tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59754755819046301192024-03-13T04:31:00.335-07:00Blue PositiveMartha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.comBlogger381125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-31869669986047342192017-12-28T16:43:00.000-08:002017-12-28T16:53:29.954-08:00It's been so long, I practically forgot what I used to tell you all ...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's three days before the new year. I enjoy looking back and looking forward. When I found out about Janus, I was quite pleased there was a God who did the same. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I shared with my husband, he said "doesn't that mean he was two-faced?" But no, Janus isn't about talking behind someone's back. He is, according to Wikipedia, "the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. Usually depicted as having two faces. he looks to the future and to the past." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is why I love January, the month named after the god who presides over beginnings and endings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the U.S., so much needs to come to an end. So much needs to begin anew. I think you know what I mean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Personally, I am saying goodbye to some things, and I am saying hello to some others. Thus, I am very optimistic about the coming year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope you are too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-29692612139644183032015-03-18T18:59:00.001-07:002016-02-08T17:58:44.865-08:00I finally built myself a website: marthasilano.net At long last, I have a website, and here's the address <a href="http://marthasilano.net./">marthasilano.net.</a> Here you will find all sorts of info about my books, plus links to poems and upcoming readings/classes. Check it out!Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-75840513466942072142015-03-05T12:03:00.001-08:002015-03-05T12:03:29.914-08:00Free Copies of Reckless Lovely: Get 'Em While They're Hot!First three people to follow me on Twitter will receive a free copy of Reckless Lovely, including FREE shipping/postage. No strings attached. Happy spring!<br />
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<a href="https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/adec40aab868bb6d" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;" target="_blank">https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/<wbr></wbr>adec40aab868bb6d</a><br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-59750335022420676332015-03-04T12:22:00.001-08:002015-04-07T09:59:24.917-07:00Behind the Scenes with "Song of Weights and Measurements" So, this week <i><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/martha-silano">Poetry</a> </i>published one of my poems.<br />
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One of my favorite parts about completing a poem is going back and having a gander at the handwritten first drafts.<br />
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Call me a weirdo, but I enjoy seeing just how awful my early drafts often (always!) are. Also, I like seeing how a poem evolves, (in most cases, but not always) improves, with research, with fiddling, with reading aloud, with seemingly endless tinkering.<br />
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We, my family and I, were on an early morning commuter train. Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go? Nope, more like through the Rainier Valley to SeaTac, to a condo in Florida.<br />
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Suitcases stacked by the closing doors. Kids running around to find the best seat, and me, with this crazy notion to begin a poem.<br />
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My favorite thing about this page? How I had the good sense to cross out <i>of heartfulness </i>~ right away, and seemingly without hesitation.</div>
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It was very meandering, very much about letting the poem go where it wanted. I always try to put my critic to bed during this stage. Glad to see I decided to cut the part about 6th grade, aren't cha?</div>
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The cough syrup bottle makes an appearance! But wad-ho, what a mess with its capful of sound advice!</div>
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We arrived in Florida, played in the sun/sand for a few days, and then my hubby agreed to take the kids to the pool while I spent some time by myself in the hotel room doing research. Who knew that six sacks was 5 fotmat?!</div>
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On January 29, I moved from notebook to laptop, working on this poem for six weeks before sending it to <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/">Poetry </a>in February 2014. Three months passed, and then, in mid-May, I received an email from Don Share. He wanted to accept "Song of Weights and Measurements," but he was hesitant. He felt it took a slightly wrong turn near its close. </div>
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It took a few days to approach this delicate situation of having to go back in and operate. After two days of dancing around it, asking friends for advice, wringing my hands, I began fiddling. </div>
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I was sitting at a table at my local public library, having switched out a few lines. I wasn't sure I'd fixed it quite exactly, so I sent it to Don for his take. I heard back in less than five minutes. <i>I'll take it.</i></div>
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Tears streaming down my face, I walked quickly out of the library ... so I could let out a squeal without disturbing the other patrons.</div>
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I had never believed it would happen. Who ever does? I just kept trying to write the best poems I knew how to write, keeping this quote by Paula Modersohn-Becker in mind:</div>
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<i>One does as best as one can, and then one goes to sleep.</i></div>
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<i>And that is how one day it comes apparent that one has achieved something.</i></div>
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-69788227504786430262015-02-20T12:58:00.000-08:002015-02-20T12:58:12.207-08:00Review of Reckless Lovely in the Los Angeles ReviewA hearty shout-out to Maggie Trapp for her generous <a href="http://losangelesreview.org/book-review-reckless-lovely-martha-silano/">review </a>of <i><a href="http://www.saturnaliabooks.com/?q=node/81">Reckless Lovely</a></i>, which just went live at <a href="http://losangelesreview.org/">The Los Angeles Review</a> blog.<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-44365325100118961362014-12-01T14:19:00.001-08:002014-12-01T15:00:14.561-08:00Coming Your Way: The Almost-Saints! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Makes the perfect holiday gift! </td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Trains are flying by, and so are the shopping days until Christmas! One week from tonight, I'll be reading with </span><a href="http://suzannepaola.com/" style="text-align: left;">Susanne Paola</a><span style="text-align: left;">, </span><a href="http://www.annettespauldingconvy.com/" style="text-align: left;">Annette Spaulding-Convy</a><span style="text-align: left;">, and </span><a href="http://lorrainehealy.com/" style="text-align: left;">Lorraine Healy</a><span style="text-align: left;"> at </span><a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/event/martha-silano-suzanne-paola-lorraine-healey-st-peter%E2%80%99s-b-list-group-reading" style="text-align: left;">Elliott Bay Books</a><span style="text-align: left;"> in Seattle from </span><i style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/St-Peters-B-list-Contemporary-Inspired/dp/1594714746">St. Peters' B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints</a></i><span style="text-align: left;">, edited by Mary Ann Miller and published by Ave Maria Press earlier this year. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fast train to heaven ... or?<br />
