Writing the Life Poetic

Poetry for the People January 2010 classes announced

I love working one-on-one with poets and I'm very excited to be teaching more in 2010!

In January I'll be offering Poetry for the People Level 1 and introducing the brand-spanking-new Poetry for the People Level 2.

If you've taken P4P Level 1 or you are a practicing poet seeking to hone your craft, accelerate your writing rhythms and have more fun, Level 2 is for you!

To learn more and register, visit my new Poetry for the People class page.

I am sending a big shout out to Christina Katz, who taught me most of what I know about teaching online (and so many other things)! Christina has offered my classes through her auspices for the past few years and worked incredibly hard to promote them. As Christina is streamlining and I am expanding in the New Year, I'm leaving her teaching nest and building my own. Thank you for everything, Christina! I'm so grateful to have learned to flap my wings from one of the very best!

What is your life purpose?

"'Life purpose,'...implies something beyond "reason." It isn't simply achieving a goal or acquiring some longed-for possession. It isn't the meaning you ascribe to events in your past. It is a chosen dedication of your life energy to something you believe is more important than your individual little existence. It is your commitment. It is that for which you will sacrifice your life--at very least your time, attention, creativity, effort and perhaps even your life itself. It becomes your identity as surely as your name, your body or your story to date.

You can see these different kinds of purpose -- goal, meaning and dedication--in this story about three stonecutters, each chipping away at a large block. A passerby approaches the first stonecutter and asks, 'Excuse me, what are you doing?' The stonecutter replies rather gruffly, 'Can't you see? I'm chipping away at this big hunk of stone.' Approaching the second craftsman, our curious person asks the same question. This stonecutter looks up with a mixture of pride and resignation and says, 'Why, I'm earning a living to take care of my wife and children.' Moving to the third worker, our questioner asks, 'And what are you doing?' The third stonecutter looks up, his face shining, and says with reverence, 'I'm building a cathedral!'" -- Your Money or Your Life, by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez

The cusp of November/December in SageLand

As the season grows cold and dark, turn on your poetry light and come on out for a dose this month! I'd love to see you.

Monday, November 30, 7:00 p.m.
Three Friends Mondays: Caffeinated Art
The Show and Tell Gallery
Three Friends Coffee House
SE 12th and Ash, Portland, OR

I'll be reading poetry with two wonderful friends and poets extraordinaire: Kristin Berger and Sara Guest.

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Tuesday, December 1, 7:00 p.m.
Willamette Writers Writers Faire
The Old Church, SW 11th and Clay, Portland, OR

Need some inspirational holiday gifts? I'll be signing and selling both of my books at this event that celebrates local writers and authors. And I'll be in very good company! Come one, come all.

The Writing Life: Poetry as Tonglen Practice

By Sage Cohen

Pema Chodron teaches tonglen practice, a style of meditation that invites us to breathe in pain—our own; the world’s––and breathe out compassion for ourselves and others. The spirit of tonglen, she instructs, is to cultivate an awareness that pain is not an individual burden, but rather a universal one. It invites us to let pain become a path of awakening the heart. And it calls upon us to meet and welcome our pain so that others can be free of it.  

As I started breathing with intention as Chodron instructs, it occurred to me that I already have a tonglen practice: poetry. I breathe in pain––my own and the world’s––and I breathe out poems. Poetry gives suffering a direction. It uplifts our small moments to monumental ones, and gives our readers an opportunity to move through pain, revelation and catharsis with us. I have spent a lifetime seeking my own experience told more clearly in the poems of others. And I have recently released an enormous gasp of exhalation—a poetry collection––that I hope will offer readers recognition and relief as they see their own difficulties (and joys) through my eyes.  

Poems may not stop the clubbing of baby seals, domestic violence, child trafficking, dog fighting, genocide or whatever it is that feels most difficult to breathe in on any given day. But as the motorcyclist must lean into the turn to prevent a fall, poems become a kind of machinery of transport, giving us a context for leaning into the pain that we meet and safely navigating through it.  

My father always said, “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” And poems are the treasures that can be exhumed from those undesirable experiences.  Just think all of the great, poetic opportunities for compassion and understanding that lie coiled at the heart of every mistake, heartbreak, disappointment and regret.  

What if you were to literally look to your poetry practice as tonglen practice—a way of moving through what pierces you to the core? What injustices might it help you unflinchingly examine? What epicenter of pain or grief might it help you enter and consider? How might you relax into the universal truths of divorce, death, intolerance, change, and make a poem offering that illumines these truths with grace?

