Religious Fascist of the Day Award - Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris, our lady of the hanging chads, has come out and said what many Republicans would probably like everyone to believe - but are afraid to say so. Only days after President Bush has reclassified the war on terrorism as the war against Islamic fascism, it seems we have a few religious fascists of out own.
According to Katherine Harris:
1) Church-State seperation is a “lie”
2) The Founding fathers never intended this U.S. to be a country of “secular” laws (this is a popular talking point for the religious right.)
3) Seperating Church and States is wrong because GOD chooses our rulers (feeding into the notion often attributed to Bush, that he was “chosen” to be president).
4) "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," and end up with abortion and gay weddings and probably dogs sleeping with cats.
Though she's running for the Florida senate seat, Republicans continue to distance themselves from her. Not so much for her views, but because of other problems of “elect-ability”.
She's been tied to dealings with a corrupt defense contractor. So apparently God thinks it's okay to deal with corrupt campaign contributors, but not those heathen gays and lesbians??? Another great paradox in the Republican convenient and politically-expedient selective value-bashing.
Poetry Lately
Well coming on the heels of the past couple of weeks. I've definitely seen a need for a couple of big pushes in my life.
Finishing my Book - "Mohitos and Mint Juleps" is basically done, I just need to kinda "let it go" and get it sent off to iUniverse. I took a bit of break from it before jumping back into the big final push. Now it's time to take care of that. If for no other reason so I can move on with more work.
Work - I took this sweatshop agency production job for good money and benefits (and really needed the job). It's an odd schedule and entails major overtime and "flexible" hours. I thought I'd still be getting in my readings, attending events, but it just never happens now. I've even had a feature I had to cancel an hour before an event because I just couldn't get away from work.
So I'm lookin a more poet-friendly job with regular hours. I miss my poetry buddies and all the events that go on in town. I also miss even my neighborhood association and volunteer meetings, all the stuff that keeps you plugged in.
I have a couple of more books "brewing" after "Mojitos and Mint Juleps". However, my approach will change dramatically. No more of this production scheduling and printer deadlines. I'm just going to sit down write as often as I can and when I just happen to have enough related work for one of these, then off to the printers it goes.
Cancer Dance II - Voice from the Past
I thought this deserved a seperate post, though it is related to previous.
As all this was going on. My oldest brother (we're not close) who I can go for months or years and not hear from, he drops me an email.
Seems he found an old poem from my grandmother, upon reading it it's obviously she was trying to come to grips with her own battle with cancer and death.
Wow, sometimes there's just that feeling that the universe is just tapping you on the shoulder - if yu could only figure out about what for sure.
Cancer Dance
Well this all happened pretty quickly - the whole cancer thing.
I've had this little knot in my neck for months. Slowly going from pea-sized to marble, when I finally went for my regular checkup I pointed it out the PA and reminded her this had been there for a while. She was concerned enough to have me see another doctor who immediately made a rush appointment to see an Oncologist. It was implied early on that it was very possibly lymphoma, after three doctors and preliminary tests it seemed even more so.
The last round of tests was not so much to see if I had cancer, but try to determine just what type and how far it had spread. I was a mess.
Last week though I got in touch with my doctor only to get a "well guess it wasn't what we thought after all" there's really nothing there, maybe just an impacted gland or fat deposit - okay.
So now I'm still reeling from that, the emotional ups and down. It really brough things in focus, now I'm trying to process what to do with all the emotion (and clarity) this dredged up.
Queer Beats
Have been reading a book I ordered - Queer Beats. About homosexuality and the Beat movement. YIKES - I almost wish I hadn't ordered it now. As much as I love the beat movement and some of the work. What a bunch of just total whack jobs.
You'd like to think the work of your literary heroes comes from them "getting it" them really seeing the word the way it is. However, this book makes it seem like the whole beat movement revolved around sexual confusion, unrequited love, and a miriad of every changing and unresolved love triangles.
I didn't know just how much the Beat movement was haunted by tragedy. Of course there was William B's poor wife getting shot in the William Tell routine, but there's a whole cast of secondary characters who killed themselves, were institutionalized, or were murdered.
Now I'm going to have to go back and reread some of favorite pieces in a new light.
I have this theory that sometimes it doesn't pay to know your heroes too well, cause they never live up to your expectations.
Emory Gets HUGE poetry library
Okay - sometimes you might wonder - is Atlanta a good place for poetry? But what place is, Atlanta is certainly not NYC, or San Fran, or Chicago. However, we have this new great Poetry at Tech program pulling in the heavyweights.
Today they announced that Emory University has just recieved the largest collection of Poetry from a private collector, It took 4 of those big truck containers to hold it all. Apparently the guy just bought EVERYTHING. It's almost like every book of poetry published in the last few decades - interesting.
Sometimes you can move to the happening place, but unfortunately by the time you do the wave has crested. Or... you can just wait for you place to turn into the happening place and be part of the process.
Book Behind Schedule
Well a couple of weeks of big projects as work, a week of heavy freelance, seem to have all conspired to put off my book. Checking my calender it was supposed to have been sent to iUniverse now.
On the up side, The Georgia Poetry Society has our first annual reading at the Barnes & Noble at Georgia Tech, and I'll be reading there.
Signs you might have the wrong job:
"I want to do this reading next friday night, it's the GPA anniversary and I'm on the board and all, this is something really important to me, and I not only HAVE to be there. I WANT to be there, it's something I really have to do."
Manager - "Well let me get back to you to see if we can swing it"
One of my last features I was all set and had come in early to get off in time to make it, and something came up just as I was walking out the door - ARGH!!!
Okay So it Works
Okay, so it works. Here's the plan. At least once a week touching base. I'm currently in the process of "releasing" my pieces out to the world. Taking a batch of these babies and throwing them out to publications and journals. Maybe one will stick to the wall, but it's mainly just to set up a process of letting go of these pieces. The thinking is that if I can let go of them enough to send them out to a journal, then they're ready for the book.
I just finished "Claire Brought Baseballs" and sent it out for her to read. It's a piece I really like, probably the most upbeat piece in the book, kinda warm n fuzzy, and about -- of all things -- baseball. I've never been one that bought into that whole American pasttime "Field of Dreams' magic of baseball crap. However, this is a different take on it.
I've also just finished "Visiting with the Locals" which is just the opposite in tone. That piece is probably going to get me in trouble with the ex-inlaws and probable the ex. Though to tell you the truth, it's transcended the basic story and become something I really want to talk about. It's grown from telling an interesting story full of irony, to being about how these people have to live, to being about what's happending to this next generation.
I visited the "ex" last weekend. Brought his truck down from Atlanta to Orlando then over to Tampa. ARGH!!! going down was the trip from hell. Tire blew out in the middle of no-where S.GA at 1am, then then that spare blew out about 3am in no-where N.FL. The only sleep I got that night was a couple of naps by the interstate waiting for the repair truck.
It was tempting to bring a copy of the book, but still too early. He gets to see a galley proof. I just want it to be a little more concrete before he sees it, if it still looks like too much of a draft, that's going to open a whole can of worms.
Getting Up n Runnin
Okay, so I've finally gotten to the point where I just can't put my book off much longer. It's been a long journey with a lot of obstacles (mostly of my own making). I've struggled with "finishing" pieces, being able to let them go, what it means to get that over and done and whats next, etc. etc.
I've still got a couple of months left to get it wrapped up and printed so this will also talk about that process and what happens around it.
Still have to do my website, Still have to "finish" some pieces.
