A bit under the weather here with a lung infection that I am being dosed up with antibiotics for (OmniCef, this time – doesn’t that sound like a bank? or a hotel?) I keep falling asleep for no reason, even on 24-hour decongestents, which usually kick off an energetic phase. So, not the most productive of times.
On the plus side, instead of doing all the fun social things I was going to do this weekend (like seeing Jenifer Lawrence read from her new book at Elliot Bay, or going to the Comicon where the artists from Buffy’s newest comic and the artist who does the future-telling art from Heroes were going to be, or hanging out with friends at the local jazz place) I am reading. I just finished Charles Jensen’s Living Things chapbook (which reminded me, in its restraint and solemnity, a little of Louise Gluck) and re-read a book of Japanese fairy tales. I finished up a review of Kate Greenstreet’s case sensitive for The Pedestal. And I finally got to read the “season eight” Buffy comic, which has a beautifully drawn cover.
Speaking of beautiful covers, Bookslut is using Michaela’s work to advertise the upcoming reading in Chicago with myself, Ander Monson and Catherynne Valente. I’m excited about the reading – and the people I’m reading with – and hope I get to run into some Chicago friends while I’m there. I love that city!
April, my birthday month, is almost here. Seattle is being sulky and sullen and hanging around the fifty-degree point, even though the cherry blossoms have already started to fall.
Mystery of Hotmail Problems…Solved! It turns out I was involuntarily upgraded to the new “Windows Live Mail Beta” yesterday, and I bet they lost mail or locked out senders or something when they transferred servers. Perfect – thanks Microsoft! If only Gmail’s horrid “threading feature” didn’t make me want to punch a hole in my computer screen. Where have all the good free e-mail providers gone?
Mystery of back problems – Solved! Turns out from an MRI I had a disc bulging against a nerve. Yup, it hurt. But now it’s getting better. No surgery, no steroids. Yay!
Mystery of where to live starting in May – Still unsolved. Stay tuned.
Poetry News Items:
I have tentatively signed on as a co-editor (or possibly some sort of hybrid poetry editor/web editor/jack of all trades) of a little Northwest lit mag called “Crab Creek Review.” I will revamp the web site as soon as I get time. Lots of paperwork to sort out. But the new Crab Creek editorial team seems really great. So, say goodbye to my free time!
Kate Greenstreet and Janet Holmes read from their new books, Case Sensitive and F2F, at Open Books on Tuesday night. They are both really animated, energetic readers. Kate, who comes from New Jersey, has a great voice for radio. That’s just my opinion. Are you listening, NPR? Seriously though, sometimes writers really give you a chance to rethink their work off the page, and the one thing I learned is that Kate’s book, which I had read more than once, actually has a lot of funny bits that I had missed.
