Gwarlingo and Me: A Love Story

NEWS FLASH: I was the Sunday Poem Gwarlingo feature on Sunday, May 12. Please check it out!

Several months ago I came across Gwarlingo, an online site dedicated to advancing the arts. The site is run by its creator, Michelle Aldredge, who previously worked at the MacDowell Colony but left in 2011 to pursue and support the arts with this new venture. Not surprisingly, Michelle is herself a writer.

What, you might ask, does Gwarlingo mean? It's defined this way at the website: "Gwarlingo is a Welsh word for the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before it strikes." Michelle strikes a few times a week with posts that feature filmmakers, musicians, novelists, memoirists, and, bless her, poets. Part of her mission is to feature artists who might not have been absorbed into the mainstream, so you can expect to find some new faces and work at the site as well as some familiar ones. All past poet features can be found in the Sunday Poem archive. There is also a complete archive for all artist features.

I came across this site when Michelle initiated her fundraiser, with a goal of raising $15,000, a sum that would allow her to keep the site ad-free. Like you, most likely, I come across a number of fundraising projects for artists. I can't contribute to all of them; nor are all of them equally worthy. But this one struck me as very worthy as the whole idea is to support other artists and to promote the arts. Plus, Michelle offers some enticing rewards for contributions.

Of course, my favorite feature at Gwarlingo is the Sunday Poem. A single poet is selected for the feature which includes a bio, some photos, cover images, excerpts from reviews, and a sampling of poems. This can be read at the website or via email delivery.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when Michelle contacted me for a Sunday Poem feature. Thus I became the featured poet on Sunday, May 12, Mother's Day. What a perfect gift! Michelle chose four poems from my book, Temptation by Water: "Implosion," "How Sarah Wins the Essay Contest," "The Jesus Potato," and "Seventh-Grade Science Project."

If you're not already a subscriber, I encourage you to become one. Simply go to the Gwarlingo site and add your email address to the box in the righthand sidebar. Then you, too, will receive the Sunday Poem and a mid-week piece by email. And if you can make a contribution, please do so. Look for more information at the site, again in the righthand sidebar. Michelle is very close to her goal, but would surely appreciate a bit more help. Should you care to contribute, you'll stand with others who support Michelle's mission to promote the arts. Donations in any amount can be made. But even if you can't contribute, all of the past articles and gorgeous visual work remain available to you. Enjoy!

Cookies, Anyone? Soup?

Look who's reading my new book!

On Friday, February 4, food blogger and children's author Jama Rattigan featured one of the poems from my new book, Temptation by Water, at her wonderful blog, Alphabet Soup. The poem she chose is If Only Humpty Dumpty Had Been a Cookie.

Along with the poem, Jama included the most amazing photos, such as the one above which is now one of my very favorite photos in the world. The photos of cookies will make your mouth water. Bring a bib! There's also a very cool prompt using cookie tiles, each with a word on it. Give it a try. There's even information about a poetry contest for a forthcoming book entitled Whitman Cooks. I'm delighted with this feature and hope that you will pay the site and my poem a visit.

Another new reader!

As if that weren't enough delight, Jama has posted another of my poems in this week's "Friday Feast," a poetry feature that appears each week. This time it's No soup for you!, a poem that found its inspiration in the Soup Nazi, a character from the Seinfeld show.

Jama has really outdone herself. The photos of soup will leave you drooling with desire. Then comes the poem, followed by my commentary on it. The commentary developed from some questions Jama sent me. There's also a recipe for mushroom soup. And finally, there's a Book Giveaway. Go to Jama's post and leave a comment with the name of your favorite soup. That's all you have to do to enter to win a copy of my book, Temptation by Water, a signed copy of Jama's book, Dumpling Soup, and the t-shirt you see being modeled by the bear above. You can get extra chances by blogging, tweeting, or facebooking about the Giveaway. Let me know if you win.

A Prince of a Reading

You know the story that ends, "You have to kiss a lot of frogs to get a prince"? I sometimes think of this as a metaphor for poetry readings. Some just work out better than others. Occasionally one makes you wonder why you do readings. Occasionally one reminds you why you give readings and how wonderful they can be. That, I'm happy to say, was my experience this past Saturday night in Lambertville, NJ.

I was invited by Vasiliki Katsarou to read at Panoply Books, a charming used books store owned by Roland Boehm. I was very much looking forward to the reading as it was my first NJ reading from my new book, Temptation by Water. Vasiliki made a beautiful flier which she posted around town and in the store. She also emailed it to me so that I could use it to invite people. She also posted the reading at Facebook and Twitter.

