Gonesongs is a Go! and more....

In the most recent exciting news, my poetry manuscript Gonesongs (which was also my MFA thesis) has been accepted for publication by Bellowing Ark Press. I am absolutely thrilled that the editor liked this collection so much - it's one that is very close to my heart, and much more personal than God in my Throat in some ways, since it deals with love and family without the cushion (or armor) of working in persona. There's some work left to do with the ordering of it (I never did reach a place where I was completely thrilled with the structure of it), but my editor is, as he puts it, "taking liberties," and I'll get to take a peek at them shortly. I'm looking forward to it. Never underestimate the power of an editor with a passion for their work and an affection for yours.

In any case, Gonesongs will be tentatively scheduled for publication in early 2011. Until then, if you haven't ordered your copy of God in my Throat: The Lilith Poems, you should. That way you can compare them and tell me which you liked best while also supporting a small press!

New poems coming out in River Styx, Tipton Poetry Journal, Chaffey Review, Penguin Review, Red Wheelbarrow and Lamplighter Review. I've also got a piece that will be anthologized in Knocking at the Door, a poetry anthology forthcoming from Buddhapuss Ink sometime in August 2010.

A good haul for the November/December submission batch, I think. My next submissions likely won't be until mid to late May, when I've settled in after the move to Chattanooga.

I'm up to 52 books read so far for 2010 - a mix of paranormal romance, poetry, CNF essays, and more. I'm keeping track monthly on my other blog. I've also started what I had intended to be a chapbook of war poetry reflecting some of my brother's experience, which has blossomed into a larger project. I'm hoping to polish the collection titled These Terrible Sacraments in time to submit it to the Black Lawrence Press spring chapbook competition. And The Green of Breakable Things is out at various book contests and available for interested publishing parties.

Also, the sun has finally come out to bake me, and I am sporting my first merry sunburn of the season. Let's hear it for the rebirth of growing things, and for moving on to what we are meant to do.

Happy writing, all!

Busy 2010

February is not even over yet, and already it is a busy 2010!

Publications

From my creative thesis, the poems "Challenger," "Bud Vase", "Copper in Fire","Gift Shop, Museum of Natural History", "Carving Your Name" and "Coleman Canoe" have all received acceptances for a future issue of Bellowing Ark and Penguin Review. I am particularly excited to report that out of my newest unpublished manuscript, The Green of Breakable Things, the poem "Fishing" will appear in Third Wednesday, and poems "The Ant" and "Clearing Weeds from Daddy's Grave", will appear in a future issue of Bellowing Ark. Another poem which is a favorite of mine, "Star Inside the Apple", will appear in Orange Coast College Review.

In non-fiction, my book chapters “Millenials, Gen-X, Gen-Y, and Boomers, Oh My! Managing Multiple Generations in the Library” and “Management Tips for Merging Multiple Service Points” will appear in the book Library Management Tips That Work edited by Carol Smallwood, to be published by the American Library Association in 2010. Another two book chapters, “Low- and No-Cost Development Opportunities for Librarians” and “Managing Staff Stress During Budget Crises: Lessons for Library Managers” ( the second co-written with Mary Chimato) are forthcoming in the book Surviving and Thriving in the Recession: A How-to-Do-It Manual for Librarians, also edited by Carol Smallwood and expected to be published by Neal-Schuman in 2010.

New Employment

On the job front, I've accepted a professorship at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where I will work as Head of the library's Access Services department as of May 2010. I'll be applying for the EdD program there, am hoping to take workshop classes with poets Earl Braggs ad Rick Jackson, and am hoping to be able to adjunct in the English department. (Maybe not all of that at once, though.) I'm excited to be returning to UTC, where I worked as a reference & instruction librarian from 2007-2008. There is, however, quite a bit of work left to do at NCSU (not to mention packing up the apartment), so I am trying not to get ahead of myself.

Miscellany

Random things: I have been feeling very tired and run-down the past few weeks. In addition to a nasty sinus infection that simply won't go away (going on 9 weeks now), I do believe I've overcommitted. Too late to do anything about it now, but I will be better about volunteering for deadlined items in the future. In fact, I may turn down the fire on nonfiction library writing a bit after the book I committed to write is complete, and for librarystuff, tell myself that 2 articles/book chapters and 2 presentations a year is a fine momentum. Given that UTC is building as new library and taking on all the challenges that come with that, if I hit even those numbers, I'll be pleased. I'm looking forward to seeing my old personal trainer and getting myself back to the gym seriously the way I did when last in TN - I need to take better care of myself. I also plan to set aside home-time and space for serious creative writing once the library book is written (September).

Another random note; I am looking forward to hanging up my gypsy gear with the move to Chattanooga. Aside from moving to college in 1997 and the two moves a year in college, I moved in: 2001 (twice: to NY and then to GA), 2002 (twice: switched apartments), 2003 (moved to Kentucky), 2004 (moved from apartment into house with roomies), 2007 (twice: to NY then to TN), 2009 (from TN to NC). I am looking forward to being in one place for quite awhile. If all goes well, my next move won't be until 2013 or 14, and that will be from an apartment into a house, but in the same locale. *crosses fingers*

Good ProfHacker Article on Writing

ProfHacker had a recent article The Writer as Athlete, and it was a good reminder to me that you don't have to do it *all* day, but you have to try to do it *every* day. Check out the part where it tells you that you have to get your gear - this is where I fall down most of the time. I sit in the corner of the couch , crouched over a laptop in a manner I know will end in back pain. Time to step it up a notch. Maybe getting my writing space refitted will encourage me to get back to the gym! (HAhahahahahaha)

Well, Hello, 2010. Is that a Poem in your Pocket?

