And now for an update on my own work:

It’s been slow going for the writer side of me; fast-paced fun for the editor side of me.

Writing: I’m stuck on a poem right now, and the core issue seems to be one that holds me up every time I tackle it. I’m currently working on a simple narrative in a jumbled order, trying to release the information in such a way that the poem reads as smoothly straight through as it does when the reader orders the narrative in linear fashion. This should lead to two distinct interpretations for the reader, and I’d like to balance the poem so that each is engaging separately. Thus far, no luck, and as I type this out I realize that the next step is the one I haven’t taken yet– leave the poem alone for a while, and let the subconscious work on it for a while. The first poem that frustrated me to this degree is still unfinished, as is the second. But I’ve made significant progress on those two since July, despite the fact that they each turned a year old in the past few weeks. Of course I need to let this new poem breathe.

Reading: I’ve read very little that wasn’t for my UNC class just recently, and that which I read purely for pleasure turned out ot be so good that I see a million ways to use it in class. I’ve already assigned three pleasure-reading books, and hope to stay this lucky– I’m not reading any stinkers.

Editing: Ellen’s book Licorice is in such fantastic shape; I simply couldn’t be prouder of this first book for Bull City Press. I’m still working towards an October 10 publication date, and don’t see any significant barriers to meeting that deadline at this time. The cover photography is by Stephen Grubb and I think it’s stunning. ISBNs and bar codes are in place, which was a relief; that was something of a question mark for me. The second mss. is something I’ll begin combing through in a few days, and I’m now keeping eyes and ears open in case I choose to solicit a third manuscript in the very near future. I think I’ve said before that I would like to open submissions for chapbooks in 2007 and publish a great book by an author I have never heard of, ever. Which should not be that hard for me, in all honesty. Inch has gone out to almost 250 people now, and my fears that the submissions for the second issue would dip has not come to complete fruition, though we’re not facing a ton of work. I’d certainly be happy to come home to 2-3 submissions a day, or 8-10 like I was getting in early August, but averaging one a day is better than averaging none. I almost hate passing them on to our poetry and fiction editors instead of reading them all first.

Teaching: I had a chance to sub in for a friend and teach a fiction class this past week, and it was simply delightful.

Online: Finally, validation that I haven’t been pwned. Unless I begin playing computer games again, at which time I’ll no doubt be pwned by any 15-year-old with a monkey’s hand-eye coordination.