After all the excitement....

of National Poetry Month, May has been quiet, writing-wise. I am working on a poem that tries to capture the moment when the first city in America, Wabash, Indiana, was electrified. It wasn't with Edison-type incandescent lights, as one would first guess, but with the much brighter, more economical Brush arc lights. These were better suited for outdoor lighting and large spaces than the Edison lights. The great-grandson of the original inventor Charles F. Brush was kind enough to give me some information on how the Brush lamps operated. The poem is still in-progress.

"Point of No Return" accepted by Spark, A Creative Anthology

Spark a Creative Anthology just accepted "Point of No Return," a sonnet in two septets honoring Harry K. Daghlian, Jr., the first American casualty of the Atomic Age.

I am very excited to be part of Spark's next volume. They have great contests which award not only cash prizes and publication, but also subscriptions and books!

Celebrating National Poetry Month by reading my poem on WRLN as part of the O'Miami Poetry Festival.

I was just notified that my poem, Like No Other, was chosen to be read on WRLN, 91.3 FM, as part of O'Miami's 2013 Poetry Festival. Along with other submitted poems, mine was published on tumblr as part of the celebration of National Poetry month and some were chosen to be read on the Morning Edition, which reaches an audience of half a million listeners.

"Parkinson's at 60" to be published as part of my guest blog at Latina Book Club!

A nice birthday present for me, Latina Book Club will be publishing my guest blog about discovering my muse in later life on May 1st, as part of their Writers' Wednesdays monthly series. I am very excited to be published there and to contribute to encouraging the community to read and to read Latino literature in particular.
This particular poem was inspired by a cousin's visit from Puerto Rico, during which he told me of his condition. These things are hard to process without poetry--I'm even more grateful than ever that I can do so!
However, the post is mostly about finding my mentor, Andrea Hollander, and how with her help I was able to overcome mental barriers to writing poetry that I had always struggled with over the years.
Being able to express myself effectively via poetry feels like being able to take a deep breath for the first time in my life!

Spellbound magazine publishes "Changelings"

I just found out Spellbound, a children's fantasy e-zine accepted my poem "Changelings" for their Spring issue. Their theme for this next issue will be "Changelings and Doppelgangers" so I thought this particular poem would fit in! I'm very honored to be published by Spellbound!

He will live forever....Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors, passed away exactly one month ago at age 91 after a long illness. I was fortunate enough to meet him once, during a Miami Book Fair International 1990 "Evening with...." event. He held an entire auditorium spellbound for an hour as he spoke; it was one of those magical evenings where the whole audience was as one. After, we were able to talk to him as he signed my 40th anniversary edition of The Martian Chronicles. He mentioned that he very pleased with that edition.

This picture is from the 1990 Miami appearance, courtesy of wikipedia.

"Jury Duty" accepted by Verse Wisconsin

Verse Wisconsin just accepted my poem "Jury Duty" for publication in their online fall issue "It's Political." I'm very excited to be published in Verse Wisconsin again! Andrea Hollander, my mentor and teacher since March 2011, had urged me to re-submit it and was sure the revised version would be accepted and it was!

Menopausal Mermaid Took 36th Place--2011

My poem "The Menopausal Mermaid Takes Medical Advice" came in 36th place in the 6th Annual Writer's Digest Poetry contest--the top 50 poems were published in The 6th Annual Writer's Digest Competition Collection. This was the first year I was eligible to compete again since I won the 2nd annual contest. I am entering this year again, having won only honorable mention (but also $50 worth of WD books, and the 2011 Poet's Market, which were all very welcome) and a free year's subscription!

2012 Update--"Persona" Poems

For some reason, I've been writing many "persona" poems lately. The one I'm working on now was inspired by Mary Doria Russell's novel Doc about Doc Holliday. I'm writing the poem from the perspective of his cousin Mattie Ann Holliday. In keeping with the American Old West feeling, we recently went to see a great exhibit of Western art, sculpture and artifacts at the Four Arts Society Museum in Palm Beach. Their gardens were spectacular as well.