Ooh, 2010. What a lovely, round number. A number that pretty much gives permission - nay, orders us! - to set some goals, extend our limits, and make something count. I've listed my broad personal guidelines for 2010 here at my other blog, but I've got some specific writerly/artsy/crafty goals for this year too. For instance, I would like to:

1. Not terribly daunting, but: keeping a record of the books I read throughout the year and the movies I see. It's something I've wanted to keep track of for awhile and have simply been too lazy. I've already started this one, and the list is here at "Warmaiden's Diary." Not the juicy kind of diary, just the books & movies thing.

2. Work on a poetry project a month. Aside from writing my own poetry, I do think that studying it in a structured way helps me with my creativity, and helps prevent dry spells. Now that my MFA time is over (*sob*), I've decided to make a list of poetry projects to work on throughout the year, and the list came out to 11, whcih I figure is good, considering other projects and things that'll come up through the year. I'll be able to spend about a month on each - some are exercises, like writing in form and translation, and some are actually studies (like my plans for looking into lyric and elegiac poetry). The ones that made the list for this year are:

a) to do some translation work (esp Borges, Neruda, Lorca, Alfonsina Storni)
b) read (or re-read) some national epics - Shanameh, Cid, Daredevils of Sassoun
c) study Rumi & Sappho (does that strike you as a weird combination?)
d) study Deep image poets/poetry
e) study elegies
f) study lyric poetry
g) read some Japanese poets
h) read some Russian poets
i) do a study of Surrealist poetry
j) study meter (*gulp*)
k) work in forms (sestina, ghazals, repetition forms, sonnets, etc)

3. Seriously put the last polish on The Green of Breakable Things and Gonesongs. Both have gotten a pretty warm reception from individual journals and reviews for individual pieces (and I've been thrilled with how quickly the pieces from The Green are being accepted!) - time to find them a home for their full-length selves. Both are already entered in a handful of competitions, so we'll see on that front.

4. Learn some more crochet stitches. The single crochet means my blankets are ridonkulously heavy and take forever to finish. I'd like to get out more than a half-blanket per winter.

5. Dabble in some figure drawing and oil painting. I've always wanted to, and even collected supplies...and then was daunted by the thought of marring the blank page and canvas.

That's about it, but more than enough. This isn't a list of "musts," since that would just feel overwhelming, and lead to failure. This is a list of the things I would like to do, and that I want to make room and time in my life for. This is the list of things that I can look to whenever I feel like saying, "I'm bored."

Peter Hammarberg Interview Me, Posts it on The Write Club!

My good friend, scathing wit and fabulous New York poet Peter Hammarberg, interviewed me for The Write Club. His interview appears as "The Process: Featuring Colleen Harris." Peter had some really good and insightful questions - I think many of us write and rarely get the chance to talk about our process. Go ahead and give it a read, if you have a minute - and post your comments there, since I'd love to know what you think!

Breaking in The Green of Breakable Things

In more good (and very recent) news beyond the Pushcart nomination:

The Lamplighter Review took my poems "Gold Frame," "In Praise of Kevlar" and "When You Came Home from the War." These are the first poems from my unpublished manuscript The Green of Breakable Things to be picked up, and I'm particularly proud of them. Hooray! Look for them in the next issue of Lamplighter. (Also, a side note - the response time was phenomenal, which is always much appreciated!)

I'll also have work out in the next issue of River Styx and Sow's Ear Poetry Review.

And finally for today, The Green of Breakable Things has been entered in her first poetry book contests. Wish her (and me) luck! (And, of course, if you're an editor and want to read the manuscript, I'd be happy to send it along *grin*)

Pushcart Nomination!!

There is no turkey at my house. No stuffing, mashed potatoes, or any of the other foods and smells that I usually associate with Thanksgiving. I should probably be halfway to depressed. But, while I miss all of that usual foodly goodness, i can't quite bring myself to wallow very deeply. My trusty editor, Robert Ward, emailed me yesterday with some lovely news and an early Christmas gift: he nominated me for a Pushcart for my poem "The Light Becomes Us."

I'm absolutely thrilled/tickled/walking on air about it. (Choose your expression of joy and insert it as you will.) And for a number of reasons - first, well, it's a damn Pushcart, only one of the most prestigious writerly awards! Second, "The Light Becomes Us" happens to be one of my favorite, favorite poems of mine. (Can I have a favorite poem of my own without seeming too self-absorbed?) Anyway, it's a poem that makes me happy, each time I read it, that *I'm* the person who wrote it. Those are the best sort, I think, at least from the author's side of things.

And so, as we enter the holiday season and I am trying to make sure my worklife and my home/writing life remain separate and both lively, I am concentrating on how good a year this has been for me in terms of my creative writing. My first book published in June. My MFA completed in November. Various publications and anthologizations (new word!) in lit mags and journals, and now a Pushcart nomination. Quite the haul for a matter of mere months!

And for this turkeyless Thanksgiving, I am thankful to Robert for all of the support and good juju he has given me. I am thankful to the poets at Spalding (Jeanie Thompson, Phil Deaver, Molly Peacock, Greg Pape, Rosemary Royston, heather Wyatt and many others) for helping me to polish my craft and support this whimsical notion I had to become A Writer. To my mother, Joanne, for her unconditional love and support. And to the rest of my family and friends, both in meatspace and on the intarwebs, who humor me and politely ignore (or unabashedly cheer) my obsession with finding just the right word and rhythm. I am also indebted to every person who bought a copy of my book, either for yourself or for your library or as a gift for someone else - that was a wonderful gift to me, whomever the book ended up going to! I am thankful.