Monthly Archives: March 2011

up north

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I’ve returned from Fargo, North Dakota where I gave a poetry reading at 3:15 p.m. on March 26 at Red River Graduate Student Conference at the Memorial Union at North Dakota State University. I read from my dissertation on Matilda Fletcher and from Branding Girls.

I had a great time at the conference listening to good presentations and Q&A. I also got to do some research on a new project I’ve started during brief stopovers in Iowa. But I must say the travels to the conference were by far the most surprising. For example, I saw many deer, a muskrat, eagles, migrating birds, a pair of sandhill cranes, another pair of Canadian Geese walking the parking lot at Mills Fleet Farm, a fox, and two wolves along the freeway making their way through a field of snow in South Dakota. Wolves. Kid you not. I’d heard wolves before. I’d seen caged wolves at zoos, but seeing the two wolves free and wild was worth the trip. Wow.

Up and coming, I will be reading from my dissertation at the Rawley Conference, 9 a.m. Saturday April 9, 2011, here at UNL in the Union. Hope I see you there!

news & a workshop

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Poemeleon has a wonderful series of interviews by Cati Porter called “The Habitual Poet” about reading and writing poetry which includes poets Diane Lockward, Jeannine Hall Gailey, and Martha Silano. I’m up as installment #54 “The Habitual Poet: Laura Madeline Wiseman.” Yeah!

I also have a poem in Labletter and this Saturday I’m off to Fargo, North Dakota to give a reading at 3:15 p.m. on March 26 of poetry at Red River Graduate Student Conference at the Memorial Union at North Dakota State University. I’ll be reading from my dissertation on Matilda Fletcher and maybe a few poems from Branding Girls. I hope to see you there!

And I must say a few words about the wonderful master workshop I took with Alicia Ostriker during the last two weeks. I haven’t taken a workshop in a couple of years. It was so nice to get feedback on brand new poems from Alicia and from the newer poets in the program and to read their exciting work. Alicia gave us five assignments and we were to write a fresh poem based on the assignment, sometimes as quickly as overnight! It felt a little bit like poetry boot-camp and required a bit of mettle and diligence, but such a nice way to stretch into new styles and themes and reread old favorite poets like Whitman, Ginsberg, Oliver, Sexton, Grahn, Karr, Levertov, Dickinson, H.D., and Clifton. It was so good to learn from Alicia, to hear her candor, generosity, and insight.

Here was the first assignment (if you’re up for it):

1) write a poem emulating the Wang Wei poem below: 8 lines max, each line containing at least one verb, one or more containing two verbs, the final line containing three verbs. The poem is centered on a place. It will have no more than one adjective.

Villa on Zhongnan Mountain,” by Wang Wei

 

In my middle years I came to much love the Way
and late made my home by South Mountain’s edge.

 

When the mood comes upon me, I go off alone,
and have glorious moments all to myself.

 

I walk to the point where a stream ends,
and sitting, watch when the clouds rise.

By chance I meet old men in the woods;
we laugh and chat, no fixed time to turn home.

 

Wang Wei’s “Villa on Zhongnan Mountain” from An Anthology of Chinese Literature, Stephen Owen, ed. and trans. (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996) p. 390.

Branding Girls is here!

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Yeah! I just received my copies of Branding Girls from Finishing Line Press. I’m thrilled because the book is so cute!

I love the little pink ribbon on the spine and the pink page after the cover. Too adorable! Yesterday, I showed Branding Girls to Alicia Ostriker, who was the visiting writer here over the last two weeks. She was delighted by the cover, excited by the wit of the poems that she peeked at, and looks forward to reading it. Yeah!

If you want your own copy of Branding Girls, it can be ordered from Finishing Line Press and it will ship immediately, or you can talk to me. If you want a review copy, let me know and I’ll send one to you. What a way to start spring break!

No Limits

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I had a great time at No Limits in Kearney yesterday, reading from my dissertation on Matilda Fletcher and Ghost Girl, hearing some smart feminist scholarship and creative writing, attending an inspiring poetry workshop with Lenelle Moise, and of course, seeing all the birds. Really is was stunning - the hundreds of sandhill cranes singing their eerie song in the air and in fields, the thousands of geese swarming the sky, and even the occasional normal birds like Canadian geese, robins, finches, an eagle, and a kestrel. I did drive over to see the cranes near Grand Island two years ago, but I literally saw thousands more this year, especially the glittery movement of the geese against the blue horizon. Wow.

recent news

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Since my last post, so much has happened. Thus, I present you a bulleted list.

  • On Valentine’s Day at 7 p.m I read at Crescent Moon‘s reading series “Poetry on the Moon” with Mary K. Stillwell, and several others who read afterward during the open mic. I had a wonderful time reading from My Imaginary and Ghost Girl, and from my two forthcoming collections Branding Girls, and Sprung forthcoming from San Francisco Bay Press. I had such a great time! I even read a few poems from my dissertation on Matilda Fletcher. I’ll be reading at “Poetry on the Moon” a little later this spring. More on that soon.
  • Earlier that day, I successfully defended the above mentioned dissertation. I am thrilled! It was a good conversation, with thought provoking questions and suggestions. I’m very much looking forward to my continued research on Matilda to see what other opportunities Matilda might inspire in my future writing.
  • Coming up in the very near future, I am reading tomorrow from my dissertation at No Limits, 9 a.m. March 5, 2011, in Kearney in the UNK Nebraskan Union (Ponderosa Rooms).
  • At the end of spring break, I will also be reading at Red River Graduate Student Conference at 3:15 on March 26 at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. I’m very excited to see North Dakota. I had the opportunity to read at the Western Literature Association in October 2009 that was held in Spearfish, SD, which gave me a little bit of time to see beautiful South Dakota. Such lovely country! I cannot wait to see the landscape in and around Fargo, as well as some friends and family along the way in Iowa and Minnesota, including my two nephews and the new one on the way due this July. During the reading, I might even sneak in a poem or two from Branding Girls.
  • Speaking of Branding Girls, I’m thrilled to have my first course adoption! Yeah! Yeah! Carole Levin will be teaching Branding Girls in her history course on Saints, Witches, and Madwomen here at UNL in the pre-session this summer. When I took Carole’s class in the summer of 2009, we read such wonderful books and had such great discussions, including a day that focused entirely on advertising, branding, and the commodification of the body, which fits perfectly with Branding Girls. In conjunction with the course adoption, she’s invited me to read in her class and in town. More on that soon. I’m so thrilled!
  • The final, but certainly not last, thing I want to share is news on an anthology. My essay “Dear Diary: Violence, Confession, and Creative Writing Pedagogies” was accepted in 2009 by the editors of Dispatches from the Classroom: Graduate Student Essays on Creative Writing. The editors, Dave Yost, Joe Rein, and Chris Drew, now have a contract with Continuum Press, scheduled to publish the anthology soon. I am over the moon! My essay, originally written as individual papers that I delivered at AWP in 2009, NWSA in 2008, and Split this Rock in 2008, I combined, revised, and reworked them to eventually become one of my scholarly essays in my comprehensive exams for the PhD. I am so excited that all that hard work I did in writing the academic piece, now has a home, and soon, will be out there in the world.
work to see what other opportunities Matilda might inspire in my future writing