Joseph Whitson's Blog, page 2
October 13, 2017
To Winnemucca on Friday the 13th
This evening, my wife and I will embark on a "research" journey to Winnemucca, NV, which I described in a previous post, "Road Trip to Winnemucca." Interestingly, it wasn't until this morning that I realized our trip would begin on Friday the 13th. My only excuses, I suppose, for not noticing this significant and important detail much earlier than this morning is that I've been busy working on a poem about the Mandalay Bay tragedy, and then this week, distracted with the Northern California fires that have been close to us and many of our friends. During this trip to Winnemucca, if I can't find the dark, ominous feeling I had experienced years ago, or trap and bring home the entity, or dare I say, "demon," responsible for that feeling of dread, then I will have failed an apparently easy task! Because, there’s every indication (my recent project, the firestorm, and Friday the 13th) that everything I’m hoping to see or “feel” will practically seek me out.
October 8, 2017
Mandalay Bay Tragedy
Many of my poems are contemplations or re-creations of events, personal or social. Even if a poem is introspective, it begins with what I've seen, heard, or felt. In my latest book, As Glaciers Move, there are examples of serious social commentary: "Khmer Rouge, 1975," "Refugees," "These Children," "The Marginalized," "Nursery Rhyme," and "The Fallen." This week, I started writing a poem about the tragedy in Las Vegas. I listened to interviews, law enforcement briefings, and news stories for hours. I watched cell phone videos and other clips. I filled a dozen pages with a mix of my observations, emotions, and tears. Then I had to set the pages aside. I’ll work on this poem some more next week while the pain is still fresh and as best as anyone can do from afar. Besides interviews, briefings, and news stories, regarding seeing or hearing of tragic deaths, I'll draw, unfortunately, from personal and close-to-home experiences. Then I’ll set my writings aside for a while. How does one write a poem (or just write) about such an abhorrent event? I’ve done it before. I’ve sometimes wrapped a serious topic or event in something that resembles a child’s rhyme, not out of disrespect, but to prepare the reader for the metaphor that will inevitably erupt from the pages. Sometimes, there’s nothing I can do but put raw emotions into words and let the reader feel them immediately. It’s always a challenge to write about topics such as mass murder, domestic violence, or genocide. But I do so because this is the world in which we live. So, now, back to Mandalay Bay. It’ll be difficult. I have a feeling that whether a few weeks from now or a few months from now, anger, sadness, and tears will be there to help me write, to force me to write. And as I write, the silent question that will surface and resurface will be, Why?
October 6, 2017
A Backpacker's Tale
"A Backpacker's Tale," is a "journey" poem with some elements that fit into the definition of an epic poem, which I'd written in 1993 and included in As Glaciers Move. However, In 1993, I'd created more than one version of this poem. Not just rewrites, but publishable versions. One of those versions is what I'm now referring to as the "full-length." I didn't choose it for publication in As Glaciers Move because, at the time of assembling the book, I'd felt that it was too long. In the full-length, after the discussion with the voice on the ridge, the literal journey continues much farther and the figurative journey much further. The full-length expands the backpacker's tale. I might post it here in my blog, possibly starting in a few weeks, but as small, manageable, weekly installments. Then, if you wish, you can print each installment and put the poem together upon delivery of the final stanzas to read "out loud," my preference for reading poems, in its entirety. If I publish a second version of As Glaciers Move, or another book of poems, quotes, and poetic prose, I will certainly include the full-length.
September 28, 2017
Road Trip to Winnemucca
Since I submitted As Glaciers Move for publication, I've been working on four writing projects. Yikes! One of my friends, obviously joking, said to me recently, "I can read three or four books at a time, but never write on more than two projects at once. I don't have enough tracks for all of those trains of thought!" I replied with, "Well, sometimes I wonder if I have more than two tracks, but I have plenty of trains. There may be a collision soon!" My collection of psychological thriller short stories, though, may come to the forefront soon. A few days ago, I planned a trip with my wife to travel to Winnemucca, NV, to visit or simply pass by specific locations, en route and within the city. I want to capture a mood for one of the short stories I plan to include in the collection. It is a mood (or a feeling) I encountered decades ago as we drove straight through Nevada, only stopping for the night in Winnemucca at a very "cheap" motel (there was no room for us in the inn). I've driven through and stayed in Nevada many times since, but for the entire journey through Nevada that year, I had a strange, ominous feeling. Using Google Earth, I confirmed that the same landmarks and buildings (and the "cheap" motel) of so many years ago are still there. And, I'm sure the landscapes haven't changed too much. There's nothing better than a road trip for inspiration! For me, sometimes a re-creation of an event can bring forth memories from deep within my mind, and in this case, hopefully, the same dark, ominous feeling of years ago! Or, perhaps, the re-creation will bring forth whatever it was that darkened that journey through Nevada. And if so, I'll have my laptop ready to ensnare it, because if it is that kind of entity, we would not want it to follow us back to make our home its own.
September 12, 2017
September 14 Book Release!
Although the eBook version of As Glaciers Move has been available for purchase since July 31, I'm excited that the paperback will be "released" in two days (September 14). Finally! There's nothing better than holding a book in your hands and thumbing through the pages. And regarding this book's cover, the thumbnail does not do it justice. Up close, the watercolor image on the cover (front to back) comes to life. 63 people have already entered the Book Giveaway for As Glaciers Move. I wish I could give a book to everyone who has entered the contest. But, sadly, I'm only giving away ten signed/ first edition copies. Sadly.
September 10, 2017
Book Giveaway of As Glaciers Move
I noticed an error in the description of the Book Giveaway announcement. I could have let it be, but like everything I write, I can never seem to stop editing. I corrected the error, and now the Giveaway is delayed one day. Because of the inconvenience, however, I'm extending the giveaway two days.
September 8, 2017
Book Giveaway of As Glaciers Move
UPDATE! 10 COPIES! From 9/10 to 10/10/2017, enter a chance to win 10 signed/first editions of As Glaciers Move (paperback).
