Countdown to the Inaugural Reading and the New Poet’s Market

The Redmond Reporter ran an article today about my upcoming Inaugural Poet Laureate Reading this Saturday…
http://www.redmond-reporter.com/entertainment/172142351.html
Sounds like fun, right?! Here’s the set up for Saturday, October 6th – a quick poetry reading by the new Poet Laureate (me!) with interactive video art show from 4:00-4:40, then Q&A, reception with wine and cheese and nuts and other fun stuff where you can wander around SecondStory Repertory looking at Michaela’s beautiful art collection curated for geeks (ie geek-friendly paintings of zombies, mermaids and foxes!) Feel free to hang out, ask questions, etc til 6 PM!

What would you set up for an introductory reading for the community if you had no budget limit? Would you have art? A band? a short opera? a rave? I’m super nervous about people coming to Saturday’s event so I hope you will come and bring friends, especially the kind of friends who have always been scared of poetry (most of the poetry will be youth-friendly, FYI.)

I picked up the new 2013 Poet’s Marketand really enjoyed Kelly Davio’s article on how to get out of the slush pile, Diane Lockward’s article on how to build an audience, and I might be in there too, though the article on chapbooks is slightly outdated, sorry! (Pudding House Press is out of business now, for instance, so don’t send there!)
One thing I noticed about the newest version of Poet’s Market is how much good solid introduction to poetry writing and submitting there is now, and how that makes it a great gift for the aspiring poet in your life! This year was the first year they also included original poetry, an interesting choice. I’m looking forward to paging through it at more length soon!

Cough, cough…so, what does a city Poet Laureate do?

Cough cough. My asthma combined with a bronchitis and sinus infection have conspired to keep me at home with my inhaler and antiboitics, so I thought this would be a good time to post on a subject that, well, I’ve been asked about a lot since I became Redmond’s Poet Laureate. What exactly does a Poet Laureate of a city actually do?

There was a bit of a dustup recently when LA announced they would pony up 10K for a city Poet Laureate. Predictably, some folks grumbled that a city as low in funds as LA was just throwing money away at the arts, and other people defended the decision.

So let me tell you what I’ve done this week for my Poet Laureate job, despite being laid low by my upper respiratory infection:
–Scheduled a high school class visit
–Solicited donations of food and drink for my October 6th Inaugural Reading, Art Exhibit and Reception at SecondStory Reperatory Theater. (Believe me, my budget does not stretch to a lot of extra food and drink, so every little donation helps.
–Talked to a neighboring city’s council member about how they might start a Poet Laureate Program.
–Set up and post on social media (twitter account and blog posting)
–Had my husband put up posters around town about our quarterly events (the Inaugural reading, a library reading program and book group, and a talk on social media and e-publishing for poets, so far.)
–E-mailed back and forth with Redmond’s Arts Council members about such things as the PR, payment, and details about planning next quarter’s events.
–E-mailed back and forth about setting up a teen workshop at the local Teen Center next quarter.
–Met with artist Michaela Eaves to go over the art exhibit content and planning.
–E-mailed with local librarian contact about getting more copies of our “Redmond Reads Poetry” first quarter book choice.

So you see, nothing earth-shattering, but lots of little things, planning, trying to get folks together in the name of the arts.  (And all while periodically going to the doctor, sucking on my inhaler, and manically gulping hot drinks with honey and soup! I am like a sickly superwoman!) Some weeks are harder – like, when I was asked by a local group to judge a limerick contest(don’t ask), or when I had to present a budget plan to city council.
So, is it important that a city devote a bit of their monetary resources to someone who cares about getting more poetry into schools, libraries, and the community? I think it is. But what do you think? What would you do if you were Poet Laureate of your city?

When is a Reading Worth Doing, Artist Collaborations, and Thanks to Rose Red Review

The question for poets when invited to read is often, “How do I know this reading is worth doing?”

