50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books and Paintings, Poems in American Poetry Review, Feature at DMQ Review’s Virtual Salon, A Visit to the Tulip Festival, a Parental Visit – It’s Been a Week!

Me with Flare, Corona on my 50th Birthday

50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books, and Paintings

Yesterday was my 50th birthday, and wow, I was so excited to be celebrating with friends of 20 years from all over (including across the water!) and my family (including my parents who flew out from Ohio to be here. We had the celebration at J. Bookwalter’s Winery in Woodinville, there were wines and cupcakes and a poetry reading (I mean, should all birthday parties have poetry?) and Glenn did a toast and Kelli read an old poem I wrote that made me cry and I read poems from Flare, Corona. People brought beautiful flowers, my whole book club was there, and we stayed way past closing time celebrating. Having MS means today I’ll pretty much just rest but it was so worth it – we threw open the doors and windows at the winery and it (almost) felt like the last three pandemic years of isolation were over. Someone (John Campos, who is also J. Bookwalter’s Woodinville manager) gave me a beautiful painting rendition of my book cover (I love to be friends with artists!) and I just felt so much love and support. I didn’t get a ton of pics (even Glenn was too busy to take pics) but here are a few including my family pre-party, the editors of Two Sylvias Press, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy, and my friend poet Ronda who just had her own book come out, Chaos Theory for Beginners.

Family photo – my little brother Mike, my mom, me with Flare, Corona, my sister-in-law Loree, and my father

Literary Birthday News: Two Poems in American Poetry Review and a feature on DMQ Review’s May Virtual Salon

Wow, I am really feeling the literary love on this birthday – I just got the new issue (May/June) of American Poetry Review with two of my poems in it, “Disintegration” and “In the Second Year of the Plague, I Plant a Fig Tree.” Snag the whole issue, but sneak peek of my two poems below.

from American Poetry Review’s new issue

And, DMQ Review invited me (perfect timing!) to do a virtual Salon for May, which means you can see me reading a few poems from Flare, Corona here at their site. Cool birthday present!

Glenn and I in purple tulip field, blue sky

Tulip Festival and Parental Visit

This is already a long post and I am busted from the week’s festivities, but I wanted to post a few pictures from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (exhausting but exhilarating to be around so many flowers) and my parents’ visit to Woodinville. We had some sunny weather – as you can see – after a mostly miserable, cold, rainy, April, so all the pictures in sunlight we all look pretty happy (or squinty?) Cherry blossoms, lilacs, apple trees, tulips – Pacific Northwest Spring at its best.

I hadn’t seen my parents in six years – and definitely hadn’t been in the same room with so much family in at least that long, Dad’s health issues keep him from traveling much (at all during the pandemic) so I was really grateful to have this time with them. We played guitar, visited wineries, walked around trees…it was wonderful. Okay, exhausted from a wonderful April – birthdays, poetry, flowers, cupcakes, and wine.

What a Week! Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s Best Poetry of the Year List, A New Poem in Sixth Finch, Reports from a Redmond Reading and Speculative Lecture for Writer’s Digest, Upcoming 50th Birthday Party

Daffodils on my porch

What a Week! From the Hospital to Poetry Readings to Making the List and More!

Well, this was a heck of a week. Besides miserable cold weather all week, it started out with Monday spent in the hospital (blood work, MRI, fluids) and ended with three straight days of cortisol-packed poetry action – a reading on Thursday (plus some good news for my new book,) picking up my parents from the airport on Friday, and a lecture for a Writer’s Digest virtual conference Saturday afternoon. One of my favorite poems just went up at Sixth Finch today. And now, I will collapse! Just kidding. But I may spend the day in bed reading!

Screen shot of Ms. Magazine’s Best Poetry of the Last Year title

Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s best Poetry of the Last Year!

Screen shot of Flare, Corona on the list

Wow, what a surprise to come home from Thursday night’s rainstorm reading to see this! Ms. Magazine had a list of the best poetry books of the last year, and Flare, Corona was on it! Check out the list here! I am so grateful to Ms. Magazine and Karla J. Strand for choosing my book and putting it in such great company. A couple of BOA authors (including Jessica Stark!) on the list too, yay.

It’s a first for me to get this kind of “major media” attention, so I’m extra grateful. I do not take anything like this for granted. I hope the list is a fun read – I know I’m going to grab a couple of books on the list I hadn’t heard of.

A New Poem in Sixth Finch

So proud to have a new poem in the terrific new issue of Sixth Finch, “Cassandra Considers a New Job in a Plague Year.” It’s a little bit autobiographical. Cassandra of myth, of course, was cursed with the ability to see the future but have no one believe her.

There’s a sneek peek below but read the whole issue – and check out the art as well.

