Jeannine Hall Gailey's Blog, page 87
January 18, 2013
Lucky, or What it Takes
Lucky...it is such a loaded word, isn't it?
I had a really bad day a couple of days ago - nothing earthshattering - a lost check, a husband accidentally breaking a cell phone, an ankle contusion, a disappointing doctor's appointment, money worries, a fight with family - but a day that made me question what it is I've been trying to do all these years with poetry, and if it was possible to have any kind of "successful" life given the health stuff I've been handed by the universe.
I used to work ninety hour work weeks as a technical manager, until the combination of a heritable bleeding disorder and connective tissue autoimmune problems almost killed me. I was literally forced to rethink the way I was living, and had to quit my very demanding job. And since I quit, that was almost ten years ago now, I decided to try to live a life around what I really wanted to do - which was write poetry. I volunteered for literary organizations, I went and got an MFA and then taught at an MFA as an adjunct, I published first a chapbook, then a book and then two books. I haven't been able to do some things a writer really should do to be successful - travel a lot for book tours, for example, or go to AWP every year - mostly because of health reasons, but sometimes also money reasons (the lack of a full-time job is not great for finances, in case you were wondering...) I've worked almost a year as my city's Poet Laureate, a position that's required every ounce of tact, enthusiasm, planning, and the ability to handle challenge and disappointment as well as a thrilling chance to get to know and help my own community. And I'm looking at book three coming out in a couple of months.
All of this is exciting, but is it lucky? What is luck? If you volunteer for ten years and study and work really hard at submitting and dedicating yourself to the craft of poetry writing and do readings/social media...you will still have days when you doubt yourself and your work and wonder if anything you're doing is worthwhile. You have to remind yourself of your successes and try to ignore the rejections, the empty reading chairs, the unexpected things you'll take too hard (for instance, my doctor the other day revealing that his son was the head of creative writing at a large university and had won a Stegner fellowship and a Whiting Award and was on his third book. The son was my age. Talk about a blow to your self-esteem while still in a dressing gown! Not cool. For some people it seems so easy...they seem so lucky!) You can not let yourself be stopped by bad things (Flannery O'Connor had lupus and died at my age, 39, but managed to create an amazing body of literary work, friendships, and spirit, for example.) That's not luck, but determination. You can take advantage of opportunities that come your way, and work hard when you get these opportunities. You can be kind to people in general because being kind is work you probably won't regret down the line. On your bad days, you have to believe...maybe the combination of hard work, persistence, and luck and faith will somehow win you...if not the life you've dreamed of, maybe a life you can be proud of.
Thanks to Robert Brewer for inspiring my meditation with his own blog post on luck, here: http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2013/01/3-ways-to-make-your-own-luck.html
I had a really bad day a couple of days ago - nothing earthshattering - a lost check, a husband accidentally breaking a cell phone, an ankle contusion, a disappointing doctor's appointment, money worries, a fight with family - but a day that made me question what it is I've been trying to do all these years with poetry, and if it was possible to have any kind of "successful" life given the health stuff I've been handed by the universe.
I used to work ninety hour work weeks as a technical manager, until the combination of a heritable bleeding disorder and connective tissue autoimmune problems almost killed me. I was literally forced to rethink the way I was living, and had to quit my very demanding job. And since I quit, that was almost ten years ago now, I decided to try to live a life around what I really wanted to do - which was write poetry. I volunteered for literary organizations, I went and got an MFA and then taught at an MFA as an adjunct, I published first a chapbook, then a book and then two books. I haven't been able to do some things a writer really should do to be successful - travel a lot for book tours, for example, or go to AWP every year - mostly because of health reasons, but sometimes also money reasons (the lack of a full-time job is not great for finances, in case you were wondering...) I've worked almost a year as my city's Poet Laureate, a position that's required every ounce of tact, enthusiasm, planning, and the ability to handle challenge and disappointment as well as a thrilling chance to get to know and help my own community. And I'm looking at book three coming out in a couple of months.
