Meanwhile, in a total rip-off of The Onion…

Kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day.

In real news, I’m looking forward to hearing a great reading at UW this Thursday with Oliver de la Paz, Rigoberto Gonzalez, and Rick Barot.

Hope you had a great holiday, complete with lots of pumpkins, black cats, and candy!

I’ve been sickly (this darn sinus infection is killing me!) but somewhat productive this week:
–part-time jobs applied for: three (one teaching, one technical, one travel writing)
–grant applications: one
–festival applications: one
–poems written: one
–acceptances (thank you, Columbia Poetry Review): one
–pounds of junk mail thrown out: six hundred
–chapbooks received in mail (Slice of Cherry Pie): one. By the way, Ivy, Shanna, and all involved: A kick-ass piece of work. I loved every poem, I devoured the whole thing at once, I want everyone to read this, whether or not they are Twin Peaks Fans. PS You should be selling this at the Snoqualamie Lodge too! (where they shot some of Twin Peaks.) One of my favorites is the prose poem by Jared Leising. Love love love!
–horrible MLA-formatted two-year bibliographies finished: one
–kitten-related injuries: three
–kitten pictures taken: too many (and here’s another, this time in demon kitten mode chewing on Glenn)

I know I’m very far behind in my review work (I have several books including Laurel Snyder and Kate Greenstreet’s stacked in my “to review” pile. Patience! On 11/20, my thesis will be done, and I will have time again.

If it’s Monday, you must be in Seattle…

Back from picturesque Bellingham (I forgot my camera, but everything was like the perfect autumn small town – from snowy Mt. Baker, the turning maples, the dense fog over the water at night.) Had great fun reading with Martha at Village Books, and got to meet some great folks – including fellow blogging-poet Oliver de la Paz. Definitely have to go back to Bellingham on a purely recreational trip sometime soon.

Finally recovering from month-long chest and head thing – travel does, apparently, take a toll on the health front – and looking forward to some rest to work on my thesis, bibliography, etc (all due 11/20.)

And, picked up an unexpected extra on this reading trip – we passed pumpkin farms, sweet corn stands, pick your own apple farms…but couldn’t resist a woman with kittens. We’re now the proud owners of a little semi-Ragdoll-esque little male kitten named Shakespeare. He kept us up all night biting out hands, meowing loudly, and terrorizing our nice blonde adult female cat, Bastett. Here’s a pic – where he’s all tired out from shenanigans….

And, on the poetry front, a new review up on Fickle Muses, a new journal of myth and poetry, of Becoming the Villainess: here it is at…http://www.ficklemuses.com/nonfiction/becomingthevillainess.html

Even More Exciting Things Going On!

I know ya’ll are sick of me talking about all this stuff I’m doing this month. Well, it’s almost over…give me a few more days…

Wednesday, Octboer 18 – My former professor (and Wesleyan author) Don Bogen will be reading at Open Books at 7:30. Be there or square or something!

Thursday, October 19 – My good friends Kathleen Flenniken and Susan Rich are reading from their respective new books at Soul Food Books in Redmond. Again, be there, be square, etc.

Saturday, October 21 – I’m reading with fellow Steel Toe author Martha Silano at Village Books in Bellingham at 7:30 PM. If you live near Bellingham, come say hi! It’s my first time in town and I’m dying to know all about it.

And apres ca: a month of rest. Except for school and work. But no poetry readings. Til November 19.

Ooh, and Jessa from Bookslut has confirmed that I’m reading with them in Chicago in April. I’m excited!

Reading report from Portland…

Really nice crowd at Portland State (free wine, cheese, fruit, cookies…man, these Portland poets really know how to feed an audience – we should have this stuff at readings in Seattle!) Although I believe the mike was possessed – it had a super-pop-thing going and it actually attacked Laurel physically while she was reading. She did a great job with her very affecting work from Daphne and Jim and it was really fun to read with her. I was very happy to see some friends who teach at PSU and some of my fellow Pacific students. So, a fun trip, if somewhat too short – because we had to come in late and leave early the next day. Hope to see you again soon, Portland 🙂

Checking my DVR, two shows that were pretty hilarious – The Colbert Report featured a light-sabre fight between Colbert and George Lucas on one night, and he appeared (and got kissed) by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda in a very funny sketch on the other. King of the geeks, baby!

In other news, my review of Lesle Lewis’s second book, Landscapes I & II, is up at Three Candles, and I got a slammin’ contributor’s copy of the print version of Wicked Alice.

In still other news, I am very, very tired. I love doing poetry readings, but at the end of the night, I’m always ready to hibernate for a couple of days. Is this part of some strange half-introvert-extrovert personality flaw? Also, it is officially autumn – the leaves are turning (at least, here, on the sparse deciduous trees), the pumpkins are out, and all the volcanoes I saw on the way home (Mt. Hood,. Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier) were shiny in the clear October sunshine. Are volcanoes seasonal?