Kelli and I at Soul Food Coffee House reading

Reports from a Redmond Reading with Kelli Russell Agodon and a Speculative Poetry Presentation at Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Conference

Thursday night was Kelli Russell Agodon and my reading at Soul Food Coffee House, a series that’s been going on in Redmond for a shocking 17 years! (I was one of the first readers 17 years ago!) It was a squalling rainstorm outside. Kelli and I had dinner together beforehand, Kelli got a chance to cuddle with kitten Charlotte, we got to catch up, and then it was off to the reading. This was one of my first in-person readings in a long time, besides being a chance to try out poems from Flare, Corona, which I haven’t read from except really briefly at AWP. The open mike part ran long, so we had to book it to get Kelli to her ferry on time in the pouring rain. It was really good to do the thing called “human contact” again, despite my continued nervousness about covid. And Kelli and I always have a good time hanging out.

The next day my parents flew in from Ohio, so Glenn and I drove out to the airport to get them, then took them to the ferry to they could visit with my little brother and his wife who live over the water for a few days. It was really good to see them in person – it had been six years! And then woke up early Saturday to prep for my Speculative Poetry lecture for Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Writing Conference. I am still learning how to do a PowerPoint on a shared screen during Zoom, but it went really well, a pretty full class, and lots of good questions afterwards.

After Saturday’s lecture, though, my MS brain and body decided it had had enough stress – even though it was mostly good stress, minus the hospital trip – so I crashed early with HGTV on in the background and slept through a whole six hours – a bit of an accomplishment for a poor sleeper like myself. This morning I had breakfast in bed and I’m catching up on reading.

Woodinville 50th Birthday Party Plus New Poetry Book Celebration

And guess what? The parents will come to our house in a few days, and then we’ll have our Woodinville Birthday Party/Book Launch at J. Bookwalter’s Winery with cupcakes, a little poetry reading, and a LOT of wine and celebrating on April 30. I’m turning 50 and having my book come out the same week, just a few days after a solar eclipse, which seems appropriate given the book’s cover. Kelli will also be a guest reader and family and friends are welcome, so if you want to come celebrate with us, here’s the info in a graphic Glenn made. Wine, poetry, and cupcakes! What could be better than that?

A New Interview with Interstellar Flight Press, Taking Advantage of Sunshine and Cherry Trees, a Redmond Reading on Thursday, Parents Flying In, and a Writer’s Digest Conference Presentation on Saturday!

White Camellia, Seattle Japanese Garden

A New Interview with Interstellar Flight Press with T.D. Walker

Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and T.D. Walker for doing this thoughtful interview, “Covid, Science Fiction, and the Poetry of Survival” about my new book, Flare, Corona. It’s always nice to interview with someone who asks such interesting questions. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s remained dreary and cold here in the Northwest, but we had one day of chilly sunshine, so Glenn and I dressed warm and went out to visit the Seattle Japanese Garden (still very early on the blooms there—camellias, rhododendrons, not even their cherries yet) and visited the famous cherry trees in the University of Washington quad.

Here are a few pictures from the visit to the Seattle Japanese Garden (the camellia shot too)…

Squirrel with cherry tree

Taking Advantage of Sunshine and Cherry Trees

We’re on track to have another record cold month, this time an April without reaching 60 degrees. Meanwhile, the East Coast was at 90 degrees. Sigh, could we have a little dry warmth without overdosing on it?

But the cherry trees at UW were bustling with students, tourists, and us on the one sunny weekday this week, and I’m glad we got to see them—it’s important to take breaks to appreciate nature, especially when your schedule looks like mine does this month. Enjoy these pictures from UW’s cherry tree quad!

Red-winged blackbird

Redmond Reading This Thursday at Soul Food Books with Kelli Russell Agodon

Very excited to be reading with my good friend Kelli Russell Agodon this Thursday at 6 PM at the Soul Food Poetry Night at the Soul Food Coffee House in Redmond, WA. A great chance to see some of my Eastside friends, and I’ll be reading all new poems from my new book, so it should be fun! If you can, come out, get some coffee, chill out and listen to Kelli and I read some poems!

Charlotte in a mixing bowl

Crazy Schedules: Poetry Reading Thursday, Parents Arriving from Ohio Friday, and Saturday Giving a Virtual Talk at the Writer’s Digest Conference on Speculative Poetry!

Remember I talked a couple of posts ago about crazy schedules this month and next month? Well, this week has it all: family coming in for visits, the second ever reading for Flare, Corona, and then a virtual talk on Speculative Poetry. Yes, I definitely have the energy for it (I hope) after two weeks of fighting off a non-covid sinus infection and trying to get my garden into shape. I am looking forward to reading with Kelli at Soul Food Books, as it’s pretty low-key with a friendly audience and it’s always more entertaining to read with friends.