All of this is exciting, but is it lucky? What is luck? If you volunteer for ten years and study and work really hard at submitting and dedicating yourself to the craft of poetry writing and do readings/social media...you will still have days when you doubt yourself and your work and wonder if anything you're doing is worthwhile. You have to remind yourself of your successes and try to ignore the rejections, the empty reading chairs, the unexpected things you'll take too hard (for instance, my doctor the other day revealing that his son was the head of creative writing at a large university and had won a Stegner fellowship and a Whiting Award and was on his third book. The son was my age. Talk about a blow to your self-esteem while still in a dressing gown! Not cool. For some people it seems so easy...they seem so lucky!) You can not let yourself be stopped by bad things (Flannery O'Connor had lupus and died at my age, 39, but managed to create an amazing body of literary work, friendships, and spirit, for example.) That's not luck, but determination. You can take advantage of opportunities that come your way, and work hard when you get these opportunities. You can be kind to people in general because being kind is work you probably won't regret down the line. On your bad days, you have to believe...maybe the combination of hard work, persistence, and luck and faith will somehow win you...if not the life you've dreamed of, maybe a life you can be proud of.
Thanks to Robert Brewer for inspiring my meditation with his own blog post on luck, here: http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2013/01/3-ways-to-make-your-own-luck.html
January 10, 2013
Reading Friday Evening at Tacoma's King's Books
Hope to see a few of my Tacoma friends there! Come on out in you're nearby and say hello!
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/event/poetsjan
7 PM, Friday January 11th at King's Bookstore
This monthly event features a Distinguished Writer followed by an Open Mic. This month features poet Jeannine Hall Gailey, the Poet Laureate of Redmond, WA. She is the author of Becoming the Villainess (2006) and She Returns to the Floating World (2011). She teaches part-time for National University's MFA program and volunteers for Crab Creek Review. Following her is an Open Mic, open to all poets, sign-up is at 6:45 pm. Admission is free. The event occurs monthly the second Friday of every month at King's Books. Sponsored by the Puget Sound Poetry Connection and the Tacoma Arts Commission.
http://www.kingsbookstore.com/event/poetsjan
7 PM, Friday January 11th at King's Bookstore
This monthly event features a Distinguished Writer followed by an Open Mic. This month features poet Jeannine Hall Gailey, the Poet Laureate of Redmond, WA. She is the author of Becoming the Villainess (2006) and She Returns to the Floating World (2011). She teaches part-time for National University's MFA program and volunteers for Crab Creek Review. Following her is an Open Mic, open to all poets, sign-up is at 6:45 pm. Admission is free. The event occurs monthly the second Friday of every month at King's Books. Sponsored by the Puget Sound Poetry Connection and the Tacoma Arts Commission.
January 9, 2013
A Sneak Peek at the Cover of my Next Book, Unexplained Fevers
This is a sneak peek of the cover of my upcoming third book, Unexplained Fevers. The art work is by Michaela Eaves. Let me know what you think! Would you buy this book?
January 7, 2013
Prepping for a third book - what are the steps these days again?
Hello, dear readers! Now that it is the new year, I have bought a new wall calender and am looking at planning out the next year, not just the Redmond Poet Laureate events, but now, planning for the launch of Unexplained Fevers from New Binary Press in the spring, and all the accompanying la-di-da.
So, what are the necessary steps to launch a book?
1. Plan a book tour. Yes, even if it's just in and around your own city, you should probably do this six months in advance at least. I have to remember that some reading series and schools book up to a year in advance, so the time to start asking about readings is...right now.
2. Redo your web site - I try to redesign my web site around the themes of every book that I put out! Did you know that? So, besides redoing the theme, I want to the new site to make some new things (like buying books, booking a reading, signing up for editing services) easier, and I'm going to try to do it in WordPress, which seems really terrible-and-migraine-inducing for someone who has been using FrontPage and Blogger for, oh, seven or more years, but I think it's time to make the switch. My sister-in-law Jen Gailey, a graphic designer, my artist friend Michaela Eaves, my little brother (who is starting his own web site business) Michael Duke Hall, and my kind techie husband Glenn are all conspiring to help me to do this, thankfully, because left to my own devices, I'm pretty sure my web site would end up looking very strange.
3. Planning some PR. Putting together a mailing list for book cards and a reviewer copy list. (Which, by the way, if you want to be on the reviewer list for Unexplained Fevers, leave a comment or e-mail me.) I'm also looking at using the PR services of YouDoPR, which makes it very easy for authors to do some basic PR services for themselves. What else? Blog tours, book giveaways? Facebook page for the book? I'm not sure what kind of promo is the most successful these days. Leave ideas in the comments! I'd love to know what you are doing, what you've done that was or wasn't worth it, etc!
