Three New Spooky Poems at Barrelhouse, the New Poet’s Market 2018, and more Halloween-y madness

Hey guys! Are you in the mood for some scary, spooky poems? Barrelhouse is hosting them all month and today three of mine are up: “Cancer Scare,” “Self-Portrait as Film Noir Villainess,” and “Lessons Learned From Final Girls.”

Yesterday the new Poet’s Market 2018 came in the mail, which contains 4 articles by me on things like starting a poetry group, promoting your new book, and strange places for poetry readings, and an exclusive webinar – that’s right, webinar, my first! So be sure to go get your own copy. Here’s Sylvia modelling the book! I also picked up my friend Juliana Gray’s new book appropriate for Halloween, Honeymoon Palsy – check out that cover! Sylvia’s modelling that book too.

I’ve been making some headway with my physical and occupational therapy and have more neurologist tests and appointments scheduled in November. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to get out and enjoy some fall activities before the rain permanently descends on us – pumpkin patches, the zoo to see the new snow leopard cub and new giraffe baby, and the last roses of the season. I’m making the transition now to being able to move around the house with a cane, which increases my feelings of independence quite a bit. I’m still having some frustrating neurological symptoms (my legs and hands give out when I’m tired, and I’m sometimes having trouble swallowing) but hoping to be back to a lot of my normal activities soon. These little outings have been positive experiments in getting back to doing fun things instead of just medical things. I also watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” to get myself in the mood for the increasingly dark and gloomy October weather that’s coming, and we’ve started baking in advance. I’m looking out at the last sunshine we’re supposed to have for a while…I better try to get out and enjoy it today!

: me and Glenn at the Snohomish pumpkin patch

: me and Glenn posing with the last zoo rose garden glories

: Glenn and I posting with early Seattle zoo lights!

: snow leopard cub

: mother and baby snow leopard

Verse Daily Web Feature and a New Poem up at Red Paint Hill

Good News in the Midst of Bad News

So, in the middle of doctor appointments and physical therapy, the onslaught of news both terrifying and dismaying, I’ve had some good poetry news. It feels weird to share good news in the middle of bad world events, even in the middle of my own health struggles, but it seems that 2017 is the year that keeps on giving that way. Today I was discharged from home occupational therapy, a sign that I’d made some serious progress since my hospitalization, and to celebrate, Glenn and I drove out to a local pumpkin and sunflower patch. It was perfect weather, despite the news of shootings and deaths. It seems that the weather at least is trying to be kind to us, after a dismal summer of smoke and heat.

Verse Daily Web Feature

So, my poem “April in Middle Age” from Contrary Magazine is this week’s Verse Daily Web Feature. Thanks to the folks at Verse Daily and at Contrary Magazine for publishing the poem in the first place.

Red Paint Hill’s new issue and my poem “The Myth”

And a new poem, “The Myth,” is up at the new issue of Red Paint Hill.

Kelly Davio’s It’s Just Nerves

Also, my friend Kelly Davio released her book of essays today – help her celebrate!

Happy October! Check out this Transatlantic reading and interview video podcast with me and Neil Aitken

Happy October Everyone!

As you can see, what with the sunflowers and pumpkins, I am celebrating the return on fall, enjoying the return of rain and sixty degree weather and book-reading-season.

Speaking of books, reading, and other fall fun…

I had such a good time yesterday with Robert Peake and Neil Aitken at the Transatlantic Poetry series – if you want to see the video on YouTube, here it is! It’s Neil and I reading from our latest books and then an interview where we talk about the relationships between poetry and code, why we write persona poetry, how to write poetry through dark times, and more. I’ve also embedded the video below.

New Rumpus Review of Field Guide and an International Podcast Tomorrow

Thank you to The Rumpus and to Julie Marie Wade who wrote both a thoughtful and highly entertaining new review of Field Guide to the End of the World. It was a great review to wake up to, both content and style-wise!

Tomorrow at noon Pacific time I’ll be chatting all-Millennial-style in an International Google Hangout podcast with host Robert Peake all the way from England along with fellow guest, my poet friend (and fellow Elgin Award winner) Neil Aitken here! http://www.transatlanticpoetry.com/readings/48-neil-aitken-and-jeannine-hall-gailey/
Come check it out! We’ll talk speculative poetry and all sorts of internationally-appropriate subjects!

And, another shot of orange sunflowers (with Mt Rainier faintly in the background) for good measure, just to up the “fall” quotient of this post!

Today I am dragging out my sweaters and boots, and trying not to think at all about my new MS diagnosis, all the upcoming anxiety-provoking tests. I’m not doing any research today on what therapies work best, or think about all my weird stuff, besides doing my required hour of physical therapy. I have to work to not let my whole life get taken over by this stuff. Today I will read fun books, think about myself as a writer, bring home some sunflowers for the house to celebrate this beautiful review, and get ready to chat poetry tomorrow! I am ready to create some happy space in my life, to open up that tight feeling I’ve had in my chest since my hospitalization, like the hot air balloons that have been rising up in the evening around my house.

Fall! Pumpkins! And finally celebrating some good news…

So, I couldn’t really celebrate or enjoy the good news earlier this week (Field Guide to the End of the World won the Elgin Award for full-length poetry books, and Neil Aitken won for chapbooks!) because I was so distracted and miserable with the effects of the steroids. So note to self – steroids have some serious downsides that just left me so sick feeling, sleepless, and yes, that ‘feeling of impending doom’ is a real thing – that I’m just now finally processing the good news today as I’m finally feeling like my body is not one big terrible pain. So, hooray, finally!

Also, Robert Peake will be hosting Neil and I on an International Podcast called Transatlantic Poetry in a week on September 30 where we’ll be talking speculative poetry and more – check it out here: http://www.transatlanticpoetry.com/readings/48-neil-aitken-and-jeannine-hall-gailey/

It helped that the neurologist lowered the dose of the steroids, and I also did some socializing – my old college roommate came over for a visit today, and I’ve had some good phone chats over the last few days catching up that made me feel more in touch with my real self, not just my “sick self.” I’m so sick and self-conscious when I’m not feeling good it’s really hard to schedule visits, but really worth it.

I can’t say the perfect 65-degree-sunny fall weather lately hurt my mood, either. I started hurtling my body outside, after months of being stuck in bed inside, even when I was too sick to leave the house for long and my legs were not willing to stay upright much – I still stumble regularly and mostly have to be in a wheelchair – but I’ve been photographing with a full heart. Here are some of the results. A lot of pumpkins! And sunflowers. Almost all these pictures were taken less than ten minutes from my house. And I even have pictures of a real pumpkin patch versus an artists’ glass pumpkin patch at our local gardening store Molbak’s. When was the last time I was well enough to stop by a farmer’s market, much less eat anything from a farmer’s market? Too long! Today I brought home pears and apples and squash and am so excited about fall produce – that’s got to a be a sign of returning health, after about three months of constant nausea and nausea meds. I think that though the steroids made me miserable, maybe they did help me push through the worst part of the flare – I just wish they’d put me on them earlier so I could have started getting better earlier? Oh well. My thought processes feel a little clearer, too. I’m hopeful this is an upswing that lasts, not just the temporary effects of the steroids and the beautiful weather. Even if it is, I’m hopeful that finally getting some post-steroid sleep and doing things that lift my spirits has a good effect on my immune system. MS is a mysterious illness, I’m finding, difficult and confusing to manage – I’ve got to figure out some coping mechanisms. I think part of it will be enjoying the things you can while you can. Sunflowers and pumpkins seem like positive symbols – maybe a bit fleeting in their beauty, worth noting nonetheless.