Poems in the Spring Issue of Ploughshares, the Last Cherry Blossoms, and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Poems and Pink Tulips

A New Poem in the Spring Issue of Ploughshares During National Poetry Month

Amid all the grim news, I had a little package of happiness arrived in the form of my contributor copies of the Spring issue of Ploughshares, edited by one of my favorite poets, Tracy K. Smith. I am so happy to be sharing space with poets like Chen Chen and fellow blogger January Gill O’Neil.

Here is a picture of Sylvia lounging with her copies of Ploughshares and a sneak peek at my poem, “Irradiate,” from my manuscript-in-circulation, “Flare.” I feel very lucky to have appeared in two dream journals this month,

I just wish the rest of life wasn’t so chaotic. I hope you guys are able to celebrate National Poetry Month at least a little. (I’m going to order some more books and lit mags from my local poetry-only bookstore, Open Books. Whoops, I just did this – they take Paypal now! So dangerously easy! Three more poetry and poetics books coming my way!)

Social distancing with last late pink cherry blossoms

The Last Cherry Blossoms

It’s mid-April, and the last of the cherry blossoms, my favorite, the pink candy-tuft type, are blooming. Yesterday was gloomy and today we’ve having rain, which somehow feels appropriate to what is going on in the world. I’m trying to get outside when I can, but I have to avoid other people even more than most people with my health issues, so I’ve been haunting weird places – abandoned parking lots, mostly – to get my flower fix.

House Finch posing with faux bird cutout

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A weird thing that’s been going on in social media is trying to post senior year pictures in support, somehow, of current seniors who are missing their graduations and proms. I can’t imagine being in high school during this time, so difficult. So love to you, high school readers.

I kept hardly any pictures from my senior year, sadly, but I found a few pictures from 1990-1991 in Glenn’s photo album. I mainly saved pictures of my friends rather than myself. And I have a picture from my mom’s senior formal, which is awesome – she was a knockout.

So, kids, remember to save the photos you took before the lockdown happened, because twenty years from now, you may want those pictures. Get print versions, just in case.

So this trip down memory lane didn’t stop with pictures – I actually zoomed with five of my closest high school friends, some of which I haven’t talked to in 20 years (Facebook messages are not the same thing.) It was a little melancholy – one of my friends lives in NYC and is being hit hard as that whole city is, another is an ER doctor waiting for her state’s coronavirus onslaught to happen. But it was great to catch up with everyone.  The pandemic has certainly kept me in closer touch with many people – old friends, my siblings and extended family – than usual. Everyone now is looking to the end of lockdown, although I don’t really see how we can do that without more widespread testing, more N95 masks, and a regular treatment protocol that keeps patients – even young people without pre-existing conditions from dying (we’re getting closer, but not there yet.) It does seem like Washington State’s cases peaked about three weeks ago, but that’s not the case in many places, cases are still on the rise. I have dreams about going out to the grocery store, to the bookstore looking at magazines – mundane things, but then I realize in the dream this is not safe for me. I’m afraid that’s the reality for me, with several risk factors, I just have to stay inside longer and be more careful than the average person. I am looking to survive this birthday month and year.

Easter During a Pandemic; Life as a Writer During Lockdown, and Pink Supermoon with April Flowers

Pink Apple Blossoms

Happy Easter to Those Who Celebrate: Wishing Us All a Little Bit of Sunshine, Flowers, Chocolate

From Palm Sunday to Passover to today, Easter, we have had a bunch of holidays to celebrate without family, without places of worship. This morning, the weather is beautiful, but the parks are also closed to house-bound children and stir-crazy adults. I’ve been seeking out flowers in abandoned parking lots of shuttered banks, schools, and offices.

Me with pink hair and pink apple blossoms

We have reached that part of the quarantine (Glenn and I have been locked down since late February, a little earlier than everyone else) where we start coloring our hair and trying home haircuts (I did my own bangs and Glenn’s hair with pretty good results.) Here’s a picture of my new hair while trying to camouflage with a pink apple tree.

