Where Would I Be Without Poetry

Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry. ~ Charles Baudelaire

I need poetry, and I try to read at least one poem a day. My current favorite sources of poetry are Poetry 180 and More 180, edited by former U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins.  Some of the poems from the books are included along with some that are not, on the Poetry 180 website. Click on “How To Read A Poem Out Loud.” Then pick a poem, perhaps #144, “Smell and Envy” by Douglas Goetsch or #180 “Break” by Dorianne Laux. Read it aloud. Read it again. Then ask yourself if you can go without poetry for two days.

Link to Poetry 180

On the Wings of Molly Fisk

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. ~Hart Crane

I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself. My life is a bit too full of hepatitis C writing, with too little poetry. This week Molly Fisk spoke at Sierra Writers and I felt revived. A poet extraordinaire, even her voice is pure prose. Listening to her was like coming out of a coma and discovering I was in heaven all along. Inspired, I have been writing poetry—pseudo-poems, actually. (Kind of sounds like the bacteria, pseudomonas—oh my, does medical jargon stick to me?)

Regardless, writing prose and reading her poetry bring sweet respite.

Travel Writing and Resolutions

Keep a diary and one day it'll keep you. ~ Mae West

I spent the holidays exploring Australia and New Zealand. When I travel, I entertain fantasies about travel writing. I see myself writing while I am exploring, in restaurants, at bedtime, sending off articles, and then planning my next trip. The reality is that I am so in the moment that I don’t want to break the travel experience by writing or even taking a photo. When I get a chance to write it is an insanely plain diary entry that barely captures the highlights. The truth is that I am no travel writer. At best, I am a travel reader. So, if you want to read a really good book about Australia, I recommend Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country.

The other thing that dogs me when I travel is the aching desire to write more. I make all these unrealistic resolutions about my writing, resolutions that fall away like dangling prepositions. So here is my new resolution—no more resolutions!

Craving

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one was not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. ~ George Orwell, "Why I Write”

I do not agree with George Orwell. Writing the book is the easy part—marketing the book is an entirely different matter. I seem to be permanently plugged to the computer, obsessed with social media, blog tours, and building my author platform. Here is the problem– when I am immersed in technology, I am not immersed in writing. It feels like I am ignoring a basic need, like someone who craves vegetables but eats junk food all day.

Of course, no one is driving me to do this—it is a privilege, actually. I get to do this because I have a book. Promoting Free from Hepatitis C is a choice, not an obligation. I believe I will get into a rhythm, and I’ll be back to writing in 2012. And yes, probably complaining about that too…

I am traveling the rest of this year, so this is my last blog post for 2011. Hope 2012 brings joy, peace, and lots of creativity.

Procrastination

Procrastination is the thief of time. ~ Edward Young, Night Thoughts

Note: this line also appears in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield

Quite frankly, I like writing way more than marketing. Writing is smooth sailing compared to the world of widgets, mailing lists, book promotions, etc. My “to do” list has more words on it than my average magazine article.

On the other hand, the book got off to a good start – keeps selling out of Amazon. Reviews and remarks have been incredibly kind, but really what I want most is to get back to writing the next book.

The Library

Whatever an author puts between the two covers of his book is public property; whatever of himself he does not put there is his private property, as much as if he had never written a word.  ~ Gail Hamilton

When I wrote Free from Hepatitis C, I imagined it in retail and web-based bookstores, but I did not think about it in that most venerable institution—the library. A librarian at the Iowa City Public Library ordered a copy and sent me the card catalog link. This small act sealed my belief that I am an author.

Click here to go to a link for the Iowa City Public Library card catalog.