Reading Reports and Videos from Third Place Books and a Disability Fundraiser, First Butterflies and Ducklings, and Waiting and Planning (Summer Edition)

First butterfly report – swallowtail and lilacs

Reading Reports from Third Place Books and a Disability Fundraiser, First Butterflies and Ducklings

I was a little under the weather last week, and then had two reading events in a row – so this weekend I am taking it easy. The good thing about being a little under the weather is that when you’re around the house you notice things more – like, for instance, the first Swallowtail butterflies on the neighbor’s lilacs, or the first ducklings in the water.

And I was well enough for both readings to be fine – and I will say more about the readings later – but it’s nice now to have some downtime to plan for the summer. Maybe planning an online workshop, an online salon with a friend, or planning for the visit from my older brother and his kids. Right now it’s sunny and 65 degrees – now this is my kind of summer weather!

Glenn and I with peonies before disability awareness fund-raiser reading

Third Place Books and Breaking Barriers Reading Reports and Videos

So the two readings I had this week couldn’t have been more different, though both were wonderful. The first was Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park location. My college roommate (who I hadn’t seen in six years!) came and so did some old friends and even some of my book club friends, and I had lovely interactions with the bookstore employees too (and left with a special signed edition of one of my favorite books, Siri Hustvedt’s The Blazing World.) I was a little late and breathless on arrival, but Glenn captured some video. You can go to YouTube to watch the whole reading:

or if you don’t have much time, watch (in less than one minute!) one of the poems, “Wish You Were Here (Postcard from a Pandemic)” here: Jeannine Hall Gailey reads “Wish You Were Here from Flare, Corona.”

The other reading was at a fund-raiser event for Disability Writers Washington called “Breaking Barriers.” I performed after a hip-hop artist, there was a one-act play, a pianist and a comedian as well, all of us with disabilities, and the party was mostly disabled people (and some politicians) – it was huge, probably the biggest audience I’ve had in a while, at least two hundred people – and I felt I really connected to the audience, which was nice. (There may be a recording available but I don’t have it yet.) There were service dogs and I must say some very advanced wheelchairs – and an array of excellent sparkly jackets and shoes on both genders. (This has got me thinking of getting Glenn some bling-ier clothes!)

I was a little afraid of some kind of overload of people wanting some kind of performative positivity from disabled artists (which if you know me, is not really my jam), but because the audience was mostly disabled, it didn’t really feel like that. It did feel like a bunch of people who were actually trying to fight for things like accessible public transport and working rights (ADA stuff) being defended and other kinds of activism. I left feeling like I was part of a new kind of community. And I talked to a disabled teen about publishing her stuff, which sounded amazing. That kind of thing is very much like “oh, this is why I do this!”

Full Strawberry Moon

Waiting and Planning (Summer Edition)

So now is a time of rest, and waiting (for book reviews, or prize news, or anything else about Flare, Corona which, by the way, you can now buy locally at Open Books and Third Place Books,)  and planning for the summer. I plan to do a few more readings in the fall, if people are still interested, but in Seattle it feels like the summertime is not a good time to plan poetry readings, because so many people (especially after a weirdly cold long winter) are desperate to be outside ALL THE TIME. I’m looking forward to visiting Port Townsend and the beach, to visiting my local lavender garden and walking around the local wineries, summertime book club meetings, and more family visiting time. Glenn is also going to graduate from his Master’s program in August, so we should do something to celebrate that, right?

Summertime is also max MS symptom time, so I’m careful not to plan too much during the hot months. Last year there was bad wildfire smoke all the way through September, so hopefully no repeat of that (see: Poison Ivy new comics based in Seattle inspired by the pandemic and wildfires here.) The hard push – that started with Seattle’s AWP and ended with June 1st’s fundraiser reading – for Flare, Corona‘s launch has kind of eased, and now I can plan a more relaxed approach to book promotion, and choose my projects, which is nice. I’ve talked to a couple of people about doing some online events, workshops, and salons, which sounds fun. So as summer approaches, I’m wishing you all the same things I’m hoping for – adequate time to get outdoors in the forest, mountains, or beaches, good writing and reading, and getting back to in-person outdoors visiting with friends and family.