While

So at this point, I'm not updating this regularly, except for First Book Interviews, and it will most likely stay that way.

Though once in a while I'll to do an update, like this one, in the midst.

Otherwise, I have two years left, if all goes well, until I have my PhD. And the job market waits for no man.

Considering how fast the first two years went, and all the great advice I've gotten from friends, I figure I need to start getting a foothold on what to look for, how to prepare, etc. for all the paperwork and the like that will soon be occurring.

Along with that, teaching, writing, watching amazing films, preparing for and writing comprehensive exams, and trying to be a good husband, I know these two years are going to go by even faster.

*

In other news worth mentioning, I think: I was thrilled that my second manuscript, Sirens and Wildfire, which has making the rounds for a little less than two years now (picking up some other finalist nods along the way, for which I'm also very thankful), was a finalist for The National Poetry Series.

I was never more shocked by a poetry-related email in my life. I can tell you that.

I wasn't one of the five chosen in the end, but friend and fellow writer (whose first manuscript, Praise Nothing, you should put on your to-buy list when it's inevitably published) Joshua Robbins was also a finalist, and considering we've seen each other's said manuscripts and have talked a lot about them regarding contests, structuring, and much more, I was happy to be in such company.

I'm still hoping to have the manuscript under contract before I'm done at Binghamton in less than two years. That news gave me a little more hope that this thing's now officially ready, and I hope someone eventually believes in it enough to take a shot at getting it into the world.

*

I have a poem in the new issue of DIAGRAM. As always, it's a varied and wild issue, and one definitely worth your time.

The poem's from a new series I'm working on. I'm hoping to put together a kind of conceptual manuscript (something I'd never thought about doing until maybe a year ago) within the next year (as I have about a third of it written currently).

If it doesn't turn into anything, I'm still loving the process of writing these. And overall, that's really the most important aspect of the project right now.

*

Two poetry-related making-waves discussions lately (and yes, I'm late on these) are Brett Ortler's post about BlazeVOX and all the hullabaloo about MFA Rankings.

Regarding the latter, I'm on the side of down-with-rankings, but as I've mentioned in the past on this blog: I'm so thrilled that none of this talk existed in 2002-2003, when I was beginning my process of applying to schools.

But it's going to go on no matter what. As for young writers, I just hope they had the great guidance that I did, and they're applying to programs for the right reasons.

For what it's worth, in my opinion this is one of the best posts about it: belonging to Paisley Rekdal.

And for the former, I'm glad that got out into the open. At the very least, it prompted a ton of interesting discussions about publishing, self publishing, what's to gain by getting published, what the publishers gain from publishing you, etc.

Sometimes the arguments can be misleading, but to me, once you're able to slough through everything, a lot of it's worth reading, and then you can make your own decision.

*

I'm now on Twitter (very late to the party), though I don't update it as often as some, here, if you're interested: http://twitter.com/keithmontesano

Contradictory, mostly. Boring to most, probably. But alas, there I am.

It's mostly my obsession and frustration with the New York Giants (Dear Lord: Why all the injuries?) coupled with some thoughts about films I'm devouring (and I watch as many as I can between everything else, as many people know). And I'll update there with news sometimes and new First Book Interviews. But mostly I like to keep the poetry-related goings-on within the blog.

*

Finally, both poetry and film-related, The Tree of Life is released on Blu-ray on October 11th.

Black out the windows. Lock the doors. And crank the speakers.

Late to the Party

AWP was a good time.

There's really not too much to review, I suppose, but I should put something down before I forget everything I wanted to say.

We had about eighty or so people in the audience for our panel. Honestly, that was a lot more than I thought would show up.

This was it:

S158. From the Page to the Small Screen: What the Information Age Means for Us . (Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, Terry Hummer, Maggie Dietz, Mary Flinn, Brian Brodeur, Keith Montesano) As digital technologies such as blogs, online periodicals, hypertext, and phone Apps gain legitimacy, more writing than ever before finds its home online. Some big questions loom: What is lost or gained when we translate our work from the page to the screen? Are these technologies promotional tools or new creative forms? Are we witnessing the death of the page or its evolution? Panelists from Slate, Blackbird, the Favorite Poem Project, AmeriCamera, and the blogosphere will answer these questions.

Thanks again to Andrew for getting everything together, and everyone for making it what it was, even only for an hour.

The main reason I went was the panel.

But I also wanted to meet a lot of people I only "know" through Facebook, and that I did.

I also needed to give Ghost Lights to some blurbers (Paul and Lisa, I still owe you a book).

