Allyson Whipple

Tag: update

  • An Update on the Culinary Saijiki

    An Update on the Culinary Saijiki

    Earlier this year, I announced an end to the Culinary Saijiki blog and podcast in order to focus on developing the book manuscript. The first five months of a year were a struggle in that regard. The structure I’d tried wasn’t working, and at the end of May, I scrapped the whole endeavor and started over. While that does put me behind schedule with my initial goal of completing a manuscript by the end of the year, it was the right call. Those first several months of struggling actually gave me some great insight for what I want the book to me, so the effort was not wasted. (Clara of Hmm That’s Interesting touches on the value of failed effort in her recent post “let’s talk about AI,” which I recommend.)

    As I have also mentioned on various platforms, the word I selected for 2024 was “Simplicity.” And yes, I am still taking on too many volunteer opportunities and projects and hobbies. And no, my house is not the clutter-free space I’m hoping to get to but never reach. But using the word as a guiding principle has nonetheless helped me find areas where I can minimize.

    One of the things I decided to do was get rid of the independent Culinary Saijiki website. At the start of this year I was managing three different sites: this one, Culinary Saijiki, and my Pilates studio site. One of the things I realized is that I genuinely hate having to maintain multiple website. Even though the Culinary Saijiki site was just an archive, it was still out there, still needed security and tech updates, and still cost money. And when I found out my plan rate was going up, I decided to export everything to this blog and host it here.

    All Culinary Saijiki blog posts and podcast episodes now live here. I have organized everything on this page: https://allysonwhipple.com/the-culinary-saijiki/. I still own the original URL, and it redirects there, so anyone who has the old site bookmarked can access things easily. And I’ll keep posting project updates here as they become relevant.

    Thanks to all who supported the initial phase of this project. Phase 2 has had some challenges, but I’m glad to finally be making real progress.

  • A Quick Note About Site Maintenance

    A Quick Note About Site Maintenance

    One of the projects I chose for 2024 was to simplify my digital life. I simply don’t enjoy trying to keep up with multiple websites or social media accounts.

    If you subscribe to this blog, you probably noticed a few weeks ago that your inbox got flooded with a series of Pilates-related posts. That was the result of me consolidating my Pilates site with this regular site, and merging blog posts. I had no idea that you were going to get notified of all of these posts en masse. That was not my intention.

    This week, I began the process of consolidating The Culinary Saijiki with this site. I’ve imported the podcast archive over here with minimal issues. Before this content goes fully live, however, I need to migrate the blog posts as well.

    I am going to do my level best to prevent you from getting notified of several dozen Culinary Saijiki blog posts that now live on this site. I’ve been reading up on how to avoid this issue, but it’s trial by fire on this one. However, this is the last round of blog imports I have to do! So I apologize in advance if I screw up and you get a big blog notification. If it does happen, it will be the last time. And thanks for your patience as I solidify my vision for this website.

  • This Space: A Reckoning

    A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I hadn’t posted here in over a year. In truth, I almost closed this blog down entirely when it was up for renewal in January. I was aware then that I hadn’t posted in a long time, but I also decided to keep it open just in case. Still, months have gone by, and I haven’t felt an impulse to return. Every now and then I get an impulse to delete the entire thing. Still I can’t quite bring myself to let the site go entirely. It’s my hope that perhaps in writing a post here, I’ll work through some of my thoughts on the matter.

    What happened?

    The short answer is that I ultimately had a negative experience in my MFA program, and once I graduated, I lost the will to do poetry things. Aside from my weekly haiku exchange with one of my former classmates, I stopped writing poetry (and prose, for that matter) altogether. I stopped attending most poetry events (except for I Scream Social, which is one of the best things Austin has to offer). While I kept reading poetry, I no longer felt any desire to do much in the way of either create my own work, or participate in a poetry community.

    What have I been up to?

    Since April 2018, I started focusing more on my yoga practice. I started my own business for my teaching practice: Luna Nidra. I started recording meditations and hosting workshops.

    I’ve also kept busy in my teaching life at ACC, helping to grow our department. We’ve started hosting more events, and I led the relaunch of our social media presence.

    Finally, I’ve been having some amazing adventures, including travel to Mexico City (my favorite), a road trip through New Mexico, and a glorious adventure in Peru this past July.

    After my trip to Peru, I started feeling called to write again. I finished an essay that’s out for submission. I revised my manuscript and started sending it out again. And I’ve even written a few poems.