You never know, and there are considerations in terms of costs, time, gas, energy, even our health, all the expenditures writers must make to do a reading. Recently, for instance, I drove an hour and a half to an obscure town with an audience of eight people, none of whom bought books or made any kind of enthusiastic response to the reading. So that felt like a huge waste of time and gas money (and of course, because I am a poet and not an automaton, came with those feelings of “why am I even a writer, no one likes my work, etc.” )

But last night’s reading at A Grape Choice with Northwest Bookfest, happily, was not that kind of reading. I have had a head cold all week, the kind that just keeps you in bed but keeps you from sleeping, if you know the type, and was actually thinking of calling the organizer and telling him I couldn’t go, but at the last minute decided to tough it out and do the reading. All the other readers were older men, slam poets mostly, and I was the only female (the other female reader did cancel. Maybe she had my head cold?) The venue was charming – a wine bar on the edge of the water in Kirkland – and it was packed. (I found out later the owner of the bar was a Kirkland Arts Council member.) The mayor of Kirkland showed up for the reading. I had a sore throat, there was no microphone, and the guys who read before me were definitely, let’s say, in a different vein that the kind of poetry I usually read. And several toddlers (at a bar?) near the reading area made a ton of noise the whole time I read, which is bad for me because I don’t have a big voice to begin with. But the audience was wonderful. Afterwards, women hugged me, whispered secrets in my ear, and cried. Men cheered. I sold a few books, which was nice. But even better was the feeling that – and maybe some of this was the wine – that people had actually connected with my work. Most of the folks there weren’t poets – in fact, the couple we shared our table with ended up being our down-the-street neighbors! Those are the times that readings feel worth doing. The moon was bright orange in the sky over the water as I left, happy, even more sore-throated, and exhausted, but happy I had pushed myself to go.

And I got the good news from Rose Red Review that they had nominated my poem “The Little Mermaid Loses Her Voice” for “Best of the Net” while I was at the reading. Thanks Rose Red Review! I really enjoyed the other nominated poems as well.

Today I spent the day with artist Michaela Eaves planning and collaborating for our October 6th Inaugural Reading/Art Exhibit. She’s doing an interactive art display on a screen during my reading that syncs up her art work to the different poems I’ll be reading, plus a conventional hanging of her work around the SecondStory Repertory theatre. We talked about introductions, wine, cupcakes, and other things that make readings great. I think it’s going to be a really good time. But I’ll admit I’m nervous about my first Redmond Poet Laureate reading! I hope it will be the fun kind of reading, not the other kind. Maybe the wine will help?

What do you think makes a reading work? What are the most important elements? And which are under a poet’s control, anyway? How do you know when to say yes to a reading? For me, it’s a combination of liking my fellow readers, liking the person that invited me, liking the venue – or, for me, and this is a risk – trying places I’ve never read before. Success at a poetry reading means more than book sales – it can mean finding a new poet’s work to love, making a new friend, or discovering a new venue you might ever have visited otherwise. But the simplest answer to “What makes a reading worthwhile” is “Did your work connect to a new reader? If so, then yes.”

San Juan Island Interlude, Aimee Mann and Poetry Wisdom, Northwest Bookfest Reading

Thanks to Seattle Met for calling out our very fun poetry reading  in Kirkland wine bar The Grape Choice (7 PM on Saturday September 22nd) that we’re doing for Northwest Bookfest as one of the Bookfest’s highlights! Readers will include David D. Horowitz, Greg Bee, R.R. Seitz, Jeannine Hall Gailey, and Jack McCarthy. Wine does make poetry better, they say.

Just got back from a weekend away from the television, the internet, and cell phone service in San Juan Island, communing with seals, porpoises and eagles (and even baby alpacas, camels, and black foxes.) This time, we happened to have nice weather all three days and even though I was slightly unable to hike thanks to the usual ankle issues we were, surprisingly, able to visit all the good stuff: American camp with its hares and foxes, English camp with slap-happy barking seals, the alpaca farm and lavender farm, watching sunset from Lime Kiln Point while schools of porpoises hopped around the horizon. The time away allowed me to finish the Seattle-based farce of wound-too-tight mommy-and-former-architect Bernadette, in “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” by Maria Semple. Though, in my opinion, the book got a couple of things wrong about Microsoft, Seattle, etc…the main tenet, that artists who don’t create become menaces, could be true. I note that when I am forced into a world of less fulfilling practices (say, a lot of doctor appointments, long meetings, and spreadsheets/forms/taxes) I become, let’s say, more grouchy, less sunny-poetry-girl. Lately I have been thinking of ways to live, not to be too Oprah-esque, a more fulfilling, authentic life – how to enjoy life more, spend more time with people who improve our hearts/minds/etc, and, in the poetry world, less time worrying and doing unproductive, stress-inducing stuff. You know, more baby alpacas and beach combing, less traffic, bureaucracy, and BS.