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There are many decisions regarding where to hang out and/or spend your $$ for gifts this holiday season, but what better place than your local independent bookstore, <a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/node/about">Elliott Bay Books?</a> There's a cafe in-store with delish yummies and drinks, plus tons of books to browse, and many cozy chairs.<br />
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Also, for all you lapsed and practicing Catholics, you know what December 8 is! Yes, it's the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, which makes it an especially perfect night for pious poetry with more than a hint of the fallen. </div>
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Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-72758102736318043612014-11-16T13:13:00.000-08:002014-11-17T07:23:24.109-08:00December 8, 7 pm: Reading from St. Peter's B-List: Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints (Elliott Bay Books, Seattle)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--LUvvykq9s8/VGkAqsM7ZaI/AAAAAAAAC6g/CZJnjIWcTGU/s1600/240px-Immaculate_Conception_anonymous_CTB-2006-30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--LUvvykq9s8/VGkAqsM7ZaI/AAAAAAAAC6g/CZJnjIWcTGU/s1600/240px-Immaculate_Conception_anonymous_CTB-2006-30.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a>Just in time for the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/immaculate-conception">Feast of the Immaculate Conception</a>, I will be emceeing and reading with <a href="http://lorrainehealy.com/">Lorraine Healy</a>, <a href="http://suzannepaola.com/">Suzanne Paola</a>, and <a href="http://www.annettespauldingconvy.com/">Annette Spauling-Convy</a> from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/St-Peters-B-list-Contemporary-Inspired/dp/1594714746">St. Peter's B-List, Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints</a></i>, a spirited and compelling poetry anthology edited by <a href="https://www.avemariapress.com/author/598/Mary-Ann-B-Miller/">Mary Ann B. Miller</a> and published by <a href="https://www.avemariapress.com/">Ave Maria Press</a> earlier this year.<br />
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As the title suggests, this collection focuses on contemporary responses to saints, from the well-known variety to the obscure. Speaking of obscure, Alice Friman's contribution, "Seeing the Sights," tells of a holy woman named Vilgefortis, Saint Starosta, aka the bearded saint:<br />
<i> There she is</i><br />
<i>nailed to her five-o'clock shadow. / </i><i>No weeping mother. No deposition. / </i><i>No miracle in the tomb. She dangles / </i><i>in her side-show getup, beyond tweezers / </i><i>or depilatories, electrolysis or laser, /</i><br />
<i>forty bucks a shot. Grind golden scissors, / </i><i>strop a magic blade. It will do not good.</i><i> This is God's hair, tough as wire,</i><i> / inspired as twisted nails.</i><br />
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Poems by Edward Hirsch, Dana Gioia, Brian Doyle, Erika Meitner, Martin Espada, Jim Daniels, Franz Wright, Mary Karr, Kelli Russell-Agodon, Susan Blackwell Ramsey, Rebecca Lauren, Sarah J. Sloat, C. Dale Young, J. D. Schraffenberger, and many other fine poets grace these pages with tales of the forlorn to the fabulous. One of my favorites, "Shopping for Miracles: Lourdes, 1979," by Alan Bereka, gets to the root of why this is my kind of saint anthology:<br />
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<i>I returned to the States with a glass flask</i><br />
<i>filled with holy water which I gave </i><br />
<i>to my mother ... she remained </i><br />
<i>bedridden and continued to say the rosary</i><br />
<i>through her pain every day until this died.</i><br />
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In a similar fashion, <a href="http://www.agodon.com/">Kelli Russell Agodon's</a> speaker, in "Being Called Back," welcomes both the priest <i>and </i>the medic:<br />
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<i>I know the priest would come,</i><br />
<i> offer everlasting life and pray</i><br />
<i>over my body, but I'm betting</i><br />
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<i>on the medic, the EMT, the blonde girl</i><br />
<i> who works weekends at the fire station</i><br />
<i>to keep her daughter in private school. </i><br />
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That this book would include poems so utterly doubting the power of faith is testament to its democratic approach, an admirable quality in a book that could have ended up being one-sided, preachy, dogmatic: too damn devout for its own good. Maybe it's that the editor knows there are saints in our malls and parking lots, staying up for us in fire stations, picking up our trash. They may never be recognized by the Catholic Church, and yet no one questions their ability to save us.<br />
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If you live in the area and want a taste of the thought-provoking poems that await you, come down to <a href="http://www.elliottbaybook.com/">Elliott Bay Books</a> in Seattle on December 8, at 7 pm, and listen to four contributors read their own work as well as their favorites from the book.<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-46687992666755590792014-11-02T16:06:00.000-08:002014-11-02T16:06:51.599-08:00A Poem by Florentina Tunduc, Student, Bellevue College<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
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<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;">You gave me
the sun</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;">From under
your skin,</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;">You gave me
your light</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Trapped in
a thousand tiny seeds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;">--Florentina
Tunduc, Student, Bellevue College</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ev8i_RvEdKc/VFbGEah7GDI/AAAAAAAAC58/cIyLvRQ-SH8/s1600/Fig%2Bfruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ev8i_RvEdKc/VFbGEah7GDI/AAAAAAAAC58/cIyLvRQ-SH8/s1600/Fig%2Bfruit.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 20.0pt;">
<span class="ftri0ix"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="color: #0b5394;">F<span style="font-weight: bold;">rom the Poet:</span></span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>My name
is Florentina. Many years ago, I wrote some poetry when I was about 12-13 years
old. The poem was in Romanian, and it was about my little dog named Maxi and my
cat Mimi. I grew up in a family where animals were always welcomed. My
parents taught me to love nature, and especially animals.</i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Now, living in
the USA with my husband, after many years finally I have a son, three cats and
a fig tree. When the assignment for my English 101 course was about poetry… Gosh,
I said, I won’t be able to write a single line that even makes a little sense. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Days went by
and the due date approached. Suddenly, I had a flash about the joy and
happiness I felt on the day I ate my first fig fruit from my own tree. Even now
I feel those little tiny seeds bursting in my mouth, that silky soft feeling of
the inside of the fruit, its skin like velvet, soft, yet the same time protecting
the richness of fruit inside. My mind clicked to the muse of that day, and my
heart participated by giving me the excitement of such simple and pure joy.
