Monday, October 22, 2012

Publishing: Online or Print?

So now you're ready to publish.  Which venue should you choose:  online or print?  It would be interesting to research and see how many print journals are still in operation vs. online.  It seems like online is becoming the new "norm."  One established poet recently said the e-books are the new norm for publishing.  Any comments?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Clearing

From May 27 - June 3, 2012, I attended a Poetry Camp with poet Robin Chapman at The Clearing in Door County, Wisconsin. For anybody not familiar with this camp, it is located at the northernmost peninsula of Door County, adjacent to Green Bay on the West and Lake Michigan on the East. It is a beautiful, outdoor, rustic place. I found the poetry "curriculum" to be fantastic, and I would highly recommend the place to anyone who wants to get serious about their craft. They also offer many other camps, such as quilting, bird watching, photography, etc.

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Other Boleyn Girl

I'm reading "The Other Boleyn Girl" for my book club. It's 600 pages and I'm only on page 150--the book club meets tomorrow night. Yikes! It's historical fiction set in 16th century England with Henry VIII. It reads like a Harlequin romance novel. Interesting, but not 100% my cup of tea. Has anybody read this?

Friday, March 16, 2012

AWP Conference

Went to the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference here in Chicago last weekend. I spent the whole day Saturday going to breakout sessions about MFA programs, short story writing, and creating a web presence as a writer. It was fantastic. The highlight of the day was meeting poet Annie Finch. I bought one of her books and she signed it. We talked for 10 minutes! Very inspirational.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Art and Suffering

Nietzsche said the opposite of creativity is torture, suffering. Yet doesn't the best art come from pain, from blood? Everybody has a shadow, a dark side. Ignoring it only makes the darkness stronger. Delving into the pain can help overcome sadness, danger. Conquering it can cause one to create great Art. Agree?