Tag Archives: Writing

[News] Spring Fling Podcast

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Now that we are on the edge of Spring, I expect every day to be as wonderful as yesterday was: balmy and lovely and energizing. When I kicked open the door at work at 12:40 and skipped out onto the sidewalk (yes, this really happened), it almost felt as if I was playing hooky from my pesky work-a-day obligations. Instead, I simply transitioned from one self to another, from something practical to something vital and necessary.

I spent a couple of happy, creative and stimulating hours in the company of a dozen talented women (and my husband!), as we recorded a Spring-themed podcast for Women Writing for (a) Change. Regular readers of this blog will recognize my piece as one that originally posted here, ‘Intermezzo: The Sky is Flaunting Itself‘. The podcast will be available later this month. It is a must-hear for anyone eager to push away the cobwebs of the dying dark season. You will be inspired by words of regeneration, beauty and clarity. I will update you with the particulars as they become available.

 

 

[News] Growing Pains

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You may have noticed that we’ve recently been sticking to just the basics-Project 366, Voices from the Grave, etc. There’s nothing to fear, really! We are working on some snazzy, more comprehensive additions to the blog. You’ll start seeing new things as early as next week. We have grand plans for the month of March and the dawning of Spring. We cannot wait to share them with you. We know your time is precious; thank you for letting us share our small press passion with you.

 

Intermezzo: Like a Yoko in the Night

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Yoko Ono stole my commission. Behind that sweet face is a heart sated with greed. She walked away with three of my customers. Each time I stood there, mouth hanging open mid-sentence, she just kept on smiling. Saying soothing things to them, never missing a beat; her theft audacious under the fluorescent lights. Wide-eyed, brown-eyed, soul-eyed. No hint of wrong-doing troubled her placid face. She took their sales, pocketed their money, said strange things and sent them on their way as if nothing was wrong in her world. It wasn’t. Each time she turned to me, pirouetted, and grinned. “This is how it is done. This is how you make a sale. It’s easy. Follow my lead and you’ll be just like me, my dear.” I kept tumbling after her, now sure that she was right: I really could learn a lot by watching her. She’s crafty, serene, enigmatic. I suddenly, forcefully knew that she isn’t driven by greed at all. A few seconds later I looked over, expecting to be gifted with her smile and odd natural wisdom. She wasn’t there. The sun was hitting my face.

 

Inspiration Board-8 February 2012

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  1. The work of the late Cincinnati (and internationally famous) artist, Charley Harper. I’ve never been a big fan of animal art (or puns) but there is something about his clean lines and mid-century modern aesthetic (which he dubbed “minimal realism”) that has been drawing me in, almost unwillingly. Any previously declared distaste for animals-in-art has been sliding slowly away, in the face of his compelling creations. I don’t love them all (far from it, actually) but am seriously enamored of some of the pieces.
  2. Although this is hardly new, or cutting edge, I’m slightly obsessed with Jane Wiedlin‘s acoustic version of ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’. I love kooky chicks; for this reason alone she has always been my favorite member of the Go-Go’s. When I was very young, my Aunt Linda gave me her copy of ‘Beauty and the Beat’. Ah, nostalgia, right? Not entirely. I almost prefer this version to the original; maybe it’s just because the stripped-down sound goes better with winter’s quiet ways.
  3. Margaritas. Maybe I’m terribly eager for warm weather but I have been ordering this salt-rimmed concoction at every available opportunity, instead of my usual Scotch.
  4. The book reviews in the current (FEB/MAR 2012) issue of ‘BUST’. There are so many compelling entries. I want to read them all, particularly ‘Agorafabulous!: Dispatches From My Bedroom’ by Sara Benincasa (William Morrow), ‘Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality’ by Hanne Blank (Beacon) and ‘Treasure Island’ by Sara Levine (Europa).
    Charley Harper

    Image via Wikipedia

     

[Intermezzo] The Sky is Flaunting Itself

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My husband has the flu. Although he mock-whines when sick, in a pleading little boy voice, he doesn’t need my help now: he’s snoring, sleeping contentedly by my side. The dogs are at his feet, murmurs from their canine dreams occasionally breaking free: they are warm, happy. I’m on my back, staring at the too-blue sky that is flaunting itself through the carelessly closed blinds. Clouds are spinning past the electrical wires; faded brown squirrels are on the march. I swear I heard a bird chirp. I have important things to write, a shower to take, tea to brew. It’s 3 o’clock on a Sunday, February has dawned. I’m too satisfied staring at the incandescent sun. It hasn’t been Winter at all.

[Mae’s Writing Days] Ghosts of Projects Past

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As most of you know, I recently rearranged my writing studio. Okay, full disclosure time: I’m still actively working on it, after nearly 3 weeks of mostly dedicated effort. It may look lovely to the casual observer but, lurking beneath the neat surface, is my hideous secret: it’s really a mess. Tucked inside of the cabinets and chests and drawers is a dark, sloppy, sordid underbelly of….paper. Continue reading →