Then I wrote my second poem of my life, but this time in English. Thanks to my
fig tree for saving my assignment and bringing joy to others reading my little poem.</span></i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-34389251349780344182014-10-02T16:39:00.002-07:002014-10-02T16:39:41.445-07:00Writers' Workshoppe Marathon Poetry Writing Session, September 27, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-StJwvMoBQWk/VC3hxa_CNdI/AAAAAAAAC44/P_ei3Y-T9vU/s1600/jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-StJwvMoBQWk/VC3hxa_CNdI/AAAAAAAAC44/P_ei3Y-T9vU/s1600/jpeg.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
On a gorgeous fall day <a href="http://enjoypt.com/">in a small fishing town</a> with <a href="http://centrum.org/the-port-townsend-writers-conference/">more writers than you can shake a caesura at</a>, <a href="http://ofkells.blogspot.com/">Kelli Russell Agodon</a> and I excitedly breezed into<a href="http://www.writersworkshoppe.com/"> a conference room on Main Street</a>, each of us equipped with close to a dozen writing prompts in our satchels. Our goal: keep the customer satisfied, the customers being five poets who'd come there precisely to write till they dropped.<br />
<br />
Six hours and EIGHT rough drafts later, we knew we'd done our job, our sturdy and steadfast team o five exiting the building with new poem drafts about jobs they never had (including working in a potato chip factory and as a fisheries biologist) and poems that began with "When ...", along with poems written in one long run-on sentence, poems made of coined compound words, and poems that interrogate and rearrange cliches.<br />
<br />
It. Was. Fun.<br />
<br />
Below, a few pics that share a taste of the deep digging, the <i>going there</i>, and, most of all, all of us writing like the dickens.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iQQrYFgKNcQ/VC3hgHDHrRI/AAAAAAAAC4g/OzyvjVzUKiw/s1600/awesome%2Bcrew%2Bat%2Bwriter's%2Bworkshoppe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iQQrYFgKNcQ/VC3hgHDHrRI/AAAAAAAAC4g/OzyvjVzUKiw/s1600/awesome%2Bcrew%2Bat%2Bwriter's%2Bworkshoppe.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s22bQutQliI/VC3hikYvqnI/AAAAAAAAC4o/WJzYN886uTs/s1600/writer's%2Bworkshoppe%2Bwith%2Bparticipants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s22bQutQliI/VC3hikYvqnI/AAAAAAAAC4o/WJzYN886uTs/s1600/writer's%2Bworkshoppe%2Bwith%2Bparticipants.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oCL82nERY4U/VC3hmOP81kI/AAAAAAAAC4w/Z_qf979Cgk8/s1600/sharing%2Bwork%2Bwriter's%2Bworkshoppe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oCL82nERY4U/VC3hmOP81kI/AAAAAAAAC4w/Z_qf979Cgk8/s1600/sharing%2Bwork%2Bwriter's%2Bworkshoppe.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Thanks so much to Anna Quinn and <a href="http://www.writersworkshoppe.com/">The Writers' Workshoppe</a> for letting us laugh and play (and cry a little too) and to the participants and their never-flagging spirits.<br />
<br />
If you want a taste of what went on, pick up a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Daily-Poet-Day-By-Day-Practice/dp/1492706531">The Daily Poet</a>. Our workshops don't limit themselves to these prompts, but the book is a good enough substitute till you can enroll in one of our classes.Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-24459927382702027502014-05-20T10:43:00.001-07:002014-05-20T10:43:17.879-07:00The Haiku Project - Shin Yu Pai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44JAP43Hbu4/U3uQamPeqpI/AAAAAAAACzI/W3SrKn2iR08/s1600/Shin+Yu+Pai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-44JAP43Hbu4/U3uQamPeqpI/AAAAAAAACzI/W3SrKn2iR08/s1600/Shin+Yu+Pai.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
During her recent appearance at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-station-seattle-3">The Station</a> for the Beacon Bards reading series, poet <a href="http://www.shinyupai.com/">Shin Yu Pai </a>shared haiku she wrote each day during this past April.<br />
<br />
I was struck by these new poems, immediately finding much to like about their keen imagery and leaps from the close at hand to the far away and worldly. Even better, her poems have stayed with me--I keep finding myself wanting to re-read/re-experience that initial joy in hearing <i>news that stays news</i>. In looking at them more closely, I notice they are unsentimental in how they deal with a baby's behaviors, actions, growth. The exhaustion of new motherhood is here, but so are student demonstrations and the unequal distribution of wealth. I admire how she moves easily between and among the personal, the local, and the larger world of injustices and tragedies.<br />
<br />
I asked Pai if I might share a few of these haiku on my blog, and she obliged. They work best as a unit, which likely will be published in a reputable journal before too long. In the meantime, here are a few to whet your appetite:<br />
<br />
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<i>APRIL 4<br />
students stand up for <br />
freedom, occupy the legislative yuan, <br />
dear mother-land, never give up<br />
*<br />
far eastern sweet<br />
potatoes, the dark<br />
outline of Taiwan</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br />
APRIL<br />
at the eye exam<br />
wondering all the sudden where <br />
fibbing gets me<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">APRIL 14<br />
</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">scrubbing poop from<br />
the swaddle cloth, end of<br />
a long day</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>*<br />
in the alley, the Kenyan laborer <br />
picks up needles w/ gloved hands - <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>what asylum is this?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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when I twist the top<br />
off the pineapple head my boy<br />
screams in horror<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><i>APRIL 24<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><i>trying to recall the word<br />
for "gaslighting" my brain<br />
pulls up "waterboarding"<br />
*<br />
hundreds of students <br />
drowned when the ship went down<br />
all just kids<br />
*<br />
weighing whether to <br />
ask my doctor or other <br />
moms about weaning<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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More of Pai's haiku may be read in <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3455606-haiku-not-bombs" style="font-style: italic;">Haiku Not Bombs</a>, a collaborative collection of poems written as part of a project to write a haiku a day for a year. She is also the author of the newly released <i><a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2013/08/shin-yu-pais-telescopic-aux-arcs/">Auxs Arc</a>. </i></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I felt lucky to be present for Shin Yu's reading. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Gerry MacFarland also read. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Our next scheduled <a href="http://www.rockitspace.org/beacon-bards.html">Beacon Bards</a> event is Wednesday, June 11, when Kathleen Flennekin and Peter Pereira will take the podium at 7 pm. As always, an open mic follows our featured readers. On warm/dry nights we move the stage to the back-alley patio. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Hope to see you there!</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-64585448311427511872014-05-05T09:43:00.000-07:002014-05-05T09:43:20.600-07:00Winners of the Annual Poetry Book Give-Away Announced!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gGBjBEujzuc/U2e_VgkhEaI/AAAAAAAACys/lhTP7yiGi_Y/s1600/jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gGBjBEujzuc/U2e_VgkhEaI/AAAAAAAACys/lhTP7yiGi_Y/s1600/jpeg.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FHrn1aShcps/U2e-KkEY5oI/AAAAAAAACyg/pOOQcFwmHso/s1600/RecklessLovelyfrontcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FHrn1aShcps/U2e-KkEY5oI/AAAAAAAACyg/pOOQcFwmHso/s1600/RecklessLovelyfrontcover.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
