Guns, Germs, and Steel: A big book

I spied a traveler holding the book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" as we boarded a plane for Washington.

Then my traveling partner and fellow author Dorothy Fletcher told me she heard it was a good book. We were in D.C. for several days, and happened to spy a bookstore The Trover Shop. So I picked up a copy of Jared Diamond’s nonfiction book about, as the subtitle says, “The Fates of Human Societies.”

That was last week. I’m still reading.

There’s a standing joke among family members that if it takes me longer than a day to read a book, I’ll be the only one who reads it.

I’m finding Diamond’s book interesting, but he is admittedly a tedious writer. An example occurs on page 55, after he’s told an interesting tale about how the Maori brutally conquered the Moriori on the Chatham Islands, 500 miles east of New Zealand, in 1835. Both cultures stemmed from common ancestry of Polynesian peoples, so it’s interesting to compare why one group became peaceful and the other liked to kill people.

The author calls this event a “natural experiment that tests how environments affect human societies.”

It’s a straightforward passage. But possibly assuming his readers are dull of mind, Diamond goes into an explanation of the value of comparing the two groups by over-explanation, using experiments with rats as an example.

So far, I have a mental redliner going as I read. Of course, that’s typical of any writer—mental redlining, chopping, rearranging. We always think we could say it better.

But it is a fascinating book, winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science as well as a Pulitzer.

It doesn’t pack the wham for me though that another challenging nonfiction work did, Simon Winchester’s “Krakatoa.” I couldn’t put that book down. I never knew a volcano could be so interesting and could, for centuries after blowing, impact history. And it was definitely a challenge to read.

On the other hand, a book also touching on why societies evolved as they did is John Keegan’s remarkable “A History of Warfare.” Sir John Keegan is British, so his sentences are multi-layered, very much unlike those of most American nonfiction writers. But that book, complex syntax and all, for me, was a page turner.

Early on, Diamond annoyed me with a dig towards everybody’s favorite global whipping boy, Western civilization. “Today,” he writes, “segments of Western society publicly repudiate racism. Yet many (perhaps most!) Westerners continue to accept racist explanations privately or subconsciously.”

I’m guessing Easterners and Middle-Easterners would never do that, right? How about the Maori?

Sometimes I wish all men of science were forced to read more poetry.

It strikes me as amazing, since we have millennia of history behind us, we haven’t learned that man will be man no matter where he is. So many of the problems I see today are not a result of culture or geography. They’re a result of the human condition.

I resent conclusions being drawn about my “subconscious” and how does a person I’ve never spoken to know what I think privately? If it appears I'm taking this personally, I'd like to gently remind the reader my culture and heritage are Western.

But I’m plowing through Diamond’s book, and so far, it is interesting. I wish I’d been able to find it in hardcover. The bookstore only had the paperback and it’s a big fat book. Big books are easier to hold and read when the cover is sturdy.

Authors are plenty; writers are few

The other morning I saw a guest on one of those morning talk shows. I don’t remember the name of the show; they all sort of meld into one another they’re so much alike. A music group, a health segment, light politics, and the latest kidnapping, serial killing, or bombing. I figure broadcast curricula in colleges must include the course, “Formula for pre-commute shows.”

This guest was an attractive young woman who’s an author. She had a laugh like a small bell. She’s written some sort of book telling a person how to send greeting cards to people they love. I think the mute feature is a true gift from God to my remote.

I scanned the New York Times bestseller list today, and nonfiction has really come into its own. Among the top ten are three political books, one more book from an atheist talking about why God is a bummer, a book from Jimmy Carter whose output is regrettably ten times more productive now than when he was president, and something from Nora Ephron called “I Feel Bad about my Neck.”

That’s the state of the nonfiction book world we who write in that genre can aspire to. These books have stimulated enough orders to be classified as best sellers, and I’m guessing most libraries have eagerly clicked to stock them on the shelves in the interest of enriching American culture.

Everyone’s an author nowadays. Only a few are writers. (Kay B. Day/Dec. 10, 2006)

Gifts for writers: cheap, easy, pleasing

He's not a writer, but he lives with one. Shadow likes opening his gift each Christmas, and he always appreciates whatever he gets, especially if it's edible.


There are a number of writers on my gift list, and I thought I’d share some of the more successful gifts I’ve given friends and associates in the past.