Wojahn had a signing, but Pittsburgh Press was all out of World Tree. Kind of had me bummed.

It's always amazing to me when I see the complete mix of frighteningly egotistical people that are like sharks to just one drop of blood, and then the people who turn out to be absolutely humble and down to earth. I wish everyone could be in the latter category, but even that realization makes me happier to know, now, so many of them.

Books I picked up:

Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie - Joshua Harmon
Requiem for the Orchard - Oliver de la Paz
Vivisect - Lisa Lewis
Reliquary Fever - Beckian Fritz Goldberg

Was going to buy many more, but I already have a ton to read, as we all probably do.

Plus, since we got a new bookshelf, in the words of Jess: "It really doesn't look like the we did anything. We just moved the books from the original onto the second."

Near the end of AWP, as the book fair was closing down, someone handed me an uncorrected proof of Michael Kimball's Us, which seems right up my alley and I can't wait to read.

Was it you, Michael? Or was it Giancarlo?

Unless I have a reason for going next year in Chicago, I'm probably good for a few years. But maybe things will change.

That said, to all the people I met, drank beers with, shot the shit with, I wanted to say thanks to you. You're all what made AWP for me this year.

*

The crossroads point has set in with my second manuscript.

At what point do you say, "It's finished" or, "It's done"?

Is it presumptuous to say that?

Isn't there always something that can be done, even if it's realizing in the .doc file that you have two spaces between a word instead of one?

That said, I'm confident at this point. More confident than I've ever been with it.

The book's not for everyone, just like Ghost Lights was not and is not. But I have a lot of faith in it, more than I ever have with Ghost Lights (is that how it should be?) so hopefully that accounts for something.

I just got it out to five more places, with a handful more added to the list in the coming months.

*

I also feel like I've started, finally, a third project.

It still weirds me out a bit to type that.

I know if I don't move on, I'll be stuck, drafting and shredding, deleting.

But I have an idea and I'm running with it.

Unlike the past two manuscripts, I think I'm going to sit on these poems for a while, amass the good ones, tweak them, keep them in mind.

I'm usually fast to send out poems, but admittedly, I like to think a lot of my drafts don't take months, or sometimes even weeks, for me to be finished with them.

A thought's usually in my head for a while, and then usually I can get what I think is a decent draft down when it starts making itself known that it needs to be in words.

This new thing I'm working on isn't like that, so it's important for me to see how it develops. And slow is the way to go at this point. Or at least contained.

Even if it's just a glimmer at this point, I'm excited to see what happens.

And my last new poem, before the few I wrote in this last week, was written in October.

Too long.

Light the fire.

*

And also speaking of manuscripts and projects, I have First Book Interviews slated until, at the earliest, May 15th.

Again, I'm getting back to doing one every two weeks. Should I get a flood of them in the next few weeks, maybe I'll do a two-for-one every once in a while, but I want to make sure that the schedule fleshes itself out accordingly.

A lot of good interviews are on the way, so stay tuned.

*

You should listen to the new Twilight Singers record, Dynamite Steps.

Greg Dulli has been an influence on me for a long time.

I've written a lot of poems to Dulli-related projects, and somehow the dude never slows down.

The new record's fantastic. It deserves your time.

*

This is a busy semester for me, as it's my last semester of course work.

Soon it'll be time for field exams. And I still have to get the language requirement out of the way.

My main goal for the next two and a half years? Get my second manuscript published and have whatever my third's going to be (hopefully there is one) turn out to be my dissertation.

If I have to set myself up for disappointment, then so be it. But that's what I'm shooting for.

That means I don't know how much blogging I'll be doing, but at the very least, First Book Interviews will still be popping up every couple weeks.

After

There are some recently published poems online, from the new manuscript, that you're free to take a look at if you'd like.

One poem in The Collagist.

And two poems in the new Pebble Lake Review -- here and here.

*

I was pleased to hear that my new manuscript was a semi-finalist for the Brittingham / Pollak Prizes.

But I was more pleased to find out that it's a semi-finalist in another contest that's still going on.

I know that out of thirty manuscripts the odds are pretty low that the judge will select it, but so far, after sending it out for about a year, I've already had a lot more response than I did when I sent out Ghost Lights for the first year.

Also, this is the second contest where I've heard about my manuscript not after the fact.

And as always, it'll go out to a few more contests in a week or so, and the list grows through winter and spring.

*

My third semester is done.

Though it feels like I just got here in a way.

*

I have a lot of books I'm looking forward to reading, and more first book interviews will be conducted.

