Ocean of Flames
If you like to read good writing in progress, stop in at Ocean of Flames and watch the story unfold. It is a fantasy piece, and looks like it is off to a good start.
Enjoy!
Tuesday | June 17, 2008
Saturday | June 14, 2008
Sloth Jockey
When I first started blogging, I ran into a number of good writers at the community-oriented site I blogged at. One stood out from the crowd as one of the best writers I've encountered on a personal level. He went by the name Son of King Pharmacist at the site where we blogged, though his real-life (if there is such a thing) name is Jason Gantenberg.
Since that time, the site has closed down and we've all moved on to other things. Jason has come up with something that is very exciting. He is one of the founders of a new online lit magazine, Sloth Jockey. I am excited about the site, and expect to see some edgy, solid content there.
Stop by to submit, or at least read the work that will be appearing there soon.
Thursday | June 12, 2008
A funny thing happened while I was reading some poetry
A funny thing happened while I was reading a poetry collection today. Some of the pages had gotten reversed when the book was put together, and so the end of one poem was attached to the beginning of another. I read the first, and just thought the poem was either badly written or else that I missed something. Then I started reading the next one, and realized the ending I'd just read fit better with this beginning. Suddenly I noticed that the pages weren't put together properly.
I managed to remove the wrongly inserted pages and turn them the correct way, but the experience made me smile. It kind of made the poem I first read, when it was oddly put together, seem like a surreal piece, with oddly pasted together images that hinted at something more than what you could quite put together logically.
At the end of the day, even the oddly put together poem wasn't the worst piece I'd ever read. Just goes to show how a well constructed piece of verse can make the reader think twice before assuming that there is something wrong with the poem.
Monday | June 09, 2008
Looking at Old Journal Entries
I've just taken out an old writing journal spanning from the end of 2005 to the middle of 2006. I wanted to look back over some of the things I've been working on in the past 2 years and see what progress I might have made, and how I might have met or failed to meet certain goals.
The first entry in the journal is from 21 December 2005. I talked in that entry about wanting the concepts in my poetry to grow out of language, instead of trying to force language to fit what I already had in mind. I hoped that this would generate more creativity in the themes of my poems, instead of rehashing the same ideas in different forms.
I have to say that this is an area that has really improved in my poems since that entry 2 and a half years ago. It began with a conscious effort, and has become something more or less natural to me now. It is very common in my reading that I come across a word that hits me differently than it ever had before, or perhaps a group of words that I had not formerly seen as connected, but now see some new connection between them. This often grows into some poem or another, and the results are usually much better than when I have an idea and somehow try to find (or force) words to fit it.
One of the things I started doing at that time was the dictionary game. The first poem that came out of that game, "Temenos," is one of my favorites. It is a complex piece, rather intricate in how it fits together. But what is interesting about it is that it grew out of the connections between the three words chosen at random from a dictionary, rather than me first having an idea in mind that I wanted to explore.
It is fun revisiting this journal, and I will probably spend some time doing so over the next few months. I'll post interesting ideas I find here, from time to time.
One thing I hope to find is a record of a poet's growth. It will be rewarding if I see that.
Monday | June 02, 2008
One Summer a Thousand Days
I recently finished reading the haiku collection One Summer a Thousand Days by Charles Albano. It was a very good read, and had a great chapter of scifaiku that I especially enjoyed.
I've reviewed it on my main blog. Take a peek over there if you are a fan of minimalist poetry. I think you'll find the collection enjoyable. Albano really understands what makes a haiku work, and that makes for a good collection.
Monday | May 19, 2008
Spring Cleaning
I've been doing some "spring cleaning" with my writing the past week or so. Having spent the past 3 months away from home (a great source of material for writing!!), I had a lot to update on my printed versions of my poetry and essays. I've been redoing a lot of the paperwork, not just on making clean copies, but also updating the database and all. I've restructured 2 collections, done away with a couple of others, and regrouped certain poems to see if they might form the basis for a new collection.
I actually am not much of a detail person, and usually hate taking time to look into all of this kind of thing. But it seems to me that it has been a very good exercise this time around, and it is helping my work to take better shape. It is looking better, at the moment (though there is still a bit more work to do). Most importantly, it helps get it all organized in my head when it is more orderly on my desk.
It isn't my favorite part of writing, but the discipline is well worth the time invested.
Sunday | May 18, 2008
Now this is a great video for authors
Thursday | May 15, 2008
Talk about good things happening....
After my most recent entry about good things happening, I got some GREAT news today!
I will be the featured poet in the November 2008 issue of Scifaikuest. I just got a letter from the editor there asking if I would be willing to be the featured poet... and of course said "YESSSSS!!!!!!"
I should have about 8-10 poems appearing in the November issue of the magazine. I'll post a link here when it is out, if anyone is interested in purchasing it.
Monday | May 12, 2008
Good things happen if you keep writing
Recently, I received an email from someone who read one of my entries on another blog. She wanted to post the entry on her website, since it reviews a play that will be performed by her company soon.
If one keeps writing well, it is funny what can happen. I didn't write that article in hopes that it would get any wider circulation than what it sees on my blog. It's nice that someone else came across it and wants to publish it on her site. And, best of all, she is going to send me a copy of the play reviewed there!
Can't beat that, can you? Free books!
Tuesday | May 06, 2008
Sponsored Reviews
Everyone is looking for a way to drive up their traffic. Sponsored Reviews allows you to Buy Reviews on some excellent blogs, which can help propel both traffic and Page Rank.
If you are looking to create some buzz about your site, stop in to have a look at Sponsored Reviews. If you are a blogger, you can sign up to do reviews too.
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poetically challenged
- Interests:reading, wriiting, music, cycling, travel
Blogroll
Albums
Books
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The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
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A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare
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When Skeptics Ask by Norman L. Geisler, Ronald M. Brooks