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I used a random number generator, and it chose the number 19 for a free copy of<a href="http://www.upne.com/0989979719.html"> </a><i><a href="http://www.upne.com/0989979719.html">Reckless Lovely</a>, </i>and the number 33 for a free copy of <i><a href="http://fourwaybooks.com/site/clean/">Clean</a> </i>by David Daniels. Without further ado, the winners are:<br />
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<b>Mystical Marianne, </b>winner of a copy of <i>Reckless Lovely</i>; and<br />
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<b>Andrew, </b>winner of a copy of <i>Clean. </i><br />
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Winners! Please email me a copy of your mailing address. My email address is marthasilano@yahoo.com.<br />
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Thanks so much to all the participants - I hope you won big on another blog!Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-36011094231482608822014-04-29T07:32:00.001-07:002014-04-29T07:32:23.030-07:00Guest Blogging this Week at Best American Poetry! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From now until May 2, I am the guest blogger over at <a href="http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/">The Best American Poetry blog</a>. So far I've interviewed <a href="http://www.mollytenenbaum.com/">Molly Tenenbaum</a> about her collaborative poetry/book project with <a href="http://www.ellenziegler.com/">Ellen Ziegler</a>, and <a href="http://fourwaybooks.com/site/clean/">David J. Daniels</a>, winner of the 2013 Four Way Books Intro Poetry Prize. Stay tuned for more ...<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-42571347314047429112014-04-24T14:27:00.001-07:002014-04-25T08:40:27.031-07:00Poem for Poem in Your Pocket Day <b>*Poof* - It's gone!</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-14696387863112372002014-03-31T12:31:00.001-07:002014-03-31T12:49:29.778-07:00The Big Poetry Giveaway! Thanks to <a href="http://ofkells.blogspot.com/">Kelli Russell Agodon </a>and <a href="http://thealchemistskitchen.blogspot.com/">Susan Rich</a> for spearheading The Big Poetry Giveaway once again this April for National Poetry Month.<br />
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I am giving away a copy of my fourth collection of poetry, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Lovely-Martha-Silano/dp/0989979717">Reckless Lovely</a></i>, just released from Saturnalia Books, along with a copy of David Daniel's <i><a href="http://fourwaybooks.com/site/clean/">Clean</a></i>, the just-released winner of the Four Way Books Intro Poetry Prize.<br />
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To enter to win, post a comment on <i>Blue Positive </i>letting me know you're in.<br />
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At the end of the month, I will number all comments and pick two from a hat. The first drawn will receive <i>Reckless Lovely; </i>the second will receive <i>Clean. </i>Ready, set, go!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s2X74Uth2t4/Uzm0R_0abjI/AAAAAAAACxA/j4qF2G5uCLQ/s1600/9781935536413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s2X74Uth2t4/Uzm0R_0abjI/AAAAAAAACxA/j4qF2G5uCLQ/s1600/9781935536413.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winner of the Four Way Books Intro Poetry Prize, Chosen by D.A. Powell</td></tr>
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Aimee Nezhukumatathil writes "Martha Silano's poetry is gloriously street-smart and fully roaming and ripe. I want to slow-clap when she fixes her exacting gaze on warthogs, space probes, millipedes, or miracles. These stunning pages, like a "land-less landmass, [a] dollop-y desert dessert unloosed," fold moments of joy into something 'Reckless Lovely,' with inventive, chewy language, and a relentless appreciation of music and delight."Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-2292910898455686212014-03-15T09:01:00.004-07:002014-03-15T09:18:27.233-07:00My Ninth Grade English Teacher, Edwin Romond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had not seen him in person since 1978, when I was 16 years old. <a href="http://www.edwinromond.com/">Edwin Romond</a> was my ninth grade English teacher at Metuchen High School, in Metuchen, New Jersey. Before I had the luck of being taught by Ed, I hadn't been exposed to the wonders of literary analysis, or the weekly rigors of vocabulary quizzes, or deep discussions about compound vs. compound/complex sentences. I hadn't even written a book report, and I surely would not have understood before stepping into his classroom what was meant by a motif, or foreshadowing, or character analysis in the works of Theodore Dreiser or Arthur Miller.<br />
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Ed changed all that.<br />
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Between September and the winter holidays, something in me drastically changed. Instead of reading books about my baseball heroes (my first book report was on <i>It Ain't Over Till It's Over</i>), and being somewhat interested in books, I found myself presenting my findings on the notion of the boxed-in motif in <i>Death of a Salesman. </i><br />
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I was too young to be aware that we were in the presence of an incredibly gifted educator, that magic took place in his classroom. I just kept hoping that Romeo and Juliet would somehow not end up dying so tragically, boarding the bus to Edison Valley Playhouse to see the play we'd just read performed on stage.<br />
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That was just the normal course of things in Mr. Romond's class. We read books, we cared about the characters as if they were living people, and we discussed the inner workings and construction of great literarure - how all of it demanded to be looked at closely and carefully.<br />
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On Fridays we read from a Bantam paperback collection of contemporary poems and lyrics, including John Lennon and Bob Dylan. This was our reward for making it through the week with the harder stuff, I guess, or perhaps Ed wanted to let us know that writers were alive and among us - making poetry, writing songs, though he never mentioned that he was one of them.<br />
