I have an haiku in issue 13 of Haiku Journal. The entire issue is free online, and I’m proud to be sharing space with such wonderful writing.
I especially love this one by Peter Sacco:
Between each movement
the trio rests ─ the dark hall
echoes with coughing
My own contribution to this issue was written last year, in the midst of the terrible Texas drought. I’m glad I found a home for it here.
I have an haiku up today at Extract(s). The photo that accompanies it is an original one, taken while standing at the top of Enchanted Rock on a cloudy day.
This haiku came out of my small stones practice. Not all of my small stones are haiku — in fact, most of them aren’t — but some of them do end up being in haiku form. It was composed during that brief, blessed rainy season.
There was a time in my life when I didn’t enjoy writing haiku, but now I find it one of my favorite forms. And in the past few years, I feel like my longer poems are really inspired by the compression of haiku. I like to fit my words into tight spaces, and give a rich image while still managing to be sparse. There is so much concentration that goes into a haiku (both in the sense of compression and attention), and that’s why I’ve come to adore them so much.
With the help of this random number generator, I’ve selected the winners for my Big Poetry Giveaway 2012. Congratulations to Shawnte, who won the copy of Susan Wheeler’s Ledger, and Ronald Lewis, who won the copy of Allison Benis White’s Self-Portrait with Crayon. I’ll have the books out on Monday, after I get back from Poetry at Round Top.
It’s time for National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, I’m participating in the 3rd Annual Big Poetry Giveaway!
For any new visitors the giveaway has brought to this blog, welcome! Allow me to introduce myself (readers who know me might want to skip down a few lines): I’m an Ohio native now making my home in Austin, Texas. I adore my adopted state (well, not the politics of it…), and constantly drawn on the landscape as fodder for my poetry. Although I have been writing since I was twelve, I only became truly serious about poetry in 2009. Since then, my poems have appeared in a variety of places (click here for the full list), and I now have a chapbook manuscript out for submission. In addition to poetry and a day job, I love to dance, and compete in west coast swing. Finally, I have an obsession with avocados.
I’ve been reading Kelli Russell Agodon’s blog for years, which is how I came to learn about the Big Poetry Giveaway. The other writers who inspire me are Drew Myron (a recent addition to my blogroll, but nonetheless important to me), Christine Hennessey (she’s been on my blog radar the longest — since 2006, I think), Shanna Germain, Chuck Wendig, and Bon Steele.
Although I don’t have a book of my own to give away this year (here’s hoping for 2013!), I’m offering up two excellent collections.
First up is Susan Wheeler‘s Ledger. Structured around the concept of finance, Wheeler’s text is no dull accounting textbook. It draws on history and art in its discussions of money and consumerism, spanning hilarity and sorrow. And it’s also the kind of collection that doesn’t feel constrained by theme. It’s not rigidly tied to it; none of the poems here feels forced.It has a concept, but is free to move around as necessary.
I’m also giving away Allison Benis White‘s Self-Portrait with Crayon. This book uses Degas paintings as a frame for the theme of loss that runs through these pieces. It’s a collection of prose poems rather than verse, and I have a particular fondness for this form, which is another reason I chose it.
The drawing is open to anyone, anywhere, and will run through the entire month of April. If you’d like to enter, please leave a comment here with your name and email address before 11:59 p.m. on April 30th. I’ll randomly select two winners on May 1st. Good luck!
For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, SAM challenged me with “Rewrite your favorite story.” and I challenged Kirsten Doyle with “Take the opening line from the book you’re reading. Use that somewhere in the middle of your piece.”
***
The house is hungry.
Johnny has gone exploring.
The minotaur waits.
***
For more info on the piece, click below the fold.
For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Sherree challenged me with “There were monkeys everywhere, and that wasn’t a good thing.” and I challenged SAM with “Write a piece in which a can of soda is of significant importance.”
There Are Monkeys Everywhere
The monkeys still jump on the bed,
and the sight fills me with dread.
When a monkey bumps its head
another comes to take its stead.
They’ve been jumping years, it seems.
This must be the stuff of dreams:
The flying fur, the high-pitched screams.
The bed is full; the mattress teems
with tails, and teeth, and screeching sounds.
A massive presence which confounds,
for when a monkey hits the ground,
there is one more to be found.
I have tried to get them out.
At first I’d raise my voice and shout.
But it seems I have no clout;
they’d ignore me, dance about.
Then I tried to call the zoo.
Surely they’d know what to do.
But, alas, that was not true.
The monkeys made fools of them, too.
Now I stand and watch them dance,
watch them turn, watch them prance.
I try to oust with pleading glance,
but I don’t seem to have a chance.
Despite my tricks, they don’t disperse.
The problem seems to just grow worse.
I wonder where I got this curse
which I now describe in verse.
The monkeys still jump on the bed,
and the sight fills me with dread.
When a monkey bumps its head
another comes to take its stead.
****
Interested in knowing more about the piece? Click below the jump.
I have a poem published in the newest issue of Southern Women’s Review, which went live on Saturday evening. The issue is available as a free PDF, so you have even more reason to check it out.
I wrote “S/m” in July, when we were in the thick of the horrible drought that plagued Texas this year, and struggling to keep my garden alive despite 1) the crippling heat that had experienced gardeners struggling, and 2) the fact that avocados are not really made to thrive in Texas. It was inspired by one of the exercises in Wingbeats, though at this point I can’t remember which one.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, four of my avocado sprouts survived the summer. Let’s see if I can make it work two summers in a row!
I haven’t read through the entire magazine yet, but I do wholeheartedly recommend Beth Copeland’s “To a Dead Friend Who’s Still on Facebook.” It was especially timely for me to find it, as yesterday marked one month since Reesa died. I’m also a fan of Beth Slattery’s “Reservoir” and and Cindy Small’s “Master Manipulator with Sequins” so far.
It’s almost the weekend! Which means it’s almost time for the Houston Poetry Fest. I’ve never attended before, so I’m especially excited to check the festival out and see the readings. I’ll only be going for Saturday, unfortunately, because I have things to do in Austin on Sunday, but I do look forward to seeing all of the fantastic poets on the Saturday lineup. Plus, I’m developing a real affinity for Houston, and I like to take any chance I can get to visit. And nothing compares to the feeling of driving down 290 with the top down. 🙂
I hope you all have fantastic weekends as well!