IS THIS HOW YOU WANT ME?


…I have a new micro, "Hand Me Down" up at Eunoia Review and a poem, "Pallet" at The Camel Saloon.
Both are also here under "Words In Print."

…I like to laugh. How about you? My kids make me laugh harder than anyone. I love my kids.
I think laughter is an important part of living and the human condition. Life would be sad without humor, don't you think?
I can laugh pretty freely. My boy and I watched Tivo-ed episodes of Saturday Night Live last night and I laughed and laughed. It felt good, liberating, as if I was molting myself, shedding stress.

…Tina Fey looks beautiful pregnant. Most women look way prettier pregnant. Maya Rudolph, however, is not one of the majority.

…Do you ever sleepwalk? I used to. Supposedly stress or alcohol consumption are the causes. Which makes sense.
When you sleepwalk and wake up the next morning you are in a very vulnerable position because you can't remember doing the sleepwalking thing and so whoever noticed you sleepwalking holds a lot of power because they can say you did this or that and you have no choice but to believe them.
I'm sort of fascinated by the idea of sleepwalking. I've written a few things about it. One story, called "Ruthless Trust," that I really liked but few people "got" begins with this line: "My wife says I've been sleepwalking again. Next she asks, 'When's Ben coming?'"
Ben is the man's son. Ben is a bad kid. He's physically abusive to his Dad. I thought that was a fascinating concept, sort of the abusive father-son relationship turned on its head. But that's just me.

…I finished my story for Matt Potter's "Pure Slush" Travel-themed issue. It was quite a dark story. Are you surprised? But it turned out pretty good. I made myself sad reading it when I re-read it last night. It's okay to be sad sometimes.

…I've been listening to Fleet Foxes so much that I feel as if I'm now a band member. The only thing keeping that from happening is I don't have a beard and my hair is clean.

…Did you see "The Beaver" yet? You need to. No go, git. See it.

…I'm reading "The Triggering Town" by Richard Hugo. I'm doing a summer workshop in Iowa and this book was recommended. Richard is a poet and a professor. He does a good job of teaching writing principles, which is a tricky task, if you ask me. Here are a couple of things he says that I like:

"You have to be silly to write poems at all." (I agree and would add, "and brave" behind the word "silly.")

"I caution against communication because once language exists only to convey information, it is dying."

"Once you have the information, the words seem unimportant."

"Never worry about the reader, what the reader can understand. When you are writing, glance over your shoulder and you will find no reader. Just you and the page. Feel lonely? Good. Assuming you can write clear English sentences, give up all worry about communication. If you want to communicate, use the telephone."

"If you are a poet, your vocabulary is limited to your obsession."

"Words love the ridiculous areas of our mind."

"The imagination is a cynic."

"Your job is to be honest and to try not to be boring."

"Lucky accidents seldom happen to writers who don't work. The hard work on the first poem is responsible for the sudden ease of the second. If you just sit around waiting for the easy ones, nothing will come. Get to work."

"I don't know why we write poems. We must be crazy."