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!