Poetry and Edible Houses: Christmas 2015

Someday, I will write a holiday-themed post before the holiday in question. But today is obviously not that day.

We had a simple, stripped down Christmas this year. (Thank goodness.) But I did attempt some baking. Last year, a friend gave me some house-shaped cake molds.

One of the houses came out cleanly:

Gluten-free gingerbread cake with chopped candied ginger and powdered sugar snow.

The other one. . .less so. At which point, it was 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and I decided that the only logical thing was to attempt to glue it together with cream cheese frosting.

Remember how I said that I don't bake much? The last time I had tried to make frosting, it went flat as a lake and turned into glaze. ("How can you mess up frosting? There must have been something wrong with the sugar," my mother said. Sure, let's go with that.) But this time, it actually became frosting, so I'm marking that as a success.

I knew the second house wasn't remotely pretty, but I was still a little shocked when Mom said, "Oh, what a cute chimney."

That's a tree, Mom. Obviously.

Well, at least it tasted good.

This year, my church's Advent sermon series was titled "Simply Jesus." I wrote a poem for the series that was handed out at our five o'clock service. 

A small Christmas gift to the other members of Gateway Fellowship.

I realize that (unless you are Orthodox) we are well into the post-Christmas season now, but I've included the poem below for those who are curious.

Simply Christmas

Don’t misunderstand, I love

the ridiculous ritual

of it all: the maudlin movies, the bell-song,

the scent of cinnamon and cloves, the way everything

is red and green and glitter

until your eyes water. The trouble

lies under the glitz and the gilt,

near the core of Christmas: a human poverty, the empty ache

that called the riches of Heaven

down to earth. The trouble is I know

there will never be enough

in my checkbook to give

the people I love the gifts they need most.

So the ache in me prays for the ache you:

May you receive a spark of courage

to light the woods ahead of you

in dark months. May you find a peace

to wrap around your head like an oversized

scarf, blocking out the cold and anxious wind.

May you maintain that stubborn flame of joy

we find in the Beatitudes: “happy are. . .

the poor in spirit, the ones who mourn, the meek,

the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers,

and the persecuted.” May all your God-given hungers—

for food, for safety and shelter, for love, for justice, and for family—

be filled. May you find your people this year,

your place of belonging, and may you discover

forgiveness for those who once ignored your worth.

May your heart not just be a cup

waiting to be filled, but a channel

that spills into the thirsty world. May you give

as you have received. And may the gift

that stays the closest to your

heart be the one that first arrived

without receipt or ribbon, tagged

for the world God so loved

with Heaven’s brightest beam and wrapped,

by human hands, in simple

swaddling cloth.

Impromptu Poetry

Poetry has a way of cropping up in unexpected places. Yesterday, in celebration of a dear friend's birthday, I went into Port Townsend. We saw the Rhody Parade.

We attended a cake picnic (and community dance party).

We went to a carnival.

View from the Ferris wheel.

And when wandering through the Farmers Market, I met this woman: Afrose Fatima Ahmed.

She was typing out name-your-price poems on a portable typewriter. I was impressed both by her ability to focus in the midst of the market noise and by the quality of her lightning-speed work. Her website contains some brief information about what she refers to as her "impromptu poetry."



I find this idea of a poem written instantly and then cast out—bread upon the waters, no copies saved, no revisions made—both intriguing and terrifying.

How I Celebrate National Poetry Month

Just because April is almost over doesn't mean that I'm done celebrating.

Of course, I've been celebrating by reading and writing poetry. But National Poetry Month is also about sharing poetry, so for the last two (going on three) years, I've also done the following:

After the third attempt at photography, I was like "Maybe the air in here is just blurry."

The other side looks like:

Throughout the year, I write down lines of poetry that capture me. And when April comes, I hide them away in various places for members of the unsuspecting public to find.

Like many of my ideas, this tends to work better in theory than in practice. This year, I didn't get around to finishing all my cards until yesterday, so I've only hidden five so far. Also, even when I finish my cards in time, I tend to forget I have them with me. (I carried fifteen to church today, and I left with the exact same number.)

Sometimes, I worry that the only people who will find them will be much-put-upon custodians, who will slowly grow to hate both poetry and April. ("Another flippin' index card?! April is the cruelest month.")

But I do like finding small, beautiful things in unexpected places. And I doubt I'm the only one.

There's still some April left. So let's see if I can dispose of fifteen more cards before May 1st. Any ideas?

Happy National Poetry Month, Happy Easter!

April is National Poetry Month.

The Academy of American Poets (through poets.org) offers a list of 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month. And Writer's Digest's "Poetic Asides" blog is encouraging people to write a poem every day this month through daily prompts (and contests).