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I didn't find that out he was a poet until the following year, when he announced to the entire school that Robert Bly would be reading in Highland Park, and we just had to experience this man's amazing poetry.<br />
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Who could say no to such an opportunity? I had never heard of Robert Bly, but since Ed was so enthusiastic and insistent, we all piled into my friend's car and met him at the reading.<br />
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I had no idea what to expect, but I was ready to take it all in. Bly performed his poems, donning masks and railing against The Establishment. I hadn't known that this was a career option.<br />
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The next morning a poem, "The Night of Robert Bly," circulated around school. It was written by Ed, more living proof that poems could be made by not just a well-known poet like Bly, but by someone I knew.<br />
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I'd written a few poems but didn't show them to anyone but my closest friends until I enrolled in my first workshop in 1987. Ed was the teacher who pointed the way.<br />
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Years later, my mother sent me a clipping from <i>The News Tribune, </i>a long piece about Ed's successes, along with a sampling of poems. A smiled when I saw that a few of them were about baseball.<br />
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When I finally got around to contacting him in 2004, he was busy (very busy) with events honoring his teaching run of 32 years, now drawing to a close.<br />
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This past Wednesday night we read at the Barron Arts Center, in Woodbridge, NJ. Ed shared poems on a wide range of subjects -- Jesus's puppy, his mother's homemade cookie recipe, a massacre in a one-room school house in Amish country, and a tribute to his most beloved high school teacher. I listened to every luscious word, the voice I remembered so well from that class in the fall of 1976, opening me up to all the possibilities of a life devoted to literature.<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-18973635584124834312014-02-17T13:42:00.001-08:002014-02-17T13:42:31.246-08:00AWP Off-Site Event: Race & Ethnicity: Three Poets Expand the Dialogue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Please join us on the evening of February 26th in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle, an easy light rail ride from downtown Seattle, for a reading with three amazing poets!<br />
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Location: The Garden House, 2336 15th Avenue South.<br />
Time: 7-9 pm.<br />
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There will be wine/beer and refreshments.<br />
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Co-sponsored by RockIt Community Arts and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-APgtWbux1vg/UwKBd3I5nnI/AAAAAAAACtA/tRY5q9Y1q-8/s1600/patricia-smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-APgtWbux1vg/UwKBd3I5nnI/AAAAAAAACtA/tRY5q9Y1q-8/s1600/patricia-smith.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patricia Smith</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aimee Nezhukumatathil </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martha Collins</td></tr>
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Note: Lee Sharkey has had to cancel her trip to Seattle due to a health-related matter.<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-62699092729867016662014-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:002014-02-14T06:00:09.595-08:00Happy Valentine's Day! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-78361178968623560332013-12-06T07:00:00.000-08:002013-12-06T07:43:58.107-08:00Channeling Mary Ruefle <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't know which I like more - first drafts, endlessly tinkering through draft after draft, or the feeling when you know (or pretty much know) you can send a poem out into the world.<br />
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Let me share a little secret. "<a href="http://superstitionreview.asu.edu/issue12/poetry/marthasilano">Despite Nagging Malfunctions</a>," which goes live today at <i><a href="http://superstitionreview.asu.edu/issue12">The Superstition Review</a>, </i>began in a little room called The Stellar's Jay Suite at the <a href="http://www.kangaroohouse.com/">Kangaroo House Bed & Breakfas</a>t in East Sound, Washington. I was there as a resident for <a href="http://orcasartsmith.org/">Artsmith</a> last February, spending a fabulous week, mostly on a day bed with a notebook in my lap and a stack of books at my side, researching everything from typhus to Saturn (hmmm, why was I researching typhus? I can no longer recall, but there it is, scrawled in my notebook: "highly contagious caused by bacteria in lice. 10-40% chance of dying. Between 1918-1922, typhus killed three million").<br />
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But I digress.<br />
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To begin "Despite Nagging Malfunctions," I first had to find out that Voyager 2 , well, "despite nagging malfunctions"(according to an archived 1977 <i>New York Times </i>article), launched in September of 1977.<br />
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I also had to come up with a list of statements from various poems by Mary Reufle, including:<br />
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I was given [concrete gift] ...<br />
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I smelled ...<br />
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I discovered ...<br />
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I fell in love with ...<br />
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My mother ...<br />
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My father ...<br />
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I learned ...<br />
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One morning ...<br />
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I saw ... [image of animal]<br />
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State a piece of advice. Dismiss or muse on it. Ask a question.<br />
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Go back to talking about the same animal.<br />
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Don't be [animal].<br />
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In other words, I made myself a little poem draft road map.<br />
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It wouldn't be the first time someone worked from a blueprint, would it?<br />
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I hope you enjoy the completed version. It was a fun poem to write, especially gratifying to get Tycho Brahe's prosthetic nose into a poem, and some Emily Post wisdom.Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-18466909804463123592013-12-04T11:10:00.002-08:002013-12-04T11:11:21.149-08:00Giving & Getting: Poetry Book Recommendations, Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