It’s hard to celebrate during a pandemic. We are reading death counts every day. Here in Washington, over 10,000 coronavirus cases and almost 500 deaths. Other areas of the country are harder hit. I have a friend in London, and there are 10,000 deaths in the UK. I try to concentrate on small things; my breath, the birds in my backyard, the slow unfolding of spring flowers. Glenn practices new recipes with the food we find in our cupboard (now we’re depending on deliveries, so we’re trying to make groceries go farther.) We have to decide if that pain in our tooth is an emergency. We try not to mourn the things we cannot do. We try to sleep without nightmares.

Striped Tulips

The Writer’s Life During Lockdown

I was thinking about life as a writer during lockdown, especially as a writer with a compromised immune system. Playing it safe is no joke for me. I’ve been writing quite a bit, reading too, and doing recordings of poems (so far, for Tacoma’s Poet Laureate Abby Murray, Moon City Press – Jeannine Hall Gailey reads “Post-Apocalypse Postcard with Love Note”, and EcoTheo.)

I thought this blog post I wrote a few years ago for Trish Hopkinson’s blog might be helpful for those of you trying to figure out how to promote your new poetry book during quarantine – I wrote this for those with disabilities and chronic illness in mind, but some things are very similar – like the inability to travel or do in-person readings: How To Promote Your Book with a Chronic Illness or Disability.

Flicker in the Planter

I’ve been sending out work tentatively, as it feels hard to believe that poetry can be important in such a time of crisis. On the other hand, I’ve been buying books from local bookstores to keep them in business, subscribing to lit mags even with the post office being threatened by the President and his bullying GOP with shutdown. (Write to your congressperson to protest this lack of funding for the Post office, the lack of which would make us effectively a third-world country, and would prevent voting by mail.) So many things are uncertain: when will we be able to get out of lockdown? When will we have a treatment, much less a vaccine? When will the death tolls start to dwindle? How will this hurt people’s mental health and the economy? Uncertainty is difficult for human beings to sustain for long amounts of time. Poetry and music seem to offer some comfort for me as they resist certainty, and encourage us to dwell in possibility.

Pink tulip magnolia

Pink Supermoons and April Flowers

We had a supermoon this week, the closest the moon will be to use this year, a Pink Moon. The spring magnolias are in bloom, apple and pear trees, daffodils, early tulips. Here is the gallery from this week. I think about the good things that might come from this global shutdown: clear skies in previously smoggy cities like LA, mass sea turtle egg laying and panda mating with the lack of humans in zoos and beaches, a decrease in crime and traffic deaths. Maybe we can hope for good to come from this pandemic horror: in the future companies will encourage more telecommuting, schools will allow students who want to to study from home, and people in general will become more aware of the threats to the immune-suppressed. I wish you health and peace this week, and flowers, and moonrise.

 

 

 

 

April Hours, National Poetry Month, and Four More Weeks of Quarantine: How Are You Holding Up?

Pink Tulips, Woodinville

April Hours – Flowers, Birds, Masks

April is here, finally, though here, it still has felt more like winter than spring – chilly, rainy days in the forties. Washington State has extended its “Stay at Home” order until May 4, so my birthday month may not be very cheerful after all. The US has overtaken the rest of the world in coronavirus cases. Especially hard hit are NYC, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Me, socially distancing with cherry blossoms

Because it’s April, even though we’re socially distancing and (finally) being advised to wear masks, we can still watch birds and enjoy the flowers that continue to bloom despite the news and less-than-welcoming weather. I’ve been practicing taking pictures of the new birds we’ve been attracting with our feeders: juncos, wrens, Stellar’s Jays, flickers, and downy woodpeckers this week. The cherry trees and camellias are in their last days (we had a couple of hailstorms that are hard on the flowers) and early tulips are starting to bloom. Usually we’d go up to Skagit Valley for the Skagit Tulip Festival but it’s been cancelled this year. I also would have been planning a birthday party, but I guess it will wait til next year. The new reality is, we are stuck by ourselves, where we are, until further notice. Luckily, where we are includes the spring rollout of birdsong and blossoms.

