Susan Rich's Blog, page 32

The Best Book Group Ever!

They're my first!      I admit it; I was nervous. This was a dream I had nourished for a  long time: to be the guest author at a book group. My novelist friends would recount stories of smart readers and beautiful food; they had been treated like royalty by interesting people that admired their work. Really, what could be a better way to spend an evening?

   Of course it is not the norm for book groups to embrace poetry. It's the adventurous group that takes on poetry and doubles the adventure by inviting the poet.

    I studied hard before the meeting to make sure I knew the answers to their questions. Where did the name "Imagining My Life with Lions" come from? And what about the tilde ~ that appears throughout the book?

    The Alchemist's Kitchen will only be my new book for another six months and so how lovely to return to it again for such a close reading.

    Most of all I am thankful for small groups of smart readers that come together for poetry. The group members were not poets; they were scientists, painters, travelers, and one novelist. They are my new best friends. In hearing their responses to my work the poems were born anew with fresh life breathed into them.

    Thank you Bainbridge readers from the bottom of my heart for an evening of smart conversation, personal responses, and gorgeous food (including garden picked kale). You were my first book group and I bow to your generous hearts.

   If you are in a book group or want to do a book themed dinner party, find out more about bringing one of ten northwest poets to your table at A Poet At Your Table.

 

Writing Prompt Revisited, The Art of the Interview, and the City of Sarajevo

       Sometimes finding the right prompt can allow a poet to write a poem that never would have entered the world without the constraints of form. I've noticed recently that many of my poems from my time in Bosnia are ghazals or villanelles. Sometimes restraint works to compress the language and allows for lyric surprises.

    Here's a writing prompt on the art of the interview (also a form)  that was published on Midge Raymond's Seattle PI blog, Writers Block, a few years ago. I created this during the time I was a curator for the Jack Straw Writers Program and needed to conduct interviews with each of the 12 writers for the program's podcast series. Is conducting an interview a legitimate prompt?

     Actually, it's more than a prompt. It's a way of learning compassion. As a writer, if you spend hours with someone and listen to her story, it stays with you. Active listening allows for the creation of a better poem and perhaps a better person as well.

    As a poet, I think it's a way to steal some of the tools of the journalist or the fiction writer. And I'm all for stealing --- in the literary sense.

Sarajevo - old city

Success in Book Promotion and Poetry at Poco

Mini Q&A with poet Susan Richby Midge Raymond

This is an excerpt of Susan Rich’s Q&A in Everyday Book Marketing, in which she talks about book promotion, asking for what you want, and unique ideas for book events. For more book promo information, and to read Susan’s complete Q&A, check out Everyday Book Marketing.



Susan Rich is the author of four collections of poetry, The Cartographer’s Tongue: Poems of the World; Cures Include Travel; The Alchemist’s Kitchen; and the forthcoming Cloud Pharmacy. Her poems have been published in the Antioch Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Poetry International, and The Southern Review, among others, and her fellowships include an Artist Trust Fellowship from Washington State and a Fulbright Fellowship in South Africa.

Q: What are the most successful things you’ve done to promote your books?


A: I learned this from a poet friend, and it’s very simple: “Ask for what you want.” Be clear on what makes an event or a project a positive experience for you. When one festival in Vermont invited me to read, I wrote back to say I’d love to come but I needed accommodation for my stay. At first the organizer said that he couldn’t accommodate me, but a few weeks later he came through with rooms offered to the festival by a lovely hotel. Since then I have asked museums to host events for free and hotels to give over their penthouse for a performance. There is no shame associated with asking for what you want—and this works especially well when working with other writers.

Here’s one example. For my book The Alchemist’s Kitchen, I decided that I wanted to set up a national tour. This goal sounded overly grandiose to my ears and to my budget (poets are not sent on tours by their publishers), but it was what I wanted: a new challenge. Over a two-week period, I visited San Diego, Boston, and Miami for events in each place. In each city I had friends to see, so I knew it would be fun no matter what else happened. In each city I read with other writers and made contacts that led to other projects. Going on the road facilitated new contacts and new places to do book promotion—because I asked.

Q: What aspect of book promotion has surprised you the most?


A: I’m always surprised that book promotion is actually fun. I am an introvert at heart—happiest with my own company. The idea of “selling” myself makes me want to run off to another planet. However, after several books I’ve found that when a book comes out, I look for other “new” authors in the same position so we can help each other. The writers I’ve met are overwhelmingly a generous lot. We share creative promotional ideas and our favorite bookstores to read in. This goes a long way toward casting the whole expedition as more of an adventure than a burden. My newest idea, “borrowed” from Colleen Michaels, a poet in Salem, Massachusetts, is to create an “Improbable Places Poetry Tour.” Colleen and her students at Montserrat College stage poetry readings where you least expect to find them: a flower shop, a Laundromat, a store window, and a bank. I’m working on an event right now that takes place in a hotel penthouse.

