A New Poem in MAR, A Rough Week, More Pumpkin Farms, and How to Cheer Yourself Up

A Rough Week and More Pumpkin Farms

It’s been a rough week for me, not going to lie. Drove across town in different directions on different days (three-hour round trips) to meet with endodontists who, surprise, said on the phone they could work with me on my root canal, but after charging me a $250 exam fee, decided they couldn’t. (Also had a day with three different doctor appointments, which always is hard on me.) The physical and emotional drain of doctor appointments for chronically ill people is real.

The winners were announced for the WA state book awards (congrats to all the winners, esp. friends Rena Priest and Jane Wong!) I hate to admit this, because yes, I am very grateful to have been nominated, but Flare, Corona (a finalist for the WA state book award) failing to win hit me a bit harder than I thought it would. I tried not to get my hopes up, telling myself I was lucky just to be nominated, but there it is—my emotions said otherwise. My MS symptoms were also acting up as I was running a small fever all week with a cold, so I had to reschedule my covid antibody infusion (which might have been too much this week anyway, with all the tooth stuff). Unexpected expenses, wasting time on not-useful appointments, and just feeling like “why do I even write poetry?”—all capped by a terrible hurricane that hit areas where I had family harder than we expected (luckily, they are all fine, but a lot of people aren’t) and more war in the news. Let’s not even talk about how close this election is. I am not usually a depressed person, but I certainly struggled with getting anything done this week, or even feeling like it was worthwhile getting anything done.

Flowers at McMurtrey’s u-pic garden

Cheering Yourself Up in Hard Times

I tried to do some things to cheer myself up, including getting out in nature and visiting a newly opened local pumpkin farm, McMurtrey’s, which also had beautiful u-pick flowers like dahlias, zinnias, and sunflowers. I tried to write but had more success reading—especially interesting articles in, of all places, the New Yorker—an article on Ina Garten’s success (for instance, she gave her first cookbook’s publisher $85,000 for half the print run, and then spent $200K more on PR and photography) now she makes millions on her cookbook contracts. So that’s how to be a successful book writer, LOL! $285K!) plus an article on AI and antibiotics which was fascinating. And I got my contributor’s copy of Mid-American Review, in which I had a new poem. And I had a lovely book club meeting discussing Yoko Ogawa’s Mina’s Matchbox, which was great. We’re reading St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves for October, spooky season. I ate kettle corn from two different pumpkin farms. And I have a writing retreat to look forward to. So, maybe this stuff didn’t fix everything, but it did help.

Sylvia with new issue of Mid-American Review

New Poem in MAR, “Crows Splinter the Rain”

In other news, I was very excited to have a very spooky-season appropriate poem, “Crows Splinter the Rain,” in the new issue of Mid-American Review. (My issue came a little late as the first issue was lost at an old address, but better late than never.) It is a great issue, order yourselves a copy, and here’s a sneak peek at my poem:

Double rainbow visible from my window yesterday

Wishing Everyone Out There a Happy, Safe Turn to October

I am hoping everyone affected by hurricane Helene is safe and recovering. I know many mountain communities in Appalachia have been absolutely devastated. I lived and traveled throughout those areas for many years, and never had a hurricane affect us, so this is definitely a shock for those of us who used to live there and those that live there now.

As the days grow shorter and colder as we turn to October, I wish you all a good book, good friends, and as much hope as you can hang on to. And those of you who are already voting? Please keep in mind exactly what’s at stake.

The Fall Equinox, Hanging Out with Artist Friends, Pumpkin Farms and Sunflower Walks, Zoom Classes and Prizes and more

Mt Rainier and Hot Air Balloon

Happy Fall Equinox

We’ve had a beautiful weekend with days that start with mist and end in sunshine, although it was cloudy and rainy for days before—the Harvest Supermoon barely visible behind clouds. We stopped by a farmer’s stand to pick up apples and squash and even more corn (!) and enjoyed visiting the newly opened JB Grower’s Pumpkin Farm and Corn and Sunflower Maze, where we snapped this picture as a hot air balloon landed near the corn maze while Mt Rainier is out.  I also got to visit with my visual artist friend Michaela, who created the art on the cover of my first two books. It was great to catch up!