Pink tulip magnolias

National Poetry Month

We can still celebrate National Poetry Month during a pandemic, despite the lack of the usual book launch parties and poetry readings. There are still books to buy (support your local bookstore if you can) and there is time to spend on poetry, and even some hope to be found. People are doing readings on Facebook Live (I’ve been enjoying talks on Japanese fairy tales by Rebecca Solnit) and offering readings on YouTube and podcasts instead of in-person. I’ve been writing too many pandemic poems. It seems almost impossible to write a poem about one thing and not have it turn into a pandemic poem, in fact. The coronavirus has saturated the view.

My bio page for Poetry Magazine

Poetry Magazine is offering its April issue for free right now. I really like the picture they chose for my bio page, which is from a visit to the aforementioned Skagit Poetry Festival last year. It reminds me of happier times. Also, if you visit my bio page, click on “Prose by this Poet” and you can read my interview with Matthea Harvey about her apocalyptic book of poetry, Modern Life. Here’ s a peek at my second poem in the April Poetry issue, “Spellcaster,” a little less apocalyptic than “Calamity.”

Spellcaster, from April’s issue of Poetry Magazine

 

Four More Weeks of Quarantine: How Are You Holding Up?

So, as we face four more weeks of quarantine, how are you holding up? I know some friends who are making cloth masks for friends and family, people who are delivering groceries to older neighbors and relatives, people who are using this time to try a new art form or learn a language, while other friends are practicing the challenging transition to becoming online teachers and homeschoolers. We are all learning to make more things from scratch; friends are exchanging recipes for they have in their pantry as people try to limit trips for groceries. Others are spending time in their gardens – we have planted herb starts and spring peas (which don’t happen here till June). Many of us are donating to new charities because of coronavirus – people who have lost their jobs in the massive wave of layoffs, food banks for people who can’t afford groceries, and Medical Teams International, a personal favorite, who is currently using a mobile truck unit to practice dentistry for free on emergency cases across Seattle.

I am reading books and listening to audiobooks, spending time of the phone with family to check in, trying to come to terms with Zoom, and listening to a lot of music. I’ve tried not to watch too much television or movies at the beginning of this, try to spend some time walking outside or on my stationary bike or dancing around to movie soundtracks (I recommend the new Birds of Prey movie soundtrack.) Of course I am worried about getting this thing – and I’m worried about family and friends who are vulnerable. Every day the news delivers more dead – musicians, artists, nurses and doctors. I try to pay attention to the good works of people during this crisis, not our Federal government’s miserable mismanagement of it. It is unbearable to think too many hours a day about it – even with my limited news consumption, I dream every night about fighting coronavirus, people having it,  trying to solve the puzzle of this virus’s treatment already.

How about you? What are you doing to make it through? I taught my mom Instagram over the phone yesterday, so she could have baby goat and papillon dog pictures to cheer her up. I’m going to try to get outside more as the weather gets a little nicer, as I notice it helps battle the claustrophobia that can come from too many days at home, trying my best to dodge others who are walking dogs or stretching their legs or letting their kids exercise and shriek and run around. Tell me in the comments about your quarantine life in April.

Spring, Quarantine, Poetry, and All

Early magnolia blossoms

Spring, Quarantine, Poetry, and All

Spring continues its celebrations, despite our mostly silent roads and store fronts, despite humanity’s disappearance from their daily activities. The cherries bloom, the woodpeckers and towhees and stellar jays and hummingbirds are busy. It’s been a cold and gloomy week, but April is almost here.

The big excitement this week was the arrival of a new birdfeeder and the April contributor copies of Poetry Magazine. I’ve been writing and reading more, watching tv less. During the forty-degree, rainy March days of grim reports of deaths and pandemics, it becomes almost impossible to remember anything cheerful. I’ve been practicing my bird photography. I ordered watercolors. I still take pictures of trees.

Sylvia posing with the April issue of Poetry

A Little More about April’s Issue of Poetry

So, to more cheerful news: April’s issue of Poetry has two poems of mine in it, “Calamity” and “Spellcaster.” Someone asked me: what was the secret of getting into Poetry? Well, I sent to Poetry Magazine the first time when I was 19 years old, and I received a really nice personal rejection in return. I wish I still had it. Then I sent twice a year for a lot of years. I have years of back issues on my bookshelf from years of reading. That’s the secret!

