Art, Art, Art

The wind howled all night long . . . Still dark, this January morning, snow swirling, swirling.  Perhaps this will be a good day to stay put.

Yesterday, I finished my first scarf of 2015.  A length of thoughts, I'd say.  I love the shades of green.  This will keep someone very warm.

Began the second scarf. This is shades of purple and pink and blue, like the early mornings in the apple orchard.  My thoughts continue.  In the year of finishing my MFA, I  knitted my thesis before I wrote it.  The rhythm of knitting takes me somewhere beyond the rocking chair.  The weave of my imagination. 

In 10 days or so, the Spring semester will begin.  Well, truthfully it's Winter, but we work towards Spring, and when Spring arrives, we will be so anxious to have it done.  Predictable.  But what isn't predictable is the mood of the semester.   These days, I'm only interested in the conversation of creative process. 

I am only interested in Art.  I think this may be intimidating, the mystery of Art, which is something I find comforting.  Something I can go back to and  study it from another angle. I don't have all the answers, but look forward to the conversation.   I think art makes me think  like the turn of a kaleidoscope. How subtle is the slight change.  Something beautiful in the silence that follows the turn. To see it this way is the difference, I think. 


Upcoming Local Events:

Writers & Books, 740 University Avenue

Friday evening, January 9, 2015, 7-8:30 p.m.
Price: Pay What You Wish.

Building on the narrative of our lives…one brick at a time. Join us to celebrate the inaugural issue of The Big Brick Review and enjoy readings by several of the first-issue authors. Wine and snacks provided.
Initial publication: The Big Brick Review launched its inaugural issue on Oct 7, 2014, featuring celebrated narrative nonfiction writers including Georgia Beers, Susan Bono, Gregory Gerard, Erin Green, Sonja Livingston, Jenny Lloyd, Sejal Shah, and Alison Smith. The next scheduled publication is a February Essay Contest issue. See BigBrickReview.com for more information.
What’s it all about? The Big Brick Review is an online publication devoted to support of the narrative non- fiction genre by serving as a venue for established writers and a springboard for emerging writers. Founded in 2014 by Gregory Gerard, the journal features personal accounts that build on the narrative of our lives, finding new insight to old struggles…old insight to new struggles…and all shades-of-gray in between.


Writers & Books, 740 University Avenue
Genesee Reading Series, curated by Wanda Schubmehl
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 7:30-9 p.m. Poets Kathleen Van Schaick and Colleen Powderly
Price: $3.00 member' $6/ General Public.

Now in its 31st year, the Genesee Reading Series presents writers from the greater Genesee Valley region reading in the W&B Performance Space.

Kathleen Van Schaick has been an elementary school teacher and literary anthology editor (Le Mot Juste, Foothills Publishing, 2008-2010). Her work has been published in The MacGuffin, The Broad River Review, Cairn: St. Andrews Review, The Dire Elegies: 59 Poets on Endangered Species of North America and Listening to Water: The Susquehanna Watershed Anthology. She was awarded the 2006 Portia Steele Award in Poetry. She serves as program coordinator on senior issues for WXXI radio’s Reachout Radio, programming for the blind and visually impaired, and is a hospice volunteer.

An avid hiker, she has hiked in Vermont, North Carolina and Newfoundland. Colleen Powderly’s early poems reflect her childhood in the deep South and a decade spent in the Midwest. Those poems eventually formed the basis for her book, Split (FootHills Publishing, 2009). More recent work has focused on narrative and ekphrastic poems. Her work has appeared in many journals, including Ekphrasis, Steel Toe Review, Third Wednesday, and The Centrifugal Eye, and has been anthologized in Malala: Poems for Malala Yousefzai and Mo’ Joe: The Anthology. Colleen has served on the editorial board for the Just Poets anthology, Le Mot Juste, and is currently Vice President of that organization.

Upcoming GRS Readings:
February 10: Norm Davis and Rick Petrie
March 10: Al Abonado and Noah Falck



Just Poets Events:

 On Thursday, January 8^th,  David Forman is our featured reader followed by open mic (Barnes & Noble, 7 PM). You may not know David—he divides his time between Ithaca and Rochester and comes to readings and meetings when he can. He’s a fine poet and I look forward to hearing him read at length.

·         Saturday, January 10^th is our monthly meeting at St. John Fisher. Bob McDonough leads a program on poet Russell Atkins. Here’s a link to a good article on Atkins along with a sample of his poems:   http://beltmag.com/rediscovering-russell-atkins/. Bring your poems for workshop afterwards. Please note that we will meet in the Wilson Formal Lounge, just past the student cafeteria on the first floor. (1:30-4 PM).