My parents are coming for their first visit in six years, so my little brother and I have been cleaning our houses and planning fun outings while they’re here. It’s also my 50th birthday on April 30th, so they’ll be here for that, which should be fun.

My webinar is at the Virtual Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Writing Conference, where you can get a day-long pass to hear from the four featured speakers, including me. Here’s a little bit more about my session:

Supervillains, Witches, Monsters, and Particle Physics: Writing Speculative Poetry and Finding an Audience for It

by Jeannine Hall Gailey

In this session, Jeannine will cover a definition of speculative poetry and a short history of it, give some examples from recent writers, talk about where to publish it, and even include a speculative poetry exercise.

I have been trying to also write poems and submit this National Poetry Month, but as you can see, it’s been mostly readings and writer’s group visits and planning and promotion and scheduling doctor and dentists in between events. Oh well! It’s my first book in six years, so I need to give it my attention and energy for a little while. In PR for Poets, I talk about the dangers of burning out on doing promotional stuff, but right now it’s all still mostly the fun stuff and a lot of it feels new, because things have changed since the last time I had a book out. New publisher, new social media things, a different climate for books, plus coming out of three plague years makes everything seems more anxiety-provoking (hoping me and my parents stay well for their visit!)

So, if you’re looking for inspiration on speculative poetry or live on the Eastside of Seattle and want to enjoy some in-person poetry, I hope you visit one of these events. But check out the side of my page—there are a lot more events coming up, both virtual and in-person.

Happy Easter and Passover, An Avalanche of Poetry Events in April, Spring Sylvia and Katie Farris’ New Book, Cherry Blossom Fest

Easter bunny statues in Woodinville

Happy Easter and Passover! And an Avalanche of Poetry Events in April!

Happy Easter and Passover to those who celebrate. I always loved Easter as a kid, mainly because our family celebrated by watching “Jesus Christ Superstar” and we got chocolate bunnies. It’s also a time of rebirth, of celebrating spring, of renewal – even in the cold rain today, you can feel the flowers and the green leaves happening.

What happened to April? It started with a few early book launch events (the book is officially out May 8th,) nothing crazy, and then I started getting e-mails and now every week is packed with classes, lectures, and readings, culminating in a reading at J. Bookwalter’s Winery on my 50th birthday on the last day of poetry month! Take a look at the events of the right side of the screen and come to some of the in-person or virtual readings and get a copy of Flare, Corona.

I guess this is no surprise, since this is National Poetry Month and all! And I’m actually looking forward to being a little bit busy after a few years of the only “busy times” were dental work and blood draws. And being in person with people is such a great experience as a writer – it takes you out of the isolation of writing, editing, submitting and into a community of writers, readers, that it’s not just you and your words, that you and the words are out in the world.

White cherry blossoms, blue sky

Cherry Blossom Fest

Even though it’s been mostly cold and gray, I made an effort to get out in the few hours of sunshine we had this week and snap pics of the cherry trees (and magnolias) as they take their time coming into bloom – first one species, then another. And I haven’t even been up to the tulip festival yet. And this middle pic is me, getting my hair cut and enjoying a brief but chilly stint in the light.

We actually have a real festival going on this weekend called SakuraCon, which means “cherry blossom” con, but it’s mostly anime-focused. I’ve actually presented there before, but not this year.

Sylvia the kitten floofing over the title of Katie Farris’ new book

Literary Kittens and Katie Farris’ Standing in the Forest of Being Alive

I mentioned reading Katie Farris’ moving and funny account of being diagnosed and treated for early breast cancer in her thirties, Standing in the Forest of Being Alive, from Alice James Books. I’ve always enjoyed Katie’s writing, but this book is really something special. Literary kitten Sylvia did a photo shoot with the book, and the outtake in on the left of paragraph, and the “real” shot is below. I think one of the things I love about the poetry community is how supportive we can be (not always are, but can be) towards each other. I love shouting out other poets’ terrific work, and the cats love to pose with poetry books (they like the attention, and they get treats after.)

Sylvia with Katie Farris’ Standing in the Forest of Being Alive

Celebrate! I hope you all have lots to celebrate too this poetry month. I’m looking forward to seeing friends, and family (my parents are – crossing fingers – going to be out for my birthday reading,) and I’m trying to ignore the anxiety of doing readings in public again and focus on the good stuff. Soon the temperatures will hopefully be back to normal, say, above 50, and we’ll get at least a little sun to balance all the cold gray rain, although it doesn’t really get sunny here much before July. Be sure to post a poetry book review, or just post a poem you love on Twitter or Instagram or whatever. Give poets some love – we mostly work really hard alone in the dark. It’s nice to know when someone actually hears us. Happy week!

