Book: A Sweeter Water  

Poet: Sara Henning

Publisher/Date: Lavender Ink, 2013

Why I bought the book: I got the chance to hear Sara Henning speak at AWP as part of the panel The Bigness of the Small Poem (Sandy Marchetti was also a member of this panel) and after hearing her talk about her own work and then read some of it, I wanted to buy her book. She also spent some time during the panel talking about the poem “Song” by Brigit Pegeen Kelly, which is a favorite of mine.

What I admire about this collection: There were two things that struck me the most about A Sweeter Water. I greatly admire the way that Sara writes about women and being a woman and all things female. I spend a lot of time in my own poetry examining myself as a woman and I write a lot about other women in my life, and I often struggle to find authenticity in the subject matter. I don’t want to come off as patronizing or overly sentimental or cliched, so the middle section of A Sweeter Water where there are poems titled “How to Make Babies,” “First Striptease,” “First Kiss,” “Girls Like Us” & “How to Pray Like a Girl” (just to name a few) really resonated with me. I think what drove it home for me was that I wanted to share these poems and share them with my students and my sister and my mother and my best friend. They’re beautiful and sexy and heartbreaking and full of grit.

The other part of the collection that struck me was that Sara really knows how to end a poem. This is something I struggle with constantly, so as I started to read my way through the book, I took notice of the fact that I was constantly feeling a punch in the gut every time I finished a poem. The endings linger in your mind, which I think is what want them to do.

Favorite lines: “Memory, a roof with sheeted tin, is a mosaic of insulation, bends under the weight” (15). “…their tight jeans, stomach sunk/below where sharp hipbones/as though a bit of their souls were meant/to cradle there” (49). “We all enter the world/as no one’s drunk angel, drunk on pain, expecting to be loved” (55). “Asters that never knowing the dirt by feel, learn to root in the wind” (34).

Favorite poems: “Birthday,” “How We Love,” “Three Themes On Rescue,” “As Though the Stars Could Keep Us,” “Eros,” “The Last Dahlia” & “How to Pray Like A Girl.”

Links: Here is a link to the  Brigit Pegeen Kelly poem I mentioned above. There’s a note regarding this poem at the end of A Sweeter Water concerning Sara’s poem “Three Themes on Rescue.”

A Sweeter Water is also full of dahlias, which are beautiful, elegant flowers. I’ve wanted to grow some of my own for years, but last summer I was finally able to nurse some into full bloom:

Previous: Streaming by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

Next: The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison by Maggie Smith-Beehler

Book: Streaming  

Poet: Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

Publisher/Date: Coffee House Press, 2014

Why I bought the book: Wandering around the book fair at AWP, I was perusing the Coffee House Press table and the cover of this book caught my eye because it’s gorgeous. When I picked up the book, i opened it to the poem “Drunk Butterflies” and then I turned around and bought the book.

What I admire about this collection: The poems in Streaming sprawl. They are large and ambitious and full of breath. There is just so much space and that space is full of layers upon layers of language. These are poems that are about the intersection between family and history and the environment. I greatly admire Allison Adelle Hedge Coke’s ability to tackle large social and cultural issues in poems in a way that is still deeply lyrical and lovely. These poems you should linger over on your porch in the morning with a cup of coffee.

Favorite lines: “In this world we lose/the ones who give the most” (28).  “Wrapping shyness with wing, undercover, under/folding blanket over love” (11). “Sandhill cranes rise into spiraled kettles; their mares purring  chortling kettling/vortex siege/sedge herd” (18).

Favorite poems: “Drunk Butterflies,” “Platte Mares,” Heroes,” “Pando/Pando,” “Story,” “Campos,” “Hatchlings,” “Carcass.”

Previous: Confluence by Sandra Marchetti

Next: A Sweeter Water by Sara Henning

I feel like as a culture we spend a lot of time focusing on the negative when it comes to celebrities. This could be an entire blog on its own, but over Christmas my mom and I were sitting in her kitchen talking about what a train wreck Lindsay Lohan has made out of her life/career and I thought, “what about all the women in movies, music, television, and cyber space that are not train wrecks?” I’m not saying the women below will win a Noble Peace Prize or that they’re not flawed (who isn’t?) but I enjoy them for their art, their commentary, their fashion sense and their overall celebrity coolness.

I read Tina Fey’s Bossypants about a year ago and you should read it too. I laughed and laughed. Mean Girls is the only Lindsay Lohan I have seen or will ever see and it still makes me laugh. Tina Fey is funny, smart and rocks her glasses. She’s going to host the Golden Globes this year  with Amy Poehler and I will watch only because of her. I loved her acceptance speech when she won the Mark Twain Prize and I appreciated her humor at the recent Kennedy Center Awards ceremony. Funny, genuinely funny, is awesome.