Most writers will appreciate paper. Although we’re supposed to be moving towards a paperless society, I feed my printer more often than I feed my dog. I even use both sides of the paper for rough drafts and business records. Still, I buy more paper than I like to.

Office supplies are useful—notebooks, large paper clips, file folders.

Writers like pens. Good pens—black, red, or blue.

Many of us like coffee or tea. My daughter’s boyfriend gave me a Starbucks gift card for my birthday, and I really liked that gift. There’s also a great new book out by Travis Arndorfer and Kristine Hansen: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Coffee & Tea. I bought a copy for myself and have enjoyed learning about the beverages I drink too much of.

Then there’s postage. Email has definitely reduced my postage bill, but I still use stamps. A sheet or two of stamps will be appreciated by anyone.

Subscriptions to magazines are a treat that will last the whole year. In my last post I noted my own favorites.

There are several books a writer may find useful. Here are a few:
The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell (great resource);Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (for inspiration and crafting);The Brand Called You by Peter Montoya (for promoting your book).

For inspiration, consider giving your friend (writers and non-writers) a book of poetry. Any book of poetry. (We poets are famous for begging).

Some of us like wine. I picked up a copy of Wine: The 8,000 Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade by Thomas Pellechia. This is one of the liveliest, most interesting books on wine I’ve read. It’s a lovely, hardcover book with neat illustrations.

All the books mentioned here are available at a number of online sites.

Last but not least, invite your writing friend out for a cup of coffee or for lunch. We stay cooped up too much if we do this full-time.--Happy Shopping! Kay Day (11-27-06)

Because of the reading next week at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., my next post will be delayed.

Subscriptions to mags: what to do

I was talking to my friend Dorothy Fletcher this morning about magazine subscriptions. I have too many. So this is the season, as the fiscal year ends, to take a look at my subs and decide who stays and who goes.

Dorothy's a writer, so we talked about a few publications she might subscribe to. I told her if I had only one subscription to a writing magazine, it'd be to The Writer. Before you proceed, I disclose I've written for the magazine, the handbook, and currently do a Net column "Poetry Beat."

But I can share the magazine has been on my desk since I was a 17-year-old in a small Southern town, dreaming of being a writer. There was a newsstand in my town. I'd leave my job as a dime store clerk each Friday afternoon and head for the newsstand. I'd always purchase a magazine. One week I'd buy The Writer. The next, I'd pick up The Atlantic. Then it'd be The New Yorker.

Many years later, the newsstand is gone. I subscribe to a number of magazines for different reasons.

The Writer is one I rely on for news, articles on crafting, information on publishing, contest announcements. I found a treasure trove of information by writers like W. Somerset Maugham and George Bernard Shaw. They were published in past issues of this magazine that's been a friend to writers since 1887.

I subscribe to Christian Science Monitor for their balanced news coverage, interesting features, and poetry. I write for them sometimes too.

I've never written for Time or the Weekly Standard. I buy the first for liberal news and the second for conservative news. Nor have I submitted to National Geographic, but it's a sub I can't do without.

I get the daily newspaper here because I start my day with it and like to read it with my coffee.

I get Health because I'd like to submit to them if an idea strikes and I like their articles on fitness and women's issues. I almost forgot to add Poetry. There's at least one poem that really sticks with me in each issue.

Those are the subs I'm sticking with. They've served me well.

--posted 11-18-06 by Kay B. Day

Note (11-21-06):Sigh. A dear one wrote to remind me I also write for the daily newspaper sometimes. See what happens when you try to disclose everything? Since I didn't mention it by name, I figured I'd done things up right. But my dear one is wise, so be aware: the Times Union has published my freelance articles in the local sections.

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I've signed up for something called Technorati Profile . So I have to put a link here. Dunno why, but I "claimed" my blog.

Poetry Beat at The Writer goes live

My first Poetry Beat column for The Writer is now live. Read about poet Lee Slonimsky and how his poems are woven into his wife’s popular mysteries. I discovered Slonimsky’s sonnets while reading Carol Goodman’s The Ghost Orchid.

I talked about the book here on my blog. One of the poet’s workshop students read the blog. Soon I was corresponding with Lee Slonimsky. Concurrently, we were developing plans for Poetry Beat at The Writer. It was so fortuitous, the timing, because I can’t think of a better poet to launch the column.

Do have a read, and see who’s up next. And send me your story tips or post them on the special forum for Poetry Beat.

Note: I learned the column is premium content, so it can only be read if you're a subscriber to the magazine.