    Still, I wonder whether I really want to continue keeping this space. On some level, it’s so deeply connected to a past life: my marriage that ended five years ago, old jobs, old friends, old adventures that are distant memories. I needed that hard break after my MFA, and I am starting to re-emerge as a writer. And yet I don’t necessarily want to return here. When I think about this site, and how much of the past it contains, I’m just not sure I want to keep it.

    I’m not making any decisions just yet. Quite frankly, I’d be surprised if there were any readers left to see this after such a long silence. Perhaps I just need a total fresh start with my digital life. I’ll always be writing, but maybe this isn’t the place for it anymore. We’ll see.

  • Welcome to the world, chapbook!

    CITWLT covers-page-001

    Yes! It’s true! I have a new chapbook!

    Five Oaks Press has just released We’re Smaller Than We Think We Are.

    It’s hard to believe that a year ago, I was still struggling to get a failing project into the world. I didn’t imagine this book would happen. But I was also in the midst of a second round of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project, and something was happening. I was writing a lot of cathartic poems. About my past. About my failed marriage.

    I had spent a long time trying to get over it. Get over everything. And now it seemed I finally was.

    Not all of the 30/30 poems made it into this chapbook. Most were culled; many didn’t fit thematically. But I added a few older poems and wrote a few new ones as well. By July, I had a manuscript. And after lots of revision and lots of rejection, I found out that Five Oaks Press had named it a finalist and was offering me a contract.

    Going from manuscript to publication in less than a year feels like a miracle. I’m very lucky that things all came together. I’m in love with this book, and the relationship I have with Five Oaks.

    April might be National Poetry Month, but May is an auspicious one for me, at least with my own work.

    You can purchase the book on Amazon. Or, to order a signed copy, send $15 via PayPal to literaryaustin@gmail.com. The price includes shipping, and I’ll be happy to inscribe it however you want!

  • Goodbye, 2015

    IMG_20151010_124949
    Out at Fort McKavett in October

    Greetings from rural Illinois! I’m out here enjoying winter break, organizing poetry files, and writing haibun. Next week, I’ll be back to the warm weather, kicking off 2016 with a road trip through Mexico.

    I’ve been too busy to blog this semester. I’ve even neglected my poor email newsletter. But I thought I’d pop in for a little year in review.

    2015 wasn’t without difficulty, but it was much better than 2014. I’ve had numerous friends tell me your 30s are your best decade, and this year, that’s proved to be true.

    This year, I successfully co-edited the 2016 Texas Poetry Calendar with Wade Martin, and helped host readings for the calendar around Texas. (I also had my license plate stolen at the reading in Houston, which was not fun.) I’m grateful I had the opportunity to be a part of Dos Gatos press and help continue the tradition of this great publication. Wade and I are already reading for 2017 (the deadline is January 15th!) so send along your poems!

    IMG_3711.JPG
    At the Blue Willow Bookshop reading for TPC

    I also got to be a featured reader at the Austin International Poetry Festival, and met Nikki Giovanni on my birthday! 31 goes down in the record books as the best birthday ever.

    I was fortunate enough to get more teaching work at ACC, allowing me to make education the focus of my career.

    I got to attend a friend’s book launch in Chicago. I finished a new chapbook manuscript. I got to teach more poetry workshops.

    Last but not least, I began an MFA program this fall. The first semester is over and done, and I’m so happy to be there. I’m looking forward to school starting again soon!

    May the last day of 2015 be a happy one. Here’s to 2016!

  • A New Dawn, A New Day

    It’s been an amazing summer. I can’t believe how busy I’ve been, or how fast it went. I started a haiku study group on Facebook. I learned how to make corn tortillas from scratch, and how to deep-fry avocados. I published a very angry and very NSFW poem at Thank You For Swallowing. I featured at poetry open mics in both San Antonio and Waco. I hosted a party for the first time since I was married. I started working on a new chapbook almost by accident. I started learning the Wudang staff form. I joined the Adult Education department at ACC. I quit my office job. I amassed over 30 hours of professional development credit. I got to see the Mountain Goats at the Moody Theater. I joined a wine club. I spent a lot of time poolside with a margarita and at least one of my best friends.

    I’ve been very busy, and also very happy.

    This morning begins a whole new chapter to my poetry and my career. The fall semester begins tomorrow, and I’m teaching five classes in two different departments. Yes, five classes is a lot, and I didn’t quite plan for this many. It happened largely by accident, due to staffing vacancies, and quite a bit of it ended up getting solidified at the last minute. But even though it’s going to be a lot of work, I’m thrilled. Making your living as an adjunct is tough, and it’s nice to know that this semester, I’m going to be doing well financially. Plus, while I’ve taken on a big workload, I’m finally at the point where teaching is all I do for a living. I’m not making end’s meet with an office job or other work. I get to be a writing teacher, pure and simple. It’s taken a lot of work to get here, and I’m grateful that the effort has finally paid off.