So it’s especially meaningful that these two poems appear in the April issue of National Poetry Month and my birthday month. Also, isn’t Sylvia cute with the magazine? I’ve been finally finishing the final pages of the second volume of Sylvia Plath’s letters, and I see how excited she gets for her poetry checks. I guess I am equally excited, as a poet, when I get a check for seeing my work in print. It doesn’t happen all that often! If you want a reading recommendation for something a little more comforting, check out Rebecca Solnit’s A Paradise Built in Hell, which is a bunch of essays about disasters and people’s responses to them. When calamity does strike, she points out, a lot of bad stuff happens – but also, ordinary people are inspired to help each other in amazing ways. A good reminder.

Cherry tree in bloom, Woodinville

One More Quarantine Poetry Video: “A Letter to John Cusack, Piloting a Plane Through an Apocalypse Movie”

This poem is another apocalypse poem from my book, Field Guide to the End of the World. Bonus points if you can name all the John Cusack movies referenced in the poem.

 

https://youtu.be/0kX08JK88g0 

 

 

 

April Issue of Poetry – with two of my poems!

Sylvia poses with new April issue of Poetry

April Issue of Poetry Has Two of My Poems In It

I always said it would be the apocalypse before I got into Poetry Magazine, so it seems appropriate that yesterday by special delivery in my home during lockdown I received my contributor’s copies of Poetry Magazine, with two of my poems in it, alongside poems by illustrious stars like Ocean Vuong. My kitten Sylvia just would not stop cuddling with Poetry! Which makes sense, since her namesake poet was in there several times.

And here’s a sneak peek at one of the poems, “Calamity.” Interestingly, this apocalyptic poem, “Calamity,” was written and accepted before the current pandemic was a thing. The other poem of mine in this issue is called “Spellcaster.” Both of these poems are from my in-process manuscript, “Fireproof.”

 

 

Another Week in the Epicenter Living with Quarantine in Spring, Essay in the Mighty, Poems in Moon City Review, and Now: Poetry Videos

Cherry Branches

Another Week in the Epicenter: Living with Quarantine in Spring

Hello from March 2020 in Seattle, where Coronavirus has killed over 90 people, we still don’t have enough test kits, masks and ventilators are in short supply, and everyone is trying to shelter in place. Quarantine has become common – California, New York, Connectibut and Illinois all have strict policies in place, while in Washington, we’ve been urged but not forced to quarantine ourselves for the time being. All normal activites – shopping, going to work, going to the doctor or dentist – have been halted. All to buy a little more preparation time while we wait for someone – generous billionaires, brilliant scientists, unfortunately probably not our (seriously blundering) government leaders – to find something to treat or slow this virus. Meanwhile I’m seriously trying to stay safe, stay alive, write poems, and take pictures of flowers.

You can read about some of my experiences living as an immune-compromised people in the US epicenter of Coronavirus in this essay at The Mighty. And here are some shots of spring blooming all around us, and a robin.

St Patrick’s Day

Poems and Reading Lists and St. Patrick’s Day

We celebrated a quiet St. Patrick’s Day at home, taking a stroll through emptied winery grounds and making scones and tea. Glenn and I at least got all dressed up in green for the occasion.

With all the sheltering-in-place, I’ve had plenty of time for reading, and I’ve been really enjoying two new poetry books, both with space themes.

Sylvia with my current poetry reads

Sylvia poses with two brand-new poetry books that I love: John Gallaher‘s Brand New Spacesuit from BOA and The Tilt Torn Away from the Seasons by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers from Acre Books. I highly recommend both. I’ve read all of John’s books, and this is my favorite so far – reassuring somehow in this odd time, full of humor and hope.

Three New Poems in Moon City Review

Sylvia cuddling with the new issue of Moon City Review

I also got my contributor copes of Moon City Review, with three of my poems in it.

Here’s a sneak preview of one of the poems, as well as Sylvia looking adorable with the issue. Yes, this blog post does feature two pictures of my cat. I have been spending a lot of time cuddling with my two cats and feeling very grateful for that, as well as phone calls and FaceTime with friends and family. Poetry and cats happen to be my coping mechanisms under stress.