They say the things you’re supposed to do to celebrate the fall equinox include getting into nature, celebrating the harvest, lighting a candle, cleaning and practicing gratitude. I’m grateful for seeing so many friends in the last few weeks, and though I’m still trying to find an endodontist who will do a root canal without Novocain, I’m grateful for the flowers and sunshine and local beauty of fall. I am also waiting for the results of the Washington State Book Awards, which will be announced tomorrow. And I’m grateful that Flare, Corona is in such good company with the other finalists (like Rena Priest and Gabrielle Bates). I’m also grateful (but still a little nervous) about possibly getting the new covid monoclonal antibody (maybe I should wait ’til after dental work?) And I’ve got a writing residency and an ADA bathroom remodel coming up soon! Busy times!

Hanging Out with Artist Friends

Michaela and I in the sunflower walk

I was also happy to get together with my visual artist friend Michaela Eaves, a wonderful artist who did the art for my first two books, Becoming the Villainess and Unexplained Fevers. We hadn’t gotten to catch up in person for a while, so it was good—Glenn made apple and cheese scones and coffee and ginger tea, we visited the pumpkin farm (she especially liked the cute-dog watching at the farm!) and generally got to hear what was going on with each other’s lives. We talked about everything from books to the election to the difference between acrylic and oil paintings (I still have a hard time discerning which is which). I have wonderful friends, but some of them live a good distance away, so I am always grateful when they make the trek out to Woodinville.

Hanging out with pumpkins

Classes, Prizes and More

I also recorded a talk for Writer’s Digest this past week but have been having issues with Zoom with my new-ish HP laptop. Anyone have any recommendations for computers that have no issues with Zoom? Kelli and I are doing a Spooky Season Zoom class next month on the natural and supernatural worlds (see previous post to register!). I may start to do more Zoom classes in the future and want to make sure these crashes aren’t an issue. I’m also going to create a dedicated space to do Zoom classes in the house (I’ve been doing them in the bedroom, which isn’t the best room in the house for this). Isn’t it strange how the pandemic altered the way we interact with people but maybe made it easier for people like me (who can’t travel often due to health issues) a way to teach and visit and interact with people around the world. I’m grateful for the technology (even with the computer snafus).

Sunflower Walk, blue sky

And on pins and needles waiting to hear tomorrow about the Washington State Book Award for Poetry. It’s hard waiting for news! But I’ll distract myself by driving out to Edmonds for a meeting with a potential endodontist. Hopefully by the end of the week we’ll have a root canal (or similar) scheduled for that broken tooth. I’m also picking out a book for “spooky season” for the Bookwalter’s Winery Book Club, torn between Haruki Murakami’s After Dark, Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge, and a few others. Last year we did the fantastic funny ghost story collection, Where the Wild Ladies are from Aoko Matsuda, and is it hard to live up to that book. (Commenters are welcome to recommend more spooky stories!) It’s times like these I wish my friend Felicity Shoulders (who writes a great spooky short story) had a collection I could give out to book club members. Sometimes to your writer friends you want to say “hurry up and publish! I want your book! but I’m not a big fancy publisher so I can’t just go around granting lucrative book contracts, wish though I might.

Wishing you all a pumpkin and cider-filled first week of fall!

Fall is Here, Sign Up for a Spooky Season Zoom Class with me and Kelli Russell Agodon, Zoo Visits and More

Fall is Here!

No matter that we’re a few days early for the official start of fall, the cold temperatures and rain don’t lie—and neither do the farm stands, with squash and apples showing up along with the last peaches and corn. I love fall, although this one is pretty busy—I’ve been tied up with dental stuff for two weeks now, first a dentist broke my tooth at a cleaning, then back to patch it, then to an endodontist who said I needed a root canal but he refuses to do it because I can’t take Novocain (allergy)—I mean, exhausting—and that’s outside of all the specialists and scans and infusions on the calendar. I have to make sure to take some to focus on the good things—a quick stop at the Woodland Park Zoo to see snow leopard cubs (hiding during my visit) and our red panda, a visit to Bob’s Corn and Pumpkin Farm. And squeezing in time to write and try to submit and work on my next book (and work a little harder at promoting Flare, Corona!)