During this season of giving consider giving poetry books purchased from local book sellers or directly from the presses who published them. 2013 was a banner year for poetry. Here are just a few of my favorite new releases: </div>
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<i>The New York Times</i> recently featured Kasey Jued's poem "To Swim" on their <i><a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/22/poetry-profiles-university-of-pittsburgh-press/?_r=2">ArtsBeat</a> </i>page, which is how I first found out about Kasey's work, along with her amazing new book, <i><a href="http://www.upress.pitt.edu/BookDetails.aspx?bookId=36378">Keeper</a>, </i>winner of the 2012 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize from University of Pittsburgh Press. Kasey's work appears to be autobiographical, that is, it shares images/memories from the speaker's childhood, but her work is also very much NOT about her own personal "abouts" - it's about the abouts of owls, dogs, bees, rain, and blackberries, which under her spell become somehow holy, become something equal to God. Two of my favorite poems in the book, "Race Track, Hialeah, FL" and "Skin," are about racehorses and sharks, respectively. I love how, in "Race Track, Hialeah, FL," we are given the metaphor of the track's green center "like a place on paper / where, years later, I'd set / my compass tip, careful / to make my circles <i>concentric, </i>/ meaning they shared a heart." WOW! I also love, in "Skin," this conversation going on between two kids: "My friend / said even the skin of a shark / could cut you: under its silver / a million tiny blades." These are poems exquisitely calm and full of reverence for the natural world, brimming with creatures of the wild worth paying attention to. Puns be damned: this book <i>is</i> a definite keeper.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stags-Leap-Poems-Sharon-Olds/dp/0375712259">Stag's Leap</a></i>: I was told it would be a good read, but I did not know it would be <i>this </i>good. In a long career with many, many excellent poems/accolades to her credit, Olds has written some of her best poems in this volume cataloging the unanticipated breakup from her husband of thirty years. The voice of these poems is by turns elegiac and angry, victorious and downtroddingly wrecked. There isn't a weak poem in the book, but the ones that stand out demand to be read again and again, like the one ("Tiny Siren") where she finds the photo (a year before he tells her he's leaving her) of her husband's future new wife in the Whirlpool, and the one ("Poem of Thanks") where she considers "the touch of the long view" as opposed to the one of someone who is "passing through," lovingly listing the many places where they "did it": "Colleague of sand / by moonlight -- and by the beach noonlight, once, / and of straw, salt bale in a barn, and mulch / inside a garden, between the rows ..." If you want a sneak preview, I highly urge you to listen to Olds read from <i>Stag's Leap</i> plus a few of her earlier books, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7iu4wdnxtM">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sH_QetlxOw4/Up551ndvm5I/AAAAAAAACkM/DAdy5BBpBRE/s1600/41j37hTUmIL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sH_QetlxOw4/Up551ndvm5I/AAAAAAAACkM/DAdy5BBpBRE/s320/41j37hTUmIL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
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At long last Seattle poet Rebecca Hoogs has a full-length collection of poetry, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Self-Storage-Rebecca-Hoogs/dp/1622880153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386118727&sr=1-1&keywords=self-storage+rebecca+hoogs">Self-Storage</a></i>! Her poems are smart, sharp, and sassy, with plenty of pleasing ear candy, as in (from "L'Oeuf"): "Love is a brunch and a racket. / I know it means nothing, / barely worth the oofing / before the offing, but still / I load up my basket / and watch them hatch: / chicklets of zip...". Who wouldn't want a book with a love song to the word <i>suck </i>and an accentual syllabic poem in the voice of Ariadne? Give this to someone who feels refreshed by poems that champion sound and rhyme and eschew all order of earnestness in the confessional mode.</div>
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In Bob Hicok's <i><a href="https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/pages/browse/book.asp?bg=%7BD664C527-E285-460D-9EBD-D60B3D9F1CA9%7D">Elegy Owed</a> </i>the speaker, as always, seems to be whispering into the reader's ear at a crowded party, sharing the most intimate and sorta creepy details of his past ("He was made to touch a corpse as a child" - from "Coming to life"), while also uttering the most utterly quirky and unexpected lines in all of contemporary poetry: "If lightning/ loved me, it would be sewn / with tongues, it would open / my mind to the sky / within the sky. " See what I mean? I'd love to meet Hicok's speaker at a holiday party as I'm deciding between the caviar with Triscuit and the guac and chips. Instead of reflecting on our teaching methods and catching each other up on our various athletic endeavors, he would turn to me and say "I've gone up the fire escape / in my brain, where everything / is a mist and a slow wet kiss ... " (from the title poem), and I would love him dearly for it. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvmHpA8cZAs/Up551gYAYGI/AAAAAAAACkQ/RmK1P47z3Lc/s1600/9781555976354.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvmHpA8cZAs/Up551gYAYGI/AAAAAAAACkQ/RmK1P47z3Lc/s1600/9781555976354.png" /></a>Mary Szybist's <i>Incarnadine </i>won the 2013 National Book Award, and for good reason. Sample some of the poems from this gorgeous book <a href="https://www.graywolfpress.org/blogs/five-poems-incarnadine">here</a> and <a href="http://www.kenyonreview.org/journal/fall-2011/selections/mary-szybist/">here</a>. I love her work - am smitten with it. Nuff said.Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-19889009679182963502013-11-30T10:40:00.001-08:002013-11-30T10:40:26.724-08:00Dusting, by Marilyn Nelson <b><a href="http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15659">Dusting</a></b><div>
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Thank you for these tiny</div>
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particles of ocean salt,</div>
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pearl-necklace viruses;</div>
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winged protozoans:</div>
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for the infinite,</div>
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intricate shapes</div>
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of submicroscopic</div>
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living things.</div>
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For algae spores</div>
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and fungus spores,</div>
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bonded by vital</div>
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mutual genetic cooperation,</div>
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spreading their </div>
