Susan Rich's Blog, page 83

Fear of Success? Fear of Failure?

This Friday night I am giving a reading for Humanities Washington as part of their Bedtimes Stories: Night Flight fundraising dinner. I should be trying to write new poems right now. This very minute. Instead I am merely writing out my fear of failure. I am the only poet in a group of fiction writers (and one non-fiction writer). I do not have a story, but a sequence of poems. Is this a problem or an advantage? Is the difference up to me?


Sometimes I try to remember back to the very early 1990's when I first began to publish my poems, and then later, in 1994, when I returned for a second graduate degree, an MFA in Poetry at the University of Oregon. My mother thought I had lost my mind. I was leaving a good job with Amnesty International to move across the country to Oregon (where exactly was Oregon?) to start a second graduate degree in my mid-30's. Who does that? I can see why she thought I was deranged.


I don't remember being afraid of failure then. Perhaps it's the fault of a faulty memory. Perhaps the adventure of moving West, of leaving my job, of claiming poetry in a public way-- perhaps that protected me from fear. By this Friday night I hope to be able to live in the present moment; I want to enjoy listening to the other writers of the evening: Garth Stein, Charles Johnson, Jenny Shortridge..., I want to be comfortable with myself as a writer in the world. Wish me luck!



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Congratulations to Jason Moran - MacArthur Fellow

This is good news. I am utterly thrilled to see that Jason Moran, a musician and composer I met while at the Ucross Foundation, has been named as a MacArthur Fellow - or given a genius grant  as the award is often called. Jason gave our ragtag group (poets, visual artists, fiction writers) a concert his last night in residence. His work casually moved across genres from traditional jazz, to big band music, to spirituals and then the most experimental music I've ever head consisting of the sounds (not the words) from an array of world languages. The night was over five years ago, but I remember it vividly. Jason talked about "sampling" as a contribution that his generation has made to music --- he was 30 years old then, 35 now. To be honest, we were all a little in love with Jason --- in part, because it was so clear he was utterly in love with his wife. The morning he left, he gave us each a piece of music he'd written based on our names. Somewhere in my house I have a lovely note and original piece of Jason Moran music!

It's a pleasure to know that he's been recognized for his music and to know that he is as good a man as he is a musician.

You can read about Jason and all the other MacArthur Fellows right here. And while it's true that there are no poets this year and only one fiction writer, it can't take away the excitement I feel about knowing that Jason is the perfect choice. He is a poet at heart.

Thankful Thursday - Before It Ends

Thank you for the last two days of working on poems. Maybe I can make my deadline after all

Thank you for 20 more minutes in which I will try to remember why I should be thankful

Thank you to Pilot Books for a memorable reading tonight

Thank you to my amazing South Grand Writing Poets whom  I also got to meet with tonight

Thank you Jack Straw Writers Program for choosing me as the 2011 Curator (more on this coming up)

Thank you everyone who made (and is making) Kelli's Virtual Book Party a success...

You Are Invited! Virtual Release Party: Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room with Kelli Russell Agodon

Welcome to the book release party of 
Letters from The Emily Dickinson Room 
by Kelli Russell Agodon.






Kelli is here this afternoon (also on a 24 hour basis) to read poems, mingle with friends, eat well, and most of all celebrate the release of this important new book. You are invited to party with her. Bring a friend, a poem, and be sure to pick up a copy of her book, Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room.  Kelli has also graciously agreed to answer your questions this week. Just leave a...

Opportunities and Events and Celebrations: Literarily Speaking

Kelli Russell Agodon's book Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room is out in the world and you can order an autographed copy from her by going to her website right here. I've read many of the poems and can't wait to get my own copy to have and to hold. I'll be holding a virtual party for her right here very soon -- I hope you will stop by.



And in other news: Jack Straw Writers Program




The Jack Straw Writers Program is accepting applications now until November 1st. If you are accepted into the pr...

The Writer's Life: Pajamas Late Morning ~ Subscribe!

Pablo Neruda's Writing DeskToday is week one, day three of my sabbatical and I am still in my pajamas. My goal of getting to my writing studio early in the morning, again unmet. Yet, yesterday I worked on two poems and made some headway on my current project. So why beat myself up?

Because I have, I bet most writers have, an image in our heads of the writing life. Unfortunately, my writing habits do not mesh with the pristine desk, the gorgeous beach view pictured in the photograph above. I wr...

A New Poet: Where Can I Find One?

A NEW POET 

Finding a new poet
is like finding a new wildflower
out in the woods. You don't see

its name in the flower books, and
nobody you tell believes
in its odd color or the way

its leaves grow in splayed rows
down the whole length of the page. In fact
the very page smells of spilled

red wine and the mustiness of the sea
on a foggy day --the odor of truth
and of lying.

And the words are so familiar,
so strangely new, words
you almost wrote yourself, if only

in your dreams there had been a pencil
or a pen...

Poem for a Cloudy Monday: Far Away

FAR AWAY

When I answered that I came from "far away,"
The policeman at the roadblock snapped, "Where's that?"
He'd only half heard what I said and thought
It was the name of some place up the country.

And now it is-- both where I have been living
And where I left-- a distance still to go
Like star-light that is light-years on the go
From far away and takes light-years arriving.

                             ---- Seamus Heaney

This poem was published in December 1994 in The New Yorker. For over a decade ...

Heron Sighting: A Good Omen?

This morning I watched a great blue heron fly into the top Y branch of a tree just a few yards from my back garden. I'm hoping it's a positive omen for my life --- flight, beauty, and surprise. Here's hoping.

Naked Self Promotion - Letter to the End of the Year

I hope you will forgive this indulgence, but Verse Daily is a 24 hour gig. It's been a number of years since I've been up on their site. Today's poem is one of my favorite from The Alchemist's Kitchen and it feels good to see it there.

Today is also the open house at Hedgebrook from 1:00 - 4:00. I'll be reading along with the wonderful poet Elizabeth Austen. If you're in driving distance you should come --- the food is always amazing and the day calls for a road trip!