Poem from Moon City Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention that I was also being tested for cancer and a pretty serious (non-Coronavirus) infection this week? The news wasn’t all good (liver tumors have multiplied and some have grown) but not seriously bad, either (no infection found or giant masses, which was good.)  We chronically ill folks have to deal with mortality every day, not just during a pandemic; we are always on guard for things going wrong in our body. It is exhausting, and I know you are exhausted too.

So, in Light of the Quarantine and All, Some Poetry Videos

Someone asked me this week to make a video of me reading a poem for one of her classes. I had never done this before and she showed me how to do it with my iPhone. So, after I made that poetry video, I made a bunch of others. Here are links to a few of them. I am reading from Moon City Press’s Field Guide to the End of the World, poems that seem (though they were written years earlier) to be written for this time.

Here’s me reading “Every Human is a Black Box.”

And here’s me reading “The Last Love Poem.” I hope you enjoy these. Stay well, all of you. Stay in, stay well, read poetry, try to notice the spring.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus on Salon, Two Poems in EcoTheo, and Getting an MRI with Flowers in the Epicenter

Salon Story on Marriage in the US Epicenter of Coronavirus

Love in the Time of Coronavirus – a Portrait of a Marriage in the US Epicenter of a Pandemic – My Essay on Salon.Com

As a poet, I’m used to being a little bit low-profile, but today I had a front-page story on Salon.com, “Marriage in the Time of Coronavirus,” a place I’ve wanted to publish in since its inception. The story in my perspective on living with my husband in a stressful quarantine situation, with several chronic illnesses, in the epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic. I’ve put some of the details of how it’s been coping with ER visits and empty shelves here right next to the hospital where the majority of the US deaths from Coronavirus have occurred on this blog, but this is in the form of a lyric essay hybridized with journalism. I hope it is helpful and gives you some perspective on how it may be in other US cities in the next weeks to come.

Just for some perspective, in my state, there have been 40 deaths and 642 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus, most of them in King County. Most of the deaths have happened in my neighborhood. It’s not an abstraction for us. This week, the zoo, the Japanese garden, and 50 restaurants closed, as well as the winery next to my house, the beautiful Chateau Ste Michelle. All public and private schools were closed, and universities, and churches. Meetings of over 250 are forbidden.

Sylvia poses with EcoTheo

Two Poems in the Spring 2020 issue of EcoTheo

My thanks to the folks at the beautiful ecologically-themed literary magazine (complete with beautiful color art work) EcoTheo, who put two of my poems in the Spring 2020 issue. I bought a subscription with my fauxAWP dollars. I think you’d like it.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the poems in there, “Horse Chestnut Trees Are Going Extinct:”

Getting an MRI and More Flowers, Despite the Pandemic

Had to get an MRI this week, so despite my fear of germs and being immune-compromised (this was checking for a life-or-death thing, so I still had to get it – believe me, I’ve cancelled a number of medical appointments in the last two weeks) I put on a mask and gloves and went to the medical testing center. The tech was wearing neither a mask nor gloves. I bet he will be soon. I don’t like getting MRIs at the best of times, and this was much more anxiety-producing than usual. But when I got out of the test, I noticed the most beautiful apple trees right outside of the medical center, and took this picture. Even in the midst of pandemic and anxiety, the flowers go right on blooming.

And for those who want to make sure Glenn and I are still alive, here is a picture we took today, along with a snapshot of a canopy of cherry blossoms, the Worm Supermoon, and some March narcissus blooms. Wishing you a well and happy week.

 

 

 

Living, Loving, (and Going to the ER) in the Time of Coronavirus, Spring Continues in Seattle, Virtual or Faux AWP

Red quince blossoms

Spring Continues in Seattle, Despite Everything

The time change is here, and with it, spring is showing signs of moving in; early cherries and plums are blooming, quince, forsythia. Birds are returning, like a family of quail I spotted in the backyard, and red house finches. Emerald City Comic Con has been rescheduled. My husband has been in the house more than usual, as working from home is encouraged. We’ve been avoiding unnecessary human interactions we might have done without thinking; going to the bookstore or stopping to get flowers. Nature remains a great companion, even during an epidemic. Books, too.

