My calendar, and what I'm up to
First, a question for you: how many calendars do you keep, and do you keep all the same stuff on all of them?
You see, I have recently started putting stuff into the calendar on my phone. But I also put all appointments and important dates (birthdays, yahrzeits, when Christmas break is for the kids, etc.) into my day planner (an academic one, because my brain prefers that to an annual calendar). And onto the wall calendar in the kitchen, which is attached by magnetic clips to the side of the refrigerator, whence it slides to the floor on occasion for no apparent reason. And on my sweetheart's calendar on the FRONT of the refrigerator, which we keep because he always had one there and it's how he keeps track of his busy tai chi class schedule, which sometimes has variables for things like Memorial Day or Jewish holidays (he teaches at a JCC).
And, finally, I keep a gorgeous wall calendar on the wall in my writing room, which mostly only gets my professional stuff written into it, although Maggie's last day of freshman year is marked there, too. And there is some actual, important stuff on there.
You are invited to come to a poetry reading at the Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ (just by the intersection of Routes 70 and 73) on May 19th at 7:30 p.m.. I have been invited to be the featured speaker at the Poetry in the Round group that meets there, and I will be reading a lot of new material. So I hope you will come and have a listen as I test drive new work (to possibly disastrous results, I might add). There will be an open mic after the reading, if you're inclined to bring a poem to share. (Sharing poems by other people is allowed, so if you want to recite Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwocky", go right ahead.)
Looking ahead, there's some pretty great stuff in June, too. The first weekend in June, I'll be attending the Philadelphia Writer's Conference, which is truly one of the best values in conferences that I'm aware of: it's a three-day conference, with some workshops that are one-offs, and some that meet three days running, so you get a bit more in-depth than at your typical conference. And there are critiques available (for free, but only if you hurry) and pitches to agents and editors (on the spot, five-minute deals), and all sorts of topics covered.
The last weekend in June, I'll be on faculty at the New Jersey SCBWI Conference. I am teaching two separate sessions. On Saturday, I'll be teaching a session entitled "Unleashing Your Inner Poet", which is designed for writers who are interested in using poetic techniques in their writing, whether they write poetry or not. It includes some terrific exercises on simile and metaphor (if I do say so myself, although other people, including Kate Messner, have said so as well). On Saturday, my session is entitled "Working With Poetic Forms", and is all about writing form poetry, with focus on things like rhyme and scansion as well. I am quite looking forward to it, and hope to see some of you there!
You see, I have recently started putting stuff into the calendar on my phone. But I also put all appointments and important dates (birthdays, yahrzeits, when Christmas break is for the kids, etc.) into my day planner (an academic one, because my brain prefers that to an annual calendar). And onto the wall calendar in the kitchen, which is attached by magnetic clips to the side of the refrigerator, whence it slides to the floor on occasion for no apparent reason. And on my sweetheart's calendar on the FRONT of the refrigerator, which we keep because he always had one there and it's how he keeps track of his busy tai chi class schedule, which sometimes has variables for things like Memorial Day or Jewish holidays (he teaches at a JCC).
And, finally, I keep a gorgeous wall calendar on the wall in my writing room, which mostly only gets my professional stuff written into it, although Maggie's last day of freshman year is marked there, too. And there is some actual, important stuff on there.
You are invited to come to a poetry reading at the Barnes & Noble in Marlton, NJ (just by the intersection of Routes 70 and 73) on May 19th at 7:30 p.m.. I have been invited to be the featured speaker at the Poetry in the Round group that meets there, and I will be reading a lot of new material. So I hope you will come and have a listen as I test drive new work (to possibly disastrous results, I might add). There will be an open mic after the reading, if you're inclined to bring a poem to share. (Sharing poems by other people is allowed, so if you want to recite Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwocky", go right ahead.)
Looking ahead, there's some pretty great stuff in June, too. The first weekend in June, I'll be attending the Philadelphia Writer's Conference, which is truly one of the best values in conferences that I'm aware of: it's a three-day conference, with some workshops that are one-offs, and some that meet three days running, so you get a bit more in-depth than at your typical conference. And there are critiques available (for free, but only if you hurry) and pitches to agents and editors (on the spot, five-minute deals), and all sorts of topics covered.
The last weekend in June, I'll be on faculty at the New Jersey SCBWI Conference. I am teaching two separate sessions. On Saturday, I'll be teaching a session entitled "Unleashing Your Inner Poet", which is designed for writers who are interested in using poetic techniques in their writing, whether they write poetry or not. It includes some terrific exercises on simile and metaphor (if I do say so myself, although other people, including Kate Messner, have said so as well). On Saturday, my session is entitled "Working With Poetic Forms", and is all about writing form poetry, with focus on things like rhyme and scansion as well. I am quite looking forward to it, and hope to see some of you there!