Coming to the End of Poetry Month, and my birthday…

I’m exhausted but happy coming to the end of Poetry Month! A new class of poetry students, way too many scheduled readings to attend or even try to attend, wild, unpredictable weather, falling cherry blossoms, chocolate bunnies, my birthday – I mean, let’s face it, April can be hectic but fun.  Along with celebrating turning another year older successfully, I’m about to be take the plunge into home ownership again, possibly start a new job (more on that later) and it feels like I’m entering a new chapter of my life. A good chapter. I hope! Less “post-apocalyptic survivalist reality show” and more “Girl Finds Love and Success in the Big City!”

It has also started to occur to me, at this birthday go-around, that if we want good things to happen in our community, if we want people around us to get to know and love poetry, that we need to take an active hand to make that happen. To paraphrase a popular saying, we have to become the arts advocates we are looking for.

I had a wonderful time working with local musician Joy Mills at the Bushwick Book Club event at Hugo House. Hearing the song she wrote based on “Sleeping Beauty Loves the Needle” was just fantastic, and she is pretty great live, too. I’m glad they didn’t ask me to sing! I just had to read the poem, thank goodness. Had fun meeting other local poets, too. Always a pleasure being at Hugo House.

And now, onto the birthday-end-of-month-scurry-to-get-packed-and-ready-to-move-and-some-other-things-I’ll-reveal-later!