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inseparable lives</div>
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from equator to pole.</div>
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My hand, my arm,</div>
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make sweeping circles.</div>
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Dust climbs the ladder of light. </div>
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For this infernal, endless chore,</div>
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for these eternal seeds of rain:</div>
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Thank you. For dust.</div>
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I am thankful for dust, too, and also for my trip this past summer to France, getting to walk past these men on my way to the Camille Claude museum in Nogents.<br />
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And I am thankful that I have been given time to write<br />
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and that I have access to fresh and local foods</div>
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And I am thankful for views like these</div>
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And I am grateful to my parents for instilling a passion for learning</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGlgTa9RirQ/UpouiCUI4SI/AAAAAAAACjE/BaWhg8h6rxw/s1600/Stefano+di+Giovanni+dil+Sassetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGlgTa9RirQ/UpouiCUI4SI/AAAAAAAACjE/BaWhg8h6rxw/s320/Stefano+di+Giovanni+dil+Sassetta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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even though I still have no idea why this saint is blasting off like a rocket.<br />
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Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-36404121474107673982013-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:002013-11-25T07:00:00.978-08:00The Official Black Friday Daily Poet Giveaway! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am not the biggest fan of a day devoted to buying up stuff like a fiend, but my reasoning is all summed up in one of my very favorite cliches: <b>if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.</b> <br />
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Oh, not only join 'em, but instead of slashing prices 40% or 50%, give something away <b>for free</b>!<br />
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Which is why I am giving away <b>TWO FREE COPIES</b> of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Daily-Poet-Day-By-Day-Practice/dp/1492706531">The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice</a>, </i>recently released by Two Sylvias Press and co-edited by me and <a href="http://ofkells.blogspot.com/">Kelli Russell Agodon</a>.<br />
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In order to be in the running for one of the two free copies,<b> leave a comment to this here blog post</b> - say hello and tell me you're "in," at the very least, but also feel free to share your favorite poetry book(s) of 2013, or your writing resolutions for 2014, or something on your wish list (experiences and actions preferred, but if you have a friend on Etsy.com who makes amazing jewelry, share away!).<br />
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Anyway, at the end of the week (on the "actual" Black Friday), I will number the comments one to whatever, then toss the numbers in a hat and have my daughter draw two of them. I will then contact the winners, get addresses, and send them their books completely postage free.<br />
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It's easy! You can't lose! It's fun! No fine print & no messy clean-up!<br />
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Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-36003188170523971262013-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:002013-11-21T07:00:07.409-08:00Huffington Post Reviews The Daily Poet: Fuck Yeah!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There I was ... doing a little research on Saint Francis of Assisi, working on a poem about toxic outgassing of ordinary household furniture, when the text came in:<br />
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<b>We r on the huff post for the daily poet. Fuck yeah!!!</b><br />
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It was Kelli, of course.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RLyu1ElnIpA/Uo1zen-FcgI/AAAAAAAACgY/S0mhEh1i5L4/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RLyu1ElnIpA/Uo1zen-FcgI/AAAAAAAACgY/S0mhEh1i5L4/s1600/images.jpg" /></a><br />
My response was simple.<br />
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<b>Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. </b><br />
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(So much for on-screen eloquence.)<br />
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But okay, what if they canned it? What if the reviewer went all snarky and wiseass about the prompts we worked so hard on these past five years, all those drives up and down I-5, all those ferry trips?<br />
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I clicked. I read. And no, they didn't can it.<br />
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Instead, reviewer Jeb Harrison makes the case that "in today's screen culture where the written word ... has become the prevalent mode of communication, people are starting to realize that <b>those that can write well are more likely to be heard.</b> Not just folks that make their living by the pen, but ostensibly everybody that communicates via the screen; smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or smart TV--it makes no difference, <b><i>we're all writers now</i>."</b><br />
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Yep, we're all writers. And by that line of reasoning, "we need professional tools; we need 'prompts' to loosen up the gray matter. <b>We need <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Daily-Poet-Day-By-Day-Practice/dp/1492706531">The Daily Poet </a></i>by Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano</b>."<br />
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Did he really say that? Did he really suggest our book could be used to help people at a loss for words on a first, second, or third date? During uncomfy moments at the dinner table?<br />
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He DID.<br />
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He suggested we should turn to our tablemates and ask:<br />
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<i>What do you hate? I'm not particularly fond of guavas ...</i><br />
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(which happens to be the prompt for June 29, the Hate Prompt!)<br />
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Here's the full text: <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeb-harrison/writing-prompts-conversat_b_4307024.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">Writing Prompts, Conversation Starts, and Good Screen Livin.'</a></b><br />
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And, just in case you want to try it:<br />
