Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides Poetry Event for the Month of April

Robert Lee Brewer at Poetic Asides is having his annual Poem-A-Day Challenge.

Anyone can be part of it-- all you have to do is write a poem a day.

At the end of April, you can submit 5 of your favorite poems to see if you can be a "Poet Laureate." Later in the year, there's also a chapbook contest for poems written during National Poetry Month.

What I love about his event is that poets of all levels participate. You can be brand-spanking-new to poetry or someone who has published a few poetry collections.

Anyway, if you want to participate, all the details are here and he will post a poetry prompt tomorrow, April 1st for you to begin.

~

5 Free Poetry Books at January's Blog...

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January (aka PoetMom) is giving 5 poetry books free from CavanKerry Press on April 1st, (yes, tomorrow!) so if you haven't entered her drawing... go here now!

Happy National Poetry Month Eve!

Confession Tuesday

The Balance of Art

It's raining and storming and we lost our power for five minutes last night. It was bizarre, but long enough for us to find the flashlights, the lantern, call the electric company to report our outage and hear my daughter say to the stairs, "I wish the lights would come on!" And then they did. (We tend to lose power every time someone sneezes too hard in this town...)

Saturday was not raining and storming, but a beautiful almost-70 degree day that allowed me to garden all day. I planted our cool crop (aka the guinea pig garden) - a selection of greens-- spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, flat parsley, chives, etc. We also walked up to see our neighbor's new baby lambs. Ridiculously cute. Easter cute.

But I injured my right wrist while gardening, which is not good if you are a right-handed writer, if you are a right-handed gardener.

But this is life in a small town and it seems I should be confessing, but is there anything to confess.. Yes, of course there is. Let's begin.


To the confessional--

The Art of Being a Mom-


I confess when I was a kid I never looked at my mum and thought, "Wow, it's hard being a mom," but honestly, as a mother now, I must say, it's kind of tough sometimes.

And it's not the "being a mom" part that's tough, that's the easy part--all the love and crafts, the board games and groceries, the artwork, the free hugs, the love love love--but some of the other things like balance, like having to deal with other moms who you may normally not be friends with but you now know this person because your child knows their child, like the worry (some or all self-imposed), and the small dramas of childhood that come by surprise.

Sometimes it's hard for me to find that balance where it feels as if nothing was (is) neglected.

I'm sure there are others who are better at it than I am. I'm sure I worry more than I need to. Maybe it's because "parenting" has become a verb and when I was growing up you "had kids."

I once heard a woman say, "We do our best as mothers, and when we learn how to do better, we do that." I always liked that as I am far from perfect and constantly, always, learning.

~

I confess I don't think I ever appreciated what my mother did for me until I had a child.

Looking back at my mum, who raised 5 girls (I was the youngest of 5), how she spent 37 years of her life as raising us from when the oldest was born until I went to college, I wonder if anyone of us ever told her Thank You, a sincere thank you.

My mum is turning 76 tomorrow. We're taking her out to a surprise dinner and event. We will give her flowers and cake. And I will try to make sure she knows how thankful I am that she is in my life and for her raising/parenting/loving me.

~

I confess I wasn't planning on this being the parenting version of Confession Tuesday, but it seems that is where my mind is this morning.

~

I confess I saw that I had 97 Followers of my blog this morning and that made me happy. I'm thinking of doing something fun or giving something away when I hit 100.

~
As always, thanks for listening.
~Kells

Gratitude Journal

I'm writing a Gratitude Journal focused on the things that make me happy because yesterday I was so annoyed, wait, make that angry at someone who said some not-so-nice things to a child. I have no tolerance for mean people and I realized that I carried that anger home (because I didn't have the opportunity to confront that person) and while I wasn't angry with others in my life I found myself returning to that person and her cruelty instead of dropping it and moving on.

Because of that, today's Gratitude Journal will be focused on things that make me happy.

1) Bea Arthur (RIP) & Betty White (who will be hosting SNL!)

2) Orange lifesaver jellybeans

3) Baby lambs or any kind of baby animals

4) Women with short haircuts

5) Salma Hayek

6) Spring flowers that smell good

7) Homemade granola

8) Other people's babies that suck pacifiers while they sleep (I think they have the cutest expressions ever)

9) Random acts of kindness

10) Audio books

11) Playing Old Maid

12) Uno Attack (this game is the most fun!)

13) Writing thank you notes

14) Ridiculous sunny days and then rainstorms

15) Hearing an owl at 3 in the afternoon

16) Treefrogs at night

17) The covey of quails roaming our neighborhood

18) People who love their pets

19) People, who when you get to really know them, are pretty much the same people they let you see when you first met.

20) The Abstract Expressionist stamps now available at the post office.

21) Mail art

22) Sunday morning and the CBS Sunday Morning show

23) Seeing senior citizens dance in a beautiful old ballroom to swing music

24) Louis Armstrong

25) Music and its ability to change a mood

New Blogger Templates...

You may have seen a few remodeled blogs recently.

Blogger just let out a new template designer that gives bloggers much more freedom over their blogs.

I've been practicing here.

In May I hope to remodel my Book of Kells blog.

Speaking of Book of Kells, I may be moving to having that be my only blog and discontinuing Leonardo Likes Gulls.

The reason? This blog was my non-googleable blog for a long time because I was trying to separate my private life from the online world. The content on this blog used to done first, then the appropriate things transferred (aka "cut & pasted") over to the Book of Kells blog.

What I've realized lately is that both blogs are getting the same content as this one, so I'm just kind of duplicating my efforts.

So, if you want to become a Follower of BOOK OF KELLS, that may be a good idea as I might just link this blog up to that one and be done with it after National Poetry Month.

I just want to give myself some time to think about that.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

best
Kells

First steps--

Last night the first proof of my manuscript was sent to me from the publisher. This is the first step in making the book real seven months from now. I felt a little nervous, excited, and overwhelmed.

When I opened the PDF file, I was so impressed and happy with the layout and the font they choose. It's perfect.

Now let the proofing begin...

~

Strangest Rejection Ever

Yesterday I received a rejection from BOA for my manuscript (now known as Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room). What's odd is that it's been so long since I submitted this manuscript I hadn't realized it was still out anywhere. I submitted to BOA back in 2008; it even had a different title.