Living, Loving, and Going to the ER In the Time of Coronavirus

So, as nature continues to blaze ahead despite the troubles of humans, we cannot avoid the grim news. As of today, we’ve had 102 confirmed Coronavirus cases and 17 deaths in Washington State, and still our Coronavirus testing ability is pretty limited (despite promises from the government to the contrary.) Schools are closing. Every tech company has asked its employees to work from home. Social distancing and hand washing are encouraged. Stores shelves have been emptied of: bottled water, toilet paper, bleach, cold medicine, in some stores, canned goods, even Spam. Hand sanitizer and masks have been gone since two weeks ago. Glenn and I are spending a lot of time together – I mean, togetherness has a new meaning when you’re immune-compromised during an extremely contagious, fairly unknown outbreak.

This virus has changed the way we do some things; Glenn has had groceries dropped off at his car instead of going into the grocery store; I ordered books to be shipped instead of going into the bookstore. I text with my friends instead of seeing them in person.

Notes from an ER visit in the Epicenter: I had an unavoidable ER visit. I dreaded doing it, but so sick I could no longer stand on Friday night and with my PCP’s advice, we decided to go (and no, it’s not Coronavirus.) Glenn drove me fifteen minutes to the Redmond Swedish ER. (I live about a mile from Evergreen Kirkland, where most of the Coronavirus deaths have taken place; we avoided it.) I had him check in with the front desk to make sure they were okay for us (some hospitals are overwhelmed.) There was only one other patient at the hospital when I went, and everybody I encountered was friendly, gracious and wearing masks, paper clothing covers, and gloves in a flurry of safe practices. The ER doctor confided she was nervous that she hadn’t been informed about best practices or a treatment protocol for Coronavirus yet.  She was super helpful; I left two liters of IV fluid heavier, with two prescriptions, a copy of all my labs, practical advice, and feeling much better. The day receptionist said they had had too many worried patients coming in with coughs who should have been meeting with PCPs or allergists (flu and allergy season are still happening, after all) and the night receptionist told me he’d been grocery shopping at night with a mask and gloves. Everyone was concerned that they didn’t have enough Coronavirus tests. But they had just gotten a shipment of masks with face screens. Not every medical worker is lucky enough to have them.

Disability, Germs, and Smart Hubs

Because we live in a high-tech city, I had a conversation with the doctor and nurse about how a smart home hub might help me both decrease germs in the house and make me feel more independent with my disability; I ordered the Echo Smart Hub the next day. They pointed out not touching light switches, tv remotes, door locks, etc as much as possible helps to not spread germs, and I can avoid injuries with MS by turning on lights with my voice or unlocking a door. I also got tips about killing germs on hard and soft surfaces. I’ve never used as much bleach as I have in the last two weeks in my life, and every tech device has been alcohol-wiped to an inch of its life. Technology, I have to admit, might make this particular pandemic outbreak a little less terrible, because now we can have food shipped to our houses, kids can do their classes online, we can even visit with our families via Facetime instead of in person to avoid getting them sick. Italy just quarantined 16 million people in an amazingly sweeping action. We haven’t had anything like that happen yet, but as new cases keep cropping up farther from here, the epicenter of the US outbreak (the other being: cruise ships) I hope we are capable to capping a serious problem across the US like they have had in China, Italy, and Iran. Bill Gates has promised money for a home coronavirus testing kit, which could help avoid spreading the germs to health-case workers. So I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the long-term effects will be. In China, non-touch screens are being introduced at fast food restaurants, orders and pickups made on phones with zero personal interaction.

Sylvia with poetry books from Open Books for FAUX AWP

Virtual or Faux AWP

Since a lot of us couldn’t go to AWP this year for various reasons, (I personally think it should have been rescheduled for the safety of immuno-supporessed people and, because, you know, you don’t want to increase germ spreading during a pandemic) we’ve been having a Virtual AWP Bookfair and a faux-AWP. I ordered books from local poetry-only bookstore Open Books, because small businesses all around Seattle are hurting (they ship for free with over $25 purchases) and because a lot of small presses were financially harmed because they had to withdraw from AWP. I also signed up for a couple of new literary magazine subscriptions, including EcoTheo and A Public Space. (A Poetry Magazine subscription was a recent gift.) I was trying to spend the money I would have spent at the bookfair had I gone. My book purchases, you might notice, are apocalyptic in theme.

