When I was in San Diego I had the opportunity to join my friend (novelist, founder of DimeStories, and literary hostess and pie maker extraordinnaire) Amy Wallen for her PEN In the Classroom gig at the City Heights Community Center. She teaches two groups of high school students who are participating in a marine biology [...]
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Last night I decided to take a look at my manuscript for the first time since turning in the copies to my committee members. I re-read the preface, and began flipping through the pages looking for excerpts to read aloud at the defense. And I know I’m writing about grief, and death and cancer, [...] Friday at 8:30 a.m. I sent “Reconstructing My Mother,” my 226 page manuscript, aka my dissertation, off to the Copy Center where they will print out and coil bind 7 copies for me to distribute to my committee and my colleagues. A part of me is pleased. I have completed the thing that is [...] One of the challenges of March, for me here in Albuquerque is the coming of Spring, which means winds–big gusty winds that unnerve me. And, pollen ACHOO!. (I didn’t have allergies like this in San Diego). Anyway, another challenge THIS March is of course The Dissertation, which if you are a regular reader of [...] I’ve been working on this project, Reconstructing My Mother, since 2005 when I signed up for a memoir class at the Taos Summer Writers Conference. The instructor letter said, among other things, “Send 10-25 pages of your manuscript…. bla bla bla” Yeah. After the word “manuscript” my vision blurred then my brain went into [...] Why is it when you I have a project due, something BIG like, say a dissertation, you I suddenly find other things to do? Bigger, shinier things? Instead of just finishing the thing, I dream about what’s next, I plan my garden, I get BIG ideas–I have a million of them, none with earning potential, of [...] January 28 is the anniversary of my mother’s death. Sometimes I forget, but my body always remembers. I become achy. I want to hunker down in my own house, stay in bed longer than usual. Here in Albuquerque it’s easy to chalk it up to winter–January is the coldest month–but it’s neither winter nor [...] The comment from my professor and the chair of my dissertation committee, scrawled at the bottom of a section titled “Baking Banana Bread,” and barely legible said: “I think this section needs to do more.” But WHAT? I wanted to scream. Instead, I pondered, I mulled, I percolated, I discussed with friends. Did [...] Every time I receive a rejection from a literary journal I tell myself ”It’s a badge of honor. ” Sometimes I even do a happy dance and shout out a little whoot whoot, you know, as if it were something to celebrate. And in a way it really is. When my work is rejected, [...] Over on Judy Reeves’ blog she’s blogging 20 Ways to Make It Better. The “homework” she assigned for #7 (Be specific): Write 17 shades of blue, give me nine kinds of cake. Describe something “beautiful.” So here we go… Blue: 1. Levi Strauss standard denim blue / faded denim blue / acid wash blue 2. [...] |
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