Catching Up

Well, the semester has begun. Back to the paces, which is challenged by winter. Snow and living 45 minutes away from practically everything makes me take a closer look at time management. Lately, I've been hitching a ride to Fisher with my son Nick, who is a senior at Fisher. I must say I like being chauffeured. We're reading/sharing a book. So yesterday, I read aloud as we made our trip. I was an audio-book! Truthfully, I love audio books. I used to listen to books on tape all the time. Even stayed in the car when I arrive home to hear the last bit of a chapter. My family would stare out the kitchen window:"What's she doing out there?"

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Since December 20, 2010, I have been writing every day. It's been a variety of writing: fiction, poetry, critical reviews, plays, and sometimes this blog. Some poems have been taking 2-3 days to finish, while the prose stuff seems to spill quickly onto the page. Inspiration: heavily influenced by the weather and my introspection about these many years. I seem to do this in winter. Have been working with many artists (musicians, visual artists and poets) and classroom teachers on a variety of projects. The planning meetings have been fascinating. I'm certain that this work makes me a better teacher/artist. However, it's a very different energy from creating alone. Both are so necessary, at least for me.

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Took my Encounters with the Arts class to the Dryden Theater on Thursday. We saw Mildred Pierce (1945, noir) Joan Crawford won the Academy Award for her performance. HBO is making a five part mini-series, starring Kate Winslet. I imagine this new version will use more from the "hard-boiled" book. Most of my class enjoyed the movie. I'm sure some were baffled by black and white, and the 40's lingo. (I loved the turn of phrase-- interesting mix of humor with seriousness).


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This weekend I hope to go see The King's Speech. Not much else on my agenda besides
maintenance. It's such a thankless part of living.