my, what a month that was!

Doing NaPoWriMo, writing and posting a poem every day for 30 days, was quite an experience and I learned a great deal from it. I would venture to say that it has changed my writing process for the better. And I now have new poems for Third Thursday readings. Speaking of which, a very nice article was written about the readings. I think it captured the spirit of the event well. There's even a picture of me and Raven doing the duet poems.

I've been sick for a week, and am still not very well. But I did go to the doctor yesterday and start on antibiotics for bronchitis, getting it before I let it get the hold it had on me last year. So I'm hoping for daily improvement, if not by leaps and bounds, certainly by measurable increments.

I sent off my squares for the CODEPINK Mother's Day action. I didn't have time to anything more than plain garter stitch squares, but I'm pleased to think my little contribution will be part of that big banner and the vigil.
and next week will have to send pictures for the 2009 Challenge of the International Freeform Crochet Guild which has moved to a new page (scroll down to see previous year's challenges.)

I have a lot of projects on the needles and as soon as I'm feeling better I plan to look them over and see which ones I feel like finishing. I have a case of startitis equal to or greater than the Yarn Harlot, who just did her own review of some of her queue.

Namaste,
'Zann

Ahh, first complete poem of 2009

Today My Heart Leaped

from my chest
and raced
away

grabbing things

saying Mine Be Mine

it grabbed the cracks
in the street
where grass grows
in spring

and makes
hieroglyphs

i always try to read.

it grabbed
gray sky

one snowflake

a gum wrapper

and the small bird
singing
in the leafless tree

and much
much
more

and when my heart
returned

it was so full
i thought
it could never fit
again

in me.
but
it did.

oh
it did.

--St. Valentine’s Day, 2009

----------------------

Sarah Long Reading, Poetry at the Grounds, December 2008

On the subject of poetry, next week will be our Third Thursday Poetry at the Grounds, a monthly open poetry reading organized by Sarah Long and me. It's been a labor of love and has been amazingly rewarding - we have had readers sign up in advance and standing room only crowds and young and old, men and women, and some fine wordsmithing in a nice atmosphere of support. What more could a fledging reading series want?

We canceled in January due to my being a total weather wuss (hey, this Florida gal has LIMITS and they begin as soon as temperatures are prefixed with a minus sign. Okay, that's a lie - they begin when the temps are in the single digits. Farenheit.)

RANDOM PHOTO No. 1 (From the Mixed-Up Files of Ms. Zann C. Carter)

With this post, I'm going to start a habit of posting (at random) photos of which I have an abundance - ones that I took thinking I'd use them for a blog post, but never got around to it.

This is a small full-spectrum light by Verilux, sitting to my right in my work area. Amazon was having a great discount on them in the fall (oh, and it looks like they are offering $25 off until 02/28 here or two for the regular price of one here) and I've always wanted to try one so I ordered.

I don't get full-blown SAD, but when we have an inordinate number of consecutive gray days, I get sort of gray myself, feeling sort of damp and chilled in an inner space. I've been using it for 30 minutes or so first thing in the morning when I check email or write. I don't even put it on the brightest setting. And I do think it is quite helpful in keeping the grays from permeating my spirit as they used to.

Namaste and a happy birthday shout-out to my son Shaun, who missed being a Valentine baby by 11 hours and 27 minutes.
'Zann

Poetry Reading - How it went

This picture is the only picture I took - when I first arrived. There was just no way I was going to be able to play photographer and still do the three things I needed to do: mc the reading, read for 15 minutes, and enjoy the poetry of others. So this is the only picture of that reading that you'll get.

If I had been able to take pictures, you would have seen that for most of the time it was standing room only and most of the attention was focused on the performances. We had 10 people sign up for the open reading and many listeners. And ALL the poetry was alive and meaningful (I never use "good" and "bad" to describe poetry, but prefer Anne Sexton's choice of "alive" or "dead." ) and we had men and women, young and older (our age range was 17 to 60.)

Sarah and I were very happy -- we planned a reading and people came! Lots of people asked if (and hoped that) poetry readings would become regular. I believe they will.

Namaste,
Zann