A new interview up at California Journal of Poetics, and More Weekend Excitement
The wonderful Gina Barnard (a very talented poet in her own right) interviewed me for the California Journal of Poetics, and it’s up at their site now:
http://www.californiapoetics.org/interviews/1655/an-interview-with-jeannine-hall-gailey
I get to talk about other books that influenced She Returns to the Floating World, my obsession with women turning into animals, and my childhood in Oak Ridge. There’s also a little shout-out to Kathleen Flenniken’s new upcoming book, Plume.
In other exciting news, I finally succumbed in the fourth week to whatever weird cold/virus/upper respiratory thing I’ve been fighting – I came home shaking and feverish yesterday and determined to put a hold on my crazy whirlwind of social activities until I am all the way better. (It doesn’t help that it’s mid-forties and stormy outside, the recipe for my asthma to act up. I know, cold rain, what a shocker in the NW! In California, they’re still wearing skirts and sandals…ah well…)
This means a weekend curled up, finally finishing at least one of my book reviews, starting Murakami’s thousand-page super cool opus IQ84, and deciding whether the last Harry Potter movie was better or worse than the book. And sleeping. And lots of hot drinks. (Is it weird that I end up writing a lot of my book reviews while I am sick and feverish? Then I end up using words like “gimlet-eyed” and “splenetic” and wondering later…who wrote that?)
I’ve also been trying to come up with a last line for a poem. It turned out to be much harder than I thought. Everything I’ve come up with seems harsh, trite, too easy…Sometimes I tool around with last lines even after I publish a poem. Last lines are hard!
I also want to thank the lovely magazine Hollins Critic, as I just got my contributor copies for October’s issue, and a nice little check. I so appreciate magazines that still actually pay their content providers!! Thank you, Hollins Critic! My little poem, “Holiday Redux,” is on the last page, if you’re interested, and the issue also contains a good review of WA State book award winner Frances McCue’s book, The Bled.
The first two official reviews of She Returns to the Floating World, a Podcast, and Feeling Grateful
Yesterday, I was so excited to see The California Journal of Poetics had a review of She Returns to the Floating World. It was written by a poet whose work I admire very much, Gina Barnard, and she’s obviously an intelligent and thoughtful reviewer as well. (And I know how hard it is to write those reviews! So I doubly appreciate it!) It was my first official review!
Then this morning, I looked at The Rumpus and saw the second official review, this time written by Jessie Carty. I am feeling overwhelmed and grateful!
And J.P. Dancing Bear has posted the podcast of our radio interview from Wednesday night. Here it is:
http://outofourminds.posterous.com/out-of-our-minds-wjp-dancing-bear-guest-jeann
I am also brimming with happy poetry news for a few of my friends, who have not been able to post up their good news on blogs yet, but I’m looking forward to helping them celebrate soon!
So, the economy may be going to hell, the apocalyptic weather may be keeping us in a rainy netherworld while the rest of the country bakes in 100+ heat, but still these little good things give us hope, keep us going, remind us someone is listening, someone is reading, despite, despite.