So, what are the necessary steps to launch a book?
1. Plan a book tour. Yes, even if it's just in and around your own city, you should probably do this six months in advance at least. I have to remember that some reading series and schools book up to a year in advance, so the time to start asking about readings is...right now.
2. Redo your web site - I try to redesign my web site around the themes of every book that I put out! Did you know that? So, besides redoing the theme, I want to the new site to make some new things (like buying books, booking a reading, signing up for editing services) easier, and I'm going to try to do it in WordPress, which seems really terrible-and-migraine-inducing for someone who has been using FrontPage and Blogger for, oh, seven or more years, but I think it's time to make the switch. My sister-in-law Jen Gailey, a graphic designer, my artist friend Michaela Eaves, my little brother (who is starting his own web site business) Michael Duke Hall, and my kind techie husband Glenn are all conspiring to help me to do this, thankfully, because left to my own devices, I'm pretty sure my web site would end up looking very strange.
3. Planning some PR. Putting together a mailing list for book cards and a reviewer copy list. (Which, by the way, if you want to be on the reviewer list for Unexplained Fevers, leave a comment or e-mail me.) I'm also looking at using the PR services of YouDoPR, which makes it very easy for authors to do some basic PR services for themselves. What else? Blog tours, book giveaways? Facebook page for the book? I'm not sure what kind of promo is the most successful these days. Leave ideas in the comments! I'd love to know what you are doing, what you've done that was or wasn't worth it, etc!
January 4, 2013
Poet Laureate Event on January 5, A New Review, and New Poems Up at Rose Red Review
Poet Laureate Event Alert - If you are looking to talk about multi-culturalism in poetry and discuss the language of science in poetry - look no further than Redmond Library tomorrow, Saturday January 5 at 3 PM, where I'll be hosting a panel with guest poets Natasha K. Moni and Raul Sanchez. http://www.redmond.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=82418
A new review of She Returns to the Floating World is up at Poets Quarterly , written by Ann E. Michael. She did a really nice job of talking about the book. It's always interesting to see which poems reviewers focus on and their take on the messages of the book. I learn something with every review! http://www.poetsquarterly.com/2013/01/she-returns-to-floating-world-by.html
Two new poems from my upcoming book, Unexplained Fevers , at Rose Red Review.
Rapunzel, After and Snow White Dreams by Jeannine Hall Gailey
In other news, over the break I managed to partially dislocate my first rib, sprain my knee, and get the flu. Today I had to go to an emergency physical therapy appointment so she could put the rib back. Which is super painful, but better than having that rib pressing on a nerve, which by the way, can literally make you see stars. Then I dressed up, went to Bellevue Art Museum, read poetry and taught a class, and now I'm home preparing for tomorrow's event. No rest for the wicked? I feel that perhaps now I am due a time of strength and good health for the rest of January. Can you hear that, universe? I mean, I haven't even seen The Hobbit yet!
A new review of She Returns to the Floating World is up at Poets Quarterly , written by Ann E. Michael. She did a really nice job of talking about the book. It's always interesting to see which poems reviewers focus on and their take on the messages of the book. I learn something with every review! http://www.poetsquarterly.com/2013/01/she-returns-to-floating-world-by.html
Two new poems from my upcoming book, Unexplained Fevers , at Rose Red Review.
Rapunzel, After and Snow White Dreams by Jeannine Hall Gailey
In other news, over the break I managed to partially dislocate my first rib, sprain my knee, and get the flu. Today I had to go to an emergency physical therapy appointment so she could put the rib back. Which is super painful, but better than having that rib pressing on a nerve, which by the way, can literally make you see stars. Then I dressed up, went to Bellevue Art Museum, read poetry and taught a class, and now I'm home preparing for tomorrow's event. No rest for the wicked? I feel that perhaps now I am due a time of strength and good health for the rest of January. Can you hear that, universe? I mean, I haven't even seen The Hobbit yet!
January 2, 2013
Starting 2013 Off with a Little Poetry and Art
Happy 2013 All!
If you'd like to celebrate the new year with a little poetry and a little art, then I'd like to invite you out to Bellevue Art Museum on its free first friday, January 4.