So I was first surprised to receive the rejection (especially since my book is being published), but I was even more surprised at the language of the rejection slip.

In the second paragraph the rejection says, "We enjoyed a number of the poems in this manuscript. However, a fair chunk of the poems here we felt didn't reach their secret subjects." Huh? Their secret subjects?

This made me stop for a moment and ask myself, "Are my poems that hard to understand?" It's amazing how a rejection letter can make one doubt herself.

I'm a pretty accessible poet, so then I thought, "Maybe this was rejection was meant for someone else."

Then I thought, "Ah, right. Form letter."

I called up my friend, Jeannine, who I remembered had also submitted to this press in 2008. She read me her rejection form, "...the poems here we felt didn't reach their secret subjects." Yep.

She said she thought about that that line as well.

I definitely want to work this into a poem. So let's see, there's Rest Assured Toilet Covers & secret subject. This will be one fantastic poem.

Anyway, it was a good reminder for me that:

1) You can't always trust rejection letters to be a true criticism of your work.
2) What you ponder for over hours, was just some weird wording that EVERYONE got as well
3) What is not publishable to one press is a prize winner to another.
4) Sometimes it just might be better for a press to say, "Sorry, we can't publish your manuscript" or "We have to pass on your manuscript" than to have some odd wording about "secret subjects" or other vague specificity to make the author feel as if you are addressing them individually.

(And do you just love that oxymoron "vague specificity"? I do.)

~

Bueller? Bueller?

Please let me know if you're participating in the NaPoMo Giveaway of free poetry books.

I just updated the links and want to make sure I haven't missed anyone, so if you're participating and I don't have you, please drop me an email at kelli (a) agodon.com with the link to your blog so I can get your name up.

National Poetry Month: Poetry Contest for Kids!

If you have a child between 5-12 years old, here's something for them for to be part of National Poetry Month--


"PAWS FOR POETRY” CONTEST INSPIRES KIDS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH BY WRITING ODES TO THEIR FAVORITE FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS

April is National Poetry Month. The 3rd Annual “Paws for Poetry” Contest Challenges Kids to Write Sonnets to Spaniels, Prose for Persian Cats

Colorado Springs, CO (March 1, 2010) –April marks the 14th anniversary of National Poetry Month.

To help celebrate, budding Emily Dickinsons and Edgar Allan Poes are encouraged to participate in the 3rd annual “Paws for Poetry” Contest (www.PawsforPoetry.org). To enter, children ages 5-12 are to write a poem to, and provide a photo of, their favorite animal friend. The contest is cosponsored by kids’ virtual field trip Web site Meet Me at the Corner (MeetMeAtTheCorner.org) and Flashlight Press (FlashLightPress.com ).

Original poems of any length may be submitted in one of two categories: Group One (ages 5-9) and Group Two (ages 10-12). One grand prize winner in each category will receive a prize package worth $50.00. Two runners-up in each category will receive a $25.00 gift package. Children’s author, poet, and Iraqi war veteran Thad Krasnesky, writer of the upcoming “That Cat Can’t Stay” (Flashlight Press, 2010) is the contest judge.

In addition to the prize packages, winning poems and pet photos will be highlighted in an upcoming Meet Me at the Corner video pod cast. The pod cast will be videotaped at New York's Angellicle Cat Rescue Center. Local students will present the winning poems.

All submissions should be mailed to “Paws for Poetry” Contest, c/o Meet Me at the Corner, 20 West Del Norte, Colorado Springs, CO, 80908. The contest deadline is April 15, 2010.

For more information, rules and submission guidelines, visit PawsforPoetry.org.

Chapbook Class - Seattle Area

If you're in the Seattle area, here's an EXCELLENT chapbook class. I took this same class in 2002 and it really helped me improve my chapbook manuscript (in fact, the revised chapbook was published the next year.)

Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think would be interested.

Here's the details--

Chapbooks: Northwest Explosion

Become chapbook savvy, and apply these insights to your own poems. We will consider the Northwest’s wealth of chapbooks. Here, they evolved into many forms from handmade art books to press-run contest prizes to self-published works to online versions. Chapbook’s content and design serve each other in a physical form achieved through layout, paper, printing method, binding, folding and other book-art features. For many poets, publishing chapbooks serves as the step from publishing single poems to the step before producing a full volume. By considering chapbooks, writers can use lessons learned as a means of ordering, deepening and expanding their own work.

Instructor: Ann Spiers
Meets: Saturday, April 17, 2010 - Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Min: 5 Max: 15
General: $96.00   (Add to cart)
Members: $86.40   (Add to cart)

 

HOW TO REGISTER ONLINE OR BY MAIL, PHONE OR FAX 
During the first week of member registration, students may register by telephone or in person only. Once general registration begins, students may also register online, through mail or by fax.

1.    Register online here; OR
2.    Call Hugo House at (206) 322-7030 with your credit card information. We’re here from noon to 6 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays (except holidays), OR
3.    Mail a completed registration form with your tuition check or credit card information to Registrar, Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122. If you already are a member or you become a member at the time of registration, take the member tuition rate. OR
4.    Fax your registration and credit card information to us at (206) 320-8767.
5.    Online registration is not available for youth or ZAPP classes. To register for youth classes, email margotcase@hugohouse.org. To register for ZAPP classes, email ZAPP@hugohouse.org, OR call us at (206) 322-7030.

If you just like talking to our registrar Kate (and who doesn't?) or if you have questions about particular classes, or you'd like a recommendation, give her a call at (206) 322-7030 ext. 103.

NaPoWriMo: 30 New Poetry Prompts for National Poetry Month

For those who don't know, NaPoWriMo = National Poetry Writing Month where people vow to write a poem a day.

Every year I list 30 writing exercises, but I realize I've posted the same writing prompts 2 years in a row, so this year, I put together 30 new writing prompts for April.

I haven't quite decided if I'm going to participate in NaPoWriMo this year since I did a similar exercise with poets in February, but I'm feeling inspired, so maybe I will.

If you want to participate, here are some writing prompts I hope inspire you and your poems--

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH: WRITE EVERY DAY!



1. Write a poem that uses at least five of these words: sizzle, calico, mumble, marrow, fossil, cinnamon, chant, arrowhead, Jupiter, Saturn, dunes. Repeat one of those words three times in your poem.

