Nestled in the Deep of Winter

The rain is drizzling outside — a damp and chilly winter day. It's hermit weather, stay inside weather.  It's the kind of weather that makes me want to drawn in, to curl up into the warmth of a plush blanket, drink some hot cocoa, and read a spooky book. 

I've been self-hibernating throughout the second half of 2018, more comfortable staying within and hiding away than with being present in the creative communities I love. It's been a safe little hideaway, even more cozy as the days have grown shorter and more chill. 

At the same time, I'm feeling the pull of this year's end and am starting to take stock of what I've accomplished (and not). The start of the new year is an arbitrary marker. Anyone can make changes to their life at any point — and yet, I enjoy the symbolic gesture of starting anew with the beginning of the year. I'm feeling the need to refocus, coming up and out of my happy little cavern, and reconnect with the outside world. 

How are you feeling this winter? Are you starting to make plans for the new year?

Announcements

Since I skipped last month's newsletter, I've quite a few things to report. Big news is that I've taken over cohosting duties for the New Books in Poetry Podcast alongside Athena Dixon, in which we'll be interviewing poets about the new work they have out in the world. Athena has already completed her first interview with, and my first interview with Emily Jungmin Yoon about her book A Cruelty Special to Our Species will be posted soon. 

"Miss Piggy: Our lady of Owning That Shit" was published in Vol III, Issue 4 of Pittsburgh Poetry Houses. They publish beautiful little broadsides of poetry, which are displayed in little houses and offered for free in the local area before being shared online.

Bekah and Shannon Steimel reprinted "Ursula: Our Lady of Unrepentant Self Possession" along with an interview in which I discuss my writing process, what I'm reading, and other such things.

"Welkin Waltz," a collaborative poem by Laura Madeline Wiseman and I is up at Thirteen Myna Birds.  It's a venue for dark poetry that I've loved for a long time, so it's an honor to be included.

If you like gaming, I've started a Twitch account, where I may be doing some live streams in the future.

Good Stuff Out There

In our recent discussion, Chelsea Margaret Bodnar says, "Basement Gemini was kind of born out of that idea — the simultaneous, seemingly-contradictory-but-not-really victimization, vilification, and empowerment of women that’s encountered so often in horror."

Arkady Martine discusses what really happens after the apocalypse — rather than the violence portrayed in movies and stories, when disaster hits, humans tend to help each other out.

Amie Souza Reilly looks at monstrousness and motherhood, noting that for some "motherhood was more complicated; necessary, sometimes joyous, but not what was portrayed in literature and culture. With the birth of children there are moments of breathtaking beauty, but also moments of terror, dissatisfaction, and confusion."   

How do poets organize a collection? 

Books I loved recently: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand, and If They Come for Us poetry by Fatimah Asghar

Scary stories: “The Shrike” by Cameron Suey and “En Plein Air” by J.T. Glover

Poetry: “One Should Not Ordinarily Tell Students Applying for Writing Courses That They are Biodegrading” by Kia Alice Groom and Two Poems by Roy G. Guzmán