I was hoping for maybe ten people to show up, so was delighted when we had somewhere between 20-25. Considering the size of the store, that was a big crowd, standing room only! What a fabulous audience they were! Attentive, engaged with the poems, not one person working on her own poems.

I read ten poems in the order in which they appear in the book. That allowed me to talk a bit about the structure and motifs of the book. Then we had a Q&A, something I always enjoy after a reading. Vasiliki provided a lovely spread of snacks—crackers and cheese, some kind of filo dough hors d'oeuvre, grapes, Prosecco. So people had some nice munchies after the reading. I sold and signed books and continued the conversation a bit longer.

Then I went home and slept like a baby.

Lambertville is one of those artsy towns with lots of bookstores, antique shops, and art galleries, 

sort of an old world feel to it. Did I mention that this is where Gerald Stern lives?

Every second Saturday of the month the stores stay open late, so there were lots of people milling about. 

Some of them wandered in during the reading and lingered for a poem or two.

The outside of Panoply Books

The interior, back room where I read

Me reading, looking somewhat spectral, feet of some audience members—photo taken by Ray Brown who brought 5 people with him which is one reason why I'm a big Ray Brown fan

A New Review and It's Weird

Poet and reviewer Nicelle Davis has written a delightfully wacky review of my book, Temptation by Water. The review is posted at Pank and illustrates that reviews don't have to be stodgy affairs. This one is creative and unusual. There's a brief prose overview and then two visuals. Yes, visuals!

The prose part begins, "Diane Lockward’s collection of poems, Temptation by Water, takes readers on a journey through a maze of sorrows and delights." Click HERE to read the rest of the review.

Here's one of the visuals. Notice how the book's water motif is visually represented and how Davis manages to bring in some quotations from the poem. The second visual is a unique kind of maze. Very charming, I think!

Poetry Reading in Lambertville

Any chance that you'll be in NJ this Saturday? If so, I'd love to see you at this reading. The bookstore looks like a very cool space, and Lambertville is supposed to be filled with galleries and artsy spots. This is the one Saturday per month that all the stores and galleries will be open. Try to come!

Temptation by Water: Book Trailer

I have finally finished my book trailer. To be more precise, I should say that I have finally mustered up the courage to release it to public view. Now why should that take courage? I guess for the same reasons it takes courage to go public with any creative endeavor. There's that inner voice that says, Maybe it really stinks. Maybe people will mock it—and me! Maybe it does my book a disservice. But then I took myself in hand, put those voices to silence, reminded myself that I put a lot of time and effort into this, and mustered up the courage to unveil my creation.

I obtained most of the photos from photoXpress. This site allows you to download up to 10 photos per day. They have an extensive selection of high quality photos. I also used Keypad, part of the Apple software in iWork, to make the clips with text and the opening cover page and the final author picture. Again, I borrowed my music track from Kevin MacLeod. Getting the right music is a challenge. It has to thematically fit the video and it has to be the right time length. I feel very fortunate to have found "What You Want," which fits my trailer for time but more importantly for theme and tone. I listened to a whole bunch of tracks, but as soon as I hit on this one, I knew it was just what I wanted.

I initially had at least three times as many pictures as I ended up using. Making a trailer for a poetry collection is a real challenge. How to capture the essence of a collection that contains 51 poems? How not to offer a plot summary when the collection is not a narrative one? How to get in everything you want? The answer to this last question is that you can't get in everything you want and still keep the video to the recommended maximum length of two minutes after which viewers hit the Pause button. So there are a lot of hard choices to be made, just as in revising a poem.

In the end, I zeroed in on what I perceive to be the collection's dominant thread—the idea of temptation—and the dominant recurring image—water. (This pretty much parallels the book's underlying structural plan.) Other motifs come in, but I'm not sure you'll recognize them as motifs without reading the book. My hope, of course, is that the trailer will tempt you to read the book.

So grab some popcorn or a box of Junior Mints and check out my movie.

Good News

I was delighted yesterday to find that a review of my new book, Temptation by Water, has appeared online in Rattle. To tempt you to read the review, here's the Introduction: "Temptation by Water, Diane Lockward’s fourth volume of poetry, is both fierce and funny. This lively new collection piercingly depicts loss but balances it with wit and genial good humor. Some of Lockward’s poems confront difficult but necessary truths but others are sexy, irreverent and amusing. Despite the heart-wrenching loss of a husband or lover, the poet never feels sorry for herself. Her poems are a pleasure to read, and her talent for the unexpected keeps readers turning the pages." Click here to read the rest of the review by Barb Daniels.