Happy Poetry Month! My Review of Dana Levin’s Newest Book Up at Poetry Northwest, My Reading Schedule for Flare, Corona, Spring Breaks Into Blossom, and Dental/Doctor Drama And Anxiety Before a Book Launch, and Reading Notes

Ravens and Cherry Blossoms, Redmond

Spring Breaks into Blossom and My Review of Dana Levin’s Now Do You Know Where You Are Up at Poetry Northwest

Happy April and National Poetry Month! Despite the cold rain of most of this week, spring flowers are starting to appear around the city. I picked the first blooming daffodil from my garden this morning, and early cherry and plum trees are in bloom, despite hail and still colder-than-normal temps. I spent a lot of this week at doctor and dentist offices—too much, but I’m happy April is here.

I’m happy to share my review of Dana Levin’s terrific Now Do You Know Where You Are, “A Guide to Disorientation,” which is up at Poetry Northwest. Here’s a bit from the review:

In a clear struggle with displacement in a new city, with a new president, and a sense of foreboding, Levin’s speaker looks to various spiritual guides to inform and divine her life journey. This speaker, a slightly cynical spiritual messenger, makes a perfect companion for unsettling times.”

My Reading Schedule for Flare, Corona

Glenn and I with a weeping cherry tree

I just started looking at my schedule for the next couple of months and had a bit of an anxiety attack. Besides the events listed, I’ll be leading our book club on April 12, hosting my parents for their first visit since the pandemic (and all the associated cleaning and last-minute projects trying to get the house ready for visitors), and doing a virtual talk at a conference. And turning 50, hopefully with a few friends, some cupcakes, and generally celebratory spirit! It’s the busiest I’ve been since the pandemic, for sure. I usually take a trip up to Skagit this month to see the tulip festival, the snow geese, and to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of spring amid acres of flowers, but I’m not even sure when I’ll be able to squeeze that in this year.

Besides the anxiety, I am really looking forward to seeing a lot of friends I haven’t seen in a long while. Please do come out and say hi! So here’s the graphic the folks at BOA made me:

Dental/Doctor Drama and Anxiety Before a Book Launch

Early tulip magnolias

This week had its share of doctor and dental drama, including a dentist trip for a broken tooth that included a new crown, the removal of an old partial crown, and six fillings. It was a lot! In the doctoring department, three different specialists were working hard to help control purple hives that appeared (surprise!) all over my face and upper body for six days (more antihistamines? steroids? a biologic?). I also met with three (!) geneticists who are testing me for a rare life-limiting white matter disease (which doesn’t seem like a high probability and has no cure but my neurologist wants to rule out), decided I probably have triple X syndrome which is more common than I knew (1 in 1000 women have it) but since there’s no treatment for it as an adult—for children there is sometimes treatment for learning disabilities and behavioral disorders that can disrupt their schooling that can be associated with it—they won’t do that test, and again that I probably had the hypermobility type of Ehlers Danlos syndrome (not a fatal type) so there isn’t a good genetic test for it and again it might not change my medical treatment anyway. Nothing like spending hours answering questions about statistically how much of a mutant you really are to increase your disassociation with the self. Anyway, I think I should put a ban on any further doctor and dental work for the rest of the next two months, if possible, which sometimes is not possible (see mystery hives and broken tooth) just for my mental health. Do I want to deal with yet another diagnosis in the middle of a book launch? I do not.

Now, anxiety can make a lot of my symptoms worse, so I’m working to control my stress surrounding this book launch. Even though this is my sixth poetry book, this is my first book in a long time, the first book since the pandemic, and really the first book with a big virtual element—I can do bookstore visits (like the one where I’m in conversation with Peter Conners, BOA’s editor and publisher, in a New York bookstore, in the graphic above as “interview with Writers & Books”—it’s free and I recommend going, because how cool is it to actually get to see an author talking about their book with their publishers, right?) and classroom visits (please contact me if you want me to visit your college class or book club—I love doing stuff like that!) and where Instagram is more of a part of the bookworld (I’ll be doing an Instagram takeover of BOA’s feed in May, so wish me luck on that). I’m also doing the usual things—my first official Seattle reading is at Open Books, my favorite all-poetry bookstore, the first time reading at their new Pioneer Square location—and sending out book cards and an e-mail to alert friends and family to the new book (because you wouldn’t believe the number of friends at AWP who came up to me and said You’ve got a new book?? with surprise).

The background to the usual poetry and health worries is worry about a cold war with China, an actual proxy war with Russia, and the anxieties of a person with a jacked immune system and re-entry into the world that is still wrestling with a pandemic (am I still testing for covid every time I run a fever? The answer is yes).

