MANY THINGS ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

…I have new things:
three poems--"Jaguar," "Homeschooled," and "Nostalgia" up at The Stream Press.
and a story, "Night Swimming" up at Riverbabble.
They're all also here under "Words In Print."

…I often wonder if there is anyone else alive who might be as insecure as me.
I doubt it. I doubt that there is such a person.
Thank God I have days like the last few where bushels of acceptances come in, many with very flattering commentary. They give me a shove, a kick in the ass and slap on the face, a quit-whining-and-get with it push.

…On the plane back from Iowa I read “Ariel” by Sylvia Plath. I’ve read quite a few poets (not as many as academia types) and I will now put Sylvia down as my favorite.
She is daunting, haunting, a writer that wants to suture your wound with barbwire.
She wrote all of the poems in “Ariel” in a single month, shortly before her suicide. Many of the sentences bear the black pain of her depression and the struggles she was having.

…I also finished two volumes of poetry by Louise Gluck, former Pulitzer Prize winner. Her writing is lovely, not tricky at all, which many surprising hooks and last line that land perfectly.

…I'm presently at this very moment listening to Eddie Vetter's new disc, "Ukulele Songs," which, as the name implies, all feature ukulele strumming. It's a pretty interesting record, pairing his deep, brassy voice and angst over the pineapple sweet plucking of that most tiny instrument. It'll take a few more listens to get a real feel.
…Bright Eyes' new disc is wonderful and must more poppy and accessible than his/their other stuff. Plus there is an untagged bonus of 14 songs at the end.

…These are some things I like on a Thursday, from Sylvia, and I hope you like them, also:

--"I can never read all the books I wand and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."
--"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."
--"Kiss me and you'll know how important I am."
--"Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace." (from “The Bell Jar.”)
--"If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed."
--"I have the choice of being constantly active and happy or introspectively passive and sad. Or I can go mad by ricocheting in between."
--"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am."