More and more, I feel that life has a wave-like quality. The troughs are hard to avoid and the crests lift us back up. Calm waters are hard to find. Or maybe the metaphor I am grasping for is a mountain range. To get out of the valley, we have to hike ourselves back up to the peak, and to continue on, we find ourselves in a valley once more. Whatever the metaphor, I feel like a trough-valley these days. To bump myself out of it, I am going to join in on the #1000wordsofsummer (organized by
), which is 1000 words per day for 2 weeks starting May 31st (TODAY, if you are reading this in real time). See the FAQ post below if you are interested in learning more/joining.
In other news, I wanted to share some very exciting updates from one of my writing friends, Kathy. Kathy and I met in an eco-poetry workshop together in 2023, and we have been in a smaller writing group with a few other women poets ever since. This is the group that workshops ALL my poems prior to final editing and submitting to lit mags. The group’s input has been invaluable. Kathy herself is a wonderful eco-poet and I have read so many tender and beautiful poems by her. Kathy has her first chapbook coming out this fall and I am here to cheerlead for her!!!! Here is one of the blurbs about her chapbook, “Orchard Language":
Kathy Pon confesses that she and her husband, “Immerse ourselves / in the linguistics of growers,” and so her collection offers the reader a chance to see a life well-lived among the rows of her almond orchards, the aging of those trees, the mellowing tenderness of a marriage with husband and earth. Here are lamentations against encroaching light pollution and the fear rain will not fall, as well as the perceptive notes of a naturalist who looks beyond what is cultivated to those creatures she shares the land with. These poems help us see our place in the world and show us the many faces of gratitude.
–Todd Davis, author of Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems
You can pre-order/order Kathy’s chapbook "Orchard Language” below!
Order: Orchard Language by Kathy Pon online at:
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/orchard-language-by-kathy-pon
Currently reading: The Rigor of Angels by William Egginton (by far the most academic book I’ve read in a long while…)
Also reading: Bless your Heart: A Field Guide to all Things Southern by Landon Bryant (I really could have used this book when I first moved to the South!)
Recent internet search of note: Almond poppyseed muffin recipe
Having a strong craving to make these muffins for no apparent reason!!
Political action recap:
The “5 calls” app continues to be incredibly helpful! Loving this app so much. To make each call (or series of calls for issues for which I am calling both senators and my rep) feel more tangible, I’m using a DIY notepad created exactly for this purpose made by
. I printed mine on cheery, yellow paper and am filling up my corkboard with evidence of all my calls. It is satisfying to see it fill up! Find the DIY “imperfect action” notepad template here:
Did you make it all the way to the end?? Thank you for reading :)
*love* seeing the notepad in action - thank you for sharing this!
Hiking through mountains, indeed. Kudos on 1,000 words a day!!! 👊🏻