Plum blossom closeup

Book and Reading Notes

The good news is one of the ways I deal with anxiety is burying myself in books—currently, I’m reading Sabrina Orah Mark’s fairy-tale essay book Happily, a strange meta-book about being an author in the midst of a Hollywood adaptation of her feminist mermaid book when mysterious murders start to occur called American Mermaid by Julia Langbein; Margaret Atwood’s latest book of short stories Old Babes in the Woods; and I finished Katie Farris’ raw, touching and funny poetry book about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic that just launched this month, In the Forest of Being Alive. For National Poetry Month, our book club at J. Bookwalter’s winery is discussing Rosebud Ben-Oni’s If This is the Age We End Discovery, which wraps Rosebud’s humor and intelligence around pop culture and particle physics—one of my favorite poetry books in a long time.

A Weird First Week of Spring – Starting with Bright Blue Skies and Blossoms and Ending with Snow and a Bobcat, A Video from my AWP Offsite Reading and Last Picture from AWP

Spring cherry blossoms, blue sky

A Weird First Week of Spring – Starting with Bright Blue Bkies and 60 Degree Weather, and Ending with Snow (and a Bobcat Visit!)

It’s been a weird week here is Seattle, with the first days of spring bringing bright blue skies, 60-degree weather and cherry blossoms, and ending with surprise snow and an equally surprising bobcat visit.

Today I have two videos for you—one of a bobcat walking by my back door, and one from my offsite reading at AWP with BOA at the Seattle Library. I’m not an expert at YouTube yet, so forgive me for any problems. I even (at my little brother’s urging) finally made myself a channel, so you can like and follow me there, and you’ll get a mix of readings plus bobcats. And silliness.

So a few pictures here of Glenn and I posing with various cherry trees, proving that the spring really did come to the Pacific Northwest this week, even if it didn’t feel very springy today or yesterday. Photo evidence!

And here’s the Ring video at 5 AM with snow and bobcat:

A Pic from BOA: Me with Jennifer Q. Stark (whose Buffalo Girls is debuting in April!)

Video and Pic from BOA’s Offsite Reading at Seattle Library with Jennifer Q. Stark

One thing I didn’t have evidence for from AWP in the last two posts was the offsite reading. But now I do! It really happened and everything! The team at BOA Editions sent me this pic they snapped at our AWP offsite reading at Seattle Library, and Glenn found the video on his phone he took of the reading. It’s four poems from Flare, Corona, with a rather unpracticed intro, probably not my finest reading—I was tired, so I had breathing difficulties, and the light was really low so it was hard to read the pages, but it was my very first reading for the book! Looking forward to having more practice, rest and better lighting at the next couple readings! Thanks for watching.

Here’s the link to the reading on YouTube, reading “This is the Darkest Timeline,” “Irradiate,” “Calamity,” “When I Thought I Was Dying It Was Easy.” You can get a signed copy of the book from the link above or pre-order from BOA Editions. I can’t believe the first couple of Flare, Corona book launch events are only a month away – and I found out I’ll be doing a talk at a Writer’s Digest event soon too (details to come!) I better get fully recovered form AWP in a hurry! Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered the book, ordered it from me, or bought it at AWP – I appreciate the support and hope you love the book!

Still Processing/Recovering from AWP (with Pictures), Spring Begins, Beginning to Read through my AWP stack, an In-Depth Review from Flare, Corona

First cherry blossoms

Spring (Finally) Appears, and Still Recovering/Processing AWP

Spring has finally decided to peep through the clouds, as today was the first day here over 60 and the first cherry blossoms, along with jonquils, camellias, and viburnum. Today I watched a bald eagle circle lazily overhead in my yard in a blue sky, and it felt like a reward for the crappy weather we’ve had the last few months.

Three days after AWP, I got a head injury that landed me in the hospital (concussions and MS do not play well together), so I am literally and figuratively still in recovery, but I was able to get out in the sunshine a bit today, plant a few flowers. I’ve been trading e-mails, got a few rejections and acceptances, but generally feel behind. I’m very lucky to not have caught anything (knock on wood), although I was very nervous about catching covid (or pneumonia or strep or something) at AWP. I am so happy I met so many new people and saw so many old friends. Connection is really important to me – even though it’s hard at three-day conferences with 9000 people to really make those real connections with people – but I do my best.

Charlotte with AWP swag pile

I’ve also started reading through my AWP stack of lit mags and books, although not as fast as I hoped (head injury really slowed down my reading, but I did use audio books). So far, I really enjoyed Dana Levin’s essay on divination and poetry in the latest issue of American Poetry Review, listened to Sabrina Orah Mark’s book of fairy-tale theme memoir/essays, Happily, and sent two submissions to journals that asked for them at AWP.

