Quote of the Day

people always say how you should be yourself, like yourself is this definite thing. Like a toaster or something. well if that’s how it is than fuck that. my toaster changes colors.--http://velvetcigarette.com/

Literary Spotlight #2

Yesterday I was reading the latest JMWW when I fell upon Nicelle Davis's poem, "The Wings Inside Our Stomachs." Let me just say, I have not fallen deep in love with a poem this way in a long time. For me this poem was one of those, "damn I wish I wrote that" pieces. But then thinking about it for just a minute or two it became the "damn I'm glad that poem was written" piece. It starts, "I'm not a monster, you say. The little girl in me agrees— / sits next to your boy-self on the curbside / of our childhoods." I love that I truly believe the poet can travel back to the edge of a childhood sidewalk and goes on to explore the memory of place in childhood. I also love the liberties the poet takes with the line break in this piece, kind of prosey, but smart and risky and the prose style is coupled with one to two word stanzas. Breathy.

Of course after this poem, I googled her work to see if her other poems blew me away with the same force. My other two favorites are published in http://www.escapeintolife.com, "As Songs Travel Past Their Singers (the reprise)" and "Dolly." In these two poems there's play with form and an element of surprise. I like that, when I read a poem and think, "there's nothing like that in which I've read before." When the imagery and syntax and element of the story just take the reader away into that magical place where one forgets they are reading and they are allowed to float in the world the writer created.

I eagerly await Nicelle Davis's first book and feel lucky for electronic publications because otherwise I might not have found her on my own.

shady side review fall 2010 issue

We did it! We released our fifth installment, the fall 2010 issue, with stunning cover art by Juliette Crane: http://www.juliettecrane.com/index.shtml. Her work makes me want to be a child again, discovering new colors and whimsy. More of her work can be seen here.

The fall 2010 issue includes prose by: Cate Stevens-Davis, Pin-Yi Ko, Nathan Leslie, Craig Medvecky, and Carolyne Whelan. And poetry by: Joanna Eleftheriou, Jessica Lakritz, Patrick McGinty, Marc Pietrzykowski, Ravi Shankar Rajan, and Janine Surmick.

It's a real stunner, this one. As always, I'm really excited to be a part of this project. Each issue makes me more and more proud, mostly because of the work of our submitters, but also because of the support and enthusiasm from my fellow editors, Sarah Grubb, Amy Holwerda, and Athena Pappas.

Discover literary goodness here: http://shadysidereview.com/fall2010/

Wearing Literature/ Poetry and Apparel

(Image from SVA Magazine)

Lately I want to wear my poetry. To dress myself in my words, to be a walking statement of something other than black and white, my cut off shorts, or the mustard velvet dress I just purchased. I want to be looked at for my verse, recognized for art. Not to say dressing isn't an art, it is in many cases, but that does not stop me from wanting to drape myself in my creations.

I feel more connected to my work than the fabric that lays heavy on my skin. The heat has not allowed me to switch over to my fall wardrobe and I'm foolishly tired of wearing flip flops and shorts (I know, woe is me). I also want to be recognized for more than the expression that comes through in my clothing. I'm sure a good part of this has to do with feeling lonely in this new town. I miss the comfort of being surrounded by other writers and being able to discuss literature face to face, coffee cup to coffee cup. I haven't been as proactive as I should be in finding a writing community in Tyler.

With a lot of free time on my hands, and the tendency to reorganize my closet a lot, I have started to think about my clothes as my memories-- in the way the poetry I write serves as a memory retrieval. In this light, I was curious to consider the ways literature and fashion go together. This idea is not a new one, I found as I internet perused.

How Dressing and Verse Come Together

http://amyuhrich.com/2010/10/08/what-do-women-want/
Amy is a friend of mine from graduate school. Her interest in fashion and literature are much more developed than my own. I am always amazed to see what she is wearing and writing. She is also part of what inspired this blog entry.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19780
Poets.org offers a whole listing of poems and fashion (Kim A's "What do Women Want" included). I'm a huge fan of Honor Moore's "Red Shoes."

http://www.trendhunter.com/photos/12514#1
I love the idea of "book bags" as the style reminds me of my high school days when tin purses were popular. (My best friend, Kristin had a Reese Peanut Butter Cup tin purse.)

http://www.contrariwise.org/
Literary tattoos? Yes!

http://www.amazon.com/Shoes-Autobiography-Alice-B-Shoe/dp/0821223194
Andy Warhol's "Shoes" read like little poems. My Aunt MJ gave this book to me as a gift when I was a teenager and I treasure it.

Paper Darts, an online and print magazine has a fashion component: http://www.paperdarts.org/fashion/

Model and writer: http://velvetcigarette.com/ "She can read. She's bad." Love the tagline!

I've included a poem I wrote (still in its rough stages) in reflection of clothing as identity and working in a beauty salon. As I commonly find myself working in customer service, I also find myself comparing my work identity with my writer's identity.


What Happened to the Orange

These heels complete this outfit,
tight purple dress with black leggings—
and this eye shadow, this eye shadow
is perfect: purple on the lids, gold on the brow.
Catch a glimpse in the mirror, and I find myself in:
I play the role,
I am a receptionist, I check people
in, I make appointments, I call the upper class
to tell them about their upcoming color and cut.
When nothing is going on, I stare out
the door, into the square, where a police sheriff
leads a prisoner in stripes,
and they both get into his truck,
my boss tells me they drive them to the jail that way,
and I watch as they make a left onto the brick road,
say, “I thought jail uniforms weren’t made like that anymore
I thought they were only orange."

On Ideas and Looking for Inspiration