Bittersweet Wednesday

Today is the last time I'm going to be in class with several of my good friends. Who over the course of my first year in the NEOMFA have become my best friends and people that I think the world of. I am so glad to see everyone of them finish the program and I think that the world is their oyster, but I can't help feeling that this program will be very different. I will never get to car pool weekly with Jay, Jen, and Kristina, or get a great poetry comments in workshop from Amy, Lindsey, and Sara. I going to really miss having Dawson around in class because I felt that he some how kept me in line with goofy bets about me not talking. I going to miss talking to Rick in the grad. office about everything one can think of. I also going to miss Emily and how she always has something great to say, and is never afraid to say it. But I truly mean this to everyone who has help me survive my first year thank you. And to all of my friends finishing the program congratulations.

So if you see me get a little teary eyed tonight just call me some names. I might say I have allergies, but it's really that I going to miss having these guys around.


PS will someone tell me if we're going out after class tonight.

The New Stuff

Just found out today that I'm not going to Chautauqua writer's festival, but I was a finalist to get a trip paid for. What are you going to do? In my case I going to write until I have no more poems in the new series and then I'm going to write some more. The new series is about a guy who goes swimming in aquariums and all the fish that live in his salt water tank. It is juxtaposed to a relationship that is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Yesterday I did a lot of research for the poems and learned about over two hundred different types of fish. The colors of them are what interest me the most about this because I want to put a lot more visuals into my poems. Some of the coolest fish I've seen during my research are the Maroon Clown fish, Picasso Trigger fish, Regal Angelfish, Long-Nosed File fish (who is a beautiful sky-blue with orange spots), and the Green Chromis (who is very friendly but always goes back to his cave at night). These poems are fun to write and they are different then anything I've ever written before. Everybody who has seen them tells me they are good, and that I may have a chapbook idea on my hands. So I'm not going to Chautauqua, but I am going to do what I came here to do anyways.

Sunday style

Today I trying to get some end of the semester writing done. But look at the mess on my desk.

I finished work on my chapbook yesterday with a lot of thanks to Jen. The chapbook is almost all Larry poems and is titled, Monster Season, because Larry is a monster and almost all the poems have a seasonal theme to theme. I really had fun with the writing of these poems, but now I'm going to take a break from them and work on something else. The new stuff that I'm writing is going to require some research because it is about a guy who goes swimming in salt water fish tanks and I don't know a whole lot about salt water fish tanks. I sent poems out to DIAGRAM and Jubilat. I'm feeling lucky maybe I get something or a least a nice rejection.

Three more classes to go this semester. I have two papers left to write, one about the craft of my own work and the other about the dehumanization of the body in a book of poems. I think we all know which one will be more fun to write. And Thursday through Saturday I'm going to readings. Thursday Amy, Jen, and Jay are reading. Friday graduation reading are A-R. Saturday S-W. It will be great to see all my good friends read, but it will be sad because I won't be in class with them anymore. Thank God most of them have blogs.

Open Mic at Musica

"I lost my place. No wait there it is."

Jen got some good news from Mary.

Funny guy Toby is.

That's a cool camra. I wonder what the picture it took looks like.




























Jay V. telling a good story.














Everyone who read was awesome. Except for the guy who read number seven about chain-saws, he was bad.

Getting an award

Mary read my "Chainsaw Poem" very well and it filled the room with laughter. Here are some pictures of the event.

This is Eric presenting an award.

Mary showing off the program for the award.

Me trying to look cool.

The awards were fun. I wish I got to give a speech. That would have been fun.

Because I don't Post enough

A. Van Jordan came a read in Akron and he was awesome. One of the nicest guys I have ever meet. Van came Mary's class last night and just talk about everything you could think of with poetry. His influences, setting up a manuscript, to get or not to get a PhD, research for poetry and how he uses this with his students, and he read some poems. He talk about film and how it has a major influence on his next book. Jordan also donated his whole honorarium. It was a lot of fun hanging out with a poet that I think highly of a finding that he is just a real person.

And Akron Had a Reading

Here's Mary and Little Eric. Don't they look so happy selling books.

Here is Little Eric introducing Mary. I believe people in attendance were moved to tears by his speech.

Here is Michael reading. He gave a great reading and his newer stuff was excellent to hear.

Here is Sir Robert Worthington introducing Michael. He does look very young to be a knighted.

Here's are readers and yes that is a tree growing out of Zach's shoulder. The three gave a great reading.

Here's the crowd. I think Mary has her eyes closed and Sir Robert is happy looking at the camera.