Below are a few pics other people took of me on the last day at AWP: on the publicity panel, with Kelli Russell Agodon at the close of the bookfair, and January O’Neil’s shot of me signing after my disability panel.  I’m still processing everything, but it’s been so nice to be in communication with people who enjoyed the panels or my books or just meeting at AWP. If I found AWP personally enriching, it was also literally enriching to the city: there was an article in Seattle Times about how AWP brought in a whopping 15 million dollars to Seattle, mostly to bookstores, hotels, and bars in the “creative economy:” How the AWP writers conference in Seattle generated an estimated $15M | The Seattle Times

Pink Camellias

An In-Depth Review of a Poem from Flare, Corona, and Planning for a “Book Tour” both IRL and Virtual

Flare, Corona isn’t officially out until May (although you can get it here and you could get it at AWP), but here is a sensitive, in-depth reading of one of the poems from the book by Brian Spears from his new Substack series, Another Poem to Love.

Feeling Like a Writer Again, and Part of a Community But Also, Overwhelmed: Conferences Are Tough and What I Learned – AWP Seattle 2023 Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Day 1: Ready for AWP (?)

Big AWP Post: Feeling Like a Writer Again, Community and What I Learned from Going to Seattle AWP

I’m home from AWP and recovering, eating breakfast, and uploading photos. So, was it worth it to try to go? I had been in a pretty tight pandemic bubble for the last three years, so it was certainly a change! 9000 people attended! I saw lots of friends, both local and cross country, but I don’t think I got to say hi to half the people I wanted to! I definitely overscheduled—which I usually don’t do, but I’ve never had all my panels accepted before, and then had a new book come out at exactly the same time as AWP in my own town, so figured I had to go for it.

There were risks involved, and the conference center was under construction which made wheelchair access to the building problematic—roads were closed off, wheelchair drop-off places were blocked by construction vans. Before the event I felt very insecure about my identity as a writer and being older and yes, I walk with a cane or wheelchair. But after the first day, I felt like I was part of a community, I felt like a writer again, and I felt much less insecure. People I didn’t know came up to me to tell me about different books and how they loved them. People were enthusiastic about the panels I was on. It felt wonderful connecting with friends.

First day at the bookfair, at Two Sylvias table, with Kelli and Annette (the editors and publishers)

Day 1: A Book Signing, The Bookfair, an Offsite Reading, and System Overload

The first day, Glenn had already registered for us and got our badges the day before and we’d checked into the hotel virtually, so getting to AWP was pretty seamless. We went directly to the bookfair to say hi to people before my book signing for Flare, Corona at the BOA Editions booth. It was great to run into people at the bookfair and meeting new people. I got to talk to the editor of APR, who I don’t think I’d met before, and lots of kind literary editors who had published my work over the years.

The book signing itself went well, but what was surprising was that people didn’t just buy Flare, Corona, they brought 16-year-old copies of my older books and told me how the different books has changed their lives. I was pretty surprised and moved.  The team at BOA was really wonderful and supportive, and Glenn had made swag for me—buttons and magnets. I had to rush to the offsite without eating, showering, or resting, and the reading went an hour overtime. There was a terrible inaccessible stage (riser?) and very low light, which made it challenging. It was my first time really reading from the new book, so it was good practice, and there were lots of people in the audience, but: challenging. I tried to hang out with a friend at the bar and it was so crowded and noisy, again challenging.

Things I Learned Day 1: Here were a couple of things I learned: you never know how people and where and when they will connect with your work. Moon City Press sold out of Field Guide to the End of the World, which came out in 2016! And people I ran int0—even pretty good friends—were surprised Flare, Corona was out and available at AWP, even though I felt like I had posted too many times about it on social media (Insta, Twitter, and Facebook) and of course here on the web site. So even if you feel like you’re oversharing, even people who like you and your work probably haven’t seen anything about it. I also sold about a dozen books out-of-hand at bars, the hotel lobby, and just walking place to place—I was lucky Glenn had thought to stash a couple of copies in our bag, so he had them to sell. AWP is a strange place to sell books, because you’re just as likely to sell them sitting at a crowded bar as doing your official readings. This was also my hardest day physically: all my MS symptoms acted up and I was dizzy, breathless, unsteady, and with tremors! Just the overload of noise, light, unexpected hugs (good, but new to me since I’d been bubbling for a while) I think overwhelmed my system. And that was with a lot of prep.

With writer/artist Killian Czuba at Open Books, my happy place

Day 2 at AWP: Meetup at Open Books, Spending Time with Friends Intentionally, and Missing Friends

I took a different approach on the second day: I set up specific friend dates, some of them away from AWP. I started out meeting with Killian Czuba at one of my Seattle happy places, Open Books, the poetry-only bookstore (and very accessible!). We caught up and shopped and then went to a Japanese tea house until they closed down. Then it was back to AWP to meet with speculative writer and friend Lesley Wheeler (we ditched the bar and visited in my hotel room! Racy!), where we were able to provide snacks and a quieter milieu. Then, I raced from there to a fancy dinner I was invited to because (I think) of the featured panelist thing, and luckily, I knew a couple of people there (I was afraid I wouldn’t know anyone and would stand awkwardly around introducing myself to intimidating people), but I couldn’t eat any of the food, food allergies LOL. They did deliver me a carefully wrapped slice of gluten-free bread, which was touching, but I think most of the food would have been deadly (i.e. full of wheat).