You can listen to some of my recorded poems from She Returns to the Floating World along with information about the new Japanese art exhibits - follow the instructions here:
http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/featured.html
Check out this information about the whole Japanese celebration event on the 4th here:
http://www.bellevuearts.org/calendar/#search-by=featured-event&query=1/4/2013&title=Celebrating%20Japanese%20Traditions%20at%20BAM
The whole day's schedule looks pretty cool. Besides my reading with art show by Michaela Eaves, there's also manga lessons, a talk with one of the featured artists, and a bunch of cool stuff. Plus my book will be available at the gift shop!
January 4, 2013Celebrating Japanese Traditions at BAM11am to 7pmHeld in conjunction with Free First Friday, experience the Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art exhibit and Yuri Kinoshita's tea house, and explore various traditions of Japanese culture from literary and illustrative to architectural and spiritual. Ongoing, interactive activities will be held all day in the Museum Forum and Auditorium.
Free11am - 3pm: Artist installation of Shinpu (Fresh Breeze), Woven Tea House with Yuri Kinoshita
4 - 4:30pm: Q & A with Yuri Kinoshita
4:30 - 5pm: Redmond Poet Laureate Jeannine Hall Gailey will read poems on Japanese folk tales and culture from her second book, She Returns to the Floating World, accompanied by an art show by Tacoma artist Michaela Eaves, with sketches created for the poems.
5 - 6pm: Jeannine Hall Gailey will lead a workshop on two Japanese poetic forms, haiku and haibun. The artist will read work from classical Japanese poets like Basho and participants will have a chance to write their own haiku and haibun. No experience necessary. Recommended for teens and adults.
6 - 7pm: Amanda Lien will demonstrate the process of creating Manga illustrations, similar to lessons she teaches in her Saturday Manga class at Museo Art Academy in downtown Issaquah.
If you'd like to celebrate the new year with a little poetry and a little art, then I'd like to invite you out to Bellevue Art Museum on its free first friday, January 4.
You can listen to some of my recorded poems from She Returns to the Floating World along with information about the new Japanese art exhibits - follow the instructions here:
http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/featured.html
Check out this information about the whole Japanese celebration event on the 4th here:
http://www.bellevuearts.org/calendar/#search-by=featured-event&query=1/4/2013&title=Celebrating%20Japanese%20Traditions%20at%20BAM
The whole day's schedule looks pretty cool. Besides my reading with art show by Michaela Eaves, there's also manga lessons, a talk with one of the featured artists, and a bunch of cool stuff. Plus my book will be available at the gift shop!
January 4, 2013Celebrating Japanese Traditions at BAM11am to 7pmHeld in conjunction with Free First Friday, experience the Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art exhibit and Yuri Kinoshita's tea house, and explore various traditions of Japanese culture from literary and illustrative to architectural and spiritual. Ongoing, interactive activities will be held all day in the Museum Forum and Auditorium.
Free11am - 3pm: Artist installation of Shinpu (Fresh Breeze), Woven Tea House with Yuri Kinoshita
4 - 4:30pm: Q & A with Yuri Kinoshita
4:30 - 5pm: Redmond Poet Laureate Jeannine Hall Gailey will read poems on Japanese folk tales and culture from her second book, She Returns to the Floating World, accompanied by an art show by Tacoma artist Michaela Eaves, with sketches created for the poems.
5 - 6pm: Jeannine Hall Gailey will lead a workshop on two Japanese poetic forms, haiku and haibun. The artist will read work from classical Japanese poets like Basho and participants will have a chance to write their own haiku and haibun. No experience necessary. Recommended for teens and adults.
6 - 7pm: Amanda Lien will demonstrate the process of creating Manga illustrations, similar to lessons she teaches in her Saturday Manga class at Museo Art Academy in downtown Issaquah.
December 26, 2012
Post-Christmas - Gearing Up for 2013!
So, now that the world hasn't ended and Christmas is behind us, I guess we can get down to the serious work of figuring out what we will do with ourselves in 2013!
First of all, I want to thank my husband and his keen gift-getting skills for this little load of thoughtful (and cute!) gifts: a hedgehog set of measuring cups, a set of arctic-fox and snowflake canape plates, and a carnelian necklace (carnelian is supposed to be good for healing! I hope it works!)