I’ve also been working on pitches for essays and reviews during this extremely down downtime. And I’ve got a suite of coronavirus poems now in case anyone needs them.

Field Guide to the End of the World

I would also encourage you to please purchase a copy of Field Guide to the End of the World directly from Moon City Press, because they could not go to AWP at the last minute, and support them.  Plus, I mean, I could not think of a more timely book to read right now. I mean, look at this cover! It’s all about survival in the face of all kinds of apocalypses.

So, if you also could not make it to San Antonio, I encourage you to reach out to your favorite small presses and writers, and support them. Send your favorite writers an encouraging note, subscribe to a new literary magazine. The best part of AWP is the community aspect, and at a time when in-person communications are riskier for some of us, virtual communications go a long way.

So, wishing you an as-happy-as-possible week. Wash your hands, avoid large gatherings, disinfect your cell phone, and spend some time reading poetry instead of the news – I guarantee you’ll feel better afterwards.

New Poems in Cherry Tree and Split Rock Review, Early Spring Flowers, Missing AWP and the Coronovirus

Early Plum Blossoms

Early Spring Flowers and New Poems in Cherry Tree and Split Rock Review

It seems in times of crisis I want to spend more time in nature. This last week we had early cherry and plum trees starting to flower, and I spent a lot of time taking pictures of them. Plum blossoms in particular have a strong, beautiful scent, especially in a grove of trees, which along with a little more sunlight, increases your feelings of well-being no matter what the headlines.

A big thank you to both Cherry Tree and Split Rock Review, which both featured new poems by me in their latest issues. That was a pick-me-up during a stressful week of doctor appointments (where I found out even if I had Coronavirus they did not have enough test kits on hand, so…good luck, I guess!) and a dramatic Coronavirus uptick in our region.

Here are my poems “The Wildness” and “Self-Portrait as Seismologist” as well as a picture of Sylvia posting with the new issue of Cherry Tree and tulips:

More Spring Blossoming:

 

Split Rock Review published a more wintry poem, “Winter Solstice in Seattle:”

Missing AWP and Good Resources on the Coronavirus

Red-winged Blackbird

Yes, I’ll be missing AWP this year. I’m supposed to get an emergency root canal tomorrow instead of flying into Texas. Much less glamorous. But AWP kind of has a pall over it this year, especially as it is happening just as more confirmed cases of COVID-19 are appearing all over the US. Hey, let’s all get together in one big room right as a highly communicable virus is hitting. Yikes! I have a genetic immune deficiency AND MS, so this is probably a more frightening prospect for me than most people. That estimated 2 percent death rate is higher for people with other health conditions, and much higher for the elderly – up to 15 percent.

We had the first US death from Coronavirus here yesterday, at a hospital about a mile from my house, and a small breakout (fifty people, both caregivers and patients) has happened in a long-term care home in Kirkland (and Kirkland and Redmond firefighters are in quarantine after reto an emergency there). There is a lot of uncertainty right now – the doctors and systems here don’t have enough test kits or the capacity to test everyone, we don’t have enough masks even for medical personnel due to poor government planning, and we’re showing more community-acquired illness (two high school kids at opposite ends of town just this week). In my local neighborhood stores, there’s been some panic-buying – shelves of masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning products, even in some places bottled water and toilet paper have all been cleaned out. My husband has been running most of the errands to keep me out of crowds, so I’m getting my reports second-hand. Going back to spending time outside, which can really help you not feel too house-bound when you’re mostly confined in your home, is really important. Hence my red-winged blackbird picture (photographed down the street from my house).

