Fevery and nauseous today. After a jaunt over the water Saturday to see my dear island-bound friends (45 minute drive, 30 minute ferry ride, 20 minute drive) and back, through lashings of cold wet wind and driving rain, I started feeling – not surprisingly – achy and chilled. But it didn’t go away and I spent all yesterday in bed with nothing but crackers and ginger ale. Still not better, which makes me sad, because I really wanted to go see Rebecca Loudon do her reading tonight at Hugo House. She is one of my favorite local poets, and I haven’t seen her read in ages. Blah! Fie on this frail immune system of mine!
But aside from that, I am feeling very blessed. For one, the aforementioned island poet friends – a lovely group that has stuck by one another for several years, and continues to rah-rah one another on every success. For another, Kelli A. showed me her copy of 32 Poems (Now in Perfect Bound!) on the back of which Deb Ager kindly printed a cute little ad for my book, Becoming the Villainess. And Eduardo also gave a little shout-out for my book on his blog this weekend, which I was very cheered by even in my current nauseous state! Thanks E! These little things really add up, especially when I haven’t written a line of poetry in a couple of weeks, much less sent anything out, and I start feeling like I’m not really a writer, etc. The kindness of others can not be overvalued.
Now I’m going to go crawl back into bed.

OK, first of all, remember to vote! I did a mail-in vote, which doesn’t feel quite as satisfying as punching holes or whatever.

Back to the working world…
Just interviewed for – and I think accepted – a part-time job working with Expedia. It will be nice to have a steady paycheck again. I’ve been freelancing since I started school, but nothing steady, nothing that guarantees money in the bank. So this will be a good change, I think. Orientation on Friday! This is good, because not only is Christmas coming, but my student loans will start being due in January after graduation…and there’s this book publishing enterprise I want to start…

A call for poems…Though I have abdicated my role as editor of Silk Road recently, my good friend Lisa Galloway is still plugging away there, and is in desperate need of good poems of place! She’s requested that you send your poems to her at lisagalloway at gmail dot com. It’s a beautiful journal, so what are you waiting for?

I have been pleasantly surprised recently by reading material in new issues of the Writer’s Chronicle (put out by AWP) and American Poetry Review. In APR, a fascinating essay on the friendship of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, which had a wonderful gossipy tone that sounded genuine and invested, not creepy. In The Writer’s Chronicle, a long interview with multiple poet/editors, including the editors at Sarabande, Tupelo, Rain Taxi, and others. Other articles of interest in there too, like one on creative research.

Got to see some poet friends this weekend in the middle of a flood, a windstorm, and heavy rain. You know those times when good things happen to people you care about – a lot of them, all at once? That’s going on with me now. I think I must be good luck! Apocolyptic weather today again. Read and loved Names Above Houses by Oliver de la Paz – especially the prose poems telling of a young boy’s discovery of wings.

(Updated: As a reward for those of you who voted, or a punishment to those of you who did not, depending on your feelings about kittens:
Trick…or Treat?)

Hey, you say, when will Jeannine stop posting kitten pictures and start talking about poetry again? Well, today’s that day!
I got to hang out with Jennifer Thorton on a somewhat otherwise miserable rainy day, and we went to see a really fun reading by Rigoberto Gonzalez, Rick Barot, and Oliver de la Paz (my faves were a group of sonnets by Rigoberto titled “What the Dead Teach Us,” Rick’s poem “Magnolia” and Oliver’s persona poems from his book, “Names Above Houses.”) And I saw Dr. Peter there! I’m looking forward to reading Oliver’s book.
I’ve been loving The Daily Show’s Ohio episodes this week, as a former resident of the state. Tune in for skewering of “wholesome” flyover country, replete with Bob Evans references.
I’ve been trying to write a “finale” poem for the new book, sort of a breakup for the husband/wife characters, and everything I write sounds too much like Louise Gluck. I mean, I love her work, she does write some good breakup poems, but I don’t want to be all derivitive and whatnot. Sigh.
Voting coming up soon. Remember: Try to vote for the least stupid, or the least evil. Also, read those many poorly-written initiatives closely. This is where all those high-school mandated Government classes pay off!

Meanwhile, in a total rip-off of The Onion…

Kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day.

In real news, I’m looking forward to hearing a great reading at UW this Thursday with Oliver de la Paz, Rigoberto Gonzalez, and Rick Barot.

Hope you had a great holiday, complete with lots of pumpkins, black cats, and candy!

I’ve been sickly (this darn sinus infection is killing me!) but somewhat productive this week:
–part-time jobs applied for: three (one teaching, one technical, one travel writing)
–grant applications: one
–festival applications: one
–poems written: one
–acceptances (thank you, Columbia Poetry Review): one
–pounds of junk mail thrown out: six hundred
–chapbooks received in mail (Slice of Cherry Pie): one. By the way, Ivy, Shanna, and all involved: A kick-ass piece of work. I loved every poem, I devoured the whole thing at once, I want everyone to read this, whether or not they are Twin Peaks Fans. PS You should be selling this at the Snoqualamie Lodge too! (where they shot some of Twin Peaks.) One of my favorites is the prose poem by Jared Leising. Love love love!
–horrible MLA-formatted two-year bibliographies finished: one
–kitten-related injuries: three
–kitten pictures taken: too many (and here’s another, this time in demon kitten mode chewing on Glenn)

I know I’m very far behind in my review work (I have several books including Laurel Snyder and Kate Greenstreet’s stacked in my “to review” pile. Patience! On 11/20, my thesis will be done, and I will have time again.