September is also rejection season AND submitting season—a double hitter that can be hard on the writer’s ego, and of course I’m waiting to hear about the results of the Washington State Book Award after Flare, Corona was named a finalist. And later this week I’m doing a recording for Writer’s Digest this week and putting together a Zoom class with my friend Kelli. (More about that later in this post!)

Kelli and I with sunflowers

Sign Up for a “Spooky Season” Zoom Class with me and Kelli Russell Agodon

Just in time for Spooky Season AND Sylvia Plath’s birthday, Kelli and I are hosting a Zoom class on October 27, 2024, called:

The Thinning Veil: Writing Poems About Where the Natural and Supernatural Worlds Meet

Zoo Visits

Carson the Red Panda

Woodland Park Zoo is under a lot of construction (including building a new habitat for our red panda!), but it had three brand new snow leopard cubs, and it was the last day of the Butterfly House being open, so we snuck in a quick visit. The snow leopard cubs were hiding while we were there, but we got to visit with their beautiful mother.

Going to the zoo is one of the summer rituals I didn’t want to skip, even though the weather is getting cooler, and the timing was hard. It’s important to squeeze in the things that matter to us—even if it’s just watching butterflies—in between paying bills, doctor appointments, work, and the busy work that is too big a part of our lives. To be a writer is sometimes to prioritize the butterfly watching.

Flare, Corona is a Washington State Book Award Finalist! And Art Gallery Openings, Visiting with Friends and Family

Flare, Corona is a Washington State Book Award Finalist

I can finally share my good news—Flare, Corona is a 2024 Washington State Book Award Finalist! I’m very grateful for the honor and am happy to be in very good company, including my friend Rena Priest. You can cross your fingers for me—I’ll find out by the end of the month if I’ve won or not.

We poets go a long time between pieces of good news, luck, recognition, awards. So, something like this can feel like a big deal and we try to celebrate it as best we can (in between rejections, LOL). Does this mean more people might buy or read the book? The answer is really only maybe. But we can hope! And I might get a sticker for my book, which is always nice. And thank you to all the people who wrote me nice notes of congratulations. It really does mean a lot.

(SAL and Open Books did an announcement on Instagram that had a cute graphic I thought I’d share!)

Dewi Plass’ “Instinct”

Art Gallery Opening at Roq La Rue

Saturday night we went to the opening show for Dewi Plass and Hallie Packard at Roq La Rue, my favorite Seattle art gallery. My little brother and sister-in-law were also in attendance, and we had a great time catching up with them. Plus, we talked to the artists and Kerstin, the gallery owner. A gorgeous show (it’s up ’til Sept 28th if you want to see it!) And I purchased a great book of sci-fi and steampunk art. (Roq La Rue has some terrific and hard-to-find art books, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

It made me think about how art inspires me and how making friends with artists is always so rewarding. It’s good to give your life a little space for music, visual art, theater, anything that makes you feel more creative. Visual art has a way of making you see the world a little differently.

Visiting with Family and Friends

Sunday, I visited with my writer friend Kelli Russell Agodon and her family, which was wonderful. I don’t get to see my writer friends often enough, especially this year, it seems. We got to catch up and celebrate good news, commiserate, enjoy brunch. One of the things about the pandemic is how much many of us got used to not socializing, even with family and close friends. Even now, Glenn and I probably go and about less than we used to. But there’s such a benefit to getting together with actual humans.

Kelli and I talked about doing a possible Zoom class together soon, so stay tuned for details on that!