Starting to feel like I have more in common with the girl on my last book cover…

Here are some good resources that I found this week to help you all with Coronavirus. Remember I have a biology degree and I had a specific interest in virology, so I’m not just a poet – I’m a poet who knows too much about viruses! There’s a lot of panic, anxiety, and misinformation out there (this is not a hoax – and definitely do NOT drink bleach!). Our government is not adequately prepared – we don’t have enough testing kits (we have dramatically undertested over the last six weeks as the virus has spread, and we still won’t have enough tests for two more weeks) or masks for medical personnel, or respirators for those who go into respiratory distress. We can’t control a selfish, irresponsible government who doesn’t act in the best interest of its people (except by voting them out eventually) or a greed-filled, short-sighted pharma/medical complex (our supply chain is going to be impacted because we no longer make the drugs we need – nor their main ingredients – they’ve outsourced almost everything to China, and they didn’t order more masks/respirators when they were told to several years ago to prepare for a crisis because “it was too expensive”) but we can control our own actions – choosing to stay home when sick, washing hands more frequently, maybe staying away from crowds when possible – and we can choose to be kind to ourselves and our neighbors. Drink more fluids, get more sleep. Here’s more information:

From Australian virologists who have practical advice for “If you’re about to be in a pandemic”

A great article on a reasonable response to Coronavirus – and why being prepared – and preparing to help others – is key to containing a pandemic.

NPR’s tips on how to prevent and prepare for the novel Coronavirus

Don’t panic, and always carry a clean towel – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

More updates to come. I am wishing you all a safe, happy, and healthy week. Spend some time outdoors with trees, and indoors with some poetry. Stay well.

 

 

Hanging Out with Poet Friends, Signs that Spring Is On The Way

Spring Flower Display Garden

Signs that Spring is On the Way!

After a seemingly endless gloomy, wet winter, there are signs everywhere that spring is on the way. Despite the thunderstorm this morning, we’ve actually had some sunny days this last week, and then…surprise – a few blooming branches have been spotted here and there, and the display garden at my local gardening store is inspiring garden designs. (Planted a Daphne and a Viburnum today.)

It can’t help but lift the mood of my city, as a collective, despite gloom and doom in the news (Russians hacking the elections! The Coronavirus! Etc!) people are smiling more, chatting more, nodding to each other in the street. I’m definitely a spring girl – I was born in the spring, National Poetry Month is in the spring, plus flower flowers flowers! I’ll share a few images I snapped this week. Plus, I saw an eagle flying overhead every day this week. And our bobcat visited again! (Video link at end of post.)

Kelli Adogon and I at her party

Spending Time with Poet Friends

Carved out some time (and energy – been a little under the weather) to attend a poetry potluck celebrating my friend Kelli Russell Agodon’s book contract with Copper Canyon Press, and it was great! I got to catch up with some friends I don’t see very often who I’ve known for fifteen, sixteen years now and meet others I’ve only “seen” on Facebook. Some of my old friends had little kids when I met the who are now in college or grown-up with jobs. We talked about where our lives had taken us. Some talked about not submitting or writing for a while. Some talked about new books and planning readings.  It always helps give me perspective on the writing life and all of our journeys when I hang out with other writers. It also gave me motivation – I came home and submitted a piece of fiction (which I rarely do) and sent out some poems as well. There is just something about being with other writers that inspires me to action.

I even got to take a picture of some of the poet husbands I’ve known for just as long – and Glenn fit right in (except he was sad he didn’t have a hat! And I couldn’t get a picture where he had his eyes open)!

I was reminded that the writing life is a journey. There are ups and downs and detours, time to write and time to rest. We don’t all go at the same pace. Life gets in the way sometimes. A supportive spouse can make a lot of difference (and I feel lucky to have mine – plus everyone raved about his gluten-free mini pumpkin pear cupcakes)! And encouraging each other is part of the job. It can feel awfully lonely when those rejection slips roll in, or when your grant application is denied, or that job doesn’t come through. It’s good to have the company of people who have been there, done that.

And as promised, a link to the bobcat video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ywucGBVQ4/

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Jeannine Hall GaileyJeannine Hall Gailey served as the second Poet Laureate of Redmond, Washington and the author of Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the Floating World, Unexplained Fevers, The Robot Scientist’s Daughter, and winner of the Moon City Press Book Prize and SFPA’s Elgin Award, Field Guide to the End of the World.  Her latest, Flare, Corona from BOA Editions, was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. She’s also the author of PR for Poets, a Guidebook to Publicity and Marketing. Her work has been featured on NPR’s The Writer’s Almanac, Verse Daily and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Her poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review, Poetry, and JAMA.

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