Poems that go bump in the brain

Each month when my issue of Poetry comes, I keep it on my desk. When I take a break or have lunch, I like to thumb through the magazine and enjoy the poems. In the November, 2006, issue, there’s a poem that stopped me in my tracks. It’s one of those poems that lingers like the scent of a garden rose, powerful yet delicate and pleasing.

I’ve read it to my daughters, my husband, and visitors. Everyone who knows me is accustomed to my commanding them, “Listen to this!” I’ve shared poems by many writers with that command, including my own work.

This poet is Reginald Shepherd. The poem is “My Mother Was No White Dove.” This is a blow-your-mind poem, ripe with lines like, “My mother was the clouded-over night/a moon swims through…” This poem alone is worth the price of a subscription.

The bio note says all of Shepherd’s books are published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. His fifth, Fata Morgana, is due out this spring.

I don’t know the poet, but I’m grateful to him. His poem took me away for awhile, and those moments have a value that only a lover of poetry can understand.

And in the interest of disclosure, I can rave about the magazine because I've never been published there and I never will be.

So there you go.
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Note: Thanks to all of you who've emailed me with news tips for my new column at The Writer. We have some sensational stories lined up. Column will debut mid-November. And continue to send me those tips!

New poetry column to debut at The Writer

My new bimonthly column Poetry Beat will launch in mid-November at the Internet site for The Writer magazine. The column will focus on the topical aspects of poetry. We’ll feature esteemed poets who’ve made their mark in the canon, as well as emerging poets who are taking poetry to the people in unusual ways. Opportunities, contests, and events will all be part of our coverage. A special discussion thread will be available on the forum so readers can send tips or post comments.

Poets House in New York showcased over 2,000 new poetry titles last year, according to information on the Net site. Those are just the collections in the showcase. Many others were published by independent presses and individuals.

We hope this column will grow into a forum for all poets, and a resource as well. Do visit often as we journey through Po-Biz together.—Best to all, Kay Day

Grisham's new book focuses on conviction of innocent man

I just finished John Grisham’s The Innocent Man. I have a stack of books people have sent me, but I bought this one in hardcover.

As I read, the book made me think of a young man here in Florida. He was convicted of felony murder years ago. Although he played no direct role in the crime, he received a life sentence. I blogged about the case for over a year on a site that is no longer public.

Grisham tells the story of a man from Oklahoma, Ron Williamson. Williamson was a promising baseball player whose dream died because of drink, drugs and lack of discipline. He suffered from mental illness, and was railroaded by a prosecutor who had no real evidence but managed to create a case anyway.

The book gets a bit tedious in places, but overall it’s a good read. Grisham’s narrative reflects some of the same conclusions I came to as I blogged about the Florida case.

Our criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul. Those with money have a good chance of escaping punishment.

Those who don’t have money end up with public defenders and harsh sentences.

In my opinion, there’s a lot of law but very little justice.

Process

I was speaking at a writing/publishing seminar arranged by my publisher at Borders Books. The place was packed, and everyone there had an interest in some type of writing, with the majority of those present interested in fiction. My topic was “Research and Fact-Checking.”

Someone asked how we go about writing a book. Besides my publisher Frank Gromling, founder of Ocean Publishing, poet Michelle Leavitt (Powow River Anthology) and novelist Victor DiGenti (Windrusher series) were part of the speaking team that day. So each of us offered our own perspectives.

I shared the story of an interview with Nicholas Sparks. Years ago, I did an article about him for a now defunct Internet site. But I remember what he told me. He said when he starts a new book, he sketches it on a single page. He goes from there.

I have come to realize that I’m a spurt writer. Often I hop from document to document. I may have a poem open and an article for a magazine in addition to the file for my new nonfiction book.

I do prepare an outline for a book, but it’s a loose one and basically covers the points or topics I’ll write about. When the rough draft is ready, I print it and edit the hard copy. There’s an amazing reaction to seeing a 50,000 word document printed. For one thing, it just looks so big compared to a manuscript of 50-60 poems.

Ironically, poems are the hardest to write. They take longer. They have to cook longer, in my opinion.

Articles and essays are the most immediately rewarding. For one thing you get to see them in print quicker. I usually take an essay through five or six drafts.

I tend to think and compose within the writing process. I start out with one perspective and it may change, it will definitely deepen, and it will morph into something else entirely as the writing process progresses.

