Category Archives: Poetry

I Told You So

We hit town late afternoon-ish and I immediately honor the request for the museum and its entertaining dinosaur footprints indented in cement, pgymy mammoth bones, taxidermied (the fraying sort) mountain animals and vultures, buttons igniting barn owl shrieks and snake … Continue reading

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Quote For The Weekend (Another Sunday Late Edition Blrrrrgh)

The blood jet is poetry/there is no stopping it. —Sylvia Plath I could stare at this photo for hours…

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No Sickness (O My Stars)

I remember using the mini food processor chopper thing to within an inch of its life, opening cans of Christmas delicacies like organic kidney beans, tomato paste (yes, organic tomato paste—who knew) and what is Christmas without ye olde Christmas mandarin … Continue reading

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, dog, Faction, Pets, Poetry, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Writer, Activist, Leader (And The List Goes On)

RIP “I would be glad if it was felt that I have done something generally useful. I don’t care much about personal fame or popularity. I would be satisfied with the feeling that I had a chance to help with … Continue reading

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See? Not So Proud

Tripping on stage at the very end of a performance, during the denoument, the final vital monologue. Tripping. So hard, so clumsily, there was no hiding it. Tripping. So that everyone in that theatre was yanked out of their suspension of … Continue reading

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Pass The Cognac, Baby

My husband and I are parents not used to going out in the evening together—just us— no preschooler in tow. I may hit a book club or Target by myself around 8p.m. My husband may work late one or two … Continue reading

Posted in Adult writing, Me and Us, Poetry, poetry reading, Santa Barbara, To Explain, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Elusive Palomino

As I was writing/editing and avoiding my laptop’s Internet connection in my bed office yesterday (see canny Zadie Smith quote from previous post), utilizing the sweet patch of me-as-writer time following leg-destroying yoga and before I was to pick my son up … Continue reading

Posted in Adult writing, Avoiding My Writing, books, Fiction, middle grade, Poetry, poetry reading, Quotes, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

DUMMY

I have a new special writing/revising trick. Starting with the first three chapters of my novel, I copy and paste them into a brand new fresh document, print, then edit/revise/correct/read-aloud/enhance/make-marvelous, etc. I throw the hardcopy edits into the brand new … Continue reading

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Free Hugs

Because even then I didn’t have TV and iphones weren’t invented yet, I received the news via a phone call from my sister up in Santa Barbara. Shortly after speaking with her, as I sat alone in my little cocoon … Continue reading

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Poetry Reading

On Saturday, October 1st, 7:30p.m., I will be reading with other poets featured in The Pedestal Magazine at Beyond Baroque in Venice. Having just come from an extremely sparsely attended reading by the California Poet Laureate, I’m hoping there will … Continue reading

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, books, Poetry, poetry reading, Steps In Promotion, To Explain, Writing, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

When I Write

I might wake up many times during any night due to: Nightmares involving fedora-wearing aliens intent on making off with my son. The certainty that I have heard a loud noise, which means rising from bed and checking my son’s room and the rest … Continue reading

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Piddlings

I printed out a “finished” poem and left it on the chair next to my bed desk. I left the room. When I returned, I discovered that fearless, scratches-inflicting, wild, out of control, great white shark-mouthed and terminally cute Diggory-The-Kitten had … Continue reading

Posted in Avoiding My Writing, dog, Me and Us, Parakeet, Poetry, To Explain, Writer's Angst, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fever!

I need the sort of writing fever that allows multi-tasking. I need to be able to be ill AND revise a novel and engage the 3 year old and toss the tennis ball for the dog, fold laundry, garden (i.e. yank … Continue reading

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Moon Night

Shawls of cool sea fog wafted along Anapamu Street just in time for the event, chilling the artists set up on the gallery’s front patio and across the way—in front of the hushed, monolithic library—attempting to capture the full moon … Continue reading

Posted in Me and Us, ocean related, Poetry, poetry reading, Santa Barbara, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Upcoming Poetry Reading

On Wednesday, January 19th, somewhere between 630 and 700 in the evening, I will be at Sullivan-Goss An American Gallery, 7 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, reading a few of my moon poems in conjunction with the gallery’s full moon event … Continue reading

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Writing Fever

It’s going to take longer for me to reach my number one goal. I can’t rush this revision, even if I wanted to. Yes, domestics ALWAYS come into play when it comes to writing, such as: My son’s flu, this … Continue reading

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Poet Distracted By Whales

Had to take a break from editing Trouble. Did so by editing a new poem. It’s almost 9p.m. My spouse has once again passed out with the toddler when putting him to bed. There is nothing to distract me from editing … Continue reading

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Pack Leader

I have not posted of late. See picture on left. We brought him into our pack and I have been adjusting to the dog element as it relates to freaked out housecats and a toddler with beaucoup d’energy. Le French … Continue reading

Posted in Adult writing, Avoiding My Writing, dog, Faction, Fiction, Me and Us, middle grade, Poetry, Steps In Promotion, To Explain, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Script Analysis

Tonight was so interesting. Between the usual daily madness of mothering, cleaning, cooking, errand-running, FB-ing, email checking, napping, sock finding, googly-eyed puppet-making, Halloween costume hunting, folding laundry and poem-editing—I was able to read the current draft of a script my husband … Continue reading

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New Workings

Depending on who you talk to (my spouse, Facebook, my infernal muse, ABC.com…) I am working on a new poem. As proof, and in danger of ex-ing myself from the writing genre, here are some lines from this new poem … Continue reading

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Cutthroat Writer

 Currently channeling my inner (or not so inner) Cutthroat Writer (notice her fingers poised to drop to the keyboard and—clack, no—CLACK for hours, even if her toddler wakes up at 5:00a.m., like today, even if “cutthroat writer” means looking like this … Continue reading

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Seduced By Big Foot

A poetry evening as I prepare my BB submission, the deadline approaching faster than—that’s it, my brain just clicked off. It’s only 9:20p.m. I believe the MWO intensive (see previous post) made me more exhausted than when I left for the … Continue reading

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