Harvard Review

The Harvard Review returned my poems yesterday. I'm just not Ivy League material, I guess. But I did receive a nifty blank Harvard Review postcard and if you're lucky I just may send it to you!

Tomorrow is the Book Awards. Yes indeed.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I went shopping with my sisters last night. Bring on the lemondrops! I bought sparkly eye shadow at Macy's and smelled a bunch of perfume at Nordstrom's.

Thanksgiving was fun. I watched White Christmas at Amy's.

I made my own turkey today! So we can have leftovers.

Five days until the Book Awards - the countdown has begun.

The Ducks lost the Civil War game.

It is very cold but not cold enough to snow down here in the "lower elevations" as they refer to us. Max and Laura are still hoping for snow but I think it's doubtful.

I have been grading Marylhurst papers all day and I'm going to take the dogs for a walk now.

I'm Still Here!

Well someone hasn't blogged in a while. I'm getting ready for the book awards!

The second Japanese Garden reading was fun. Marc Acito was great.

I walked three miles today with the dogs and they were so happy.

Has anyone out there read Helen Vendler's Poems, Poets, Poetry and/or used it in a class? I need a textbook for my poetry class next term and I am always searching for a good one. Haven't been satisfied yet with anything I've used.

This is all for now but I'm thinking of each and every one of you.

Or something.

Pilot Poetry Is In The House!

I'd like to extend a warm cyberspace welcome to Pilot Poetry and their new online magazine. Dean Gorman and Betsy Wheeler have got it going on!

It's my day off. My house is a mess but I wanted to make a collage and post here before trying to create a little order in the house. What girl wouldn't?

Last night's readings in the Japanese Garden were fabulous. The garden looks really beautiful at night, and the Japanese Pavillon was lit by candelight and really cool. George Aguilar, Sr., Brian Doyle and Kristin Kaye read. Chelsea Cain was our host. It was really great and next Wednesday it all happens again! Marc Acito will host a fiction reading with Laila Lalami, Scott Nadelson and Justin Tussing. Don't miss this!

I get to see Tori this weekend, hooray! Michael and I are taking the kids to the Dixie Chicks tonight!

And the Democrats are back in action! We'll see what they make of things.

Okay, I must vacuum. Wish me luck!

Bipartisan Cafe

Daneen and I met this morning at the Bipartisan Cafe - a fitting meeting location for this election week! - to talk about our poems. The second time we've done this. We're set to meet again December 10th. I'm glad we're doing this. It's an extra incentive to get poems finished!

Stephen King was fun; tonight we are going to hear Frank Rich. Again I feel compelled to tell you, there will be readings by some Oregon Book Awards finalists in November in the Japanese Garden. The first one is this Wednesday, hosted by Chelsea Cain, with readings by George Aguilar, Brian Doyle and Kristin Kaye. If you live in Portland, come to this lovely reading - in the candlelit Japanese Garden pavillon - this Wednesday at 6:30, and be sure to introduce yourself to me!

It's been raining hard all weekend but I must venture out into it today with the dogs; they want their walks! Laura has been volunteering at the Humane Society and some of those dogs stay for months. She walks them and takes photos of them to show us at home.

Marvin Bell has a new poem in the Fall issue of Caffeine Destiny. I didn't want to wait until the next issue to add it.