Victor DiGenti gave a great tip to fiction writers. He does a resume of each of his characters.

Many of the questions asked that day rested on self-publishing. I’ll write about that next time.

Each writer develops his or her own process. It's like voice: every writer has a different one.

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What’s up: I’ll be reading with Dorothy K. Fletcher and Rize Cole at the Library of Congress for Poetry at Noon on December 5. A new essay will be out soon in Christian Science Monitor, and a story about a young writer who won a national award is forthcoming in the Florida Times Union. A sonnet is part of the new Letters to the World anthology (Red Hen) from the WOMPO poetry group online. The group was started by Annie Finch in 1997. And I’ll have an essay in the hardcover book Faces of Freedom edited by Rebecca Pepin.

Another Goodman novel coming soon

A couple days ago, I was talking to a friend about novels. I mentioned how much I enjoyed reading Carol Goodman’s books. So when news of her new novel The Sonnet Lover came, I pre-ordered the book.

Goodman usually works mythology and poetry into her books. I’ve read each of her novels, and her voice and style have steadily grown stronger and more distinctive.

There’s an interesting interview at Beatrice. I'd like to interview her--I think she'd be very interesting.

This author is a born storyteller, but she’s literary without being oppressively literary. The books entertain, and they also make the reader think. She’s very good at weaving several subplots into the main plot. Her last book included fine sonnets by her husband Lee Slonimsky. I’m awaiting her new book to see the tie-in with the title.

Otherwise, autumn is always busy for a freelancer. Exciting speaking events coming up include my reading with two other Florida poets at the Library of Congress. I’ve never been to Washington, so doing poetry there and being able to see the capital will be a treat. I’m hacking my way through my nonfiction book, trying to decide where to go once it’s finished. And as always, tinkering with my poetry manuscript in the last stages of the final edit. Well, the almost final edit. I feel like my poems are never really finished.

Resources for news in a Florida classroom

Every day my high school senior comes home and regales me with stories. It’s one of the highlights of my day, sitting down around 4 p.m. with her. As she packs in the food, I listen, appreciating not only her storytelling skills but her perspectives as well. I also appreciate the blessing of thin people who can eat multiple servings of carbs and never gain a pound.

Today, it came as a complete surprise to me when my daughter told me she isn’t allowed to use the Internet or newspapers either as a resource for her honors history class (American Government). The only acceptable source is television news.

You can imagine my surprise. For one thing, there is no better resource for information about politics and world affairs than the Net, provided you go to reputable sites. For another, television news is often skewed politically one way or the other. For yet another, there isn’t an anchor who bears the charisma of the old guard, all of whom are gone now. The possible exception to this is a fellow named Shepard Smith. He does a show on Fox News. It’s straight news, with no commentary or as best I can tell, no advocacy platform. I don’t watch it very often, because I don’t watch much TV anyway.

I am around a lot of teens and college students, courtesy of my daughters. I have come to one conclusion and I don’t need a survey to back me up.

Young people get their news from the Net mostly. If they’re watching TV, they aren’t watching news. Young people will also read the Entertainment section in the newspaper. Young people in Jax will read the Sports section because this is where the Jags live.

As for omitting newspapers as a news source, that is an intellectual ripoff because print media often provides more in-depth coverage than the Net or TV. What about magazines? What about books? With elections pending, books will multiply like Florida lovebugs in September, and believe me, those little bugs are everywhere right now. When I sit outside with a cup of coffee, I check it to make sure there aren’t a couple of those flighty critters swimming around in it.

It’s a teacher’s call on how to run a class. It’s my call to comment on that and anything else of interest. Freedom to opine is a small perk (all the perks are small) of being a freelance writer in a free country.

Come to think of it, that freedom began with newspapers long ago.

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A few of my many favorite links:

The Drudge Report
www.drudgereport.com

Time Magazine
www.time.com/time/

Google News
www.news.google.com/nwshp?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=

NewsLink (includes links to newspaper, TV, radio)
www.newslink.org/

Christian Science Monitor
www.csmonitor.com

Can't speak Farsi? Me neither.

I write a column for a site with a focus on homeland security. When I’m checking facts, or trying to learn more about global political events, I have to rely on whoever translated if the site is from a country whose language I can’t speak.

I recently discovered the site MEMRI: The Middle East Media Research Institute. I found translations from media in many different countries. The site is well-organized and also has a film section. According to the description, material is translated into seven different languages.