 

Book Clubs Inspire Children to Write as Well as Read

By Cindy Hudson

During the last decade or so mother-daughter book clubs have become an important factor in getting children to read for fun. But might they also play a role in getting kids to write as well? Increasingly, I’m seeing evidence that they can.

First of all, more and more authors are seeking ways to connect with mother-daughter book clubs. Sometimes they join book clubs by answering questions through email or phoning in on Skype, and sometimes they attend group meetings in person. Moms and daughters also attend bookstore readings together when their favorite authors speak. How does this contribute to kids being interested in writing? Meeting authors in person helps girls to demystify them, turning them into real people and encouraging girls to think of writing as a viable career.  

There’s a trend, too, for clubs to combine reading and writing activities. Often I hear of moms and daughters who focus on reading poetry for a month, then they write poems of their own to read aloud at a meeting. I’ve even had moms email me to ask about writing contests for children because the girls in their group want to write and submit their work. From what I’ve seen, submitting is often a sticking point for writers. What barriers can these girls knock down by learning to submit when they’re young?

After being in mother-daughter book clubs for many years, I’ve also come to see that discussing books can improve writing as well. I believe it’s improved my writing, and if it’s true for this mom, it can certainly be true for daughters in groups too. What is it about book clubs than may help writers improve their craft?

Book club comments help everyone learn to see what they read through someone else’s eyes. Lively discussions may include talk of plot elements, sections that didn’t seem true to the character, thoughts of how real life actions may differ from those described in the book. Analyzing a book this way is fun, particularly when that analysis isn’t attached to a grade at school. With the pressure off, girls are more likely to see what works and what doesn’t work in stories, and they can bring those insights into their own writing. 

* * * * *

Cindy Hudson is the author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs (Seal Press, October 2009). She is a mother-daughter book club consultant, journalist, and editor. Hudson has more than twenty years of experience as a marketing and public relations professional. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.motherdaughterbookclub.com or check out one of her upcoming events:

November 10, 2009—Tuesday, 7 p.m. with Heather Vogel Frederick at A Children's Place, 4807 N.E. Fremont St. Portland, OR 97213

November 17, 2009—Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, Clackamas Town Center, 12000 SE 82nd Avenue Portland, OR 97266

Celebrate the launch of VoiceCatcher 4 with two readings in November

VoiceCatcher 4, an anthology of Portland Women's writing, is here!

VoiceCatcher exists because a collective of women -- editors, authors, artists, poets and teachers -- who love to read and write wanted to collect the voices of local women and offer them to the community.

I am proud to have served on the editorial collective for this publication for the past two years -- this year as Poetry Editor. And I am thrilled to announce that VoiceCatcher 4, our latest edition, is now available in stores throughout the Portland area. 

Join us in celebrating VoiceCatcher 4 and hear a great line-up of this year's authors reading selections of their work at two events this month!

November 11, 7:00 PM
Barnes and Noble - Lloyd Center
(as part of the Poetry and Prose for the People series, which I host)
1317 Lloyd Center
Portland, OR 97232
503-249-0800

Featured readers:

• Favor Ellis
• Naomi Fast
• Heidi Schulman Greenwald
• Constance Hall (pen name: M)
• Christi Krug
• Toni Partington
• Wendy Willis

November 16th, 7:00 PM
Powell's on Hawthorne
3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 235-3802

Featured readers:

• Paulann Petersen
• Abby Mims
• Liz Prato
• Carolyn Moore
• Nancy Flynn
• Kaitlyn Burch
• Penelope Scambly Schott

Mark your calendars and come prepared to be thoroughly entertained.

Can't wait to see you there!

The Poetics of Community: Finding a Poetic Soulmate

By Christopher Luna

Is it possible to find a poetic soulmate? A trusted friend who knows your work so well that he or she can give you solid advice that takes your overarching concerns and aesthetic into account? I’m here to tell you that, though it may be as elusive as the ideal of a romantic soulmate, it is possible.  

In order for a person to be your poetic soulmate, he or she must first read enough of your work to understand What It Is You’re Trying To Do. If we think of a poet’s work as a kind of autobiography, or at least a narrative that takes an entire life to complete, then it can be helpful to receive critique from someone who understands the big picture of who you are.  