2. Open the closest book to you to page 46. Count down 7 lines. That is the first line or the title of your poem.

3. Write a poem in the voice of fictional character (literary, cartoon, fairytale, etc.) you’ve always liked, but in the poem, have that character do something that you disagree with.

4. Take a poem you’ve written but never liked and circle the best words from that poem. Have those words end the lines in a new poem you will write.

5. Write a poem to your favorite constellation.

6. Write a poem where the opening line is something you’ve recently overhead in public (i.e. “I can’t find any bananas without spots, black spots everywhere…)

7. Take a cliché and play with it until you have something surprising, make that your opening line, title, or the last line to your poem.

8. Write to something (or someone) beautiful that is no longer here.

9. Title your poem, “Self-Portrait with ___________” and start writing from there.

10. Turn on some jazz music. Write a poem to the rhythm of the song you are listening to.

11. Write a poem in sentences that are no more than five words each.

12. Write a poem without punctuation about a secret you know or wish you knew.

13. Take these six words—Anteros, crippled, 
spindles, stairwell, threshold, and whirligig—and incorporate them into a poem.

When you’re done, send the finished poem to this anthology:
thelistanthology(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @)
by May 15, 2010.

 Submissions will only be accepted via e-mail.

Visit www.kennesaw.edu/thelistanthology for more information.

14. Write an ode to something you dislike or something yucky.

15. Write a poem made up completely of lies, except make one line the truth.

16. Write a hundred words about someone who is living, but no longer in your life.


17. Write a list poem using only concrete nouns. Make the title an abstract word such as: Compassion, Jealousy, Envy, Wisdom, etc.

18. Find a very small scrap of paper and write your poem on that. See if the small space changes how/what you write.

19. Write a poem about something that feels dangerous to you.

20. Close your eyes and try to type out a country or city scene you can see in your mind.

21. Write a poem where the title is longer than the poem.

22. Take one word and repeat it at the end of every other line in your poem.

23. Write a poem that contains only questions.

24. Write ten favorite words on ten slips of paper. Begin your poem with “When I found…” Without looking, pick one of the words you’ve written and use it in your poem. Now, write 9 more lines and do the same thing for each line.

25. Find some crayons, colored markers, or colored pens/pencils and draw a picture of something, anything. Now write a poem about what you drew.

26. Grab the local paper or go online and choose a headline from the science or lifestyle section of the newspaper. Write a poem with that as the title.

27. Write down 6 things you did yesterday. Write down 6 questions you have about life. Write down 6 interesting images. Choose 3 from each category and use them in a poem.

28. Write a poem on a postcard. After you type the poem into your computer, mail the poem off to a friend.

29. Write a poem with a question as the title, but do not answer the question in the poem.

30. Write a poem where your first, last or middle name features prominently.


Congrats! You finished a month of poems! Now reward yourself by buying yourself a book of poems from a favorite or new poet.

See you next year!

Fairy Scientist

I hope we all still have a little bit of this scientist in each of us. And who knew fairies got their energy from pastel things...

Free Poetry Books for National Poetry Month!

If you haven't entered these drawings for FREE poetry books in honor of National Poetry Month, please do!

There are some incredible books of poems being given away in the next month.

Also, please know if you're participating at your own blog with giveaway, you are still welcome to sign up to win other blogger's poetry books and if you're not a blogger or a blogger, but not participating, you're still welcome to enter!

Here's our current list of bloggers taking part in the event.

If you'd like to giveaway free poetry books to your readers, go here to learn how and I'll add your blog below.

List of Bloggers Participating in the Poetry Book Giveaway 2010

• 1. Book of Kells - Kelli Russell Agodon
• 
  
• 2. Being Poetry - Erin Hollowell
• 
  
• 3. The Alchemist's Kitchen - Susan Rich
• 
  
• 4. More Words - Amylia Grace
• 
  
• 5. This Room Has a Ghost - Stephanie Goehring
• 
  
• 6. One Man's Trash - Justin Evans
• 
  
• 7. Myself the only Kangaroo among the Beauty - Sandy Longhorn
• 
  
• 8. A View From the Potholes - Marie Gauthier
• 
  
• 9. Kristin Berkey-Abbott
• 
  
• 10. One Poet's Notes - Edward Byrne
• 
  
• 11. Off the Page - Drew Myron

virtual Book Party! Hosted by Suzanne Frischkorn

What a great idea this is!


Suzanne Frischkorn is hosting a Virtual Book Party at her blog for her book GIRL ON A BRIDGE (and you're invited!)

She's serving virtual wine & cheese, and there's a reading of two poems.

Pretty neat idea here. Hope you stop by to offer some congratulations!

Happy Spring- Time 2 Ride!

My 3D Book Cover...

I happened upon this image on Terri Gordon's blog a couple weeks ago and have been meaning to share it with you.

She made these birdcages for a Marie Antoinete Mail Art Group to swap and when I saw them I thought, There's what my book cover would look like if it walked off the page. Or close.




Terri's work above. She also has an Etsy store.

My book cover image below:



You can see all views of these on Terri's blog

It was such a treat to wander upon these. Wonderful and whimsical.

I know Terri wasn't thinking of my book cover when she made them, but when I saw them, it was the first thing that came to mine, I imagined 3D book covers by my side for my readings. Seeing these felt like happy synchronicity for me.

Confession Tuesday

The Thank You note from my daughter's class after the poetry lesson

Yes, it's Tuesday already. Every 7 days, as my dad would say. We are always surprised by time, how it seems to be outrunning us. (It is.) How it advances without our approval or with our confusion, "How did it get to be spring?" (Really, do I *not* know this?)

But it moves, so it's time for another confession, or two, or seven.

To the confessional--

I confess that while I was listening to the new Pearl Jam song my husband said, "Oh, is that new Neil Diamond?" (Best line in the song-- "there's so much in this world to make me bleed. Stay with me...")

* * *

I confess I was amused that my daughter wrote on the Thank You note: "Thank you! You Rock! From Laney" - From? I hadn't realized our relationship had grown so formal and to the acquaintance level. ;-)

* * *

I confess I'm going to a new dentist for a cleaning today after having only been to one dentist since 2nd grade. (My brother-in-law, my ex-brother-in-law for the past fifteen years). I'm changing because to get to him, I have to take the ferry and in the end, takes out about 3 hours + in travel from my life. So I'm switching to a dentist I can ride my bike to. But I'm nervous (not to ride my bike, but to try someone new).

