Woo-hoo!

I received some good news via e-mail a couple of days ago. The Rectangle, the literary journal of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, accepted my poem "The Bradley Family Secret" for publication! Although I was a little surprised that they decided to publish that one (boy, do I feel like my poetry has matured since I wrote that poem!) out of all five or six I submitted, I am more than happy to be published again, especially in a journal that will be read by students and professors all over the country (including some at Chatham as well as my alma mattar).

Experimentally Unexperienced

So, my goal this past week was to write an "experimental" poem, a poem written in whatever style is experimental to me. Basically, I've been trying to write a poem that goes against my usual style. It hasn't been too successful so far. It isn't so much that I don't want to play around with my style, it's just that I can't come up with a topic that I feel deserves it. Or, I can't come up with a form that's perfect for any of my topics.

So, after two false starts, I was laying in bed last night thinking when I came up with this incredibly complex, interwoven subject. I already had an opening stanza that I loved, so I started building off it. Basically, the poem is a series of numbered stanzas interweaving mother/daughter relationships with my current state as a 20-something girlfriend and the complexities of sexual relationships. Yeah. . .

It's still in fragments and I have until approx. 6:30PM to finish it. I don't know how "experimental" it is, but at this point I don't care much. . . I'm happy just to be writing something at this point, and the fact that it's something I really believe in is a plus.

Spotlight on: Bill Deasy

Bill Deasy is the singer/songwriter behind the catchy music for KDKA's new campaign "My Home." I'm sure you've seen the spot a million times on KDKA. I just discovered this Pittsburgh native myself, and I dig his musical style. I would describe him as rock/folk, but I'm not so good at clasifying music... anyway, check out his website, friend him on Myspace, and all that jazz! Oh, and for those of you in Pittsburgh, he will be having a CD release party and performance at Club Cafe on the Southside tomorrow night, September 8, starting at 7PM. You can check out the details on his website http://www.billdeasy.com/ . He will also be performing in my little hometown of Altoona on September 12th at the Railroader's Museum. He's opening for The Clarks.

You may also be surprised to learn that Deasy is also a novelist. His first novel was Ransom Seaborn. I hear he's coming out with a second as well. I can't attest to his skills as a novelist, since I haven't read any of his work, but he might be worth checking it out.

The preceding commercial has been brought to you by a Pittsburgh writer who loves music, other writers . . . and just so happens to think that Bill Deasy is a hottie. ;-)