Often people join critique groups looking for such a partner. These groups can be useful if they are constructed carefully. Groups that consist of random people who are not familiar with each other’s work do not always gel. I am fortunate enough to be part of a small group of five people who are not only friends but who respect one another’s work. When you go over your poetry line by line with people on a regular basis, they begin to get a sense of your aesthetic.  

But in my case, my poetic soulmate turned out to be a fellow alumnus from Naropa. While we were friends when we were classmates, it was not until after we graduated that we realized that we had this affinity. My friend David Madgalene is an excellent writer who also happens to be a prolific correspondent. When I send him one letter, he responds with three. He sends me huge envelopes filled with books, zines, and clippings to inspire and amuse me. He also sends me his stories, novels, and poems, although not always for critique. We are very clear with one another about when feedback is sought.  

The mutual respect that David and I have for one another has led us to collaborate on several poems, a chapbook, and a forthcoming book art project. We have performed together on several occasions, many of which occurred during my yearly visit to California to visit him and his family.  

David knows more about what I am trying to do than anyone. Therefore, when he makes a comment or a suggestion, I am sure to take it seriously. Similarly, he knows that he can trust me to be honest with him. While both of us publish or perform our work regularly enough to have had the experience of being praised, even sincere compliments do not tell a writer what he needs to do to improve his work. When I have a tough question about a poem, or just need someone to give it to me straight, I can count on David.  

Have you found your poetic soulmate? If not, what kind of person might be a fit for you? What are you doing to find him or her?

* * * * *

Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

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View all "The Poetics of Community" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

By Christopher Luna

Is it possible to find a poetic soulmate? A trusted friend who knows your work so well that he or she can give you solid advice that takes your overarching concerns and aesthetic into account? I’m here to tell you that, though it may be as elusive as the ideal of a romantic soulmate, it is possible.  

In order for a person to be your poetic soulmate, he or she must first read enough of your work to understand What It Is You’re Trying To Do. If we think of a poet’s work as a kind of autobiography, or at least a narrative that takes an entire life to complete, then it can be helpful to receive critique from someone who understands the big picture of who you are.  

Often people join critique groups looking for such a partner. These groups can be useful if they are constructed carefully. Groups that consist of random people who are not familiar with each other’s work do not always gel. I am fortunate enough to be part of a small group of five people who are not only friends but who respect one another’s work. When you go over your poetry line by line with people on a regular basis, they begin to get a sense of your aesthetic.  

But in my case, my poetic soulmate turned out to be a fellow alumnus from Naropa. While we were friends when we were classmates, it was not until after we graduated that we realized that we had this affinity. My friend David Madgalene is an excellent writer who also happens to be a prolific correspondent. When I send him one letter, he responds with three. He sends me huge envelopes filled with books, zines, and clippings to inspire and amuse me. He also sends me his stories, novels, and poems, although not always for critique. We are very clear with one another about when feedback is sought.  

The mutual respect that David and I have for one another has led us to collaborate on several poems, a chapbook, and a forthcoming book art project. We have performed together on several occasions, many of which occurred during my yearly visit to California to visit him and his family.  

David knows more about what I am trying to do than anyone. Therefore, when he makes a comment or a suggestion, I am sure to take it seriously. Similarly, he knows that he can trust me to be honest with him. While both of us publish or perform our work regularly enough to have had the experience of being praised, even sincere compliments do not tell a writer what he needs to do to improve his work. When I have a tough question about a poem, or just need someone to give it to me straight, I can count on David.  

Have you found your poetic soulmate? If not, what kind of person might be a fit for you? What are you doing to find him or her?

* * * * *

Christopher Luna is a poet, editor, artist, teacher, and graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Publications include Cadillac Cicatrix, eye-rhyme, Exquisite Corpse, and the @tached document. Chapbooks include tributes and ruminations, On the Beam (with David Madgalene), and Sketches for a Paranoid Picture Book on Memory. GHOST TOWN, USA, which features poems and observations of Vancouver, WA, is available through Cover to Cover Books  and Angst Gallery, or from the author.

POETRY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Poem in Exquisite Corpse
Poem in For Immediate Release
Profile for Here Comes Everybody: Writers on Writing

Email: christopherjluna@gmail.com
Blog: www.christopherluna-poetry.blogspot.com

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View all "The Poetics of Community" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

Discover New Poetry Markets and Get Published: October

By Shawn Sorensen

So far, I’ve recommend six different venues for your poems: two each of print journals, on-line publications and contests. Congratulations to any of you who have sent in work! As always, please let us know if anything happens, whether it’s a nicely-worded (or timely) rejection or a publication by leaving a note here int comments section. There could definitely be a celebration at hand! 