August Rain, the Last Days of Lavender and Bobcats, Considering the Female Midlife Crisis Novel, and When You Know a Manuscript is Ready

Sunflowers and Blue Skies

August Rain and the Last Days of Lavender and Bobcats

It’s been a rainy, cold week that reminds us again fall is on its way. For the pictures today, they were mostly taken on the one sunny day we had! But I liked the return of the rain, and so did my garden, mostly (I lost a couple of dahlias that snapped under the weight of the rain). We did have a brief visit from an adult bobcat, and I snapped a couple of shots of hummingbirds and goldfinches, but the birds are getting ready to molt and/or migrate. Fall/winter/spring here in the Pacific Northwest all bring out different wildlife and beauty, but it’s hard to not be a little sad about the flowers winding down and the swallows and Rufous hummingbirds leaving.

The Lavender Garden down the street is closing for the year on the last day of August, so we’ve been trying to get out when it’s nice to enjoy the last week of sunflowers, dahlias, and lavender. A pumpkin farm in roughly the same location will open up in about a month, so can’t wait for that. We also stopped by a local winery—but here’s a funny thing—three places we tried to go today were “closed for private events,” including the Seattle Zoo. Sometimes having a lot of millionaires (and 15 billionaires) in your town is kind of a bummer, because if you’re not in the 1 percent, everything is closed to you. I can’t afford to buy out a zoo or a winery on the only sunny day of the week at the end of summer! And there are three new snow leopard cubs I’m dying to see. (And if I was disappointed, imagine all the children parents brought to the zoo today only to find “closed for private event” at the door. They also closed down the main bridge out of the East side over the water for construction (which they’ve been doing since, oh, no exaggeration, 2008.) So we stayed around Woodinville. Sometimes the universe says “stay where you are!” LOL. Anyway, we did walk around and enjoy the sunshine, even if we couldn’t leave the area, so can’t really complain, can I?

I’ve been trying to get back to a regular sleep schedule (who knew sleep at night could be this elusive?), but I’ve been spending my nighttime awake hours reading. I’m still a little under the weather too, so spending time under the covers while it’s raining outside is okay. At the same time, I’ve been struggling with problems with my web site, for unknown reasons. I wish I could reboot my body to fix things as easily as easily as rebooting a server. Anyway, this is the bobcat visit below.

Considering the Female Midlife Crisis Novel

When I wake up from a nap…Charlotte

Speaking of bodily reboots, I’m thinking about the female midlife crisis novel/memoir/autofiction, which seems to be everywhere right now. Maybe there’s also something in the air with the Republican animosity towards “childless cat women” and “women’s bodily autonomy” but it’s sort of a counterpoint to decades (and centuries) of men’s midlife crisis books, too. Miranda July’s All Fours is all the critics are talking about, and they’re like “a novel about perimenopause for the first time ever!” which is definitely not true, because you could consider some of Virginia Woolf and Doris Lessing’s books that dealt with similar subject matter, and I know Lesley Wheeler wrote a fascinating book about the subject that didn’t get enough attention called Unbecoming that came out about year or so ago. (Totally worth reading and much more fun than some of the other books I’ve read!) Also read Liars by Sarah Manguso, which belongs in the same category and came out recently, but I could also include Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful and Sabrina Orah Mark’s fairy-tale autofiction/memoir book Happily. I mean, not all of these books are exactly the same, but they circle around some of the same subject matter – women at midlife reconsidering being a wife and/or mother, dealing with lack of fulfillment in their work and home lives, reckoning with their achievements, illnesses, choices, etc. All Fours and Liars both talk way more about masturbation and sex and other bodily functions, maybe (but probably not more than Doris Lessing?) but this has been something that’s been a palpable movement in the world of memoir and literary fiction. A LOT of these books seem somewhat depressing to me—the subject matter especially of terrible husbands who cheat, then leave, but it turns out they were always terrible—not empowering, which is what I guess I would like to see instead? But hey, these things take time. The critics are right that this kind of novel is sort of…novel in the world of midlife crisis memoirs and novels. But can a woman’s midlife and perimenopause/menopause be an empowering time? I hope the answer is not NO, as I am still in perimenopause and wondering if the sleep disruptions are part of it, or any time I feel grumpy, frumpy, or disenchanted. Anyway, chime in with empowering female midlife crisis readings suggestions in the comments if you want.

