The Writing Path Blog

They became so pithy and rounded of corners. Old age seemed to sit gracefully but briefly in his work. Lines became shorter, rhythms more compressed. I read this today and wondered if my old age would reach such a light-filled vision: Old Age’s Lambent Peaks The touch of flame–the illuminating fire–the loftiest look at last,O’er city, passion, sea–o’er prairie, mountain, wood–the earth itself,The airy, different, changing hues of all, in failing twilight,Objects and groups, bearings,…

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I just reviewed Marilyn Jurich’s collection Defying the Eye Chart for Her Circle Ezine and was delighted to discover these poems on music, aging, disability, art and prayer. Jurich’s poetry is musical and layered in meaning. They interweave mythology with the everyday in ways that bring the better and worse gods and goddesses of our natures into sharp and often humorous focus. She’s a poet of wisdom with a gift for musical language and I’m…

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It’s been a really good couple of weeks for seeing my poems published. First, my animated poem appeared at Blue’s Cruzio Cafe. Today I find the new issue of Umbrella up and with it my poem “Thunder-Edged” with a companion essay. It’s in a section called Milestones, the inspiration of editor Kate Bernadette Benedict — poems that changed the way you write, with mini-essays about how that process of change occurred in the writing. Kate…

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I’m thrilled to have a poetry recording of mine — “One Night, Light” from my CD “A God You Can Dance” — appear on Blue’s Cruzio Cafe this month. Appear isn’t the right word – how about leap to life? Thanks to JJ Webb’s animation talents and the amazing art of Patricia Wallace Jones, I appear as a sort of a Moon Goddess reciting a poem. The occasion of the poem was a Christmas caroling…

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It appears I’m not the only one who finds the new online NEA application process for Literature Fellowships kludgy and confusing. I goofed my first because the instructions are so long and detailed that my eyes glazed over at just the wrong moment and I rashly didn’t double-check my attachments. Other people I know have had conniptions trying to download, install and run software to create pdf files (now required). Still others have experiences glitches…

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I came across a poem with this phrase recently, and found myself ruminating not on the poem but on the ambiguity. Can’t people coining new green terms come up with better phrases? I can’t stop thinking about a light acid rain, or polluted rain showers, when I hear the term light pollution. For an eloquent explanation of light pollution, read Simmons Buntin’s essay. Simmons edits the delightful zine Terrain, which I have to love for…

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I got a postcard from New Letters advertising a very appealing looking contest. Minimal entry fee ($15) that gets you a year’s subscription, up to six poems entered, with $10 for additional entries. I think what appealed is that it’s a postcard with all the information in one place, and also that you can submit online. Nice combination, marketing via snailmail but allowing online entries. My friend David Alpaugh has just written an eloquent jeremiad…

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I’m applying for an NEA Fellowship in Poetry. I figure I’ve put in enough hours now trying to make this culture more vibrant and sensitive that I think the government should begin paying me. I’m not asking for an hourly rate — more like a large honorarium, as the grant wouldn’t begin to compensate me for all the business I’ve probably missed by spending my mornings on poetry. In case you are thinking of applying,…

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I’m not a political blogger, but tomorrow being Super Tuesday and yesterday being the Superbowl, I find myself thinking about the Great Divide — the contests we Americans seem to thrive on, often the nastier-spirited the better. Tomorrow those of us in either political party face a Great Divide that has inevitably veered into discussion of personalities, qualifications and character, instead of issues. Yet what do Americans want to hear about most, according to many…

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Interesting idea: an arts Wikipedia. Artist Muses has started up such a site. They have a Poets category. Take a look, get listed, let’s watch the network grow. Billed as “the online community for intelligent optimists,” Ode Magazine is a resource for all of us who are tired of getting only the negative news — and the endless campaigning. You can find uplifting human interest stories about people like the successful cardiologist who started a…

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