And when you are submitting work, why not start a submission tracker to kept abreast of which publications are getting which of your poems? A submission tracker can help you stay on top of what you’ve sent and make sure your submissions match each publication’s guidelines. For example:

• Often times a publication will allow simultaneous submissions -- poems you’ve sent elsewhere -- as long as you notify them if someone else publishes your work beforehand.
• If you have something already published, then a vast majority of publications will not consider it.
• Contests -- now that’s another story. As we have already seen with the contest suggestion from my last column, there are plenty of contests that will take poems that have already won or have been published. 

What’s in a submission tracker? Mine is an uncomplicated Excel spreadsheet that has the following columns:  “Poem Title”, “Publication/Contest”, “Date Sent”, “When Response Expected”, “Date Returned/Published” and “Comments”.  And just what information can you put in yours? Let’s try the following: 

Print Journal:  The MacGuffin Published three times per year, the MacGuffin journal simply wants “well-crafted poetry”. For reference, the MacGuffin has recently published poems by Dawn McDuffie, Lisa Siedlarz and Vivian Shipley, poetry that is slightly revelatory and/or humorous in tone, something that sheds new light on the greater meanings of making it through the world. Send no more than five poems, along with a cover letter, to Carol Was, Poetry Editor/ Schoolcraft College/18600 Haggerty Rd., Livonia MI/48152-2696.

Considers simultaneous submissions and would like poems to be typed and single-spaced with the poet’s name, address, and e-mail appearing on each page. Include an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Pays two contributor’s copies. For a sample, send $6 to the above address.

Windfall

Windfall’s subtitle is “A Journal of Poetry of Place”. The place in question is the Pacific Northwest, of which poems submitted to Windfall must reference or be about. Having said that, though, the Pacific Northwest for this journal stretches from Alaska to San Francisco, from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. And you don’t have to be from the Pacific Northwest to get published. Submit up to five poems to Bill Siverly and Michael McDowell, Co-Editors/Windfall Press/P.O. Box 19007, Portland, OR/97230-0007. A cover letter is preferred and Windfall considers simultaneous submissions.  Deadline for spring 2010:  February 1. $5 sent to the above address will get you a sample copy.                                                      

Online Journal: Adirondack Review The Adirondack Review is open to new poets who demonstrate talent as well as established writers who have demonstrations aplenty. View their colorful, unique website for sample poems and submission guidelines. Responds in one week to four months and accepts simultaneous submissions (with notification if poems are published first elsewhere).

Contest:  Twenty-Third Annual Portland Pen Poetry Contest My idea of a good contest? One with a lot of prizes (cash or otherwise), a low entry fee and the possibility of being published if you win. This poetry contest put on by the Portland Branch of the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW) does all three. There’s a deadline of November 7^th with an entry fee of $5 per poem. More details can be found at their website. 

Now get those poems out and show yourself off a little bit!  I wish you an appetizer of luck followed by a large entrée of enjoyment.  

* * * * *
Shawn Sorensen is a published, award-winning poet whose work can be viewed at manequinenvy.com, Winter 2008 edition. His poem called “The Yard” won 1st Place in the Oregon State Poetry Association's spring 2009 contest, New Poets category. Shawn's poetry submission goal is to send something in at least every other week and get published/recognized a few times per year.  He's written dozens of complete book reviews, many of them for poetry titles, on goodreads.com and braves a perilous river crossing to be the Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble in the hinterlands of Vancouver, WA. He plans and hosts an every-2nd-Wednesday Poetry Group event that's always at 7 pm, always features the area's best poets and always has a great open mic.

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The Cook, The Writer, The Gardener, The Business Woman: How to Bring Poetry to Work

By Brittany Baldwin

In the morning I walk the dog through the orchard in the mist. This is my time alone before I head off to work. Between the trees I watch for poems.  

During the commute I listen to poetry, stories, news or music. I write down ideas that come from watching the farms pass. The man on his riding mower spreading chemical over his perfect lawn that is big enough to grow enough food to feed his neighbors and himself for a year. But he wants his country home to have a golf course lawn full of chemicals his kids can play in. Up the street another man has filled his land with old cars. They rest as memories, taxidermied pets from earlier in life he just can’t bury. All of them bring me poems.  