To read Susan’s complete Q&A, check out Everyday Book Marketing. And don’t miss Susan’s website.


For those of you in Seattle, Susan will be participating inLitCrawl Seattle on Thursday, October 24, 2013 — she’ll be reading at Poco Wine + Spirits (at 1408 E Pine St.) with Karen Finneyfrock, Rebecca Hoogs, and John Duvernoy.

"Forever--- is Composed of Nows---" - Emily Dickinson's Gorgeous Nothings

  Emily Dickinson
Here's what's new in the world of Emily Dickinson and it's exciting. See what a scholar, visual artist, and dancer have done with Dickinson's envelope poems!

From the Poetry Foundation website
 Today New Directions will publish The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems, featuring facsimiles of 52 poems Dickinson wrote on envelopes late in her life. We talked to editors Jen Bervin and Marta Werner about the book, as well as to contemporary artists Lesley Dill and Spencer Finch whose work is inspired by the poet.

Gorgeous Nothings! Hardly. Good news spins forth from the New Directions blog–the press is publishing the first-ever, full-color, large-scale edition of Emily Dickinson’s “complete envelope writings in facsimile from her visually stunning manuscripts.” With contributions from Jen Bervin (you’ve hopefully spied her beautiful, intricate “Dickinson Fascicles”?), Susan Howe, and Marta Werner


 Watch the video of it here!

 The Gorgeous Nothings
Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems
Poetry
Emily Dickinson
Edited by Jen Bervin
Edited by Marta Werner
Contributors: Susan Howe .

The first full-color publication of Emily Dickinson’s complete envelope writings in facsimile from her visually stunning manuscripts, here in a deluxe, large-scale edition

The Gorgeous Nothings — the first full-color facsimile edition of Emily Dickinson’s manuscripts ever to appear — is a deluxe edition of her late writings, presenting this crucially important, experimental late work exactly as she wrote it on scraps of envelopes. A never-before-possible glimpse into the process of one of our most important poets.

The book presents all the envelope writings — 52 — reproduced life-size in full color both front and back, with an accompanying transcription to aid in the reading, allowing us to enjoy this little-known but important body of Dickinson’s writing. Envisioned by the artist Jen Bervin and made possible by the extensive research of the Dickinson scholar Marta L. Werner, this book offers a new understanding and appreciation of the genius of Emily Dickinson.

More Information for Port Townsend Workshops

Poets on the Coast in Port Townsend

POETS ON THE COAST: A MINI WINTER RETREAT
Susan Rich & Kelli Russell Agodon


Generating New Poems / Sending Polished Poems into the World

9 AM – 12 PM


For poets who want to write new poems as well as submit their work to literary journals, this is the class for you! We will try a wide array of writing exercises and spend the last half hour discussing the submission process. Hand-outs on submission letters and suggested journals. Susan & Kelli will also put together a submission packet of your poems to send out for you. $98

From Manuscript into Book: The Process Demystified

1 PM – 4 PM

This workshop is designed to help poets put together a full or chapbook length collection. We’ll look at several different options regarding how to structure and order your poems. Finally, you’ll have a chance to begin visualizing your work as part of a larger project. Everyone will leave with an action plan and a handout of resources leading you closer to the goal of a competed book. $98



OR RETREAT FOR THE DAY 
TAKE BOTH CLASSES FOR $189 TOTAL

When: Saturday, January 18th, 2014
Where: Northwest Maritime Center,
431 Water St. Port Townsend, WA

To Register:

Name:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Email:

Circle one:   Generating New Work 9 am-12 pm $98 From Manuscript to Book 1 pm-4 pm $98              Retreat for the day for $189


Send this form and payment to:

Kelli Agodon - Poets on the Coast
PO Box 1524,
Kingston, WA 98346


Or register online at: www.agodon.com/classes.html

Questions or to save your space email: poetsonthecoast@yahoo.com

Poets On the Coast Travels to Port Townsend!

Mini Winter  Retreat in Port Townsend Poets on the Coast is traveling along the Puget Sound to Port Townsend on Saturday, January 18th with two workshop options: Generating New Work in the morning slot (9:00 AM - Noon) and in the afternoon, From Manuscript into Book (1:00 PM  - 4:00 PM). To reserve a spot click here and scroll down; space is very limited. The place we've chosen is beautiful, and on the coast, of course.

Kelli Russell Agodon and I will co-teach both workshops. You can choose either Generating New Work and Sending Polished Poems into the Word or From Manuscript into Book for the afternoon session. We're offering a reduced rate should you want to retreat for the day!

Both workshops are geared for all poets --- from beginners to advanced. Whether you have a poetry manuscript or not, the exercises we provide as well as the nuts and bolts information on all steps to publication will be useful.

These classes are back due to popular demand! We'd love to have you join us for a winter writing retreat -- our first on this side of the water.

The number of participants is limited to 18. Please click here to find out more. 

