Susan Rich's Blog, page 86

Happy Hour - Writing at the Bar

If you know me at all, you know that I am not much of a drinker.  Tonight I've nursed one fluted glass of prosecco for a few hours. Usually I write at coffeeshops, but tonight I needed something more festive. My favorite restaurant, bar, all around place to spend an afternoon or evening near my house is Fresh Bistro -- celebrating it's first year this month.
The bartender was kind enough to let me use the extra plug next to his espresso machine. I've been here three hours and had one drink...

Coming Attraction - Underlife by January O'Neil

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OK. So this is perhaps not a summer read at the beach --- unless you're looking for sustenance for life rather than leisure. January O'Neil, poet extraordinaire and author of Underlife will be appearing here soon for an interview. In the meantime, here is one of her amazing poems from Underlife, published by CavanKerry Press, 2010.
True Story #2: Missing

First a foot, then the whole body
found wedged upside-down behind
a tall bookcase,

a young woman missing in a home
she shared with her family
most ...

Summer Novels ~ The More I Owe You

Elizabeth Bishop was already in her forties when she set sail for South America. First stop was a visit to her old friend Mary and Mary's Brazilian partner, Lota. Often Bishop's allergic reaction to a cashew is tied to how she became Lota's partner and lived the next 17 or so years in Brazil. If you're a Bishop fan (as I clearly am) you've probably read the collected letters, poems, stories, and critical accounts of her life and work. If so, you'll enjoy The More I Owe You by Michael Sledge a...

Life Intrudes - Please Keep Otis in Your Thoughts

I know my focus is on poetry, travel, and the creative life --- but sometimes life intrudes. Otis is the cute guy on the right with his paw around his sister, Sarajevo. Please keep him in your thoughts tomorrow.

Thank you for asking - "Do you have the image in front of you"?

Thank you, Maureen, for asking the question on whether I was able to spend time with Myra Albert Wiggins photographs before I wrote about them. Yes and no. I took two trips to the Portland Art Museum to see Wiggins' work. Although there are other museums with Wiggins photographs and paintings, PAM in Portland, OR houses the vast majority of her photographs, papers, and magazines. While I took notes while at the museum, most of the writing was done using the images I found on line or from Caro...

The Writing Life: Myra Albert Wiggins

Many years ago I believed that writing prose was easier than poetry. It was the hubris of a newly minted MFA that had me believing this. What a great misconception to hold onto. My ignorance allowed me to write an article on the coming of the trains to the Northwest, "Train Time", which was included in Best Essays  Northwest. Now I'm working on an article about Myra Albert Wiggins (pictured on the right) and finding it  rough going. I've written over a dozen poems about Wiggins, her husband, ...

The Writing Life: Another Andy Warhol Connection

Every month my friend Kelli Russell Agodon and I meet for a day of poetry, food, and creativity. Sometimes we visit museums --- as we did yesterday. The Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum includes a photomaton. Museum goers are encouraged to have their photo taken and add it to the exhibit. Every week the museum will add the photos to their on-line collection posted on Facebook. The exhibit (in fact, the museum) employs many large screen videos --- and also has an "Italian Room" wi...

The Writer's Life: Another Andy Warhol Connection

Every month my friend Kelli Russell Agodon and I meet for a day of poetry, food, and creativity. Sometimes we visit museums --- as we did yesterday. The Andy Warhol exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum includes a photomaton. Museum goers are encouraged to have their photo taken and add it to the exhibit. Every week the museum will add the photos to their on-line collection posed on Facebook. The exhibit (in fact, the museum) employs many large screen videos --- and also has an "Italian Room" wit...

Traveling the Web - Letters of Note - To Andy Warhol

I am a great fan of the eccentric and the odd. The web site Letters of Note shares my interest in the strange and the off beat. Each week they post a letter that they say "deserves a wider audience." I've read letters from Elvis Presley and from J.D. Salinger. David Bowie's answer to an American fan was especially sweet. And the idea that letters are now a memento mori of a distant past constantly surprises me. How many of us still write letters of the pen and paper variety? The printer and p...

Poem Friday - One Art - Elizabeth Bishop

It's a grey morning and I need to get writing before the morning is gone. I've just found out that my AWP panel was not accepted. Bummer. The good news is that 2011 would have Elizabeth Bishop's 100th birthday and so there will be a birthday party for her in Washington DC. She is my touchstone poet, my travel poet, my poet who gave me permission to explore the world. I have taught her work in Seattle and in Cape Town, read her in odd airport hotels and in the House of Sky. Today I am in need...