What I Learned Day 2: Scheduling intentional offsite time was a win. Wonderful and calming way to catch up with old friends, which is as important to me as selling books at AWP. However, being in individual sessions and no wondering around the bookfair meant lots of friends tried to find me and couldn’t. So next time, I might schedule booth time ahead of time at my other publishers like Two Sylvias or Moon City, so people who want to find you can find you. This was probably my best day physical symptom-wise, though—less noise and crowds, more specific one-on-one talking, and the dinner wasn’t too strenuous.

Funny pic Glenn took: at the close of the bookfair I sat down at a random empty table to sign books, and this was the sign on the table. LOL.

Day 3 at AWP: The Featured Panel Mutant, Monster, Misfit Myself and Back-to-Back Signing and Panel on Publicity and Saying Goodbye at the Bookfair

This is the day I remember the least, probably, as I had to get up early, race to the first panel—the big, featured panel with Sandra Beasley, Rosebud Ben-Oni, and myself, with Jenn Givhan and Paul Guest attending virtually. There were more people than I expected, and things went smoothly. Hearing the stories of the wonderful writers on the panel was so moving and funny and yes, that terrible word, inspiring. A lot of us were talking publicly about our various illnesses and disabilities for the first time, and I got a lot of positive feedback afterwards. Then I stopped briefly to sign books, wheelchaired (late) all the way across two floors and endless square feet to get to my back-to-back panel on publicity, which was really fun. Everyone on the panel was more “professional” than me—there was an indie publicist, a former Graywolf Publicist and Wave Books’ current publicist (who I would have liked to have had coffee with if I didn’t have to race off again) and the lovely moderator. There were a ton of people cramped into a smaller room (the first panel had plenty of seating in the big ballroom) and the audience was really engaged. It was lovely to hear publicly from the moderator and audience members who said PR for Poets had really helped them and they loved it. Once again, sold books unexpectedly at the end of the panel. The panels went smoothly (as in, I didn’t trip or fall or curse too much or pass out, pretty much all my fears). (Folks who paid to attend the AWP conference should be able to re-watch the stream of the big panel here!)

Then I headed to the bookstore to touch base with all of my publishers who were there, grab some books that were practically being given away, and sign more books and say hi to people I didn’t get to see the first two days. This was also pretty exhausting, but we stayed ’til they closed it down a 5pm. I was glad I did though, because I sold more books, saw more wonderful writer friends, and made plans with lots of people.

What I Learned from Day 3: Probably best not to have panels back-to-back across the conference center, but what I really learned was: I really value the people I was on the panel with and felt honored to spend time with them and wished I could have stayed longer to visit with everyone. Also, I wasn’t a total disaster in my first in-person public speaking engagements in a really long time. Talking about things like disability and publicity—admittedly sometimes difficult subjects—is tremendously important, and people want to talk about those things more. Good to know. So, yes, I learned I need to pace myself, use sunglasses if there are too many lights in your face to dampen down neuro-stress, spend time with people you love as much as possible, and be brave. A note about masks: it turns out, no one can hear me with my KN95 mask on, I overheated in it, and my asthma/MS breathing problems acted up with it. I did wear a mask most of the conference but took it off to do public speaking, close speaking with friends, and for pictures. I have not tested positive for covid yet, but I know it was a risk with that many people from that many places. It was the first time I had had a hard time wearing a mask (except maybe for hospital ER visits during the pandemic, when I was having MS symptoms). Recovering this morning, I am glad I went. I had a wonderful time connecting with people, I was very proud of my new book, and I felt less insecure about my looks, age, disability, and calling myself a writer. It really is the community that is important. A friend of mine said “This is our church,” and I knew exactly what she meant. Signing-off now to go back to sleep! Time change messes up our sleep patterns, which were tough anyway. I hope this post was helpful to you and you felt like you were there yourself. Sending love and light out to you my readers!

Countdown to AWP! Six Tips for Surviving AWP Seattle! Also, Flare, Corona’s World Tour Begins, Surprise Snow, Bird Visitors, and a Visit with my Brother

Kitten Charlotte in her first snow

Surprise Snow and a Countdown to AWP Seattle

Yes, winter has decided to push spring aside a little longer, so we are having snow yet again for the next four days. Here is kitten Charlotte in her first snow. But mostly, I just want spring to be here—warmer weather, a few spring blooms, a little more light.