A Necessary Resource For All Writers - And A Free Download

by Midge RaymondI love the voice Midge Raymond takes in her necessary book, Everyday Book Marketing. She is both encouraging and smart, honest and approachable. I've read through every chapter and am ready to read it again, this time taking her straightforward suggestions.

Is there a poet in the world that loves to market her work? I have yet to meet her (or him).

And yet. As writers, we need to meet our readers and let them know through the local bookstore, or  national readings, or GoodReads that we have birthed a book. Midge includes interviews with a wide assortment of writers who have gone on the road to promote their books, some with startling results.

Midge Raymond is a generous writer and she has provided a free download so that you can read a chapter of the book and see if there's information here for you. As a fiction writer herself, she has the first hand experience in terms of book tours, author photos, blogs and much more that can be essential for the 21st century writer.

Some of the writers who've contributed to the section Authors and Experts include Janna Cawrse Esarey, Wendy Call, Katherine Trueblood, Rosanne Olson, Kelli Russell Agodon and me.

Whether you have 15 minutes to devote to marketing your book or you're interested in an extended tour, this book is full of great tips. Mostly, you'll know that you are not alone and that many writers have come before you and are willing to share their expertise.

I'm endorsing Everyday Book Marketing 101% It's been my guide for Cloud Pharmacy, my fourth book of poems. I keep this beautiful paperback on my desk and pick it up when I need a promotion kick in the pants --- which is often.

Cloud Pharmacy Comes Alive!

      Why is it that once a book appears on Amazon it feels alive? Perhaps because Cloud Pharmacy existed for so long inside my head, it's a shock and a pleasure to see it advertised out in the world, or at least on the computer screen.

      The cover will  still get tweaked a bit from this image just in terms of color and no italics on my name, for example,  but we are very, very close. And yes, it is available for pre-order here but so much more fun to get your copy on Friday,  February 28th at the book launch at SAM (Seattle Art Museum). The event will also launch Hourglass Museum by Kelli Russell Agodon.

      When I chose this title I did not understand quite how prevalent cloud technology would become. My book is listed with all sorts of technology texts. And so for now, Cloud Pharmacy, exists in the cloud. Kind of cool. 

A Different Kind of Reading at Facere

Signs of Life at Facere Gallery

I will be reading at 4:00 PM Wednesday at Facere Gallery in downtown Seattle for an ekphrastic project that's been a real honor (and fun!) to be part of. Signs of Life is an exhibit that pairs visual artists, in this case, jewelry makers with poets and prose writers. The anthology that comes out of this exhibit is of the highest quality. Tomorrow's reading will feature several area writers as well as fluted glasses of champagne. Open to all!

Back to School Time: Survival Tips

Welcome BackIn the Pacific Northwest the academic year begins later than on the east coast. The story goes that farm families wouldn't let their children begin the year until the apple harvest was done. I love the idea that the academic calendar needed to negotiate with the farmers and therefore the seasons. And today, with rain in the morning and a sunny but cool afternoon, it seems time to settle in.

So many of my students are new to the college this quarter. They sit in class and give little away by their expressions. Engagement and boredom look much the same on the young adult face. Today I had three encounters with students that gave me a little more insight into where they are coming from and slowly we begin to see each other as fellow human beings rather than only in our roles as students or teacher. At least that's my hope.

"What do you believe" is the first assignment for English 101. So far I've learned that certain students believe in bicycles and cell phones; others are more partial to drum sets and dogs.
Every quarter we move from strangers to a strange kind of extended family. I look forward to knowing them all much better over the weeks to come.

Here Are Some of My Tips for Survival

1. Smile as much as possible.  It sounds silly but it works better to say "I can't talk to you right now because I need to teach this class" with a smile on my face. The message is the same but the sting is not.

2. Be forgiving, be fair.  As someone who teaches about 75-100 students per quarter, I am constantly trying to balance these two concepts. If I allow one student to hand in a paper late how is that fair to the student who didn't have the self confidence to ask the same question? It's easy to forgive one slip but is it fair to reward sloppy behavior? I see no black and white here, just questions that always need to be answered.

3. The first week is all about first impressions. Be your best self. Psychologists say we form 93% of our impression of someone on a first meeting. Actually, in the first few minutes of that first meeting. It's crucial that we all do our best to be gracious and kind this first week.

4. Be gentle with yourself. This first week is an onslaught to the senses. Where is my class? When is this first assignment due? How will I ever do all that's expected of me? These questions plague students and professors. And yet, December will arrive, We will make it through.

5. Sleep, exercise, food. I've returned to my yoga practice, started going to bed earlier and cutting out foods that do my body no good. Studies all agree that these are crucial elements for a healthy life. The practices I put in place now should help when things get even more intense with papers and mid-terms.

6. Remember, this is a cool job! Monday I taught my creative writing students William Stafford's, "You Reading This, Be Ready" with the wonderful line, "Are you waiting for time to show you some better thoughts?" There are moments  in many of my days where I can't believe how wonderful a job it is to share poetry and film, essays and stories with students from around the world.