I was also pleased this past week to have a poem, Gender Issue, recorded by Nic Sebastian for Whale Sound. I love these new ways of spreading the word about poetry. I'm particularly interested in the various ways that poets make their work available to readers / listeners. Certainly, Nic's project is a wonderful contribution. At her site poets and poetry lovers can have the pleasure of hearing contemporary poems beautifully read by Nic whose voice and pacing enhance each and every poem she chooses to read. There's an Index and each poet's poem is accompanied by a bio and a link to the text of the poem. Visit the site often. You might also want to sign up for the email notification.

Whales and water. I like that.


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Small Town Girl Makes Good

This past week my local newspaper, The Progress, ran an article about my new book. Nothing huge. It's not the New York Times, but it was nice. The neighbors still don't seem to know me or that a poet lives up the street. No one hailed me at the pizzeria Friday night. But a waitress at the diner where my husband gets breakfast told him she'd seen my "advertisement." Advertisement? I've got a dentist appointment this Friday. Maybe Dr. J. will ask for my autograph.

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Poetry Salon: A Celebration

Yesterday my good friend, Jessica deKoninck, held a poetry salon to celebrate the publication of my new book, Temptation by Water. I think that the at-home salon is my favorite kind of reading. I feel very fortunate to have a pal who offered to host such an event for me. I also feel fortunate to have good friends/poets who came to celebrate with me and to pick up a copy of the book. I am a big proponent of poets supporting each others' work. Yesterday was a great example of poets doing just that.

We gathered in Jessica's living room at 4:00. The table was filled with snacks. Champagne and wine were served. I signed books. Lots of good conversation. Then I read and babbled on for about 20 minutes. That was followed by a Q&A, always fun. Then more conversation and more signing. A happy day.

I hope that if you have a friend with a book coming out you will consider hosting a salon. In days of old these were commonly held for various artistic events. I hope they're making a comeback.

My favorite picture

During the reading

Lauren and Ray--what's that in Lauren's arms?

David and Elizabeth--what's that in Elizabeth's lap?

Susan and Ellen--what's that in their laps?

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A Poem for Belle Yang

Where do poems come from? That's a question I'm often asked during school visits, at Q & A's following readings, and in workshops. It's not the same as that other question I'm often asked: Did that really happen? The second questioner wants to get into my personal life; the first questioner wants to get into my brain. That person wants to know where I find the ideas.

I say that the ideas come from all over the place, from everything around me, from bits of overheard conversations, song lyrics, current events (especially weird stuff), paintings, tv shows, movies, and daily activities, such as a trip to the dentist or the purchase of a new two-door mailbox. I mention the need for attentiveness, for curiosity (euphemism for nosiness), observation (spying), and listening (eavesdropping)—the importance of developing the poet's eye and the poet's ear. I talk about the importance of an idea journal, of writing it down.

Now I can also add a new source to the list: social network sites. I've been told by a number of poets that they won't join such sites as Red Room, Facebook, She Writes, Goodreads, or Twitter because they fear the loss of writing time. They fear they'd fritter away the hours issuing status updates, attending webinars, posting stars on books, and pecking out 140-character snippets of information about what they had for lunch.

But I have found that such sites fuel my writing life. I've become part of an extended community of poets and prose writers, many of whom are very supportive of each others' work. I've booked a few reading dates, been interviewed, and had my books reviewed. And yes, I've even written a poem as a direct result of frittering away my time online.

Back in August of 2009, Huntington Sharp, the owner of Red Room, invited blogging members to post entries on the topic of obsession. I'd already written an article on that very topic for an anthology that never materialized. I dug it out, revised it, and posted it. That piece, "Fruit Fix: My Obsession," was then selected as one of ten featured blog posts that week.

Belle Yang, a novelist, painter, memoirist, and fellow member of Red Room, read my post and left this comment: "Now the Chinese are obsessed with fruit. I've always wondered why Westerners, especially children, do not like fruit the way we do. I bought 2 lbs of lychee, juicy, sweet, for several friends, thinking they would be so very happy to have a bowl of this rarity. They merely said it was too sweet. What about the subtle fragrance, and the translucence of the peeled fruit? The color and the texture? What a waste of fruit. They prefer chocolates, heavy on the tongue and coffee. I think the Asian palate is much more sensitive to nuance and fruit is all nuance."
   
I replied, "Oh yes, you've got it just right—the sensuous, sensual qualities of fruit. But don't make me choose between fruit and chocolate. I want them both."
   
