Saturday, October 31, 2009

MYnd mAp, Gaye Gambell-Peterson

Gaye Gambell-Peterson's new self-published book, MYnd mAp, is described in an interview with Catherine Rankovic here: http://theconfidentwriter.blogspot.com/2009/10/talking-with-gaye-gambell-peterson-wine.html. Gaye talks about the creative process of combining poetry and visual art, in her usual precise and cross-pollinating way.

Gaye previously published pale leaf floating with Cherry Pie Press, and has created the cover artwork for some of the earlier Cherry Pie chapbooks (Breathing Out, The Permeability of Memory, Rotogravure). She has also provided support of the unmeasurable kind to Cherry Pie: humor, clarity of purpose, and indestructible nerve when I needed it most. Her poetry embodies those three qualities. Highly recommended.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

More on lunch pail poetry

Tess Gallagher, in a speech to the graduates of the 2009 Whidbey Writers Workshop, reminds us that "as a writer, one may not hold oneself above or apart from one’s hoped for readership. . . . We won’t be able to imagine in a clear-hearted way those whom we seek to reach or even that part of ourselves we court in the writing."

She also comments on the practicalities of the writing life, and the need to fit writing in -- "learning to work anywhere and under adverse conditions is a boon to staying a writer."

Read the entire commencement address here: http://whidbeystudents.com/about/2009-commencement-address/

Lunch pail poetry

RATTLE has just released its RATTLE e.7 supplement to the summer print issue, and you can download it here in pdf format: http://rattle.com/eissues/eIssue7.pdf

The highlight is an interview with Bruce Cohen on his new book from Dream Horse Press, Disloyal Yo-Yo. I was impressed with Cohen's take on the place of writing in his life, and he touched on a theme close to my heart: how to balance work, life, poetry. For some, poetry as a career works just fine, and for others (me!) it does not. Cohen says, "I intuitively suspected that if my career were dependent upon poetry, my poetry might get stale and suffer." From someone who now has two books out after long years of work, and lots of balancing, that's encouraging stuff. He talks about his "anti-poetic career" in academic support programs for athletes, and how he was grounded in the knowledge that poetry was its own center: "I knew I would compose poems for my entire life; it would be a constant in my world. That knowledge calmed me, left me less anxious."

He talks about balancing his career, his wife's career, different work schedules, raising two boys and all the Boy Scouts and other activities that adds to the mix, and still finding room for poetry.

Here's Cohen on what it takes to be a writer: "But my approach to writing is not lazy; it’s blue collar, working man. I write something every day whether I feel like it or not and put my time in. I go to work sick. I’m rarely inspired and I have no patience for waiting for some sort of Muse. In fact, I don’t think I have a Muse, I just try to talk to people in my poems who I know and want to talk to. My father got up at five every morning, went to work and never complained. I try to do that—especially with my poetry. Lunch pail stuff."

Monday, October 05, 2009

gaye gambell-peterson at The Big Read

This just received:

Ta da! gaye gambell-peterson announces that her next chapbook of poetry + art is out into the world!! The newest is MYnd mAp (Agog Press), resplendent with 14 FULL-COLOR illustrations, joining pale leaf floating (Cherry Pie Press), also with illustrations.

Your first opportunity to get MYnd mAp ($15) is this coming Saturday,
October 10th, at The Big Read in Clayton.

At The Big Read Festival on Saturday, October 10, 2009, from 3:00 - 3:30pm, gaye gambell-peterson will sign copies of both her books at the St. Louis Writers Guild booth.

The festival runs from 9:00am-4:00pm at Clayton High School, Mark Twain Circle & Topton Way, Clayton, MO.

The Big Read is free and open to the public. The festival features publishers, book-sellers, national authors, readings, book signings, panel discussions, workshops, demonstrations and an interactive children’s area. The St. Louis Writers Guild will be represented at two booths--one for SLWG info-sharing, one for book sales and book signings. A schedule for workshops and lectures by "bigger names" is available on www.bigread.net/schedule.htm.

See www.gayegambellpeterson.com for more details and other chapbook events.