An Embarrassment of Riches...National Poetry Month 2011

National Poetry Month is around the corner and I'm psyched to hear that both W.S. Merwin and Mary Oliver are coming to South Florida! I never thought I'd get to
see them in person! Mary Oliver is coming courtesy of Lynn University and the Palm Beach Poetry Festival.

Merwin, poet laureate, is coming as part of the Florida Center for the Literary Arts celebration.

Don't begin a novel by Sharon Shinn before work!

I recently discovered Sharon Shinn and her wonderful science fiction and fantasy novels. The best part is that I've discovered her late in the day so she has an extensive back list of works to explore! Her first novel, The Shape Changer's Wife is an incredible book that brought her instant fame. It's being made into a film but they are still looking for funding, so visit the film's website to see more details and how to donate toward this effort.

Shinn is a Firefly fan, which doesn't surprise me, as her characters strike me as similar to Firefly's--the type of characters you want to take home to dinner!

Just a warning, though, don't begin any Sharon Shinn novel before work or you may end up calling in sick!

Best Buys of 2010--total $65

When I look back on this year, I realize the two items that added most to my quality of life were simple and inexpensive: a $25 dollar fleecy robe and a $40 zero gravity
lawn chair (both bought on sale.) The time I spent wrapped up in one and sitting in the other, blissfully reading were the most satisfying, most relaxing hours of my year! (The books were free, courtesy of the public library!)

National Poetry Month/Verse Wisconsin online!

This year National Poetry Month means more to me than ever since I just had my first poem in an online journal, Verse Wisconsin published. Verse Wisconsin also allows audio versions of the poem, read by the authors. This is the first time I've accomplished that, too! (Thanks to Jim's recording expertise!)

My poem, Alternate History is published along with some very distinguished company, including the current poet laureate of Wisconsin, Marilyn L. Taylor, a former Milwaukee Poet Laureate, and FIU's own Denise Duhamel. This is the second time I've appeared in a poetry journal with Ms. Duhamel; she contributed a poem to FIU's Vox, a literary magazine, some years ago where I also had two poems published.

My favorite poem in the issue so far is Nathan Graziano's poem, Elizabeth Graziano.

Earth hour at the telescope at Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort

Last night we spent Earth Hour showing guests of the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura the planets, moon and Orion Nebula through the telescope as part of their Earth Hour celebration:


"the Earth Hour celebration will culminate with an outdoor presentation from astronomer Dr. James Webb, director of the SARA Observatory at Florida International University. A telescope will be available for guests to explore the night sky."

It was a lot of fun, people of all ages stopped by between 8 and 11 pm and viewed the objects and asked Jim questions. He gave a short presentation to the ones who lingered, wanting more information. We finally had to wrap up when clouds started coming in, but the evening had been beautiful up to that point and the viewing excellent, despite being in a pool area surrounded by buildings.

Duotrope's Digest pays for itself this month! Warrior Champion finds a home.

My $2 a month contribution to Duotrope just paid for itself because I've had another poem accepted for publication, this time by The Lorelei Signal.

Duotrope's search engine helped me find the right market for my poem "The Warrior Champion" which will appear in Lorelei Signal's July 2010 online edition and their August 2010 print edition entitled Mystic Signals. They pay $2 for the poem, plus a percentage of royalties.

The Lorelei Signal,a fantasy magazine devoted to stories and poems about strong female characters, is named for the animated Star Trek movie where Lt. Uhura has to take command and rescue the crew.

Panhala and Mary Oliver's Messenger

I came across a neat poetry site, Panhala that combines a beautiful picture, a poem and some music. If you sign up for email from Panhala the music is optional.

They feature many of my favorite poets like Mary Oliver, Richard Wilbur, Wislawa Szymborska, W.S. Merwin, Rainer Maria Rilke, Antonio Machado, etc., with archives going back to 2002.

Mary Oliver's poem, "Messenger", a new favorite:

Messenger

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.