At work I study cadence and composition, listening to live recordings of Edna St Vincent between old Bruce Springsteen love songs. These poems transfix me as I press dough into pans, fill them with fruit, fold and whisper intention. Intention is the most important ingredient; it can be tasted, always.  

Sometimes I scrawl poetry in poor handwriting behind my grocery list for the day. Or late at night I’ll write character profiles from my evening of serving drunken doctors and real estate professionals. A snatch of conversation overheard while I reach to place the salad just so in front of their hungry eyes; each comparing the quality of the salad next to them and across from them to the one before them.  

Almost none of the poetry that accompanies me throughout my day gets to the page in a traditional sense but all of it solves me.  After work I send out menus for busy moms, special occasions and restricted diets for the ill. My poetic skills show themselves in cadence and adjective play. Food becomes a list of tasty words laid one on top of the other to make the reader salivate. With my weekly menus I observe how usually at least one dish a week is ordered by everyone. What words make that happen? What rhythm?

* * * * *

Brittany Baldwin runs a small catering and personal chef company that maintains its own organic garden. She has written poetry in Portland for eight years while starting her own business and self publishing her own poetry collection, Broken Knuckles Against Knives, Cutting The Food To Feed Me Through This (2005). In 2002 she received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. Her poetry has appeared in local poetry collections Ephemeris and Broken Word: Alberta Street Anthology Volume 1 and 2. She has appeared on KBOO's Talking Earth,  won an honorable mention in the Oregon State Poetry Associations fall 06 contest and was featured in the 2006 and 2007 Silverton Poetry Festival.

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View all "The Cook, The Writer, The Gardener, The Business Woman" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

By Brittany Baldwin

In the morning I walk the dog through the orchard in the mist. This is my time alone before I head off to work. Between the trees I watch for poems.  

During the commute I listen to poetry, stories, news or music. I write down ideas that come from watching the farms pass. The man on his riding mower spreading chemical over his perfect lawn that is big enough to grow enough food to feed his neighbors and himself for a year. But he wants his country home to have a golf course lawn full of chemicals his kids can play in. Up the street another man has filled his land with old cars. They rest as memories, taxidermied pets from earlier in life he just can’t bury. All of them bring me poems.  

At work I study cadence and composition, listening to live recordings of Edna St Vincent between old Bruce Springsteen love songs. These poems transfix me as I press dough into pans, fill them with fruit, fold and whisper intention. Intention is the most important ingredient; it can be tasted, always.  

Sometimes I scrawl poetry in poor handwriting behind my grocery list for the day. Or late at night I’ll write character profiles from my evening of serving drunken doctors and real estate professionals. A snatch of conversation overheard while I reach to place the salad just so in front of their hungry eyes; each comparing the quality of the salad next to them and across from them to the one before them.  

Almost none of the poetry that accompanies me throughout my day gets to the page in a traditional sense but all of it solves me.  After work I send out menus for busy moms, special occasions and restricted diets for the ill. My poetic skills show themselves in cadence and adjective play. Food becomes a list of tasty words laid one on top of the other to make the reader salivate. With my weekly menus I observe how usually at least one dish a week is ordered by everyone. What words make that happen? What rhythm?

* * * * *

Brittany Baldwin runs a small catering and personal chef company that maintains its own organic garden. She has written poetry in Portland for eight years while starting her own business and self publishing her own poetry collection, Broken Knuckles Against Knives, Cutting The Food To Feed Me Through This (2005). In 2002 she received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. Her poetry has appeared in local poetry collections Ephemeris and Broken Word: Alberta Street Anthology Volume 1 and 2. She has appeared on KBOO's Talking Earth,  won an honorable mention in the Oregon State Poetry Associations fall 06 contest and was featured in the 2006 and 2007 Silverton Poetry Festival.

* * * * *

View all "The Cook, The Writer, The Gardener, The Business Woman" columns.

View the entire Writing the Life Poetic zine archive.

the closer you look

Between the tides, the wise table.
The shining. There have been weeks
when I thought nothing. There have
been months when I prayed.
Bottomless days.
The gloves lie fingerless
between us, I write
time out of my bones.
Sax so symptomatic. Sad and sinking.
Collage my horses and forks.
Tea drifts, shifts its shallow
flowers into a steep of temptation.
Not for you and yet for you.
As everything is both itself
and reflection
diminishing into dividends
the closer you look.