OK, not be shallow, but first, do you see this woman? Do you see her? OK, now that that’s out of the way…I liked The Devil Wears Prada and as soon as I stop being a wimp, I will go see Les Mis. I like that Anne Hathaway refused to discuss her “wardrobe malfunction” or her “drastic weight loss” on the Today Show. I like how she made fun of herself on the Daily Show and was clearly embarrassed when John Stewart complimented her talent. I like that she loves her new hair cut. I like that she is well spoken and smart and a has a killer wardrobe. I like that she seems like a real human being.

I have had a love affair going with Maggie Smith ever since I saw her in Evil Under the Sun, which was made in 1982 (a year after I was born). I’ve rediscovered my love of her in My House in Umbria and Gosford Park. I was thrilled when she agreed to be Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter and she has the best lines in Downton Abbey. To paraphrase a comment from Julian Fellows, creator of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith is the only actress that can make you love and hate a character all at the same time. Brilliant.

A good friend of mine burned me the first Norah Jones album while we were in college. I listened to it about 150 times in a row. Come Away With Me is one of my favorite albums and the title song is just beautiful. I love her voice and how she’s always working on a new an interesting project.

 My sister turned me onto Florence & The Machine and the first album, Lungs, is one of my favorites. Her voice is powerful and glorious and her songs are ethereal and lyrical. Favorite tracks? #1, 7, 9 &12.

This may be one that many people disagree with me about, but this is my list, so too bad. I like Jillian Michaels because she’s tough and I like tough. I have two of her work out dvds and they are hard but awesome. I have not watched The Biggest Loser since she left, but now she’s back, so I may tune in. I like that she’s in your face but also fair. I like that she adopted two children and is a working mom. She doesn’t take any crap. Nice.

Emma Watson is classy. Emma Watson is smart. Emma Watson is pretty. Emma Watson is stylish. Emma Watson is English. Emma Watson was Hermione Granger. What’s not to like? What I like most about Emma Watson is her promise. She’s talented and young, so I hope to see her in so many more roles in the future.

The new year is here and if you know anything about me and New Years, you know two things: 1). I’m not big on “resolutions” and 2). I probably rang in 2013 on my couch with my dog, cat, husband and some sort of take out (this year it was pizza and wings).

2012 was a good year for me, and I thought I would begin 2013 with a list of what I am grateful for because while the new year is mostly about looking to the future and what you will find there, I think it is also important to meditate on the present and be thankful for what you already have.

His face in this picture is priceless

RJ and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in 2012, but we’ve been together for almost a decade It’s been a long haul full of ups and downs but I’m very grateful for our relationship and proud of the person he’s become/is becoming. Some of the awesome things R has done this year? Continued in law school, landed a cool job as a clerk at a local law firm, fixed countless things around our house, run several 5k races with me, and he embarked on a crazy long hike out in the woods. Loves.

Thanksgiving 2012

November 2011

November 2011

I am lucky in that I have a great family. They are funny,
supportive, wise and generous. A lot of my best memories from 2012 involve these people and I’m looking forward to see what 2013 brings for all of us.

Bachelorette at Anderson Orchard 2011

A night out at the IMA

My besties

Football Sunday girls

Friends are vital and I have some terrific friends. We’ve had a lot of good times this year going to concerts, watching football games, eating out at new restaurants and attending events around town. They keep me sane and grounded. They have all my love and best wishes for 2013.

Kweli

Nimbus. This is the most innocent picture we have of him

Admittedly, vacuuming up bundles of dog hair, scooping the litter box and cleaning the bird cage are not my top three favorite activities. However, I cannot imagine my life without these furry/feathered little beasts.

Humphrey & Calliope

I am grateful for trees, flowers, rocks, dirt, sun, snow and rain. In short, I am grateful for the the natural world and I am grateful that I am able to get outdoors and be apart of it.

Fall 2012

Summer 2012

Spring 2012

Summer 2012

As a creative person, I am grateful for the art that I was able to participate in, create and observe this year. This include writing, crafting, reading and going to museums.

On the grounds of the Lily House

100 Acre Park

 Food. I love food and I’ve eaten some delicious meals in 2012. I’m sure there are more to come in 2013.

My favorites

Shrimp Po Boy

Full trout served at Courses

Finally, I am grateful for all of the cool things I got to do in 2012. I was able to officiate my best friend’s wedding, I went to Kennywood and Churchill Downs, I went to some outdoor concerts, a killer flea market and ran a race where at the end I was given a free beer. Not too shabby.

Good times

Brew Mile

Amazing

Yes!

Weighted hook.

Tiny telephone pencil sharpener.

Beautiful piece of Wedgewood. It was $12.50 because of a teeny tiny little chip on the rim. Good deal!

The first two items I found at a new store in Irvington called Irvington Vintage. They are located at 130 S. Audubon Rd and they have a wide variety of items for sale. The Wedgewood piece I found at The Audubon Road Corner Store. Both places are worth checking out if you are looking for unique gifts or something different for your own home. They are also right across the street from one another.

The final photos are two of the first zinnias of the summer. I planted the seeds a few weeks ago and when I went out this morning, there they were.