Later in April, I will write about what I do to celebrate this month of poetry.

But right now I'm the middle of celebrating something even dearer to me (though I find it impossible to separate poetry from the Gospel). Happy Easter, readers!

The exterior of "Crossroads: Where Art and Passion Meet," a yearly Stations of Cross through art in Port Townsend, WA.

With friends Heather and Vicky. (Thanks so much for taking me!)

50 Books List for 2014

Every year I try to read at least fifty books. What gets included on this list is bit arbitrary—for example, short picture books don't count, short poetry volumes usually do; individual comic book issues don't count, but trade collections of multiple issues do. I missed posting my list for 2013, but here's the list for 2014.

Key:
Fiction
Poetry
Nonfiction
Memoir
Underline of any color= graphic novel/comic book  

1. Robin: Year One—written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, illustrated by Javier Pulido and Robert Campanella
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince—J.K. Rowling
3.  Portraits of a Marriage—Sándor Márai, trans. by George Szirtes
4. Tell the Wolves I’m Home—Carol Rifka Brunt
5. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation—Thomas Siddell
6. The Plain Janes—written by Cecil Castellucci, art by Jim Rugg
7. Sweeney Astray—translated by Seamus Heaney
8. Saints—Gene Luen Yang
9. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research—Thomas Siddell
10. Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill—written by Peter J. Tomasi, illustrated by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray
11. Nightwing: Year One—written by Chuck Dixon, illustrated by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens
12. Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth—Warsan Shire
13. A Town Like Alice—Nevil Shute
14. In the Woods—Tana French
15. Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 3: Reason—Thomas Siddell
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—J.K. Rowling
17. Nightwing: The Lost Year—written by Marv Wolfman and Marc Andreyko; art by Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson, Jamal Igle, Jon Bosco, Keith Champagne, Alex Silva, etc.
18. Zot! Book 1—Scott McCloud
19. Surprised by the Voice of God—Jack Deere
20. The Fire in All Things: Poems—Stephen Yenser
21. The Book Thief—Markus Zusak
22. Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Pearl—written by Peter J. Tomasi; art by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Tomas Giorello, etc.
23. Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight—Travis Langley
24. Catching Fire—Suzanne Collins
25. Sex at Noon Taxes—Sally Van Doren
26. Nightwing, Vol. 1: A Knight in Blüdhaven—written by Chuck Dixon; art by Scott McDaniel and Karl Story
27. Batman: The Heart of Hush—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
28. Mockingjay—Suzanne Collins
29. Streets of Gotham, Vol. 1: Hush Money—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen
30. Streets of Gotham, Vol. 2: Leviathan—written by Paul Dini; Mike Benson; and Christopher Yost, art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
31. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination—Elizabeth McCracken
32. Of Gravity and Angels—Jane Hirshfield
33. Comfort Me with Apples—Ruth Reichl
34. Batman: Streets of Gotham, Vol. 3: House of Hush—written by Paul Dini, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
35. Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes—written by Kyle Higgins; illustrated by Eddie Barrows, Eduardo Pansica, Geraldo Borges, JP Mayer, Paulo Siqueira, Eber Ferreira, Ruy José, etc.
36. A Tale for the Time Being—Ruth Ozeki
37.  Everything is Illuminated—Jonathan Safran Foer
38. Batman Incorporated, Vol. 1: Demon Star—written by Grant Morrison; art by Chris Burnham (p), Frazer Irving (p), Bit artists (p), Nathan Fairbairn (c), Frazar Irving (c), etc.
39. JLA/W.I.L.D.Cats—written by Grant Morrison, (art by ?)
40. Batman Incorporated—written by Grant Morrison, art by Yanick Paquette and Chris Burnham
41. Doc—Mary Doria Russell
42. Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey—Nick Bertozzi
43. Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love—written by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr., art by Randy Duburke
44. The Search—written by Eric Heuvel with Ruud van der Rol and Lies Schippers, art by Eric Heuvel, trans. by Lorraine T. Miller
45. Brown Girl Dreaming—Jacqueline Woodson
46. The Light Between Oceans—M.L. Stedman
47. Bone: Out from Boneville—Jeff Smith
48. The Search for Delicious—Natalie Babbit
49. Dogs of War—written by Sheila Keenan, art by Nathan Fox
50. March: Book One—story by John Robert Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nate Powell
51. Lewis & Clark—Nick Bertozzi 

Last year I read thirty-six works of fiction, six volumes of poetry, five works of nonfiction, and three memoirs. Of those, twenty-three of the fictional works were graphic novels or comic book collections, as were three of the nonfiction texts and one of the memoirs. This means that over half (twenty-seven books) of my fifty books were comic books.