*

A best-of music list for the year is also on the horizon.

*

Travel safely over the next few weeks, everyone.

Quick

A few things here before I end up waiting another month to post something...

*

Thanks to Nick Ripatrazone for his review of Ghost Lights at The Quarterly Conversation. This is the first official review of Ghost Lights (with more on the way), and his words mean a lot.

*

And thanks to Brian Brodeur for including me in his great series How A Poem Happens. I answer questions specifically related to "Ghost Lights."

*

Currently, I'm waiting on about ten poets to get back to me as far as First Book Interviews go (meaning the interviews were sent via email within the last six months).

At this point, I don't know if any of them will get back to me, but we'll see. Some poets respond in a week. Some a few months. Some never (which is odd to me, but alas).

Mostly this is my fault, I imagine, for getting so behind in the last year.

That said, there are at least ten more books I'm planning on reading over Christmas break, and I plan on playing catch up completely over those days. Then we'll be back on the regular schedule again soon enough.

*

I've had five more poems accepted from the new manuscript in the last couple of months, so that's been great. Some of them should be appearing this month.

I think there are five unpublished poems left from the new manuscript now. They're all off in the world right now. And no, it's not vastly important that every poem gets published, but since these are some of my favorites in the entire thing (it seems to always happen that those are the ones that take the longest...), and I don't have any other new ones to send out at the moment, there you have it.

I didn't necessarily overhaul the manuscript, but I did take out some older and weaker poems to add some new ones. I think I probably ended up cutting seven or eight pages and adding four or five. I think the trade-off was a good one.

Now I feel better about it as it goes to more contests and open reading periods. Fingers crossed.

*

The semester is done in a few days.

Next semester will hopefully officially be my last semester of coursework in my Graduate School career.

Then it's all to field exams and the dissertation (which I hope will be a third manuscript).

*

A lot of other stuff I'm forgetting.

Looks like there's a decent crop of films at Sundance this year.

There's also a bootleg trailer floating around for Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. It looks, not surprisingly, like it should be a gorgeous film. It's coming out in May.

With all those First Book Interviews I'll be reading for, I'm sure I'll be watching a ton of movies too. It usually happens that way.

And the snow keeps falling...

Neglect

I've obviously not been doing a lot of blogging lately. So, while I'm up not doing work I'm supposed to be doing...

*

The second manuscript has officially been sent out for the fall. Trying to send to a lot of places this year (or, rather, fall 2010 to fall 2011, if needed).

When I first sent it out a year ago, it was short, uneven, not really a manuscript.

I probably should've waited until now to begin sending it out, but I've had a year to work on it and get it into shape. A lot of time has been spent on it. It's better. I hope it's officially ready now, but time will tell.

*

Had a few poems picked up over the last month or so from said manuscript.

Have five unpublished currently from the manuscript that are still out in the world, but mostly I've begun to send out some new ones. Finally.

*

Speaking of which, I've had a productive last few months. I have twenty new drafts I'm working on, about half of which have been sent out.

Not thinking of a direction so much as trying to write new work that I like. Had a burst after the reading tour. And had a burst last weekend in Florida, where I wrote eight drafts. I think five have potential.

*

Facebook's flooded now, if you're friends with certain folks, with MFA-related information. People "fighting" with each other. "Essays" being written and published in good journals about MFA programs.

I think everything's really gotten out of hand. I made a comment today, and I've probably said it before, that if those "books" and "essays" were around when I was applying in the fall of 2003, I'm not sure I would've wanted to do it. Confusion. Paralysis. Unrealistic goals set. Eye on the "prize." Too much pressure to succeed. Win awards. Study under certain professors.

Beyond college, the MFA should be a formative time, not one to worry about how much money they'll pay you, how much you'll teach (though if you hope to actually go into academia, which many don't choose, and that's fine, teaching should be something you make a point to do a lot), how many books you can write before you leave with your validating piece of paper in your hand.

Maybe I'm nuts, but I wish everyone luck who has to deal with all of this right now. I know I wouldn't want to. Hopefully, whoever you are out there, you won't be affected by those things that you need to ignore, and you'll survive, grow as a writer, and figure out what you want to do when you're done with those very few years in the entire span of your life.

*

Really liked Enter the Void. Have a lot to say about it, but I only saw it once. More viewings will come with the Blu-ray in the future.

*

Buy Paper Anniversary by Bobby C. Rogers.

Along with Elyse Fenton's Clamor and Gary L. McDowell's American Amen, those are my favorite first collections of poetry this year.

My hope is that they'll all want to do first book interviews...

