A poem in The Collagist, ARCs and Poetry, Cancer, and Ambition
- At August 17, 2016
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
- 9
Thanks to The Collagist! My poem “Are We There Yet?” (from my upcoming book, Field Guide to the End of the World) is featured in their wonderful new issue 85. (Check out work from other notables and friends such as C. Dale Young.)
And speaking of Field Guide to the End of the World, my publisher has finally gotten in the ARCs (advanced review copies) so if you want to review it and want either an e-galley or a print ARC contact Moon City Press or let me know at jeannine dot gailey at live dot com. You can also leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!
I wanted to write a little bit about poetry and ambition, in the context of finding out you have a terminal illness. You may remember an anecdote I’ve told before on the blog about me waking up in the hospital in San Diego, about seven years ago, with a very severe case of double pneumonia and pleurisy. I could barely breathe and definitely couldn’t sleep due to a loud roommate and the constant waking for blood pressure checks. I thought then that that might be the end of me (in fact, the same weekend, another girl who had swine-flu-related pneumonia, same thing that I had, did die – and she was 15 and healthy, at the same hospital I was staying in.) My mind raced with all the things I still wanted to do. My strongest thought was “I can’t die yet! I still have to publish three books!” This was before my second book had found a publisher. My next three books were published in rapid succession shortly after this revelation – She Returns to the Floating World by Kitsune Books in 2011, Unexplained Fevers in 2013, and The Robot Scientist’s Daughter in 2015.
None of these publications changed my life. My work hasn’t been widely distributed, given big prizes, nor have any of them made me a household name. But I felt satisfied, after The Robot Scientist’s Daughter came out, that I had fulfilled my promise to myself to get the books out there.
Now, as I returned yesterday from a bunch more boring yet stressful and unpleasant cancer tests, I was looking through a similar lens as that hospital bed – a limited time frame, and a sense that I need to focus on what’s most important. This time around, I had strong urges to reach out to the people most important to me, to spend time outdoors appreciating the beauty of the world around me, to spend time with friends and family. (Hence the nature picks – lots of exploring our new neighborhood, especially at sunset and dusk when it’s cooler..) But I do have a sense of urgency about this upcoming book and the one I’m in the middle of writing about my journey with cancer. Cancer is ugly and scary to people, I think – and I think one way to diminish the fear is to speak about it as clearly as possible, to share experiences with it. So I’m trying to trick myself into writing poems even though we’re not all the way settled into to the new house yet (usually it takes me a few months after a move to be able to write again) and I’m trying – despite somewhat scattered energies – to focus on doing what I can to promote Field Guide to the End of the World, which is coming out in September. Poetry takes on a weird form of importance – even though so few people read it or respond to it – when you’re thinking, OK, this might be my last shot. What do I want to leave people with?
So I’m planning a book launch party (Sept 18!), a reception in October at local poetry bookstore Open Books (Oct 15!), some other local readings, getting ready to send out book cards and a newsletter and design a flier for the book..all kinds of “busy work” things that are important if you want to get your book into people’s hands. Remember that notes to authors, book reviews, and buying books – all things that support a writer in their lives’ work – might have a lot of impact. We never know what writers are going through when they’re writing, when they’re posting little PR blips about their books. Your support may mean more than you think.
melanie
I love this poem – the small things, the crayons, the kind rabbits that create the fabric of the day.
Congratulations on being published (again)! So eager to read your new collection.
Jeannine Gailey
Thank you so much, Melanie!
Penny Harter
Jeannine, first I’m so glad you got through those tests okay. And thank you for sharing your thoughts while confronting your cancer diagnosis, and continuing your writing / publishing work.
I’m grateful for your words above. I, too, have felt that, “Well, this may be my last book,” thinking about how I want to spend my time, identifying what really matters from what doesn’t so much. I have a new book ms. now under active consideration and am hopeful I’ll be healthy enough to promote it when it may come out a year or more from now. And so it goes….and we go on, girl! We go on!
Suzanne Edison
I have several poems about cancer and a whole essay about writing about illness and metaphor/not metaphor. I would love to find some time to share these with you. I hope your journey is much longer than you imagine. Death concentrates us.
Lesley Wheeler
Jeannine, I think about you every day! And the new book is on my fall syllabus, for the end of term, and my students will do a project about it similar to the Gaileyland web site, so you WILL have readers on this end of the continent. I’d love an advanced review copy to help me plan. 202 Myers, Lexington VA 24450.
Jeannine Gailey
Thank you Penny, your encouragement has meant so much!
Suzanne – I would love to see those essays!
Lesley – thank you so much for teaching the book! It means the world! Publisher sent out the book to you today!
Lissa Clouser
I just want you to know that I requested my city-county library order your books. We have an option as a member to request books be added to the collection (which spans 25 locations!), and I threw your name in the hat. They didn’t buy them all, but they DID agree to add “The Robot Scientist’s Daughter”. I know it is only a one-time sale for you (for two copies), but at the same time I’m hoping that with your name being on the shelf, more people will discover you and get interested. I’ll do the same when the new book is released. =) It’s a small thing I can do for poets I appreciate and admire in hopes that they will receive further support to continue making the art they love!
Jeannine Hall Gailey
Lissa, Thank you so much! Yes, that is the kind of little thing that really makes a difference in the life of a poet!
Serena
I am keeping my fingers crossed for something wonderful to happen and hoping that you have more time for more poems. You’re one of the best modern poets of our time. I may not have a PhD, but I know I’m write about that.
Fingers crossed that all you are doing is leading you to the right path and a longer life of poetry for you.