 To segue, I read an interesting interview today with one of my musical heroines, Aimee Mann, who is releasing a new album called Charmers. The interview (click here to read) focuses on something many poets will understand, “The perils of publishing something no one wants to buy.” When we go to unpaid readings with a blank audience where no one buys a book…or a treasured book project gets sunk by unforeseen circumstances, or you bring out a book and no one notices…it can feel like a futile mission, being a poet. My favorite quote from the interview is Aimee’s response to why release an album: “It’s probably as simple as, “Well, this is what I do, so I should just do it.” You have to take a leap of faith.” Not only does a fulfilled life as an artist involve continuing to create, it involves continuously telling ourselves that our work is worth doing in a world that tells us it isn’t.
No one will ever force you to write a poem, paint a picture, or try to live a better, happier life. Guilt, strife, anger and sadness abound, and believe me, there will always be someone asking for your time, money, and energy. You are the one who has to take steps to be saner, more joyous, to appreciate the things around you and embrace the creator inside you, not the destroyer.

Reading in Arlington, and more coming!

If you live anywhere near: Bellingham, Arlington, Skagit Valley…I’ll be up your way tomorrow for a reading with Lana Ayers at the FogDog Gallery in Arlington, WA at 7 PM. I like reading at art galleries, so it should be fun!

Thinking about all the readings coming up in the next month (as you can see on my blog reading list at left, they are proliferating – and I haven’t even got them listed on my “event page” yet!) It’s one of those poetry things, readings – you don’t really have any control over how they’re going to go, how many people show up, if you sell any books – you just have to show up and do the best you can, and hope the people who booked you do some publicity (and of course, we can do some of our own publicity, such as it is, too, as discussed in the last post.) For me the challenge is also to stay as healthy, mobile (stupid re-spraining ankles) and as calm as possible (for the immune-system-stuff.)  Wish me luck!

Poets and PR – Do we need it? What Do We Need?

You don’t see those words together very often, do you? I’ve noticed the last few years have been tough for books, book publishers, and most of all, for poetry book publishers. Universities are cutting back and closing their presses; small presses that were just making it before now…aren’t. Even established presses are publishing fewer books, taking fewer risks, and as a result, poets are left out in the cold.

1. Have a web site where people have a clear way to find out about them and their book and a link to buy the book
2. Get onto Facebook and Twitter (yes, I know it’s killing your soul, wah wahh, do it anyway,)  and post about your book release, your readings, etc. Other sites to join might be Goodreads, SheWrites (women only, obviously) and RedRoom.
3. Send out (additional, if you’re lucky enough to have a press that sends out review copies) review copies either to friendly reviewers or to journals that have recently published your work (They’re much more likely to run a review of your book – you already know they like your poetry!)
4. Get in touch with media and let them know about your book. If you have friends at radio shows, newspapers, or magazines, do get ahold of them and send them a book.
5. Join your community. Attend readings by other poets, bookfairs, local writing conferences. Go and hang out in local bookstores and get to know the owners. Make friends for the sake of actually making friends. Word of mouth is a great way to sell books.

• Collin Kelly mentioned using a mail blast program called “MailChimp” which I’m going to look into, for updates and newsletters.
• YouDoPR, my partner in crime in tonight’s twitter chat on PR and Poetry, is offering a “buy one month of premium membership, get one free” temporary promotion: http://ow.ly/dA8S5 They offer help setting up a press release, giving you media lists, netgalley access, and other fun stuff you may not already know about!
• If you want info on how to get reviewed, check out my old post on “how to get reviewed.”

Redmond Reporter article and Tiny Bunnies

After last week, I needed a little good news, and yesterday, the local paper did a story on the local Poet Laureate of Redmond:
http://www.redmond-reporter.com/news/168839026.html
Thanks Redmond Reporter!
And, She Returns to the Floating World had a very nice new review on Amazon that was more thorough than some of my “official” reviews! Thanks, anonymous reviewer! And remember kids, that book is going out of print in December when Kitsune Books closes, so buy your holiday copies now!

The hummingbirds are hummering around outside my window after yet another beautiful sunny day, while I am recuperating from last week’s excitement. And, to cheer you all up, here’s a picture of a local tiny bunny (we’ve been watching it since it was the size of a peanut, so we call it ‘nanobun’ or ‘peanut’) for absolutely no reason!

