Dear Poets,
These days between the 21st and the New Year are always such a liminal space. Both rushing to wrap things up before the end of the year while adding in the work of the holidays. I’ve seen a lot of good articles/comics this year about the ‘invisible labor’ that this time of year holds for women, and I absolutely believe it. That being said, after a fall spent organizing a major family event, I have every intention of using this period to rest and recuperate, as best possible.
Before facing LAX soon enough, I want to wish you a good holiday season, whatever shape that takes. I hope you have time for reading, for contemplation, for rest, for writing, and to envision new projects. I love the charge of a fresh start and am always excited to launch into what I call ‘aspirational’ organizing — even if by February this meets with a reality check — I still find value in taking time to think about what I want to reach for in the new year.
To that end, I just signed up for poet/nonfiction writer Nancy Reddy’s (free) annual vision board planning party on January 5th (noon PT) and you can too! I’ve done it for the past few years and it’s always a good time. I have enjoyed reading Chris Guillebeau’s Substack A Year of Mental Health and also recommend his “December ritual of an Annual Review.” He shares his process here and even offers a template to download. A final note — I’m very excited to meet Sarah Hart-Unger for the first time in Miami. Her podcast Best Laid Plans has been another wonderful resource in thinking through the practicalities of planning alongside the process of envisioning — and wending your way in between.
I will likely offer my own classes starting later in January, once my manuscript is sealed into production (i.e. no more changes allowed). But, through a series of unexpected events, I will be teaching a poetry class for the University of Chicago’s Graham School. It begins on January 9th and goes through February 27th, 11:30-2:00 p.m. (PT) and is on Zoom. The deadline to enroll is coming up fast — December 27th and the cost is $675. It is open enrollment — I would love you to join me!
Here is the class description: Poetry as Secret Box
This course will focus on studying and writing new poems as we think about poetry as a process of discovery. Each week we will read a selection of poems that does something surprising — take a turn in a new direction, offer stylistic innovation, or present a startling new perspective. In addition to a brief craft lecture and guided close reading, there will be a series of exercises offered to spark imagination and drive unexpected thoughts in new directions.
An ongoing theme will be how poems can serve as a receptacle — a place to put things (such as grief or memories), long lost objects or scenes from the past. During class we will engage in ‘quick writes’ to experiment with a craft element with accompanying prompts and reading to do between meetings.
Finally, we are all still levitating that my son’s bar mitzvah went so well.
Sharing with you:
Last year I sent out a ‘poet’s gift guide’ of sorts. Let me repost again. All of the literary-related causes are ones I still stand by. Scroll all the way to down to watch “Please Enjoy this Very Sultry Poetry Reading” actor Andrew Scott reading Irish poet Derek Mahon’s poem “Everything Is Going to Be All Right.” This is a gift to us all.
Rest in poems, Nikki Giovanni. From the New York Times: “Nikki Giovanni, Poet Who Wrote of Black Joy, Dies at 81.”
I found this article in The Atlantic by Caitlin Flanagan to be touching: “Walk on Air Against Your Better Judgment.” She chronicles her family’s relationship with Seamus Heaney and his presence in Berkeley when she was growing up (“It’s lotus land for the moment,” he wrote to friends—a perfect Seamus sentence, suggesting both his ease with the sensual experience of California and his sly, characteristic caution: for the moment.”)
Flanagan’s family then moves to Ireland during her father’s sabbatical and she offers perspective on him in Ireland. “What did people want from Seamus Heaney at that time? Everything. There was tremendous pressure for him to turn his poetry into a form of opinion writing and take moral command of the situation. He would never have done anything like that. He was a poet, not an on-call political-versification machine.”
I’m sure you’ve heard about Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift. This interactive New York Times “Taylor Swift Poetry Quiz” is pretty great. “Can you spot the Easter eggs and figure out which song inspired each poem? (For a complete list of the book’s poems and their corresponding songs, click here.”)
The deadline for the new Stern Prize is fast approaching (January 1, 2025). Co-sponsored by The American Poetry Review and Copper Canyon Press, they write: “we are thrilled to embark on a new chapter, inviting poets aged 50 and over, regardless of previous publication to share their unique perspectives and talents in a new book prize honoring the legacy of great American poet Gerald Stern. The winner will receive a $2,000 prize and publication of their book in the same year. Click here for complete guidelines.
This sounds like a dream job to me — Associate Editor of Poetry and Book Reviews at The Georgia Review. If only I lived in Athens — but maybe you know somebody who does? Note pay scale for a full time position — in the literary arts. Deadline is January 31, 2025.
Many of you know I’m also passionate about book arts. I loved teaching at Focus on Book Arts (FOBA) this past summer which won’t come around until 2026. In the meantime, you can apply to the Paper and Book Intensive (PBI) to be held at OxBow in Michigan from May 18-29. The scholarship deadline closes on December 31. General admission opens on January 1st but they write, “Applications received within the first two weeks of the application period will be given priority, so timely application is encouraged.” Eons ago, I served as writer in residence at PBI and remember the atmosphere vibrating with creative energy.
The Emily Dickinson Museum does some great programming. They are accepting proposals for their 2025 program: Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series: “a virtual event held monthly from April through September and the 13th annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, held September 15-21. All proposals must be submitted by Thursday, January 16, 2025, 8am ET. All submitters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 5.”
Last minute shopping? I just happened across an ad for The Poet’s Candle. “Soft-spoken, coolly composed, and worldly wise.” Well, okay. More detail: “A sophisticated floriental fragrance, The Poet is rounded out with sensual leather and ambrette musk, warm patchouli, grapefruit, and hints of sweet tonka bean.”
Let me leave you with a post-solstice poem below.
And this surprising, charming, and touching video a poet friend just shared.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, however you spend it. I hope you find some time for your own writing. ✍️