Then Belle replied, "I think genetics predisposes us to choose between fruit and chocolates.  My mother prefers white chocolate, which isn't chocolate at all, and loves fruit.  I'd choose a good guava over chocolate any ol' day."

My senses were tickled, and my curiosity. I'd never tasted lychee, didn't really know what it was. I did what I often do when hatching a poem: I googled. I learned that lychee is an Asian fruit, comes in different colors, is reputed to be an aphrodisiac, and has a sexy history having been the favorite fruit of an emperor's favorite concubine. I was willing to try it, but I also wanted to win Belle over to chocolate. I also sensed a cultural gap at play and wondered if I could bridge that gap with poetry.

Many drafts later I ended up with my poem, "You Offer Lychee to Your American Friends." That was the last poem to go into my new book, Temptation by Water. I knew it had to go in because it's about temptation, resistance, and capitulation. That poem would not exist if I didn't belong to Red Room, if I hadn't answered Huntington's call, if Belle Yang hadn't left a comment. Thank you, Belle. That poem's for you.

Am I frittering away valuable writing time? Sometimes, sure, but other times, I'm hunting and gathering. I'm a poet; that's what I do.

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Reading at the Frost Farm

Robert Crawford, Midge Goldberg, me, William Gleed (farm manager)

at the entrance to the barn

I made it to New Hampshire and back. Drove up yesterday, checked into my hotel, had something to eat, got ready for the reading, then headed out to the farm. I had high expectations for this reading, but I've learned from experience that it's best to go with so-so expectations. So I was worried that maybe I had set myself up to be disappointed. Wrong! This reading was the kind that's just right. My high expectations were exceeded.

My host, Kyle Potvin, could not have been nicer. She was at the barn to greet me and introduce me to the rest of the gang. The barn is a great venue to read in. It's quite large and has a nifty loft. Lots of pictures of Frost on the walls. Poetry in the air. We had a nice turnout of genuine poetry lovers and book lovers who bought books before and after the reading! My co-reader, Midge Goldberg, went first and was terrific. This audience was incredibly responsive, just a delight to read for. I could not have found a better audience for my first reading with my new book, Temptation by Water. They gave it a lovely welcome into the poetry world.

Then there was a short open reading which was beautifully managed by Robert Crawford who, it turns out, is Midge's husband. He asked readers to limit themselves to 1 or 2 poems of modest length. And everyone cooperated! Our first reader was a first grader who had to stand on a chair to be seen over the podium. He and all the others were really good poets and all read very well. That ended up being my favorite open I've ever been to.

Two of my poet pals, Tim Mayo and Pat Fargnoli, drove up all the way from Keene, a two-hour drive. How nice was that! Then as I was leaving, Kyle presented me with a gift bag which contained the most delicious fudge. Perfect treat when I returned to the hotel. I was going to eat only one piece, but ate two. Big pieces.

And as if all that weren't enough, I had an email from Huntington Sharp over at Red Room, an online authors' network, telling me that my new book was Book of the Day. See it there in the upper right hand corner? What a nice ending to a great evening.

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Countdown to Publication: Counting No More

Yesterday's sidebar counter said, "It is finally here!" Not quite, but I was nervously awaiting a box of 20 advance copies. My publisher had rush ordered them so that I would have copies for this weekend's Caffe Lena Poetry Festival.

The publication schedule got a bit behind as a devilish margin error had crept in—a tedious, laborious fix, but it had to be done. All in all, I proofed the galleys five times. That was more than with the first two books, but when one error is fixed, sometimes another pops up, so with each new set of galleys, I really needed to carefully read the entire book all over again. I'm glad I did. I spotted an occasional orphan and some faulty indents that resulted from the margin repair. I spotted a word mysteriously missing from a title. In galleys #4 the margins were still messed up. Then they were fixed and all other errors also fixed.

This morning at 9:30 the doorbell rang. As I opened the door, I saw the UPS truck pulling away. There on the porch was this lovely sight.

I brought the box into the kitchen and carefully sliced open the top.

Oh, let them be lovely!

And they are! I hope I'm allowed to say that about my own book, but I could not be happier with the design of this book. I've been through the interior and so far have not spotted any goofs. Since these advance copies were rushed to me, the book isn't yet available, but will be soon. In the meantime, I've got some to take to the festival.

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Countdown to Publication: My Cover Unveiled

Ta Da! Drum roll, please. I'm pulling the veil off the cover of my soon-to-be-released book. I hope you love it as much as I do. Story behind the cover will follow soon. For now just the cover. Look, but don't touch!

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