Fall Creeping In

I confess that since my last blog post, I’ve had two trips to the hospital – one for a pretty bad concussion and the other for a particularly nasty (food poisoning? stomach flu? evil demon?) that left me dehydrated and unable to go outside for the last two days and enjoy the spectacular beautiful weather we’ve been having. The ER doc said, “Well, your white blood cell count is 21,000, so you’re probably fighting something.” Indeed. So I haven’t been deliberately neglecting you, my e-mail, etc…it’s just that I’ve been elsewhere. Mostly, getting catscanned, IVd, etc.

It’s a good thing I bought the Hunger Games soundtrack right before these two events, because there are lyrics (from “The Civil Wars” “Kingdom Come”) that go “Don’t you fret my dear/ it’ll all be over soon” that were replaying in my head. The Hunger Games soundtrack has a beautiful Appalachian sound that reminds me of the music I used to hear growing up in Tennessee.

But, let’s hear some news about other folks, shall we?

• Kathleen Flenniken is featured in Seattle Magazine here!
• Would your book group like me to visit? What about another Northwest Poet? Check out info on “A Poet at Your Table!” at Susan Rich’s blog…
• Ever wonder about “poetry marketing advice?” This is pretty solid…

The school year is starting, the days are getting shorter. Literary magazines have re-opened to submissions. Regarding the sad book news I posted last week,  well, continue to wish me luck. May have some leads about keeping “She Returns” alive as an e-book, and am still looking for a home for “Unexplained Fevers.” I’m hoping for a luckier… and healthier… month in September…

YouDoPR Twitter Interview for Poetic PR, and Deborah Scott’s painting of a Robot Scientist’s Daughter

Have you always been curious about PR and Poetry? How does that work, anyway? I’m having a twitter conversation with the folks at YouDoPR and you! Bring questions, helpful suggestions, etc!

And, don’t worry, I’m not leaving my “career” as poet for artist’s model – yet! But Deborah Scott did a wonderful portrait called “The Robot Scientist’s Daughter” for the magazine Poets and Artists, which you can find (along with her wonderful write-up of why and how she did the piece) on page 37. The whole issue is pretty freakin’ fun to read. I’m only sad I didn’t get to put up an Ode to Deborah. She definitely deserves it. But what a great idea – artists and writers doing portraits of each other. Pretty cool! Thanks Deborah for doing the painting (in which I wobbled around on a sprained ankle, which makes for limited posing, so she definitely had her work cut out for her!)
http://poetsandartists.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/septemberlowres2012.pdf

Two Poems in The Pedestal Magazine, Plus Thanks and Plans for this Fall

First of all, thanks to all of you who wrote to me and commented on the last post. It really helps.

Second, if you’d like to read (and hear me read) two speculative poems, “The Robot Scientist’s Daughter [Apocalypse]” and “Introduction to Mutagensis” go on over to The Pedestal Magazine’s new issue here. The whole issue is wonderful. Thanks to John Amen and his editors for such good work! The celebration of speculative poetry continues. Well, except in representation at the AWP 2013 panels. Hopefully, AWP people, you will have at least one speculative poetry panel at our 2014 Seattle conference – I mean, you will be in geek territory, after all! Let’s all propose a panel on it!

Yesterday I was strolling – well, limping, with my sprained ankle that’s probably a more accurate representation of my movement – through one of the local public gardens, and there, next to a splendid set of bright dahlias, was an apple tree with fall apples all over the grass. They smelled delicious. But like fall. The air – the blue sky, the crisp sixties-temps – called for September. Usually August stays summery here, but already August is slipping away….Watermelons will disappear, replaced by delicata squash and cranberries.

My plans for fall events for the Poet Laureate program have started going into action. I have to write a PR release for the first event, the Inaugural reading (with art exhibit by Michaela Eaves) on October 6th. Set up the Redmond Library Events for “Redmond Reads Poetry” – a program to have the whole community read the same poetry book, this quarter, Kathleen Flenniken’s Plume.
I also have to start sending out poetry packets again, since it is that time of year. Have to straighten out the situation with my second book, third book, and fourth manuscript. Write some reviews. (And, of course, reading. Really enjoying “The 6.5 Habits of Moderately Successful Poets” by Jeffrey Skinner and Lesley Wheeler’s book from local sci-fi feminist press, Aqueduct Press, “The Receptionist and Other Tales,” which is almost like a collection of short stories in verse, if that makes sense.) What are your fall plans?