Less About Line Breaks, More About Life

Poets who come from nonwriting backgrounds often bring a freshness to the genre. Like preachers who were engineers or rock singers before they turned to ministry, they're more willing to stretch the parameters and break the rules sometimes, taking us places we might not otherwise have gone. Christine is one of those poets; she worked in the automotive industry before deciding to stay home and be a mama and then, ultimately, becoming a writer.

2010 Poetry Parade: Day 24

Five Thousand Times
by
Christine Rhein

If it’s true—you, me,
five thousand times more likely

to crash in a car than
in a plane—we should kiss

as we are kissing now,
outside the airport, in a downpour,

every bleary morning, every time
one of us grabs the keys,

kiss hard enough to register
the friction, the precise

tilt of our heads, hint of salt
on our lips, heat or thaw

of something nebulous,
edgeless, that we long to carry

in a pocket, glue to the underside
of skin, hear in a rustling

willow tree as it sways with all
our many-weathered kisses, tangles,

the fringe of every held breath
and this one-and-only gaze

in the rain, in the splatter
of car horns and thunder,

of little choice but for one of us
to head inside, the other to drive

away, and both to flash a last
halfhearted smile through

the windshield wipers’
And–Yet–And–Yet–And–Yet…

© by Christine Rhein.
First published in Scythe Literary Journal, Volume 1.
Used with the author’s permission.

See more about Christine here.

Did You Know It's the International Day of the Book?

And who better to celebrate on the Day of the Book than Jane Yolen--who has penned more than 300 titles in multiple genres, for multiple age levels, which have been translated in multiple languages. Family has always been a central focus of Jane's life; she was unabashedly in love with her husband, and she's always blended her writing into her role as a mother, which is one of the reasons I have always followed her career so closely. She's one of us! And now that two of her children are writers and one a photographer, she's collaborating on creative projects with them--something I hope I'll have the chance to do with my sons someday. Despite her status as one of the world's bestselling authors, Jane is one of the most approachable writers I know--generous with her time and expertise, and always encouraging to aspiring writers and fans of her books. Her nonfiction guide to writing, Take Joy, is one of my favorite books to recommend.

2010 Poetry Parade: Day 23

Carrying On Carrying On
by
Jane Yolen

When life is a blevit of failure and grief
We carry on carrying on.
When life is so tres, even nothing’s relief,
We carry on carrying on.

When things of the future are things of the past,
When death is before us and first is the last,
When everything comes as a TNT blast,
We carry on carrying on.

When all the mananas are dwindling down,
When slips on bananas are tattered and brown,
When it’s too hard to smile and much simpler to frown
We carry on carrying on.

I’ll carry on you, if you’ll carry on me
On a tres filled with sorrow, and crackers and brie.
And the only thing tres-er is so tres jollie
That we carry on carrying on.

Printed by permission of the author.
©2009 by Jane Yolen.
First publication in Miss Rumphius Effect.
All rights reserved.

See more here.

Time to Swing the Bat!

WHERE did the last decade go? No matter; I won't miss it. There were some good things--watching my sons grow into men...publication of two new books and new editions of two older ones...reuniting with a couple of cherished old friends...getting to know several new ones--but there was a lot of loss and sadness in the past ten years, and a heap of struggling. I welcome 2010 with open arms and high expectations, and hope you do the same!

Here's an opportunity to get this new decade off to a great start: The Tennessee Women's Theatre Project is accepting submissions for "Women's Work," their annual festival and celebration featuring the work of women playwrights, poets, musicians, essayists, painters, filmmakers, dancers, and photographers from across the country. For three weekends in May (May 7 through May 23), Women’s Work will showcase the talents of creative women at Nashville’s Z. Alexander Looby Theater; submissions are being accepted now through April 5th, but why wait? If this is the year you're determined to get back in touch with your creative self, or acknowledge the creative self you've been ignoring or trying to deny, this is a terrific way to dive in. Get out that camera, dust off your oboe, belly up to the barre, or dig out that manuscript from the bottom drawer: it's SHOWTIME! Click here for details about TWTP's big event, and check my blog often because I'll be posting other opportunities to celebrate your fabulous self as I come across them.

Because here's the deal: life is short and every day counts. Don't miss out on the joy (and there is joy in every day)because you're too busy, too shy, too modest, too broke, too embarrassed, too fat, too short, too clumsy, too disorganized, too overwhelmed, or whatever other excuse you keep using to keep you from becoming the Woman You Were Meant To Be. Grab this year by the horns and go after what you want! As somebody once said (and if you know who deserves credit for this quote, please let me know!), "You can't hit the ball if you never swing the bat," so START SWINGING!

P.S. Attention momwriters and wannabe momwriters: this just in! Katherine Hauswirth (http://www.katherinehauswirth.com/) is offering an "Hour of Solidarity" writing challenge on January 10th--a perfect opportunity to stop talking about writing and actually DO it! Sign up and get details here.