It makes me understand why people don't change. There is an anxiety to leaving what you know. Even if it has more cons than pros, sometimes it's easier just to stay with the routine.

I want to make sure I don't stay with routine (in my writing life and regular life) just because it's easier.

I'm a routine junkie. And there is a lot to be said with routine because it takes away choices. For example, I don't have to know what I'm going to eat for breakfast because I have the same breakfast every day. I know there will be Total cereal. Coffee. I know I like to drink Talking Rain after my cereal.

But it's easy to allow the routine to steer us, steer me.

* * *

I confess I'm not sure I'm going to get to 7 confessions, I kind of rambled on about routine.

* * *

I confess sometimes less is more.

Amen.

As I leaned over to blow dry my hair at the gym this morning, I saw this stored under the table and well, I loved the name of this and how it worked on multiple levels (so yes, when no one was looking, I took it out and photographed it with my phone--note the flowers I positioned near it to give it that "finished" look). Anyway as you can see--

Rest Assured Toilet Covers

First, who knew toilet covers had a name, but Rest Assured, how perfect is that? And what I love most was how they managed to get "ass" in their brand name. Your "ass" is "assured." The other funny thing is if you break "assured" down it's ass-u-red. (Maybe these toilet paper covers prevent you from getting that.) Do others find this stuff as captivating and hilarious as I do? I swear, I must get this into a poem.

And the best thing is that from now on when someone tells me "rest assured," I will probably break out laughing because my image of this cliche has completely changed.

So my challenge to you (if you choose to accept it) is-- what words, brands, language do you see around you every day that is actually pretty smart, witty, or surprising? What words can you find out in the world?

I'm interested and love this stuff. Let me know if you find anything...

It's amazing I get any writing done at all... (meet belle, cat #2)

No, the cat is not dead, just very relaxed ony desk

Dream of the Poet or How to be a Poet in 140 Words or Less...

The Dream of the Poet or The Kiss of the Muse 1859, Cezanne

January O'Neil (author of Underlife & blogger at PoetMom) received an interesting Twitter question--

What is the career path for a poet?

Here is her thoughtful response to it on her blog--



"Yesterday, I received a question on Twitter that I needed more than 140 characters to answer.

What is the career path for a poet?


I can only answer from my point of view, but I think the opportunities are wide open. But poets have to define for themselves what it means to be successful.


There's been a lot of talk of careerism and poetry on different Web sites. I think you have to be persistent and talented to make a career in poetry, just as in any field. With the many different ways to publish and the opportunities there are read in front of audiences, you can carve out a niche for yourself. However, the talent has to be there; otherwise, no one reads the books or comes to the readings.

I'd like to see more poets making money from the work they put into their craft."

_____________________________

I agree! I would LOVE *love* loVe! so see poets earn more for their poems. That would turn the Joe Jackson song ("What a wonderful world it would be, what a glorious time to be free...") into my permanent theme song.

I would love to see all writers and artists get paid more and be able to support themselves through their art. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if more people bought poetry books than Snuggies? They are about the same price (Snuggies may even be a bit more), but poetry warms you longer.

* * *

On Thursday, I talked a poetry lesson to my daughter's reading group at school. These were bright kids.

When we read Emily Dickinson's "I'm nobody, who are you?"

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

and I asked them what it meant, a little girl raised her hand.

She said, "I think it means that to be popular is so much work, it's so much easier to be yourself." She was in 4th grade and she pretty much nailed it! And they said, to be somebody you have to keep croaking your name like the frogs. Croaking your name. Now that, I want to use in a poem.

They asked other questions, if all the poets we read from were dead. Nope! I shared Maya Ganesan's book. Everyone was impressed. Someone their age writing such wonderful poems, the Vice Principal was especially impressed. I read a couple poems from my book (because the asked). This was harder because some of my poems aren't really appropriate for the 4th grade world. But some are and those I read.

They asked more questions-- what were Emily Dickinson's last words? (My daughter answered this-- "Let us go in; the fog is rising.")

What is your next book? Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room.

Are all the poems in your book about Emily Dickinson? No, I just wrote quite a few of them in the Emily Dickinson Room at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Oregon.

And then, the young business man in the back, age 10 asked-- Is it hard being a poet? (I wasn't exactly sure what he meant as there are so many layers to that question, but I thought about it for a moment.) No, it's fantastic, I said.

He smiled and paused, then in a concerned voice said-- But it seems that it would be easy to go broke between books? Ah, the money question.

I told him-- poets and many other artists make their money various ways, but it's important for me to do what I love. Sometimes I teach classes or workshops at writer's conferences, sometimes I am paid for my readings, sometimes I work with individual poets and writers.

I told him--It's more important for me to do what I love.

He asked-- would you do it if you didn't get paid? (Ah, grasshopper, this is the magic question for anyone looking for what they should be doing.) Yes.

Another girl raised her hand in the back-- When your book gets published in October, will you still write poems? Yes, I said. In fact, I'm going home today to write a poem.

They cheered. Happy creative 4th graders. All of them want to follow their passions, no matter what they are. I hope they keep that. That is the career path to whatever you want to do-- listen to your heart and head in that direction. There are no maps in this world only a borderless land for you to enjoy.


~

The Good News Post...

If Hollywood can celebrate themselves like crazy, I think we (writers & artists) should to.

This post is all about the good news in the poetry world lately. There has been SO much good news it's been hard to keep up!

Let's begin with the awards--

For Foreward's Book of the Year Award in Poetry-- the finalists are...


Archicembalo by G.C. Waldrep
Born in the Cavity of Sunsets by Michael Luis Medrano
By Cold Water by Chris Dombrowski
Fort Red Border by Kiki Petrosino
From the Fever World by Jehanne DuBrow
Holding Everything Down by William Notter
Home By Now by Meg Kearney
How God Ends Us by DeLana R.A. Dameron
I Wish I Had a Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman by Jude Nutter
My Kill Adore Him by Paul Martinez Pompa
Self-Portrait with Crayon by Allison Benis White
Shore Ordered Ocean by Dora Malech
Slamming Open the Door by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno
Southern Comfort by Nin Andrews
Sumac's Red Arms by Karen Shklanka
Talking Diamonds by Linda Nemec Foster
The Beginning of the Fields by Angela Shaw
The Essential James Reaney by James Reaney
Then, Something by Patricia Fargnoli
Underlife by January Gill O'Neil
We Mad Climb Shaky Ladders by Pamela Spiro Wagner

Do you see anyone you know? Let me highlight a few names that stood out for me--

Underlife by January Gill O'Neil
Southern Comfort by Nin Andrews
Then, Something by Patricia Fargnoli
Self-Portrait with Crayon by Allison Benis White

Yeah, Ladies! January, Nin, Pat & Allison-- Cheers to the women of poetry who are so FORWARD in their work. Congrats to you all!