How to Know if a Manuscript is Ready

Using these rainy, sleepless nights to catch up on work—making a tutorial, judging a poetry contest—and working on my seventh book manuscript, which I thought was done two years ago but then I added a lot more to it, and now I’m looking at an unwieldy hundred-page monster that I need to edit down and somehow make into a unified thing. Knowing when and if a poetry manuscript is ready is an art, not a science—sometimes they’ll need a tweak, like a title change and a shifting of first poem—and sometimes they’ll need an overhaul, which is what I’m doing right now—before they’re ready to send to a publisher, and it’s difficult sometimes to make that judgement. Especially when one is sleep deprived and half-sick. I usually write a good solid collection of poems around a single theme, but because the covid-19 pandemic happened in middle of writing these poems, it’s been tough to reign it in. Anyway, I hope to have it in somewhat finished form by October. That’s my goal, anyway.

Blue Supermoons, Thunderstorm, a Little Good News I Can’t Announce Yet and Other Literary News, Kirkland and Sunflower Sunsets

Me in sunflowers, Woodinville sunset

Blue Supermoons, Thunderstorms, Kirkland and Sunflower Sunsets

Right now outside my window is August’s Blue Supermoon. A few days ago we had the biggest thunderstorm since 2019, a sign of the fall’s approach and the increasingly changing weather in the Pacific Northwest. Glenn and I tried to take advantage of lower temperatures by walking at sunset, one night in Kirkland, another night at our local JB Grower’s Lavender Farm, where the moon rose while listening to Jimmy Page and Alison Krauss at the concert next door. The light in the August evening  makes everything more beautiful. Waking up at 3 or 4 AM I am able to garden a bit in the morning. The roses and hydrangeas in my garden are taller than I am, there are figs on my fig tree and apples on my apple tree, plus strawberry plants still providing strawberries. After the storm we brought in wet dahlias and hydrangeas in big vases. Already thinking about what to plant for next year.

I am finally getting some mental energy back, as well as sleeping short stretches – 3-4 hours – at night again. Not firing on all cylinders yet, but getting better, I think. And I got some surprise good news this week. Here are a few sunset pictures from Kirkland and Woodinville.

A Little Good News I Can’t Announce Yet, Plus Birds and Literary Stuff

So this week I got a little good news (which I can’t announce yet, but will soon!) I have to say, it’s amazing how these things can make so much difference to a poetry small press author. Very few of us get any real reach, the big prizes, any real recognition, so when you get good news, we better celebrate, right?

In other literary news, Calyx put up their poetry contest winners (I judged that contest) and I’m getting ready to read for another literary magazine’s contest. It’s nice to contribute in this way, especially because a big contest win early in my writing career meant so much to me. (You never know when someone needs that little push to stay a writer!)

I hope that as September approaches I will be doing more reading, writing, submitting, catching up on writer things. In the meantime though, some pink roses, a house finch, the blue Supermoon, and hummingbird. Wishing you stars and supermoons and poems.

The Sealey Challenge, the First Sunflowers, and Fall is Coming Up!

Me with sunflowers and dahlias

The Sealey Challenge, The First Sunflowers, and Signs that Fall is Coming!

The first sunflowers have popped up at our local gardens, and with them the notion that fall is around the corner. I have been ill for so much of the summer that I barely noticed it passing so fast. I have been beating myself up for not getting much done the last two months, not much writing or submitting of poetry. I haven’t even been well enough to go get blood work done that I need to have done (they won’t let me get it while I’m sick.) I don’t always have control of my physical self, and that can be frustrating for a type-A control freak like myself.

But I did finally accomplish some of my Sealey Challenge (where you’re supposed to read a book of poetry a day in August.) Here are three: an anthology of mermaid poetry published a few years ago called Till the Tide, and brand new books Horns by Tiffany Midge (funny, biting wit!) and Autobiography of Rain by Lana Ayers (solemn, subtle, always worth reading.) I also pulled out Matthea Harvey’s If the Tabloids are True What Are You and Diwata by Barbara Jane Reyes for inspiration.

