Monday, March 26, 2012

POETRY: RETREATS AND REWARDS

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Ted and I got home from Mexico and the West Coast a week ago today. We're still missing the warmth, of the sun and of the people. We'll go again.

"... a fine six-course meal of poems..." 
There was a huge stack of mail waiting for us, and mine included my contributor copies of The Wild Weathers, Leaf Press' beautiful anthology of love poems, and the latest issue of The New Orphic Review, in which I have six poems and an essay about my poetics. Art Joyce blogs about The New Orphic and other West Kootenay publications, and my poems here. The quotation above is from it.

 
Found in the mail pile were three issues of Gareth Gaudin's Magic Teeth Dailies, including the much sought-after 50th one! Gareth has been drawing a cartoon a day since 2004. Every single day, including the ones that saw the arrivals of his two daughters. Perogy Cat, who some of you will have met in these pages, is his creation. In the photo he's pointing to the necklace with Perogy Cat both written and illustrated on a grain of rice that we brought him from Mexico. (We got so many of these Adrian, the beach vendor who sells them, bought us a beer!)






And then there was the chapbook from Leaf Press with writing done at one of last year's poetry retreats. Nice timing, because I was just back from this year's Ocean Wilderness adventures in poetry making. The pictures that follow are from that.














I can't stress enough how good it is to get to a poetry retreat. To be able to focus on writing, my own and other peoples', is such an affirmation of what I do. Was good to be in the company of the next, next generation of poets, too.

Today I got an email from someone who has translated one of my poems into Spanish and wants to use it in a magazine. Details on this to follow, but I was pretty pleased as this is the first time I've been translated!

I'm working on a publishing project for the Lifewriters at Castle Wood Village here in Castlegar. It's their seventh and last collection of memoir writing, as spearheaded by Jan de Bruyn. I'll put up some 
pictures when it's done.

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1 comment:

ted crosfield said...

Great photos of the participants at the retreat. I am so chuffed at the attention you are receiving. It is no less than you deserve and I am proud to be a part of your life.