Considering the complexities in world politics today, sites like this one really help. Anyone interested in the Middle East will find very interesting reading. Some paint MEMRI as biased against the Arab world, but since I read Arab news sites as well, I can at least compare information and make an informed decision. Problem is I have to read the Arab sites in English.

I’ve focused on studying the Middle East lately because of the column. And I just ordered an interesting looking new book Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur. The book was first published in England in 1782 as the Revolutionary War of Independence came to an end. I’m looking forward to reading about American concerns at that time. The book, according to the back cover blurb, was “written by an emigrant French aristocrat turned farmer."

I realized most of the books I’ve read lately are either poetry or nonfiction, with the exception of Marcia Preston’s excellent The Butterfly House. I highly recommend her novel; it was a very good read. She uses the motif of the study of butterflies, and successfully creates a character we care about. The book embodies a mystery, and features some very interesting characters.

Gazing around my office, I realize there are so many books I want to read. And write. As always, those are good problems for a writer to have.

Kids get a laureate

“CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation will inaugurate the nation’s first Children’s Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children’s Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, as part of the third annual Pegasus Awards ceremony in Chicago on September 27, 2006.”—news from The Poetry Foundation September 18, 2006

John Barr, president of The Poetry Foundation, says children’s poets go unrecognized. I’d have to agree with him. But then poetry in general often goes unrecognized. Designating a poet whose work resonates with youth certainly can’t hurt.

Children respond to poetry with levels of honesty and acceptance unreachable by adults. If youth experience poetry early on, there’s a chance as adults they will be receptive to it.

I believe reading poetry and responding to it will enhance anyone’s education. My own children are strong writers and readers. As toddlers, they’d always calm down when I read to them. My daughters were wide open at an early age, so I used books and together-time to help them learn to sit still and pay attention. We also used stories and poems as springboards for the imagination. As they’ve grown older, they’ve both made a place for poetry in their lives.

It perplexes me that unlike many other countries, America keeps poetry confined to aesthetic tribes and small journals. I’ve never understood why major women’s magazines don’t publish poetry. More newspapers seem to be giving the genre some attention, and on occasion, a television program will feature someone reading a poem either at a funeral or a wedding.

I encourage others to read poetry because, in my opinion, it adds a beautiful dimension to life. I’ve often thought poetry could use a few more good missionaries. Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, and Annie Finch are fine poets who, by various activities like readings and networks, have furthered the reach of our purest form of writing.

On the other hand, I’ve suffered through more than one reading where I wish the poet had kept things to himself.

Poets. We’ll never be 100% happy with anything. If we were, we’d be writing fiction.

Who judges a book by its cover?

My publisher sent me a critique from several judges after he entered my memoir in a book contest. I finally got around to reading it, and was surprised at what I found. I got high marks for editorial and writing; the book got low marks for cover design and for interior graphic design. One judge even recommended the book to her friend.

That experience led me to think about book buying in a different way. I’d always accepted opinions that the front cover of a book is a critical buying factor for book browsers.

But I never really look hard at the front cover. I usually go first to the back cover. If there’re just blurbs there from other authors or reviewers, I read no further. If there’s a description or excerpt, I do read that.

I read the bio page of the author. Then I usually read the first page or two of the text.

Then I decide do I want the book.

This applies to titles that I’m not specifically looking for, when I’m in the mood to load up on new works to read. Otherwise, I order the book online if it’s one that’s been recommended, or that I’ve read about in the news, as opposed to reviews. I’ve rarely bought a book because of a review either, now that I think about it.

I buy a lot of books.

I admit I don’t read much Chick Lit or romances. Maybe covers are important to those readers.

How can I become a [published] writer?

Maybe it’s because of the end of summer, fall easing up like a familiar friend.

But in the last two weeks, I’ve gotten about six or seven emails asking me how you can become a writer.

I can’t get around to answering all the email—most people can’t. And there really isn’t a quick answer to the question.

I think you just write down what you think about and all else follows. A popular buzz phrase right now is “I write because I can’t not write.” Or something like that.

But what I’m getting at is I never thought about how to become a writer. I just wrote.

Curiosity helped in the publishing endeavors. I learned to study publishers and magazines—almost all of them have Net sites now. And I joined several networks after looking at organizations—all of them have Net sites. I dug up what I needed to know simply because I focused on learning about the business of writing and also on the process of writing.

In between, I read and still do read tons of books.