If it’s Monday, you must be in Seattle…

Back from picturesque Bellingham (I forgot my camera, but everything was like the perfect autumn small town – from snowy Mt. Baker, the turning maples, the dense fog over the water at night.) Had great fun reading with Martha at Village Books, and got to meet some great folks – including fellow blogging-poet Oliver de la Paz. Definitely have to go back to Bellingham on a purely recreational trip sometime soon.

Finally recovering from month-long chest and head thing – travel does, apparently, take a toll on the health front – and looking forward to some rest to work on my thesis, bibliography, etc (all due 11/20.)

And, picked up an unexpected extra on this reading trip – we passed pumpkin farms, sweet corn stands, pick your own apple farms…but couldn’t resist a woman with kittens. We’re now the proud owners of a little semi-Ragdoll-esque little male kitten named Shakespeare. He kept us up all night biting out hands, meowing loudly, and terrorizing our nice blonde adult female cat, Bastett. Here’s a pic – where he’s all tired out from shenanigans….

And, on the poetry front, a new review up on Fickle Muses, a new journal of myth and poetry, of Becoming the Villainess: here it is at…http://www.ficklemuses.com/nonfiction/becomingthevillainess.html

Even More Exciting Things Going On!

I know ya’ll are sick of me talking about all this stuff I’m doing this month. Well, it’s almost over…give me a few more days…

Wednesday, Octboer 18 – My former professor (and Wesleyan author) Don Bogen will be reading at Open Books at 7:30. Be there or square or something!

Thursday, October 19 – My good friends Kathleen Flenniken and Susan Rich are reading from their respective new books at Soul Food Books in Redmond. Again, be there, be square, etc.

Saturday, October 21 – I’m reading with fellow Steel Toe author Martha Silano at Village Books in Bellingham at 7:30 PM. If you live near Bellingham, come say hi! It’s my first time in town and I’m dying to know all about it.

And apres ca: a month of rest. Except for school and work. But no poetry readings. Til November 19.

Ooh, and Jessa from Bookslut has confirmed that I’m reading with them in Chicago in April. I’m excited!

Reading report from Portland…

Really nice crowd at Portland State (free wine, cheese, fruit, cookies…man, these Portland poets really know how to feed an audience – we should have this stuff at readings in Seattle!) Although I believe the mike was possessed – it had a super-pop-thing going and it actually attacked Laurel physically while she was reading. She did a great job with her very affecting work from Daphne and Jim and it was really fun to read with her. I was very happy to see some friends who teach at PSU and some of my fellow Pacific students. So, a fun trip, if somewhat too short – because we had to come in late and leave early the next day. Hope to see you again soon, Portland 🙂

Checking my DVR, two shows that were pretty hilarious – The Colbert Report featured a light-sabre fight between Colbert and George Lucas on one night, and he appeared (and got kissed) by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda in a very funny sketch on the other. King of the geeks, baby!

In other news, my review of Lesle Lewis’s second book, Landscapes I & II, is up at Three Candles, and I got a slammin’ contributor’s copy of the print version of Wicked Alice.

In still other news, I am very, very tired. I love doing poetry readings, but at the end of the night, I’m always ready to hibernate for a couple of days. Is this part of some strange half-introvert-extrovert personality flaw? Also, it is officially autumn – the leaves are turning (at least, here, on the sparse deciduous trees), the pumpkins are out, and all the volcanoes I saw on the way home (Mt. Hood,. Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier) were shiny in the clear October sunshine. Are volcanoes seasonal?

The tour goes on…

Back in Seattle long enough to catch my breath, throw all my clothes in the laundry, (catch up on a little blog reading and television – Heroes – X-Files meets X-Men?) and indulge in some of my husband’s great cooking (yesterday, grilled salmon and beet and orange salad, mmm) before we pack up tonight and race off to the next reading on Wednesday night in Portland, Oregon.
I’m looking forward to seeing Portland State University for the first time and seeing some Portland friends, as well as meeting Laurel Snyder…Thanks to Burnside Review and Portland State for making this happen! Here’s the listing from Burnside Review’s web site:

“We’re excited to announce that Burnside Review in conjunction with PSU’s Literary Arts Alliance will be bringing 2005 Chapbook Contest winner Laurel Snyder to Portland October 11th. She will be reading from her winning manuscript, Daphne and Jim. Jeannine Hall Gailey will also read from her new book Becoming the Villainess. The reading will take place at 7:30 on the PSU campus, Smith Center, Cascade Room 238. Admission is free.”

So, be there, if you can…I think it’ll be a lot of fun.

Post from the road:
Survived the readings in Kentucky and Ohio with no major incidents, I’m happy to report. I loved being a guest-teacher in publisher Tom Hunley’s WKU classes in contemporary poetry – the students were so articulate and interesting I would have loved just staying there chatting with them. The crowd at WKU was surprisingly big and enthusiastic – the faculty there were very welcoming – it was just an ideal trip. Tom and his wife Relaina hosted a party afterwards for me and the students and faculty – Relaina even made cookies decorated with red icing versions of my book cover and the blurbs (Michaela you would have been impressed)
Going back to University of Cincinnati was really disconcerting – the campus has been really improved since I was there – but my professors all looked younger than I remembered. How does that work? My college roommate – who I hadn’t seen in years – came to the reading, which was really cool, and I enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting some of the new graduate students there.
Today my parents are having a book party for me so I’ll get to hang out with old friends and some new folks as well. Then tomorrow flying back to Seattle…and back to my normal life…