I was very happy to get some good news from the Jack Straw Writers Program on Christmas Eve, along with a check from my poem published in American Poetry Review a few months ago. What a lovely surprise from Santa - Poetry good stuff! (I also, strangely, got two rejections on Christmas Eve. Ho Ho Scrooge?! But that's okay. The other things made up for it.)
So, in the beginning of January, I'm going to be reading at the Bellevue Arts Museum and giving a short workshop on haiku and haibun on January 4 at 4:30 PM. The next day, January 5th, I'll be hosting a panel at Redmond Library on multi-cultural poetry and the language of science (featuring Natasha K. Moni and Raul Sanchez) at 3 PM. Whoosh! Starting the year with a bang. Then I'm reading on January 11th at King's Books in Tacoma. So, if you want to know where to find me in January, I'll probably be running around in a panic. (I also have several freelance writing and editing deadlines in January, and I start teaching again in February, so...)
Which leads me to the question of - what is it you want to do in 2013? I'm very excited about my new book coming out from New Binary Press in April of 2013, Unexplained Fevers (and I've been collaborating with artist Michaela Eaves on doing some special-edition art for a UK special edition which is going to be available along with the regular soft-cover edition and an e-book! That's three editions! Craziness!) I am hoping I will be healthy enough to get out to the UK for a few readings at some point, otherwise I'm starting to put together readings for 2013 in the Norhwest.
What else? I'm planning a book party/40th birthday party sometime in the spring as well, because if you can't celebrate turning 40, well, what's the point? And I'll be doing Poet Laureate stuff AND Jack Straw things as well next year. It seems like a year of busy poet work. And who can complain about that? I want to spend 2013 getting healthier, wealthier, and writing and reading more poetry. Maybe paying off some student loans. But especially the writing part. And finding a home for my fourth book. And I have 46 good pages on a fifth book that really hones in on the nerdy stuff - engineering, algebra, apocalypses, more superhero poems. I should probably also try to send out some work - see, a poet's work is never ever done!
So, what are your plans for 2013? I am wishing you all a healthy, happy, and more peaceful and prosperous new year!
First of all, I want to thank my husband and his keen gift-getting skills for this little load of thoughtful (and cute!) gifts: a hedgehog set of measuring cups, a set of arctic-fox and snowflake canape plates, and a carnelian necklace (carnelian is supposed to be good for healing! I hope it works!)
I was very happy to get some good news from the Jack Straw Writers Program on Christmas Eve, along with a check from my poem published in American Poetry Review a few months ago. What a lovely surprise from Santa - Poetry good stuff! (I also, strangely, got two rejections on Christmas Eve. Ho Ho Scrooge?! But that's okay. The other things made up for it.)So, in the beginning of January, I'm going to be reading at the Bellevue Arts Museum and giving a short workshop on haiku and haibun on January 4 at 4:30 PM. The next day, January 5th, I'll be hosting a panel at Redmond Library on multi-cultural poetry and the language of science (featuring Natasha K. Moni and Raul Sanchez) at 3 PM. Whoosh! Starting the year with a bang. Then I'm reading on January 11th at King's Books in Tacoma. So, if you want to know where to find me in January, I'll probably be running around in a panic. (I also have several freelance writing and editing deadlines in January, and I start teaching again in February, so...)
Which leads me to the question of - what is it you want to do in 2013? I'm very excited about my new book coming out from New Binary Press in April of 2013, Unexplained Fevers (and I've been collaborating with artist Michaela Eaves on doing some special-edition art for a UK special edition which is going to be available along with the regular soft-cover edition and an e-book! That's three editions! Craziness!) I am hoping I will be healthy enough to get out to the UK for a few readings at some point, otherwise I'm starting to put together readings for 2013 in the Norhwest.
What else? I'm planning a book party/40th birthday party sometime in the spring as well, because if you can't celebrate turning 40, well, what's the point? And I'll be doing Poet Laureate stuff AND Jack Straw things as well next year. It seems like a year of busy poet work. And who can complain about that? I want to spend 2013 getting healthier, wealthier, and writing and reading more poetry. Maybe paying off some student loans. But especially the writing part. And finding a home for my fourth book. And I have 46 good pages on a fifth book that really hones in on the nerdy stuff - engineering, algebra, apocalypses, more superhero poems. I should probably also try to send out some work - see, a poet's work is never ever done!
So, what are your plans for 2013? I am wishing you all a healthy, happy, and more peaceful and prosperous new year!