(And on another note, 2 of these collections (Underlife & Self-Portrait with Crayon) were chosen by editors at Crab Creek Review as their top poetry picks and will feature mini-reviews in the next issue coming out in April 2010!

Oh and in the category of "How Important is a Title?" Let me tell you, I will be purchasing this book based on title alone: I Wish I Had a Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman by Jude Nutter


For the Lambda Literary Nominees--

* Breakfast with Thom Gunn, by Randall Mann (University of Chicago Press)
* The Brother Swimming Beneath Me, by Brent Goodman (Black Lawrence Press)
* The First Risk, by Charles Jensen (Lethe Press)
* Sweet Core Orchard, by Benjamin S. Grossberg (University of Tampa Press)
* What the Right Hand Knows, by Tom Healy (Four Way Books)

Charlie & Brent - Congratulations!

And one more bit of good news--

Mr. Eduardo Corral has a poem on POETRY DAILY today!


I needed this overload of good news for good poets. Congrats to all!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Northwest

New Poet and...

So I'm kind of bummed tonight.

I was on the Poetry Foundation website as I'm teaching a short poetry lesson at my daughter's school tomorrow and I click on this poem: On Leaving the Bachelorette Brunch and I am in love. The poet? Rachel Wetzsteon, a poet who I have never heard of! (I don't think I've heard of and here she is with all these poems I've never read.) I've found a new poet and whose work I love. I am giddy.

I choose another poem: Short Ode to Screwball Women and another: Blue Octavo Haiku.

I'm excited, who is she? Is she on Facebook? I start reading her bio. She's published 3 books of poems! Three! I'm excited, that 3 new books for me to read. She's an editor too. I'm in love with this new (old) poet. She's a couple years older than me. 42. But we're close, my new poet and I, she gets me.

And then I come to it. Then I notice the (1967-2009) by her name. What?

I google. What I find: Rachel Wetzsteon, Poet of Keen Insights and Wit, Dies at 42. I'm heartbroken. And it seems she was too. Suicide. Christmas eve or Christmas morning 2009. Just a few months ago. No, not another poet lost.


Dear Rachel,
You were too young.

___________

So I'm sad. And bummed. And heartbroken too.

I'll leave you with Rachel's words from her poem because she should be the one speaking here, not me. I'm just someone who found her poems today, looking for something else, I found her. And she's gone.



Sakura Park
(published originally in Poetry Magazine & the book of poems by the same name)


The park admits the wind,

the petals lift and scatter

like versions of myself I was on the verge

of becoming; and ten years on

and ten blocks down I still can’t tell

whether this dispersal resembles

a fist unclenching or waving goodbye.

But the petals scatter faster,

seeking the rose, the cigarette vendor,

and at least I’ve got by pumping heart

some rules of conduct: refuse to choose

between turning pages and turning heads

though the stubborn dine alone. Get over

“getting over”: dark clouds don’t fade

but drift with ever deeper colors.

Give up on rooted happiness

(the stolid trees on fire!) and sweet reprieve

(a poor park but my own) will follow.

There is still a chance the empty gazebo

will draw crowds from the greater world.

And meanwhile, meanwhile’s far from nothing:

the humming moment, the rustle of cherry trees.


--Rachel Wetzsteon

Confession Tuesday

Dear Readers, it's Tuesday. Tuesday during the chocolate-free Lent (I have not cheated), though I have eaten the cookie of a chocolate chip cookie leaving the chocolate as some sort of messy miniature coal pile on my napkin. But I did not give up dessert.

So maybe I've been good, pretty good... Let's go to the confessional and see what's going on--


I confess I now know way too much about Howie Mandel.

You see, when I clean, I listen to books on tape. And while many times they are brain-growing, intelligent prose, sometimes they are fluff books, bubblegum for the brain.

I had a huge project of redoing my daughter's room so I checked out from the online library, Howie Mandel's memoir, Don't Touch Me, which explores his life and becoming a comedian while having OCD. (He also is colorblind, has ADD and ADHD and spent much of his elementary school years falling into puddles...)

I checked it out because I was interested in his OCD and how he handles it since he's a celebrity. He hid it for most of his career and it just came out to the public that he had it a few years ago.

The really bad thing about these books is I find myself bringing up random facts to my husband, "You know, Howie Mandel sold carpets..." What's odd is I have never really liked Howie Mandel, his humor, his personality, St. Elsewhere, but I must say, I listened to the whole book.

I confess I'm currently listening to Andre Agassi's memoir which is something like 12 hours long. Let's just say, he's still a teenager and I'm pretty much out of housechores...

~ ~ ~

I somehow got a subscriptions to Forbes magazine.

I have no idea how this happened. It just started arriving a couple weeks ago.
I decided that this must be the universe giving me knew writing (and reading) material.

~ ~ ~

I confess my brain is still full, overflowing, but I've been so tired I think the anxiety dreams have been passing me by.

~ ~ ~

I confess that tomorrow is St. Patrick's day and the Irish part of me beats up the French part and takes over. I kind of love the Irish part of me. But I confess I dislike beer very much.

~ ~ ~

I confess I know little about college basketball, but I somehow got into a March Madness bet where I have to fill out brackets of teams. (I think my husband wants me to participate so I'll watch college bball with him...) I confess there is nothing I like to watch less than college basketball because I don't understand the rules.

~ ~ ~

I cannot tell you how much I love this song (You and Me). And I confess Dave & I have the same birthday (January 9th).

1950's Poet/Prom Queen

A friend of mine had a "Prom Party" on Saturday and this was how my husband and I dressed. I love vintage and retro, so getting me to dress like this isn't hard.

Some people went for tacky, some for glamour, but this was completely my style. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong decade.

