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Listening to the Paint

Every once in awhile, an author should Google herself. I did my routine check last night and was amazed to discover that Prairie Schooner, one of my longtime favorite literary journals, had reprinted one of my poems. “Listening to the Paint” appeared in their 2012 issue, at a time that coincided with the record-breaking sale of an abstract painting. So PS chose to include my poem in their series of reprints. The poem is about…

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Lucky Summer, Happy Author Here

I’m really happy that one of my most recently published poems was “Wings Clipped” and appeared in Issue 4 of a journal called Panoply. Several reasons: 1) I’ve had a panoply of acceptances this season — far more than my usual batting average! 2) “Wings Clipped” is the lead poem in my new manuscript, Arabesque (available to an interested publisher) and 3) the poem brings together the two art forms I’ve devoted myself to: dance…

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Metaphor Monday

The only way to sanely start a week, if you’re a poet, is with metaphor. Reading to start and revising is the juice. I have three inches of print drafts to plow through, how many e-files, and am grabbing summer by the shorthairs to make a space for poetry. I need to make a fresh pile of worked-up stuff, need time and peace. Hedging my priorities. Here’s one from Gods of Water and Air. Have…

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The House of Emily D

Last night I saw the best play about Emily Dickinson I could imagine. It was a musical, and it was performed by fifth grade actors who brought this luminous ecstatic poet (“the Myth” as she was sometimes called) to life. It also brought to vivid life her bustling, growing Amherst (“the only thing silent in Amherst is the ‘h’”). Written by my brilliant playwright friend Judith Nielsen, music composed by a young and talented composer,…

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Poetry Book Giveaway and Midsummer Metaphors

Thanks to all who participated in my Great Poetry Book Giveaway this year! I picked names out of the numerical hat and sent a copy of my Gods of Water and Air  to one winner and Stanley Kunitz’s book Passing Through. I noticed we all entered each other’s Poetry Book Giveaways. It was a pleasure to read blogs I hadn’t visited and learn about books I will now buy. In the giving spirit, I’m offering…

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Afternoon with Monet

Lovely day here, the breezy and brilliant kind of spring day I imagined from Monet’s painting, after which I wrote my poem. The traveling exhibition “Monet in Normandy” visited the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco some years ago and it inspired me to write back to several of the paintings. Bought the book too, so I can keep talking back to Monet — or rather, asking questions, as in this poem. Do you ever talk…

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Confession Time

Writing a Poem with Monet It’s April and I’m growing green, but bills cover my desk. The money in my check book dazzles like the mineral caves carved by the surf at Pourville, where Monet stood at his easel to paint thundering waves. I sign my check in the lower right as artists will, re-total the balance and turn up a new one. Diamonds a mile down in Monet’s sea crack, chip, and erode. A…

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New video trailer for Gods of Water and Air!

Aldrich Press has created a beautiful new trailer for my book! It’s my reading of “Flight,” the first poem in my book. It’s on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KaXVkL8cac&feature=youtu.be I looked at an interesting array of poetry book trailers, and was most taken with Sandra Beasley’s single poem videos, so I decided on a single poem reading. It was fun to make, finding images and music from royalty-free sources. If I were trying to decide whether to buy…

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Review of Gods of Water and Air + four poems up at Pirene’s Fountain!

I’m thrilled to have my new book, Gods of Water and Air, reviewed at Pirene’s Fountain — and in glowing terms! — by publisher/editor/poet Ami Kaye. Ami is the author of What Hands Can Hold and other books. I love the way she summed up my book: “Dacus gives us poetry she has plucked from the fire of her imagination and heart, imparting warmth and sustenance to its readers, reminding us what is sacred in…

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