Besides getting ready for my book launch and AWP Seattle, I broke/sprained/bruised my right hand in two places, which slows everything down. I may have mentioned this is my busiest AWP ever, which makes the hand injury very frustrating and inconvenient. Along with some spring flowers, I’m hoping for some speedy healing in the next two weeks!

Seattle AWP is only ten days away! (My AWP appearance calander is on the right side of the page under Events.)

Rare visitor: Townsend’s Warbler in snow

AWP: First Things First

My first AWP event is Thursday’s signing at the book fair at the BOA booth at 3:30 PM, which has its own little official graphic. I hope to see you there, because I’ll be running around like a madwoman the rest of the conference. I am nervous and excited about meeting my BOA publishing people for the first time, too. I hope I make a good impression! Someone asked me, has having a big publisher (well, relatively big, for poetry) changed your life as a poet? I would say, I’m working harder than usual so I can take advantage of things like better distribution and more marketing support. But I’ll know more once the book launches officially in May. I’m so nervous!

Six Tips for Surviving AWP Seattle (From a Local)

So, I’ll go back to my week in a second, but for those of you who are going to AWP for the first time, here are six tips for surviving AWP from a seasoned pro (well, I started going to AWP in the early 2000s, when it was just a couple thousand people.) And this AWP might have a little bit of extra anxiety for those of you, like me, who haven’t attended AWP since the pandemic started.

1. If you are nervous about the pandemic, so am I! Bring masks for high interaction areas, talk to your doctor before you go about an action plan if you do get covid (hey, it happens, and being prepared when you’re away from home is safer than not) and practice things like washing your hands during breaks. If you are high risk, consider limiting your time at crowded events and try to get outside a bit in between things. That’s what I’ll be doing.
2. Speaking of which, even in non-pandemic years, I always recommend getting outside for a bit! Go meet someone for coffee (hey, we’re famous for it!), take an Uber to the Seattle Japanese Garden, Kerry Park or Pike Place Market, stop in at Open Books (our local poetry-only bookstore). If you love surreal pop art, check out the amazing Roq La Rue Gallery or take in more traditional art at the Seattle Art Museum. Check out the architecture at the downtown Seattle Library (I’ll be giving an offsite reading there Thursday evening)! I love AWP but stale conference center air and florescent lighting can make anyone feel a little less than their best, and Seattle is a beautiful city to explore, and it seems a shame to miss it. (Safety talk: Do take precautions in the downtown corridor after dark like you would in any downtown area—Seattle used to be very low in crime, but it has ticked up in recent years.)
3. Hydrate—it’s always too hard to find cold water or hot coffee inside the center, so bring your own thermos or water bottle, and don’t forget lip balm and maybe even a travel moisturizer. Washing your hands and using hand sanitizer is hard on the hands. I also keep a face spray (like Tower 28 SOS travel spray) in my purse because it feels great after wearing a mask for any length of time.
4. Arrange to see your friends! Find a time to get together so you can catch up—I see people I sometimes only see every few years, so it’s a great opportunity.to build friendships, and sometimes that’s more important.
5. Don’t feel guilty about sneaking back to your room for a nap, or just a little alone time. Especially after being pretty isolated for three years, expect to experience some sensory overload. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to be “on” 24/7. Remember to eat and drink at appropriate intervals—this one always gets away from me.
6. Be kind to others, and to yourselves. A lot of us are feeling awkward, what with real shoes instead of slippers and getting their new glasses prescriptions updated after three years. Have you forgotten how to make small talk or remember what’s the exact right way to address your former professor/student/friend from grad school fifteen years ago? Everyone else is probably experiencing those exact same things. Relax, breathe, and try to have some fun—after all, AWP is really about connecting with other writers and people who love writing.

Thanks to John Campos for this shot of Flare, Corona in Mexico this week!

Flare, Corona on Its First Stop on Its World Tour – and a Visit to My Little Brother – with Space Needle

I got this wonderful picture from my friend John Campos who took my book on his vacation to Mexico for a little light reading. Thanks John! The adventure begins! Please send me more pics of my book in different locations if you get a chance. And cats!

Made the trip downtown this week to spend some time with my little brother, where we stopped to have coffee in the lobby of the hip hotel Citizen, gave him a copy of my book and spent some time high up getting pictures on a cold windy night with the Space Needle. I realized there is still a lot of downtown I don’t explore on a regular basis (hello strip club across from a Sephora!) and that the Convention Center has been totally redone since the last AWP Seattle so I’ll have to relearn some of the layout. Also figuring out cool hotel bars/coffee shops in walking distance to the Convention Center is important. So even though we got blown around a bit (I almost fell over the wind was so strong! I felt like Mary Poppins!) it was great to traverse the streets on foot pre-AWP. Plus, my brother is always fun to hang out with, and I was so excited to share my book with him.