Anyway, here are some images from the night--

( The reserve Prom King & Queen sashes I had for us.)

My husband and I did not win Prom King & Queen, but we did earn the runner up sashes as "Princesses."

Our dance as Prom Royalty. I was trying to do that scene from Dirty Dancing where Patrick Swayze is teaching Jennifer Grey how to dance. The song we were dancing too was "(I had) the Time of My Life."

This should be my author photo.

Congrats to Alison Stine!

Ali just won the University of Wisconsin Brittingham Prize and her second book will be published next year! That is one of my very favorite series! They do such nice work at the press and with that contest.

Since I'm already the owner of her chapbook & first full collection, Ohio Violence, I'm thrilled at this news!

Congratulations, Ali!

Confession Tuesday

Magnolias in bloom: Small Town, WA

I am full of thoughts --hodgepodge, overload, heavysteps--so the confessional doors at busting open. No intro, no welcome, I am falling head over untied shoes into the confessional and beginning... Hold on to your virtual rosaries, it's been a wild week--

To the confessional--

I confess I have been going to bed with a full mind. Sort of like an overstuffed purse that is dropping receipts and tissue as you walk. I am messy and spilling over. I am a full tree of magnolia blooms, opening, opening, opening.

At night when I fall into bed, I am like a cat whose fur is full of static. I may be resting, but there is so much energy going on.

In fact, I've been having my anxiety dreams, dreams where I have lost 1) my wedding ring 2) my iPhone or I have 1) forgotten to take some important medicine I need to survive (note: I do not take any medicine except allergy medicine in the spring, so this is a dream-created medicine I am afraid I'm missing), 2) I have forgotten to give someone medicine, 3) I have forgotten I have pets and realize I have not fed them for months 4) I have forgotten that I have a bird that I keep in my armoire (um, I do not own a bird).

Can you see a theme?

I have had these anxiety dreams since I was 24. They vary, they come and go, but they have never completely left.

~

My friend A. has returned from a week long retreat and still has Retreat Brain (that special quiet and calmness you get from being cut off from the world for a week). She says she is losing it, not her mind, but that retreat feeling. I yearn for that quiet when my mind has its volume on high.

~

I confess last night I found myself reading the local news and regretting it.

Before I went to Hedgebrook I was an NPR junkie, but I confess, I haven't been listening to it during the day, only the shows I love that are not overly-news filled. I hate to say it, but it was just bringing me down. I constantly look for that balance of being informed, but not being overwhelmed.

Sometimes I lean towards becoming the ostrich with my head in the sand.

Sometimes you (I) need to be the ostrich.

~

I confess I cut my hair with orange craft scissors. And I do this all the time.

If I had a motto shirt it could read: Hair by Impatience.

~

Someone said to me recently, "You have great skin." I confess that is not complete. What they said was, "You have great skin for someone in their forties..." (I'm 41.) Still, it was a compliment with a bite of venom for fun.

But I will tell you my skincare secret (shhhhhh).... Ivory soap and Lubriderm (unscented for normal to dry skin). I have been using both of these since I was in my 20's.

Though I have recently purchased Olay (aka Oil of Old Lady) Skin foam (Olay Total Effects Cream Cleanser, 6.5-Ounces (Pack of 2) to use at night because my skin has been dry this winter.

~

Because I wasn't a cute or pretty child, getting older hasn't been a big deal to me because I think I'm actually getting better looking (really, I might not be, but I like myself more and I think that's the most important kind of beauty). When you're not pretty as a child, you have nothing to lose as you age. I had no idea how much of a benefit this would be for me.

Plus, I think attitude and intellect (aka brain power) portray beauty more than good skin and a hot bod.

~

Amen.

The Alchemist's Kitchen is Available!

My good friend Susan Rich has received copies of her book The Alchemist's Kitchen and you can order yours here!

The best part of ordering your book directly from the poet is that you can get your copy signed by her (this is also wonderful if you buy them for a gift for someone). I always love to have my poetry books signed by the author whenever possible.

One fact you may not know about this book is that there is a poem in there dedicated to me. I am pretty sure this is my very first poem dedication!

My copy is in the mail and I cannot wait to see it in person!

I know Susan announced this as well, so you want a copy, I'd suggest you order soon as I tend to believe this will a book she will be selling out of. Really lovely, precise, incredible writing.

~

And here's a poem from the collection for you to enjoy--

The 4 O'Clock News @ House of Sky


In the beginning we wanted

to cast ourselves
as opera stars, to break apart

like gorgeous women
palm reading at the piano bar ~

music stinging like salt from the sea.

We were spiraling ridges, dust-darlings
and dangerous.

We were peonies ~ cut
and arranged like astronauts

in flight. We soaked in syllables

not water; rode the Southern
drawl of the wind

over cobalt glass ~
backlit by a disc of sun.


--Susan Rich

First Published in Diode
Now published in The Alchemist's Kitchen

Coming Soon - National Poetry Month!

So April is not the cruelest month (or maybe it is depending on how you look at it), but it is also National Poetry Month...

Here are a few things that will be going on for National Poetry Month you may want to take part in--

1) Poetry Book Giveaway:
I'll have more details posted about this event this weekend, but basically that bloggers offer 2 books of poems to giveaway to their blog readers (one can be a book they wrote, another a book of poems by a favorite poet). That will be happening here at Book of Kells - I'll create a master list with the participants, so you can surf around to different blogs and learn about new poets and hopefully win a book or two.

Check back this weekend, March 13/14 for more details on how to participate.

2) Poem-a-Day:
Robert Lee Brewer is hosting the Poem a day challenge where poets are challenged to write a poem a day through all of April. 30 poems in 30 days... you might be interested.

3) 30 Writing Exercises for National Poetry Month.
At the end of March, I'm going to post 30 writing exercises to do for National Poetry Month.

4) More about National Poetry Month from the Academy of American Poets...

Tackling Taxes if You Are a Self-Employed Writer, Poet and/or Artist - The Basic Organization

(I had this cartoon up last year around this time and well, I think it's funny enough to have it make a return showing...)

I am not an accountant and will not pretend to be one here.

In fact, I hate doing taxes so much, I have never done my own, but since college have paid someone to do them. Even when I was Top-Ramen-Eating broke, I went to Sears and had them done byH&R Block for $50. Taxes are an area where I believe people know more than me and I don't like to mess around with them, so I will pay them do to the chore I dislike the most...yes, even more than cleaning the bathroom.