What’s important is the journey each writer follows in determining his or her true passion. And I don’t think you can be a writer unless you follow the path solo.

So there you go. It sounds deceptively easy.

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Enter Poetry Spotlight III at The Writer online. Poets Dana Wildsmith and Dr. Carl Horner will join me in critiquing winning poems. Deadline is September 15.

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To the Georgia bookstore owner who featured my memoir Killing Earl in a special display I wish I knew the name of your store so I could thank you properly. A reader let us know about the display, but she didn’t share the name of the store.

Exploring the Middle East: War, Faith, People

It’s good to be back on the blog. Summer is on its final roll, and because of professional and personal constraints, I haven’t had a lot of time to update my column here.

When I wasn’t writing or taking time off,books about Judaism,Christianity, and the Middle East in general occupied my time. I’m doing a column for Family Security Matters, and wanted to learn more about the areas, cultures, and faiths that dominate the global consciousness. I read a few blogs about the subject too; most of those I found are gloriously inaccurate and skewed by one political view or the other (the latter without benefit of an “opinion” tag unfortunately).

So here’s a list of several books I read, with opinionated annotations—if you choose to read one of these titles, let me know your reaction. I’ll list some more next time—I’m trying hard to learn to write shorter pieces for the Net.

INSIDE ISRAEL (Marlowe and Company, 2002) by David K. Shipler and others
This is a collection of essays, and in my opinion, it’s the best of the dozen or so books I read. Featured here are essayists like P. J. O’Rourke, whose “Zion’s Vital Signs” illustrates why he is one of the best essayists writing today. Other essays by Saul Bellow, Karen Armstrong and the like make this book a page turner. The collection is very even-handed, and not at all irrational, which makes it an unusual book in its genre. Many of the pieces first appeared in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic. O’Rourke’s essay is my favorite—he’s one of the only writers I know who can be simultaneously funny and serious about the Middle East.

WHAT WENT WRONG?(Perennial, 2002) by Bernard Lewis
Lewis, a highly respected scholar on Islam, is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton. This book offers a very objective, informative view of historical and current events. He’s not a dry academic writer; unlike many formal scholars, he can actually write as opposed to presenting information.

ISLAM (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003) by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Sort of an all-about-Islam book by University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. Central theme of the book is faith; excellent information about the various manifestations of Islam in terms of place and culture. At times, the author’s attitude can be wearisome—a reliance on the-Western-world-makes-them-do-it is a convenient rationale for violence perpetrated by political factions in some Islamic countries. But a useful text for looking into the mind of a man serious about his faith. Sort of an Islamic take equivalent to a book about Christianity if Billy Graham were to write one focusing on the topic from the same perspective as Nasr.

THE ASSASSINS (first publication Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 1967; preface to paperback added 2003)
Fascinating account of the “radical sect in Islam”, the Ismaili Shiite sect described in the book as the first group to make systematic use of murder as a political weapon. This book is a very useful tool for understanding all the different branches of Islam. I liked Lewis’s book listed above so much I bought this one too. He really is a fine creative writer.

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Link of the week:The Renegade Writer

What's Up

When June rolled around,it looked like things would slow down. Many editors take early summer vacations. I envisioned having time to work on some creative projects.

Well, this isn’t the first time a bubble burst. June has taken off like one of those skinny little rockets we light on July 4th and send zooming skyward.

I just signed on as a contributing editor for a site, Family Security Matters. I’m facilitating an ongoing Poetry Spotlight for The Writer, and also writing on a regular basis for the Florida Times Union. My latest for the T-U is an article about a talented musician named Kent Smedley. What he can do with a guitar is unbelievable.

I have an essay pending in The Christian Science Monitor, and I’m still doing the writing residency at Shands Jacksonville. The new poetry collection is almost there, and of course, I’d like more time to work on it. I managed to make some gains on the new nonfiction book. The novel’s drafted, sitting on the shelf like an abandoned puppy. It’s done, but I think it needs to just leave my mind for now. Then I’ll go back in and edit it and start looking into publishers.

Never a dull moment. I’m doing the poetry workshops for the Southeastern Writers Association Conference next week, so I won’t be blogging again until the last week in June.

And since I’m starting school at UNF in the fall, I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row.

Every full-time freelancer I know stays time-challenged. It’s a good problem to have.

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Recommended book: A History of Warfare by John Keegan. Mind-blower of a book.