December 20, 2012
Apocalypse Wow - A poem, a puzzle, a review, and warm wishes
Yes, friends, it could be the end of the world, but nevertheless, and even more so, warm wishes, happy holidays, and etc! In the midst of darkness in a dark time, it's time to light a fire, tell people you love them, hand someone a present for no reason, write a poem, paint a picture, make a feast.
I have an appropriately apocalyptic poem up at The Chiaroscuro called "The Scientist Solves a Puzzle" so check it out!
I also had a review of Elizabeth Austen's Every Dress a Decision up at Galatea Resurrects.
I've been pretty sick after a whirlwind of holiday activities and family last week, and with the bad news all over the television, sick at heart as well. There are only so many ways to respond to these things - with humor, and love, and encouragement, and gathering the ones you love around you, with anger or grief. I'm no wise woman or spiritual sage, but I hope that you remember the season is about comfort and joy, even on the coldest, darkest day of the year. Let's make some wishes for 2013, for a renewed world that protects its children, that reminds us that our hard work in our fields can make a difference, for the old sense of apocalypse - the drawing aside of a curtain, and a revelation - a clear reading of something that's been obscured.
Okay, hokey well wishes over. Merry Mayan Apocalypse, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I have an appropriately apocalyptic poem up at The Chiaroscuro called "The Scientist Solves a Puzzle" so check it out!
I also had a review of Elizabeth Austen's Every Dress a Decision up at Galatea Resurrects.
I've been pretty sick after a whirlwind of holiday activities and family last week, and with the bad news all over the television, sick at heart as well. There are only so many ways to respond to these things - with humor, and love, and encouragement, and gathering the ones you love around you, with anger or grief. I'm no wise woman or spiritual sage, but I hope that you remember the season is about comfort and joy, even on the coldest, darkest day of the year. Let's make some wishes for 2013, for a renewed world that protects its children, that reminds us that our hard work in our fields can make a difference, for the old sense of apocalypse - the drawing aside of a curtain, and a revelation - a clear reading of something that's been obscured.
Okay, hokey well wishes over. Merry Mayan Apocalypse, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 18, 2012
The Next Big Thing Interview
Thank you to Ivy Alvarez who kindly asked me to participate in The Next Big Thing Interview at the Dumbfoundry:
http://dumbfoundry.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-next-big-thing.html
What is the title of your book?
Unexplained Fevers
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Unexplained Fevers is a book about women finding their way out of boxes – fairy tale heroines in deserts and dark places, leaving behind towers and glass coffins, and contemporary women fighting through issues that trap us in the body – anorexia, illness, unexpected pregnancy, drug addiction, etc. But seriously, it's a barrel of fun! (More than one sentence can make it sound like, anyway!)
What genre does your book fall under?
Poetry
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was reading a book of Japanese short fiction called Blue Bamboo by Osamu Dazai, which introduced a family of siblings all telling different versions of the story “Rapunzel.” I thought about the way each of them recasted the heroine and what that revealed about their personality, and decided to go back and look at the heroines I had left out of Becoming the Villainess because they were too boring or passive and see if I could create stories for them I was more interested in. While writing, I also discovered I was especially interested in getting women out of their boxes, metaphorically – and for me, that was often about writing about pain and illness, although there are an awful lot of poems about love gone wrong…that may be Grimms’ fault, not mine. All those happy endings made me suspicious. I also read Haruki Murakami’s After Dark, which is basically a story of Snow White and Rose Red, re-set in contemporary setting - and that triggered in my mind the story of two sisters - the tragic beautiful teen model, trapped into a certain immobility by her good looks, and the more active but less romantic Rose Red, who never sleeps and is always looking for answers.