    Fall textbooks!

    This morning, I also begin my MFA through the University of Texas at El Paso. I’m grateful that technology has evolved to the point where it’s viable for me to study with the amazing faculty at UTEP and still live in Austin. I’m taking two classes this semester: Advanced Poetry Workshop and Writing and Social Action. I’m definitely nervous about returning to the graduate classroom after being away for so long. But I can’t wait. I’m so excited to see how this experience shapes my career.

    Summer is my favorite season (yes, even in Texas), but I think I’m going to have a great autumn.

  • I Am Bad Whether…

    badweather1

    I Am Bad Whether is an up-and-coming feminist press founded by poet, activist, and tech guru Muerta-Paz Con Corazon Sin-Guerra. A few months ago, Muerta decided that my collection Curved Tongue, Forked Road would be the first book she published. After several more rounds of manuscript revision, we’re getting ready to launch!

    Of course, as a start-up, the press needs help to get going. We’ve launched an Indiegogo campaign to help get things up and running. I’m excited about the perks we have to offer, everything from postcards to books to workshops! So if you want to support feminist publishing in Texas, check out the campaign.

    I’m also offering a bonus incentive for readers of this blog. If you contribute, let me know (via comment here or via email), and I will send you a bonus postcard featuring recent work. This applies to donations at any level.

    For those of you who want to help but don’t have spare cash, we appreciate you getting the word out on our behalf! Share on social media, talk it up at events, and get people interested.

    Muerta and I appreciate your support!

  • AFPF On Hiatus for 2015

    I mentioned this over at the official Austin Feminist Poetry Festival blog a few weeks ago, but I’ve decided to take a hiatus from the festival this year. The past two years were incredible! However, I’ve just finished a two-year term on the Austin Poetry Society board and I’ve spent the first few months of the year giving a lot of attention to the Texas Poetry Calendar. I’m at the point where I need a break. Plus, since I’m starting my MFA in the fall, I need to focus on my studies–and running a fall festival is not entirely conducive to that!

    I also want to restructure the festival, and get it more in line with my larger vision. That requires time. So I’m going to take this year to figure out how I want things to develop.

    I do have some smaller events in the works for later this year, so stay tuned…

  • MFA All The Way!

    I remember seeing an ad for the UT-El Paso Online MFA in Poets & Writers magazine back in 2011 (or maybe early 2012). Even before I knew much about the program, I was excited by the prospect of being able to pursue an MFA online, without having to leave Austin. (Heck, I didn’t even want to go for an MFA yet, and I was still intrigued.)

    Yes, UT-Austin has not one, but two excellent MFA programs (one at the Michener Center, and one through the English Department), plus we’re adjacent to Texas State in San Marcos. But I never had a gut feeling that these programs were right for me. They’ve produced a lot of great work and have wonderful faculty, including some of my favorite poets. But I still never quite got the sense that these were programs that were right for me.

    I kept re-visiting the UTEP Online MFA description every 4 or 5 months over the next couple of years. There was always a reason to talk myself out of it. I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t sure I wanted an MFA, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it, I was getting divorced, and on and on. I kept finding reasons not to apply.

    But toward the end of 2014, things began to feel settled. I also felt I was in a place with my writing where I was ready for the challenges an MFA could bring. It was the next logical step in my career path. So I applied.

    The funny thing about the process was, I dreaded writing the statement of purpose. I still remember how much I struggled to write one in 2005 when I was applying to graduate school the first time around. But as it turns out, this time it wasn’t so bad. Maybe because I have a stronger sense of purpose at 31 than I did at 21.

    So I applied, and I waited, and waited… and I found out last week that I got in! I’ve already received a course description list, and have an advising call tomorrow! The program starts in August, and I can’t wait. I look forward to meeting my other five new classmates when we convene in our digital space this fall.

  • I’ve moved! (Sort of)

    Just a quick note that I’ve gone ahead and upgraded, and thus dropped the .wordpress extension from my URL. So this blog URL is now http://allysonmwhipple.com. I’m not sure if you have to update your RSS reader or anything else; in theory, you shouldn’t have to. But then again, technology doesn’t always work the way we want it to…

    UPDATE: If the site seems to be acting weird, that’s ostensibly a normal part of the process. Everything should be right as rain within 72 hours.