But I'm writing this post is just to pass along some information I received last year from our tax accountant in the job of keeping track of things as a freelance writer or artist. It's a question I get a lot this time of year and thought maybe the info could help you out a bit.

If you haven't created files for your receipts & income this year or become organized with your self-employed/freelance part of your life, it's not too late, it's only March, you can start keeping track of your expenses and earnings right now. (And if you are making $$ off of your writing or art, I am pretty sure you need to let the IRS know each year...)

Here's how I organize my earnings and expenses for my writing life.

Note: I live in Washington State, so the rules, laws, etc. might be different than your state so make sure you look into it so you get it correct for yourself. I am not an expert, just someone who is trying to follow the rules and stay organized.

So here is my basic organization for my writing life and then I'll break it down a little more.


Since I am self-employed, the most important thing I can do is keep my receipts on expenses, keep track of my mileage, and keep track of how much income I made as a writer.

Here is my basic breakdown that I organize by--

EARNINGS
EXPENSES
MILEAGE

What I usually do is just have one big folder in my desk file drawer for all of these.

I organize it a couple days before our appointment with our tax accountant, as that way everything is in one place and I don't have to spend all year thinking about it.

My yearly process is like this--I get a receipt and put it in the folder. I win a poetry contest or am paid for a reading, I put the check stub in the folder. I drive some place to give a reading, I put the mileage in my folder. That's it, I just do that all year long. It's simple and doesn't take any time.

Another way you can do this is to have 3 folders near your desk or where you can put in all your receipts, check stubs, or notes (in the case of mileage) for these three items. This may help you at first remember what you need to keep for your taxes.

* * * *


Once you have this system down, you can break down these categories even more.

Expenses can be broken down into:
Meals
Lodging
Books
Printing/Other Expenses
Other Home Office Expenses (if you have a home office)


Since I have a home office, my tax guy needs these numbers for the year as well since a certain percent is deductible--

Electric:
Water:
Garbage:
Propane:
Phone/Internet:

****There are certain rules about what a home office consists of, so definitely look into that because I know not every home office counts. My home office is the writing studio I build (aka Shed of Kells) and it does count as a true home office.

For me, paying the extra fee to have an accountant take care of this for me and to have someone who will answer all my questions is completely worth the charge than for me to do my own taxes.

So that's about it. That's how I organize my taxes for my writing life.

Each year it gets a little easier because I know what I'm looking for and am supposed to keep. It's pretty much a habit for me to just toss all my receipts, payment info, and mileage into my folder. And 2010-Kelli is currently thanking 2009-Kelli for being so organized, it makes this time of year so much easier.

Happy Refund Check to you! (I hope!)

~

Book Trailer: The Process

I promised I'd write about some of the challenges I faced with my book trailer and how I revised (or do I say edited since I'm a filmmaker now?) the first book trailer to the final product and what I did right and not-so-right.

First, you must realize, like a poem, or book title, or manuscript, when you show your finished book trailer to friends or family, they will all have different ideas of what they would like to see in your trailer or how it should be. Their opinions will overlap and not overlap with yours. Their opinions will overlap and not overlap with each other.

Like every good creation, I do think it's important that while you take on suggestions and ideas (mine included) that you stay close to your own idea/beliefs/vision of what you want your book trailer to look like.

I am a big believer in that art by consensus creates not-so-good art. Every poem, art project, or book trailer needs not be liked by everyone.

I believe that about people too, but that's another post about living authentically...

But returning to making book trailers--

Problem #1--

My first book trailer had images of the Sylvia Beach Hotel where I wrote some of the poems in the collection and where the title poem came from. The problem-- my first book trailer looked like an ad for a bed & breakfast. You wouldn't know it was for a book until the book image came up.

Solution-- Keep in only the best images that revolve around the book's Emily Dickinson theme and the image of a room and water.


Problem #2--

At the end, the view realized it was for a book, but no one knew it was for a book of poems.

Solution--I added "A collection of poems by Kelli Russell Agodon" so there would be no question about what this book was.


Problem #3--

No one knew what my book was about.

Solution--I added words to show the idea of finding calmness in a chaotic world. I wanted the heart of the collection to be known in my book trailer.


Many people who say the first video wanted me to put my book cover at the very beginning as well. My problem with that suggestion and my vision for the trailer, is I sort of wanted to produce something like a movie trailer and to add mystery to where this was going. I felt putting my book cover in the beginning was sort of like showing my hand and took away the punch of the book image at the end.

A couple people wanted it longer. Personally, it's 8 seconds longer than I would like. I think the perfect book trailer is a minute or under. To me it's like a poem that way, if you don't need it, take it out. And "tighten, tighten, tighten..."


Other ideas to consider when making a book trailer.

1) Determine what your book is about and what you want to convey to the reader. In short, these are little movies or music videos, what can you tell your viewer about your book in under a minute.

2) Think about videos or even movie previews you like. Why do you like them? Can you do something like that for your book?

3) What mood do you want to set with your book trailer? Music or sound is good to set the mood.

4) What is about your book that you think people would be interested in or should know about. Include that!

5) I would try to keep it as short as possible. For me, my goal is a minute or less.

6) What images, subjects, or themes do you want people to associate with your book?

7) Don't forget to include some sort of contact info (like a website) at the end.

8) For me, it seems the last images stay the longest, make them good!

9) Can you use lines from your poems in the trailer? Do you want a voiceover? Or just music? How can sound help you? (this is similar to # 3)

10) Can you write a one sentence summary of your book to help you make your book trailer? For example, mine is-- Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room explores finding calmness in a chaotic world. That's as short as I could get it, so I let that be my focus.

And to me, this is most important--

Remember to stay true to your own vision. Even if this medium is new to you (and it is to me), remember that you know your book better than anyone and what you want to convey. Trust that.


Hope this helps those of you trying this. Good luck!

Saturday Thoughts

The Two I's--

At the final health class about development, the doctor said, "What everyone wants is to feel important and included..."

She was talking about 10-12 year old girls, but I think this is pretty much everyone, even adults.

I've started asking my daughter when she comes home, what did you do today to make someone feel important and included? I've started asking myself the same thing.

