the most recent Willow Springs, Joel Wenderoth's Letters to Wendy's, Susan Rich's new The Alchemist's Kitchen, Deborah Ager's Midnight Voices (blog interview forthcoming). Lungfull, 32 Poems, and oh so many more, and so many waiting bedside and desk side, bench side, still quite few to be purchased--Allen Braden's A Wreath of Down and Drops of Blood, Sandra Beasley's I Was the Jukebox--waiting for a time between swing pushes, hospital tag, and lava monster, between assuming the roll of bridge troll or manicurist, between nursemaid, gardener, college instructor, and professional dishwasher.

But I know I will get some poems written during my next writing day with Kelli Agodon (later this week!), and on my next writing residency/retreat (four whole days and nights!).

And that I will be inspired by Rita Dove's SAL reading (May 13)--still time to buy a ticket!

So okay, I am not an April hero or heroine or she-o-ine or be-all-and-end-all-ine. At least I'm no longer a Cheap Wine & Poetry virgin; at least I wrote a few really bad drafts at Nancy Pagh's and Oliver de la Paz's fabulous Field's End workshops.

And still more fun to come! I finish off the month with two more readings! Northwind Arts Gallery in Port Townsend with the lovely Sarah Zale (4/29), and am the featured RASP reading in Redmond (4/30).

And then Nash Po Month is over, and it's time to get back to writing.