Poe-Query: Questions about poetry, writing, and life in general
Thanks go to Dana for sharing her thoughts on the present and presence. I appreciate the reminder.
And thanks to T. for sharing this poem by William Stafford. I, too, am floored by the line “and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.”
Finally, Jeannine Hall Gailey shares some helpful survival tips for everyone who isn’t in Boston at the AWP conference. Her positive perspective inspires me.
Take Up Your Spade, by Sara Watkins
Kelli Russell Agodon posted an article about successful resolutions. This was my favorite part:
“What is the outcome you want? What stands in your way? How do you overcome these obstacles? These three simple questions will keep you from being victimized by any situation. Creators change the world. Victims just bitch about stuff.”
I love it when people write about creativity. I devour it.
Copyblogger posts about 5 Lessons in Creativity from
the Return of Ze Frank. And when Ze Frank talks about creativity…
People are working on a new way to measure happiness–the wealth of well-being beyond the GDP.
One way to learn
Penelope Trunk talks about self-awareness:
“I wonder, what is the thing I don’t understand about myself today? I don’t want to take twenty years to figure it out every time. So I started looking for areas where I look like I don’t belong.”
Last night, I dreamed I was running. Ever since I ran the 5K in October, I sometimes dream I’m running. Last night, I was running another 5K–and I felt good! I realized I wasn’t panting, crazy out of breath. But the course was twice around a loop and the second time was boring, plus I kept having to stop to get rid of a jacket or some other detail, and I realized my time would be worse than the last. But then I bumped into Pat Nixon, who was wearing a bright red silk blouse. And I excused myself and kept running, but I ended up at someone’s house (it wasn’t the Nixons’) and while the husband was asking if people wanted a cocktail (something that started with “s” but didn’t sound like Sazarac), I called Betty Ford on the phone. She asked why I was calling her, and I said I wanted to thank her. She still wasn’t sure… Then we sat down in the parlor, and a tiny dog (think of the smallest poodle you’ve ever seen) brought me a toy to throw, but the husband said he didn’t like that toy because it got all over the house and he handed me chew-toy bone and I threw the dog a bone.
The inspiration?
Running and Betty Ford.
Happy Friday!