~

This was on Sam Hamill's Facebook status today--

"A poem is not an expression, nor is it an object. Yet it somewhat partakes of both. What a poem is / Is never to be known, for which I have learned to be grateful. But the aspect in which I see my own / Is as the act of love. The poem is a gift, a bestowal..." Hayden Carruth

and this

Comment: If gratitude and generosity inform the true practice of the poet, how can that work not rise up against the poisonous excrements of corporate capitalism? The poem is a revolutionary act.

~

I love that Sam Hamill is on Facebook.

~

In the 30 seconds it took for me to let in my golden retriever, I lost my slipper.

~

Last night I might Lazy Granola, it is very easy and SO good. I've linked up the recipe. I used honey and brown sugar, but you could use agave if that's more your style.

I love knowing exactly what is in my granola and how much.

~

Last night I dreamed that Albert Goldbarth bought me a popsicle. (This is my FB status currently.)

~

I have a poem in the current issue of Redactions called "How to Sketch." It's an ekphrastic poem after this drawing by Stanislaus Gorski. Here's the opening line:

"Instead of her dressing falling away,/draw hollyhocks, pale..."



~

Do you feel important and included?

~

Scott Poole has two poems in Redactions and I always enjoy his poems. Here's a line from one of them, "And the best part is always/the wait..."


~

Quote of the Day

I was pretty intrigued by this quote:


"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."

When I read it I got a knot in my stomach thinking, yes, this is exactly what is wrong with the children of today. However, the quote is attributed to none other than Socrates in the fifth century, B.C.

I think we all believe our problems, conflicts, and issues are new, but we are always talking about the same thing.

I saw on Jeannine's post that someone was griping that there are "too many poets, too many MFA programs, too many poems being written..." And this is a bad thing, how?

Perspective is an interesting thing. You can make anything appear to be good or bad. Someone's actions-- say your daughter is a little outspoken, is she assertive, strong and able to say her opinion or is she bossy, selfish, and only concerned with herself?

When we look at the world, sometimes we see what people tell us to see. Too many poets, too many poems, too many writing programs. I'm looking at the world and thinking there could be more-- poets, poems, and writing programs. There can more artists too. And girls who are not afraid to speak their minds. Boys too.

You can look out and scarcity or plenty. It's your choice.

I'm challenging myself today when I hear a negative to figure out the positive in it. Since I've been in a cranky mood this week, it's a good practice. I'll let you know how it goes. Why don't you try it too, tell me how it works out.


Post for tomorrow: The Two I's.

Book Trailer - How To Make a Book Trailer with iMovie

Yes, it seems the new thing these days are book trailers.

The first book trailer I saw was by the wonderful poet, Alison Stine, though I'm not sure she thought of it as a book trailer. It was a wonderful video she posted on her blog that travelled roadways until we arrived at our destination, a box of books which was opened and revealed Ohio Violence (Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry), her book.

Now, Alison obviously did some things right because I remember that video very well. I know there's a scene in a car and I remember the book at the end. To me, this is a successful video, when you remember the book or an image from it.

From Aimee Nezhukumatathil's, the images of the candy hears & necklaces, plus the typing sounds stand out most for me. The lemons reminded me of her first book, Miracle Fruit, so I liked seeing those.

I remember when I first watched that video and heard the typing, I thought "Dang! I want that sound!" - Book trailer envy means she's doing something right.

One other thing that stayed with me was Aimee's website, which is the very last image. That is something to remember, the last images may stay with the viewer most.

Here's Aimee's video--

At the Drive-In Volcano from aimee nezhukumatathil on Vimeo.

~

The book trailer I put together I did on iMovie after watching a 3 minute tutorial.

I had never worked with iMovie (in fact, I've only had my MacBook Pro for 3 months, so I don't have a lot of experiences with Macs), so the fact I figured it out means that anyone can do it.

If you have iMovie, watch the tutorial first (a couple times), then start trying to make your book trailer. Then watch it again. It's amazing how it makes so much more sense once you're in the middle of your book trailer.

(BTW, if you don't have a book, you can do this for a poem, or make a video highlighting your artistic life...)

Basically, here's what I would do if you want to make a video.

Gather all the images or video you would like to be in your book trailer and put them all in one place. (Mine were in my downloads folder because they were images I took from my writing retreat at Sylvia Beach.)

Open iMovie and it will say something like "First Project" if you have never done one, Click on FILE and choose "New Project" and give it a name. Something like: Title-of-book Book Trailer.

From there, grab the images or video you are using from wherever you are keeping them and drag them into the upper lefthand corner, which is your book trailer project. They will play in the order you put them in. You can click on them to move them around if you don't like the order.

If you want music, Diane Lockward posted a great post about Book Trailers with links where you can get royalty free music here. (She also talks about where you can get images for your movie if you don't have them.)

Download the music you want then drag it from your downloads folder into the project area. That's it. You now have music to go with your images.

From here, it's just playing around to learn what everything does. You can click on the images to change how long they appear. Or you can add transitions, text, etc. by clicking on the icons on the gray bar in the middle towards the right.

I am still learning, so I don't have a lot of detailed advice to give except just explore and play around with it. You can't mess anything up and if you want, make a project called: "Practice Trailer" or something like that and just start experimenting with things to see what happens if you drag something into your project box.

The only other thing I want to add is for you to remember to get permission from others if you use their images in your video. I asked a couple people on Flickr if I could use their images and they were kind enough to say yes. I ended up not using them (I might in another video), but it's important to get permission if it is not from your own personal photos.

There are also quite a few sites with non-copyrighted images and graphics, just google what you are looking for.

So that's it.

I plan on doing a follow up to this post with things I think make a good book trailer and how I revised mine, but this will get you going.

And for those who asked me if they could copy my idea, please feel free as it's not my idea (I got the idea from other authors) and it's really a fun creative thing to do. That is what has amazed me most, I actually enjoyed putting it together. It was very satisfying.

I'm guessing if you don't have a Mac you can use other movie-making software. The tips in my next post may be more helpful as they will address what I think makes a good book trailer and how I revised my first attempt at a book trailer into what you saw on YouTube.

So good luck and if you do make a book trailer or poem video, please post it on your blog and let me know. I'd love to see what others come up with.

The Not-So-Authorly Photos

Here are a few of the rejects... though I kind of like the first one--