A nice early birthday present – thanks Rumpus!

Also, NewPages.com coincidentally featured a link to my old essay on Poemeleon on women poets and persona poetry here:
http://newpagesblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/women-writers-and-persona-poem.html
So thanks to New Pages too!

A lot of poets are born in April, aren’t they? Tracy K. Smith celebrated her birthday yesterday with a Pulitzer for Life On Mars, which I also celebrated as a win for “geek” poetry! And for scientist’s daughter poets everywhere. (Women poets whose fathers are scientists include Margaret Atwood, Louise Gluck, Tracy K. Smith, Kathleen Flenniken, and me.) Yay! On the down side, fiction writers everywhere were kicked in the teeth when they didn’t choose any winners for fiction this year. Ouch. Personally I think they should have picked Helen Phillips strange, wonderful collection And Yet They Were Happy.

Remember to pick up a ticket to the April 26 event at Hugo House, “Poets and Music.” Local musicians put some local poets’ work to music, including mine! Collaboration at its finest. Joy Mills is producing a song based on a poem, “Sleeping Beauty Loves the Needle,” from my upcoming third book. I feel really honored.
Here’s a link with more info:
http://www.strangertickets.com/events/4784131/the-bushwick-book-club-seattle-and-the-richard-hugo-house-present