I also had to look at my medical notes for some reason while getting my medical records prepared for a cross-country move and was struck by the repetition of the phrase “unexplained fevers,” which seemed at once innocuous and yet so ominous and menacing.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I started the poems for this book almost immediately after finishing the first draft of my second book – so maybe around 2008-2009? And I was still polishing and writing new poems at the end of 2012. My books take a little while to mature, usually, and I not to linger too long with any one “finished” project – I like to have a couple of things going at once.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Besides the books I’ve already referenced, I’m fascinated by fairy tale archetypes and felt I hadn’t quite exhausted them in my first book, Becoming the Villainess. I think I was also writing my way through a very dark time personally – several years when I was too sick with somewhat mysterious immune system problems to walk, eat anything beyond rice and broth, or basically do anything but read and write. Happily I did not stay that sick, but the question occurred to me – how can one escape the “trap” of the body? Women are subjected to so many expectations about our bodies – our weight, our looks, our sexuality – including our own fairly reasonable expectations, of course – that our bodies will work properly from day to day, allow to us to eat, sleep, reproduce, work, etc. And when, as they sometimes do, our bodies betray us or let us down, how we can respond to that. How to be victorious in a battle against those things that weigh us down and contain us.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Unexplained Fevers will be published by New Binary Press in spring of 2013.
What other works would you compare this book to within your genre?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I’ve had several reviewers of my work mention Anne Sexton, but more realistically based on my readings, my literary influences are more likely to be fiction writers, like A.S. Byatt or Haruki Murakami or Kelly Link. If I were pressed to give a list of “books you might like if you like Unexplained Fevers” they might include
Margaret Atwood's Selected Poems IICarol Ann Duffy's The World’s WifeLouise Gluck's MeadowlandsDenise Duhamel’s KinkyI can also blame many of these poems on my life-long obsession with Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Andrew Lang’s Fairy books, and tough chicks from pop culture like Buffy and Sydney Bristow and Annie Walker.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I think this is probably a funnier book that you might think from the description. Especially towards the end, I think I wrote some of the poems that are the most fun to perform onstage – more puns, more risk, that kind of thing.
For more of The Next Big Thing, these shining stars will give their answers by 30 December 2012:
Collin Kelley, with his latest collection, Render, soon to be released by Sibling Rivalry Press. Julie Brooks Barbour whose book Small Chimes is forthcoming.Kelly Davio, whose book Burn This House will be out soon from Red Hen Press.
*
Should you wish to participate, answer the questions on your blog and leave your link in a comment.
http://dumbfoundry.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-next-big-thing.html
What is the title of your book?
Unexplained Fevers
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Unexplained Fevers is a book about women finding their way out of boxes – fairy tale heroines in deserts and dark places, leaving behind towers and glass coffins, and contemporary women fighting through issues that trap us in the body – anorexia, illness, unexpected pregnancy, drug addiction, etc. But seriously, it's a barrel of fun! (More than one sentence can make it sound like, anyway!)
What genre does your book fall under?
Poetry
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I was reading a book of Japanese short fiction called Blue Bamboo by Osamu Dazai, which introduced a family of siblings all telling different versions of the story “Rapunzel.” I thought about the way each of them recasted the heroine and what that revealed about their personality, and decided to go back and look at the heroines I had left out of Becoming the Villainess because they were too boring or passive and see if I could create stories for them I was more interested in. While writing, I also discovered I was especially interested in getting women out of their boxes, metaphorically – and for me, that was often about writing about pain and illness, although there are an awful lot of poems about love gone wrong…that may be Grimms’ fault, not mine. All those happy endings made me suspicious. I also read Haruki Murakami’s After Dark, which is basically a story of Snow White and Rose Red, re-set in contemporary setting - and that triggered in my mind the story of two sisters - the tragic beautiful teen model, trapped into a certain immobility by her good looks, and the more active but less romantic Rose Red, who never sleeps and is always looking for answers.
I also had to look at my medical notes for some reason while getting my medical records prepared for a cross-country move and was struck by the repetition of the phrase “unexplained fevers,” which seemed at once innocuous and yet so ominous and menacing.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I started the poems for this book almost immediately after finishing the first draft of my second book – so maybe around 2008-2009? And I was still polishing and writing new poems at the end of 2012. My books take a little while to mature, usually, and I not to linger too long with any one “finished” project – I like to have a couple of things going at once.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Besides the books I’ve already referenced, I’m fascinated by fairy tale archetypes and felt I hadn’t quite exhausted them in my first book, Becoming the Villainess. I think I was also writing my way through a very dark time personally – several years when I was too sick with somewhat mysterious immune system problems to walk, eat anything beyond rice and broth, or basically do anything but read and write. Happily I did not stay that sick, but the question occurred to me – how can one escape the “trap” of the body? Women are subjected to so many expectations about our bodies – our weight, our looks, our sexuality – including our own fairly reasonable expectations, of course – that our bodies will work properly from day to day, allow to us to eat, sleep, reproduce, work, etc. And when, as they sometimes do, our bodies betray us or let us down, how we can respond to that. How to be victorious in a battle against those things that weigh us down and contain us.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Unexplained Fevers will be published by New Binary Press in spring of 2013.
