I think writers are especially fond of making New Year’s resolutions that pertain to the creative life. I’m working on my list, which includes: Reading more poetry booksGoing to more readingsGiving more readingsNever failing to open when an idea knocks on the door Diane Lockward at Blogalicious has a great list. About.com has a good list for fiction writers. I really like the one, “Be easier on yourself,” advising writers to focus on what they…
If anyone’s interested in ideas for raising funds for a nonprofit organization — and many presses and journals are — you might want to browse my new blog, Funds for All and All for Funds. Stop by and say hello, leave a good idea for supporting good causes! Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.
You haven’t heard much from me in the last week or so because I fell into a novel. Not one I’m reading, one I’m writing — much deeper waters. I started this thing about five years ago as a novel. It had morphed from a travel memoir to grow characters and a plot, and then I started to like some of the characters. Not all. But some. But it was insane to be writing a…
The list is growing. Maybe a new trend is starting? Non-contest reading, perhaps with a small reading fee. Sounds like a reasonable way to conduct a small press. Adam Deutsch, of the new Cooper Dillon Books, wrote to let me know that they read poetry book manuscripts – both chapbooks and full-length – outside of contests. He writes: “We’re a fairly new press, releasing our first titles right now. We’vejust put out a chapbook by…
I’m gearing up to do some interviews, and reading poet interviews on other journals is a great way to get ideas. There’s a wealth of wisdom out there — much of it contradictory advice about how to write and publish poetry, which makes it all the more fun. One site that has an archive worth listening to is Artful Dodge. Fringe Magazine has short interviews on the blog, longer ones in each issue. , which…
I’ve posted the recording of the show on my website. It’s two hours, the first hour comprised of poets reading their Dickinson-inspired poems. Mine is about 45 minutes in and is called “Carlo and Me,” inspired by Emily’s fabulous big black dog Carlo, with whom she roamed through the fields. Hope you enjoy it! It’s a total Emily-fest, hosted by Merry Gangemi. The recording starts in the middle of the first hour (don’t know why),…
I’ll be reading my poem “Carlo and Me” as part of the Emily D. festivities heard on Radio Station WGDR, Community Radio from Goddard College in Vermont. The two-hour show, “Woman-Stirred Radio,” is hosted by Merry Gangemi, writer, activist, editor and producer. It airs from 4-6 pm Eastern time. This Thursday’s show, Dec. 10, Emily D.’s birthday, is devoted to the poet of Amherst, with the first hour of readings of poems inspired by Dickinson,…
Reading Messenger and appreciating the elegance of her lyric, her elegy, and her imagination. I have a poet friend who also grew up on a farm. I think it gives a deep, almost mystical connection to the earth and the truth of the flesh. I think I will get her book on craft, The Flexible Lyric. Interesting interview with her in The Atlantic Unbound. Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.
… and be surprised. Once I discovered that my spoken word album, A God You Can Dance, was a favorite on river cruises. This time I discovered you can download ringtones from my album now, from this charming website, The Inventures. Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.
I had several conversations today about how to fit a creative live (non-paying, of course) into the necessary life (maintaining the material aspects – body, dwelling, dependents, etc.). One of the most interesting questions I was asked was “What is important to you about reading books?” I surprised myself by answering without hesitation, “Learning about myself.” Of course we want to learn about each other and about the world around and beyond us, but what…