The state of the American book

The big “do”, as we say in the South of any event that is significant, in the book world just concluded, and guess what? The book world has changed. John Updike says so. It must be true.

A release about Book Expo America from the Associated Press quotes Updike as saying the written word is “supposed to speak for itself and sell itself.”

I reckon if you’re John Updike, you can endorse an attitude like that.

Updike didn’t talk about his own upcoming book during his presentation at Expo, so I won’t either.

But as a poet, I can guarantee you that if you do not get your work out into the public arena, the only people who will buy it are your family members and maybe your very good buddies.

I’ll say it again: American literature has gradually become American entertainment. Mysteries, crime-of-the-week books, celebrity penned muck—those are the dominant categories on a best-seller list at the moment headed by book facilitator James Patterson.

If you think I’m sucking on sour grapes, that’s fine by me. But I don’t rely on my books to survive. Why do you think I stuck with freelance writing for all these years?

Take poetry, for instance (yep, that again). Go into your nearest library and try to talk about poetry with whoever’s in charge. You’ll be lucky if the librarian can identify ten living poets. Go into your nearest bookstore. Try to find a poetry title. Allow extra time if you’ve got anything else to do. Turn on your TV, pick up your newspaper. Pick up one of those glossy women’s magazines—after all, well-educated women, according to the Poetry Foundation’s Poetry in America study are primary readers of poetry. If you’re lucky, you might find some greeting card verse in a magazine like Woman’s World. Most guidelines for topical women’s magazines state emphatically: NO POETRY.

To the seven sisters in glossy women's publishing, I suggest you add some poetry. You are neglecting an important interest in your readership.

So we’ve split the purest most demanding form of writing apart from our mainstream literature. Intellectuals like to expound that your average American can’t understand “serious” poetry.

We got another word for that kind of attitude down “heah.” But I wouldn’t be comfortable sharing it with you.

I’ll concede this: Americans can’t understand it if they can’t find it. And at the moment, foreign owned publishers that dominate American letters and large corporations and small companies as well are doing a fine job of keeping poetry from the American people. The book world is no longer run by those who consider our literature the keeper of our language. It is run by packagers, marketing people and publicists. Bean counters figure in there somewhere.

I challenge anyone to read any of the plentiful articles penned about Book Expo. If you find a quote from a poet, do let me know. (Click on the title of this column for a sample).

Meanwhile, go read a poem. You may actually remember some lines or find yourself inspired. It won’t go from your eyes through your brain into the cerebral center where useless information vaporizes, and that’s where most of what you will find at the front of bookstores and libraries goes.

Finally, it isn’t the idea of reading to be entertained that bothers me. It’s the fact that this is the book industry now, lock, stock, and barrel. You’d think with the diversity buzz word on everyone’s lips, we’d apply that to the written word as well.

Friends don't call me a poetry warrior for nothing.

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Hero of the week: Phillip Milano, assistant Metro editor and River Bend Review editor (also columnist and author of I Can’t Believe You Asked That). Phillip ran a poem I wrote about a photo taken by Dan Scanlon, metro writer and RRR writer. He ran it on the front page of the community sections. That may be a first in Jacksonville—for poetry to appear on the front page of anything. I freelance for the TU and Phillip is my editor, but if he hadn’t thought it worthy, he wouldn’t have run it. So I’m singing his praises.

A wilted bouquet to: Jacksonville’s public library foundation (NOT the library, but the private fundraising organization). Why? Poetry was completely omitted from this year’s book festival. James Patterson keynoted.

Q&A with Poetry editor

Writers are sometimes the last to know--I just found out that my Q&A with Christian Wiman, editor of Poetry magazine, is now live at The Writer. Visit the site to read:
http://www.writermag.com/wrt/default.aspx?c=a&id=2992

A first for me

For the first time--I think, if memory serves me right--one of my poems has been published in a newspaper.

The Florida Times Union's neighborhood news sections, including the one for my own part of town, ran the poem today on the front page. I wrote the poem after seeing this cool photograph a reporter named Dan Scanlon took. I sent the poem to Dan so he could see what his photo inspired.

The photo showed the sun rising and the full moon in the sky at the same time. Unfortunately you can only see this photo in the print edition. But the poem's online.

I wrote about writing the poem in an earlier blog.

To read "The wishing sky" click on the title of this column or go to:
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051706/ner_21873603.shtml

It's a neat thing having a poem in the newspaper.