What other works would you compare this book to within your genre?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I’ve had several reviewers of my work mention Anne Sexton, but more realistically based on my readings, my literary influences are more likely to be fiction writers, like A.S. Byatt or Haruki Murakami or Kelly Link. If I were pressed to give a list of “books you might like if you like Unexplained Fevers” they might include
Margaret Atwood's Selected Poems IICarol Ann Duffy's The World’s WifeLouise Gluck's MeadowlandsDenise Duhamel’s KinkyI can also blame many of these poems on my life-long obsession with Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Andrew Lang’s Fairy books, and tough chicks from pop culture like Buffy and Sydney Bristow and Annie Walker.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I think this is probably a funnier book that you might think from the description. Especially towards the end, I think I wrote some of the poems that are the most fun to perform onstage – more puns, more risk, that kind of thing.
For more of The Next Big Thing, these shining stars will give their answers by 30 December 2012:
Collin Kelley, with his latest collection, Render, soon to be released by Sibling Rivalry Press. Julie Brooks Barbour whose book Small Chimes is forthcoming.Kelly Davio, whose book Burn This House will be out soon from Red Hen Press.
*
Should you wish to participate, answer the questions on your blog and leave your link in a comment.
December 13, 2012
Reading Futuristic Poetry with Hello the Future and a Week of Crazy
In case you're looking for something to do tomorrow night, you know, getting ready to celebrate the Mayan-end-of-the-world solstice and all that, I'm reading all apocalypse and futuristic poetry at 6 PM opening for a band called "Hello the Future" at Soul Food Books Friday.
http://www.songkick.com/concerts/14860894-hello-the-future-at-soulfood-books-and-café
I have had the nuttiest week - my little brother and his wife came in to visit from Thailand, so we took them on a tour of all the fun stuff you can do here in the cold rainy season - wine and beer tasting in Woodinville, sushi dinner and the Sorrento Hotel lounge for cocktails, a pilgrimage to Caffé Vita and helping them catch up on any American things they'd missed (Whole Foods! Book stores! Back episodes of Community and Family Guy! Ah, America...) I also had several poetry events and was trying to get everything together for New Binary Press for my third book, "Unexplained Fevers" - copyediting, updating acknowledgements, getting an author photo (hopefully) and working with Michaela Eaves on the cover art. I think I've gotten about seven hours of sleep over the past seven days, which hopefully will be fixed over the weekend. (Along with working on a friend's manuscript, writing my Poet's Market articles, and getting Christmas shopping finished...and Christmas cards, um, started? And responding to all the e-mails I've been ignoring?)
Oh yes, and don't forget She Returns to the Floating World is going out of print at the end of the year with Kitsune Books' close, so buy it now on Kindle or print! Great for holiday gifts for your anime-and-Japanese-folk-tale-loving friends!
http://www.songkick.com/concerts/14860894-hello-the-future-at-soulfood-books-and-café
I have had the nuttiest week - my little brother and his wife came in to visit from Thailand, so we took them on a tour of all the fun stuff you can do here in the cold rainy season - wine and beer tasting in Woodinville, sushi dinner and the Sorrento Hotel lounge for cocktails, a pilgrimage to Caffé Vita and helping them catch up on any American things they'd missed (Whole Foods! Book stores! Back episodes of Community and Family Guy! Ah, America...) I also had several poetry events and was trying to get everything together for New Binary Press for my third book, "Unexplained Fevers" - copyediting, updating acknowledgements, getting an author photo (hopefully) and working with Michaela Eaves on the cover art. I think I've gotten about seven hours of sleep over the past seven days, which hopefully will be fixed over the weekend. (Along with working on a friend's manuscript, writing my Poet's Market articles, and getting Christmas shopping finished...and Christmas cards, um, started? And responding to all the e-mails I've been ignoring?)
Oh yes, and don't forget She Returns to the Floating World is going out of print at the end of the year with Kitsune Books' close, so buy it now on Kindle or print! Great for holiday gifts for your anime-and-Japanese-folk-tale-loving friends!