I shouldn't be surprised, especially given my recent project. 

I could tell I wasn't reading many (text-based) novels (something I'd like change this year), but I was bewildered to see so few nonfiction books on the list. I'd felt like I'd read more nonfiction last year. Then I realized. . .I read a lot of nonfiction last year, but mainly things that I can't count on this list: articles and blog posts, books I haven't finished yet, books I read huge sections of (for research), but not in their entirety (or in order). For example, Shelley Taylor's The Tending Instinct was one of the most interesting books I read last year, but I only completed about 80% of it.

Favorites:

My favorite novel of 2014 was, no contest, Mary Doria Russell's Doc—sharp and tender, full of pithy descriptions and heartbreaking characters.

My favorite nonfiction book was Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere, in part because it was exactly the book I needed to read at the time. I had read parts (if not all) of it before, but what struck me this time through was the graceful humility with which it was written.

My favorite poetry read was a tie between Of Gravity and Angels (I always end up loving Jane Hirshfield's work) and The Fire in All Things, which made me promise myself I'd read it again in a few years and see if I understood different elements.

My favorite memoir was March: Book One, which surprised me because I hadn't expected so much artistry from a book so closely connected to a politician. But the story is well-told and captures John Lewis' personal journey and hallmarks of the Civil Rights movement in a way feels simultaneously broad and intimate. It left me eager for the next installment.

My favorite "capes" comic collection was Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Born to Kill. This was the first Batman and Robin of the New52 reboot; a change I wasn't looking forward to. (I had been upset when the New52 broke up the duo of Dick Grayson's Batman and Damian Wayne's Robin for the "return" of Bruce Wayne.) But now I want all my superhero comics to be as thoughtful as this volume. The tension between father and son is so believable that it keeps the story grounded in psychological realism, even as the crime-fighting enters the typically bizarre world of Batman villains. Tomasi was wise enough to focus on the characters first and the heroics second. And Gleason's artwork is full of atmospheric shadows and heart-rending visual parallels.

My favorite non-capes comic collection was Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research because that was the volume where I realized I was absolutely addicted to the strange scientifically-magical/magically-robotic boarding school Thomas Siddell had created. Siddell had also grown into his art style by this volume. I have not caught up to the online comic yet, so I can't recommend it in its entirety (and if the inclusion of same-sex relationships ruins stories for you, this will not be your favorite read). I think of Gunnerkrigg Court as "Harry Potter with female protagonists and adorable robots." If that sounds awesome to you, check it out.

In an upcoming post, I'll write a bit about my reading goals for this year. But I want to know: What were your favorite books for 2014? And do you have any reading goals for 2015? 

MLA Conference in Seattle and Some News

Okay, first things second. I will have two poems in an upcoming edition of The Sow's Ear Poetry Review (when I find out which issue, I'll let you know). I'm so excited, you'd think I was up for a Nobel.

*****

Earlier this month, the Modern Language Association held its annual conference in Seattle. Several sessions were open to the public. So I went up on Thursday night and spent Friday at the conference. (Many thanks to the Seattle Brengans for room, board, and good times.)

Here are some photos from the Kingston ferry dock.

After being happily landlocked for so many years, I'm amazed that I live near all this water.

I didn't get much sleep the night before the conference, and I discovered that when I'm tired I can't understand directions. I lived at the help desk. Here's a photo of part of the lobby area with one of the conference workers helping an attendee who isn't me, for once.

Being in such an academic environment was both invigorating and bemusing. Before one session, I heard a woman behind me mutter something about "the politics of periodism." I couldn't decide if I was more tickled by the fact that there are people who can say things like "the politics of periodism" and Foucauldian without blinking—or by the fact that I knew what she was talking about.

Some of the sessions were academics presenting papers on minutiae that I suspect you can only appreciate if you're already studying those particular subspecies of English literature. I felt relief that I wasn't a doctoral student (and gratitude that other people are willing to be doctoral students and let me pick their brains).

I stumbled into my favorite session of the day by accident. (I had intended to go to a session on Harold Pinter, only to realize that session was on Saturday. Did I mention that I can't read directions when I'm tired?) Author Richard Van Camp's session was so good, I worked up enough courage to ask to have my photo taken with him.

Speaking of awesome writers... here's the Chinese poet Xi Chuan answering an audience question.

The man next to him is his official (written) translator, Lucas Klein. A poem would be read in Chinese, and over half the audience would laugh or nod. Then those of us who spoke only English would eagerly wait for the translation so we could find out what everyone else was reacting to.