Glenn and I with wildflowers and sunflowers

Signs of Fall

I love thinking about blessedly cooler weather, pumpkins and sweaters. I’m emphatically not a summer girl. In the Pacific Northwest, the fact that rain is in the forecast – or there’s an unexpected drizzle in the morning – is a sign the season of sunshine (and fire, and smoke) is coming to a close. In case you ever come out here, September is the perfect time to visit – still have some sunlight, flowers are still blooming, and the crowds are gone. Also, apple and pumpkin everything!

I’m hoping that September also brings some more stable health for me as well as more pleasant weather. Here’s wishing you a wonderful end of August.

Welcome to August, on The Slowdown, Hot Air Balloons

Juvenile goldfinch with sunflowers

Welcome to August: On the Slowdown and Hot Air Balloons

As my insomnia continues and my nervous system seems to be on the fritz, it seems my site has had problems too! If you missed last week’s post, that’s probably because the site was down. Hope it stays up this time (WordPress really needs some tweaking).

A little glimpse of my back garden with a juvenile goldfinch moments before it landed on my sunflowers (which I’m so proud of—both the snapdragons and sunflowers were unusual colors grown from seed from local farms!) August is great for gardens—lots of sunshine—but the heat and haze have taken a toll on my body, already run down from a couple of weeks of poor sleep. On the plus side, have watched so much Olympics coverage. LOL.

On the poetry side, I was briefly interviewed on the Slowdown this week as they chose my poetry pick, Kelli Russell Agodon’s “Hunger,” for their audience choice show. Here’s the link—you can hear me say a couple of things about the poem before Major Jackson reads the poem (what a great voice for radio, am I right?) 1175: Hunger by Kelli Russell Agodon | The Slowdown (slowdownshow.org)

Another thing our area has during August is amazing views around our home—this week, we followed a hot air balloon sinking from our house to the lavender farm, and we caught a particularly lucky shot of the balloon along with Mt Rainier at sunset, the lavender garden, and a V of geese! Woodinville just has some above average chances to catch beautiful things. So even if I’m not at my peak right now (and rarely am in August), the world is still beautiful. Just got to get through a couple of weeks of heat waves and smoke and make it to September!

A Week of Insomnia, Visiting with My Brother and Lavender Festival, and the Olympics

Me in wildflowers

A Week of Insomnia, Visiting with my Brother and a Local Lavender Festival

I’m a bit foggy from lack of sleep (I haven’t been able to sleep at all at night for the last week—or more?) but wanted to report in. This weekend our local lavender farm had its second weekend of its inaugural Lavender Festival, which featured a ton of vendors from ice cream and coffee to art and plants. We went both days this weekend and took my little brother and sister-in-law on Sunday. (It seems ironic that walking through a field of lavender at night didn’t help my insomnia!) But the light was so pretty that most of the shots Glenn took of me don’t even look like I haven’t slept much. (Maybe there’s a potential author photo in here?) Everyone should do their author photo shoots in a field of flowers in late evening light!

Glenn, little brother Mike, sister-in-law Loree, and me at sunset

Family Visits and the Olympics

It had been a while since we’d gotten to visit with my little brother and sister-in-law, so we were happy to have dinner and walk around the festival with them. Besides the amazing field of flowers, the farm’s employees are terrific, friendly folks—a pleasure to be around. If you get a chance and you live in easy distance of Woodinville, you should definitely check it out.

With all my insomnia, I got to watch (live) all the Olympic opening ceremonies, plus some swimming and gymnastics. I thought the ceremonies were strange, French, and beautiful, and the sports part has been exciting too. Of course, I can’t help but worry every time a gymnast takes a fall or hurts their ankle—my empathy (and remembrance of my own sports injuries in high school) kicks in.

My own garden is in bloom, and many baby birds are cheeping around our feeders. We’re supposed to get some much-needed rain tomorrow, and hopefully that will help the surrounding air quality (we’re sort of surrounded by wildfires) and people suffering from fires. Remember to keep your ears open for the podcast The Slowdown, especially on August 2nd. Wishing you a happy (and for me sleep-full) summer week. I’ll be here, thinking about fall…