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<i>June 29</i><br />
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<i>Hate</i><br />
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<i>What do you hate? I'm not particularly fond of guavas, synthetic fabrics, or costume jewelry. Fashion a poem from your list of things you'd rather not eat, drink, wear, hear, or see. For more inspiration, do a quick Internet search to find Charles Simic's poem "Our Salvation" to get your invective juices flowing.</i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-45878636681862254832013-11-10T15:43:00.000-08:002013-11-10T15:43:19.860-08:00Reckless Lovely is Available on Pre-Order! And it's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Lovely-Martha-Silano/dp/0989979717">25% off</a>! For all my reluctance about a blue cover, I'm quite pleased:<br />
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-11838022379825752182013-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:002013-11-06T07:00:10.534-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />I am teaming up with poet <a href="http://terrain.org/2013/poetry/four-poems-by-tina-schumann/">Tina Schumann </a>for a productive and restorative weekend on Orcas Island this winter at the historic Kangaroo House B&B in East Sound, Washington - <a href="http://www.kangaroohouse.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.kangaroohouse.<wbr></wbr>com/</a> </div>
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Our time together begins on Friday afternoon with a fireside writing prompt and dessert. On Saturday, we'll spend the afternoon strolling/hiking, writing in and out of doors (weather permitting), followed by a lively evening repast at a local restaurant. Sunday morning brings another delicious breakfast at the B&B, then wrap things up with a guided writing exercise at nearby North Beach. </div>
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All the details, including accommodations, rates, and optional one-on-one poetry consultations, are provided here: <a href="http://orcasartsmith.org/workshops.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://orcasartsmith.org/<wbr></wbr>workshops.html</a> </div>
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It would be wonderful to spend the weekend with you, nurturing your creative side and enjoying a relaxing time together while generating new work. </div>
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Can't make it? I do understand how hard it is to get away. Please share this information with those you think might be looking for the perfect excuse to travel to Western Washington. <span style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Thanks so much!</span></div>
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Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5975475581904630119.post-70579007556830503862013-11-03T21:35:00.000-08:002013-11-03T21:42:49.341-08:00You Write 183 & I'll Write 183: The Making of The Daily PoetIt was Kelli's idea, of course. We were sitting in a cafe, most likely. It was probably the day we spent four hours in a crowded Starbucks because we were too involved in conversation and generating new work to bother moving our bodies elsewhere.<br />
<br />
How about we write a book of writing prompts, Marty? We make them up all the time anyway - why not share them with the world?<br />
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I just wasn't sure. Could I really come up with 183 writing prompts?<br />
<br />
It was sometime around early 2010. My kids were five and nine. I had a full-time teaching gig, and then there were my own poems. As it was I barely had time for those three very important jobs. Did I really have the time to come up with bushels and bushels of exercises?<br />
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Well, heck yeah!<br />
<br />
We divided up the months and got to work, making December 2010 our first deadline: the halfway mark. We would meet at a nearby retreat center on an undisclosed island to share what we had so far -- then spend some time testing out our po-recipes!<br />
<br />
By some miracle we both met that December deadline, spending a productive week in collaborative sequester. We sat at the dining room table with the electric fireplace flickering away, listening to the ferries (and the float planes) come and go. In the kitchen Kelli had erected a Shrine to Chocolate. Stacks of dark, milk, and red-hot chili kept us fortified. When the chocolate gave out, it was canned soup, fresh fruit, and a Mr. Coffee that wouldn't quit.<br />
<br />
It took two more years to get the other three months finished. For me it meant that I spent the summer of 2012 writing an exercise a day. [Don't ask me what happened to 2011!]<br />
<br />
2013 was the year of editing. We wanted the entries to be clear and succinct, and we also wanted them to cover as many bases as possible: a subject, a trope, words to include, excerpts from sample poems, formal elements, extra credit requirements (we love extra credit).<br />
<br />
All of this meant lots of reading and re-reading, And testing. And more chocolate. And more trips to Starbucks.<br />
<br />
Along the way, I never gave it a thought that a day would come when the book would be <i>finished</i>. All I thought about was what had to be done that week: <i>I have to revise the pantoum exercise, </i>or <i>I have to send that permissions request to Ellen Bass. </i><br />
<br />
It's nice to not have to dig down deep to write more exercises (I honestly don't think I have another prompt in me!), but I am revved up more than ever to <i>create new work </i>using our exercises.<br />
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Here's the exercise for November 5, just in case you want to play along:<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "My Underwood"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Three-Ring Circus</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Write a poem in the form of a three-ring
circus—create three sections each with something unique happening in each section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To help the poem stay connected, have a
word, color, or unique phrase reappear in each section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make a list of three events that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seem </i>to have nothing to do with each
other—playing tennis in a field of wildflowers, memorizing the moons of
Jupiter, and taking the subway to work—and write a poem that connects them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you do write a draft using this prompt, please share it in the comments section. If you want to get your hands on 365 more writing exercises, consider purchasing a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1492706531/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=kyes-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1492706531&adid=0SGR4N64YZT8BQ2KCFWB">The Daily Poet</a>.<br />
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Thanks!</div>
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<br />Martha Silanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16486148374821966457noreply@blogger.com4