~ Mary Oliver ~

Verse Wisconsin acceptance!

Thanks to Duotrope, a wonderfully useful writer's tool, I've been submitting poetry lately. (Also thanks to Jane Banning, whose works I was searching for when I came across both Verse Wisconsin and Duotrope!) So far 14 poems to five different journals and out of three I've heard back from, one acceptance! Not bad for my first try in years! Verse Wisconsin is a print and online magazine that's been around since 1998, under the title Free Verse, they had to change it when they went online because another ezine had that name already. My poem was accepted for the Spring 2010 online version, which is themed "alternate realities"---who could resist that? Like I told them, my whole life is an alternate reality!

On that note, let me share with you Rainer Maria Rilke's incredible poem You who never arrived, which has to do with my poem; mine refers to the awful possibility that I had not met Jim....now if I could only express myself like Rilke..


You Who Never Arrived
by Rainer Maria Rilke

You who never arrived
in my arms, Beloved, who were lost
from the start
I don't even know what songs
would please you. I have given up trying
to recognize you in the surging wave of the next
moment. All the immense
images in me--the far-off, deeply-felt landscape,
cities, towers, and bridges, and un-
suspected turns in the path,
and those powerful lands that were once
pulsing with the life of the gods--
all rise within me to mean
you, who forever elude me.
You, Beloved, who are all
the gardens I have ever gazed at,
longing. An open window
in a country house--, and you almost
stepped out, pensive, to meet me. Streets
that I chanced upon,--
you had just walked down them and vanished.
And sometimes, in a shop, the mirrors
were still dizzy with your presence and,
startled, gave back
my too-sudden image. Who knows? perhaps
the same
bird echoed through both of us
yesterday, separate, in the evening...

from Theory.com.

Farewell to Kage Baker 1952-2010

I just found out writer Kage Baker passed away on Jan 31st. I am so sad I never got a chance to meet her; I've admired her work since her debut novel _In the Garden of Iden_ came out in 1997. I think I ran across it serendipitously at a bookstore, intrigued by the beautiful cover art and it led to a major Kage Baker addiction. The main character, the botanist Mendoza, remains one of my favorite female characters in science-fiction literature. All her books have been original, surprising, affecting, top-notch, never disappointing.
I will miss her...

Report on Carlos Ruiz Zafon's talk about his new book

I spent a blissful weekend immersed in Miami Book Fair International events, not the least of which was an evening listening to Carlos Ruiz Zafon talk about his new book, El Juego del Angel (The Angel's Game in English--I'm not sure if it's been released in English yet so the title may vary when it is).

Ruiz Zafon is the phenom Spanish author of the international bestseller The Shadow of the wind (La Sombra del Viento) which has been translated into 30 languages so far. He's currently the most widely read Spanish author in the world. According to him, he now has reached the circulation levels of Miguel Cervantes!

He gave an interesting talk about how these two novels are part of a planned quartet of novels, all taking place in a magical-realism Barcelona and interrelated but independent. He wants each one to be like a different entrance to the same labyrinth. This idea of fashioning the novels like pieces of a Chinese puzzle box sounds fascinating.

He also reported that he won't be selling the film rights to The Shadow of the Wind anytime soon; he says the best film of a novel is the one made in the mind of the reader (a statement that was approved with applause by the audience). But he does live part-time in L.A. now, so it could be he's planning to write an independent screenplay; he didn't say and no one asked him. (Can anyone be living in LA and NOT be working on a screenplay? I don't think so!)

I read the first five chapters of his new book in Spanish and I'm not sensing the same beauty of language that I did in his first, which I read in English. It's too early to tell if this is due to a different approach/voice or maybe he had a genius translator!

Miami Book Fair International coming to town!

The Miami Book Fair International is coming to town Nov. 9-16th.

I'm excited that two of my favorite writers, novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon author of Shadow of the Wind and now El Juego del Angel, and former poet Laureate Mark Strand, are both participating. Of course, with my luck they are both going to be there at the same time on the same evening! Choices, choices!