Writing Prose About Poetry, AWP Prep, and Snow on the Ocean

Lately I’ve lucked into several simultaneous assignments to write about poetry. This is usually good, but I find when I have several articles due all at the same time, I feel unable to write poetry and must stick with my prose assignments til they are all finished, which inevitably crumples any inspiration I had at all for any type of writing, my enthusiasm dulls, and my usually crackling wit and charm dry up. I know some of you churn out poetry-related prose like nobody’s business, writing tome after tome of criticism and keeping up your poetry work too. How do you balance your prose about poetry with your actual poetry writing?

This weekend I’m going to a 48-hour intensive planning session at Centrum at Fort Warden, where I’ll get to hang out with a lot of other kinds of artists and talk about collaboration among the arts (cool!) and lesson plans (hmmm…) and basically get it in gear for our sessions in March and June. Hopefully all that work will shake up the old brain. It usually does. And I’m reading books on teaching poetry to high school and junior high kids as well as resources on teaching mythology and some comic book-related stuff as well.

Finally registered for AWP officially and made some hotel reservations (not as cheap as the room rates for the conference, sadly, but less than the non-conference rate for the Hilton) and now will have to look up airline tickets to NYC. Strangely, it is much cheaper for me to fly to New York City than to see my family in Ohio (I pay around $500 for bad coach seats to see them in Cinci while apparently I can get to NYC for around $300 if I’m not too picky) even though there must be more fuel involved getting to NYC than to Ohio from Washington State? Anyway, I swear I’m looking forward to the conference this year – even though it is at the worst time of year to visit anywhere in the general area of New York – I don’t always feel this excited. I think because I miss New York, the cute hole in the wall restaurants, the rush-rush attitude which I totally embrace when I’m there, the wonderful museums and Central Park…I feel like myself in NYC, one of the only other cities that happens in besides Seattle. I could totally see myself living there (I turned down a publishing job there about ten years ago, and have just always wondered “what if…”) someday. Someday after I win the lottery, perhaps.

In my tiny-town-by-the-sea, it is snowing. I don’t think anything will stick, but it does encourage the thinking about Christmas (I have yet to do much shopping, or get a tree, or make plans…) My Dad asked if I was getting much writing done, now that I’m in the ideal place for it. Well, with all the move-related shenanigans, doctor appts, and trying to get my freelance assignments done, I haven’t had time (or brainspace) for many picturesque walks by the beach, or visiting with my friends who live reasonably close, or, writing or sending out poetry at all. I hope this will change and the muse will visit soon. I’m sort of cranky when I’m not writing poetry. However, little half-grown deer all over the place, everywhere I drive, there are little deer on the road, deer in the yards, four or five at a time! It’s hard to be cranky looking at these little animals. No whales or bald eagle sightings yet, but I know they’re out there…

And PS Thanks for the great discussion on pop culture on the last post. Very helpful! I wish I could just fly everyone out to my house to sit around and talk about poetry for a few hours.