I left the conference feeling revitalized and with an even bigger to-read list. (Special thanks to Scott who talked to me during lunch and gave me some great suggestions.)

2012 Reading Challenge (part 2)

Okay, now I can post my 2011 Fifty Books Challenge list!

Fiction  

YA/Juvenile   
Nonfiction  
Memoir
Collections (short stories, essays, etc.)  
Drama  
Poetry 

1.       The Woman Who Walked into Doors—Roddy Doyle
2.       The Handmaid’s Tale—Margaret Attwood
3.       Sense and Sensibility—Jane Austen
4.       Lolita—Vladimir Nabokov
5.       Reading Lolita in Tehran—Azar Nafisi
6.       Human Chain: Poems—Seamus Heaney
7.       Frankenstein—Mary Shelley
8.       Essex County (Vol. 1-3)—Jeff Lamire
9.       Alice in Wonderland—Lewis Carroll
10.   Through the Looking Glass—Lewis Carroll
11.   The Haunted Bookshop—Christopher Morley
12.   The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—L. Frank Baum
13.   V for Vendetta (graphic novel)—Alan Moore
14.   Mushishi (Vol. 2)—Yuki Urushibara
15.   A Circle of Quiet—Madeleine L’engle
16.   Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (audiobook)—Beth Hoffman
17.   Alexander Calder and His Magical Mobiles—Jean Lipman, with Margaret Aspinwall
18.   The Road—Cormac McCarthy
19.   Ender’s Game—Orson Scott Card
20.   The Bird Woman—Kerry Hardie
21.   Superman: The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Man of Steel—Les Daniels
22.   The Science of Superheroes—Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg
23.   The Táin—trans. by Ciaran Carson
24.   A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories (graphic novel)—Will Eisner
25.   Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty—Stan Lee
26.   Road to Perdition (graphic novel)—Max Allen Collins
27.   The Tiger Rising—Kate DiCamillo
28.   An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England—Brock Clarke
29.   Surfacing—Judy Gill Milford
30.   The Graveyard Book—Neil Gaiman
31.   Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table—Edited by Amanda Hesser
32.   Sidekicks—Jack D. Ferraiolo
33.   Life of Pi—Yann Martel
34.   The Influencing Machine (graphic novel)—Brooke Gladstone
35.   Stories for the Christian Year—The Chrysostom Society
36.   West with the Night—Beryl Markham
37.   How to Write a Sentence: and How to Read One—Stanley Fish
38.   The Help—Kathryn Stockett
39.   Sonnets from the Portuguese—Elizabeth Barrett Browning
40.   Field Work: Poems—Seamus Heaney
41.   The Awakening—Kate Chopin
42.   The Waste Land—T.S. Eliot
43.   Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel—Jeannette Walls
44.   Alice Adams—Booth Tarkington
45.   Lady Windermere’s Fan—Oscar Wilde
46.   The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself)—Carol Fisher Saller
47.   Enchanted Irish Tales—Patricia Lynch
48.   A Woman of No Importance—Oscar Wilde
49.   To the North—Elizabeth Bowen
50.   Peter and Wendy—J. M. Barrie

So the total:

23 Fiction (give or take Half Broke Horses)

8  YA/Children's Lit.

7 Nonfiction (though it feels funny to include books about superheroes in this category)

4 Poetry 

3 Collections

2 Plays

2 Memoir/Autobiography

Again, six of these were graphic novels (or collections of graphic novelettes). Seven were on that literature list I like.

Other, shorter things I read included:

Cathleen Ni Houlihan—W.B. Yeats

Deirdre—W.B. Yeats

John Law: Detective—Will Eisner (and several Spirit comics)

This post is already awfully long, so if you're curious about what I thought about a particular book, ask me in the comments. (Hopefully, I'll do a better job discussing the books as I read them this year.)


After reviewing my 2010, 2009, and 2008 lists, I've made some reading resolutions for 2012. I'd like to try to read:

• At least two Pulitzer fiction winners each year
• At least one Nobel prize winning author I haven't read yet each year
• And six poetry volumes (this year, and then I'll reevaluate)

My fiction to nonfiction ratio tends to bounce around depending on what I'm researching, so I'll just let that change naturally over the course of the year. Two plays a year seems to be my average whatever resolutions I make. But now that I live closer to Seattle, maybe I'll see more plays. 

Some bloggers I follow read 100+ books a year, which both awes and horrifies me. I think I'm happy sticking to fifty. I also have non-reading resolutions to keep.

What are your resolutions/goals this year? (Reading or otherwise.)