*

Not a lot of first collections have blown me away lately.

Those above aren't the only three I've really enjoyed thus far (there have actually been many just within the last six months), but it seems like this trend is growing.

I don't like it.

But I guess we can't be blown away all the time. Truth dazzling gradually and all that...

*

Can't stop listening to Hammock. Have mentioned them too much. One of the best bands to write to, and their music never gets old to me.

*

Reading in NYC at the Bowery this Sunday, October 10th.

With Amy Holman, Diane Kirsten Martin, and Kyle McCord.

Hopefully you can make it if you're in the area.

*

A lot of good first book interviews on the way...

Schooling

Binghamton starts classes today, but my first day is tomorrow.

I didn't write much the first year, which I expected, but I'm hoping this year will change that.

*

I found out near the end of the reading tour that my new manuscript, currently titled Sirens and Wildfire, was a finalist for the Akron Poetry Prize and a semi-finalist for the Cleveland State Open Competition.

Like it was when I first started sending out what finally became Ghost Lights, it's just fuel for the fire. Late nights reading poems, thinking about order, feeling out if any should be cut or if new ones should be added. All of that will continue to happen with the new manuscript, and it becomes both fun and maddening at the same time.

I have a list of contests and open reading periods for 2010 and 2011, so it's back to getting it out again soon enough.

*

And somehow, since the tour, miraculously, I've been writing a lot of new poems. Since I wasn't able to send out a lot last year, I'm hoping I can have a good September to add more poems to the ones I've already written.

My goal, then, is to send out as many that I feel are ready for a big push at the beginning of October.

Maybe there's even the kernel of a third manuscript in there somewhere...?

*

Speaking of submissions, it's interesting to hear all the hullabaloo about New England Review and Ploughshares charging writers to submit their work now.

My take on it personally is this...

I haven't submitted to NER for one simple reason: currently I don't, and have never, sent to places who don't accept simultaneous submissions. If I wrote as much as Bob Hicok and had his reputation, I'd have enough poems to wait on a response before sending those poems to other journals. The simple fact is, however, that I don't write enough. So I respect the policy for non-simultaneous submissions. I know many others that don't feel this way, but I do.

I've sent to Ploughshares many times in the past, with form rejections following every single time, and with chances already slim to get in (because of the notoriety of the journal, the amount of submissions they get, and the guest editor usually soliciting a lot), I'd rather submit work to other journals at this point. But Ploughshares will be in my sights for the future.

If many journals follow with charging for submissions, which I hope they won't, I'll either go back to sending via snail mail or not sending to them at all.

With so many journals out there, I just don't think this is a huge concern for me. I know where folks are coming from as far as being annoyed, but alas, if I get the itch to send to some of these places, I'll just send via snail mail, or I'll look at other journals who don't charge.

Simple as that.

*

Bring on PhD year number two...

Two Weeks and Change

In about two weeks Kyle and I will be off to New Jersey for the first stop on our 17-day tour.

Things are coming along smoothly at this point. Everything's confirmed, as you can see below. We know where we're staying now in almost every city. I find that folks are usually pretty generous in their housing of a few poor poets. I know I would do the same for others, so it's nice to see that happening for us.

A few other odds and ends to go (like figuring out how many books to bring with us), and then it's time to start making a list of everything we'll need. I'm still debating on whether or not I should get a netbook to try and blog and check email and everything. But that's just another thing that can get lost, damaged, or stolen. I'm sure I'll be able to check things enough, if not everyday. And I can always just take a regular notebook and pen, of course.

*

I finally turned the comments off for this blog. I clearly haven't been updating it very much lately, and even though I could just ignore the spammers, which is all I've been getting recently, it's easier just to turn them off.

If anyone needs or wants to get a hold of me, my email address, as always, is at the top right of the blog.

*

I received my contributor copies of Hollins Critic the other day. Looks good.

Thanks again to the editors.

I also haven't been paid for poetry in a long, long time, so that's always welcoming.

*

I still haven't been writing much, but I'm not pressing the issue. I have some ideas, and I'm sure, at the very least, that a jaunt across the U.S. will jump-start some ideas come August.

But I'm still tinkering with the new manuscript, which is currently at about 10 places right now.

That's about it until September, and if nothing happens with it by then, I'll be sending it to more places come 2011 than I did last year.

June

Again, thanks to those folks who ordered copies of Ghost Lights from me or somewhere else. The initial response has been much better than I anticipated, considering you constantly see and hear writers saying, "Don't expect more than a handful of people to buy your book." Or at least I've seen that enough to have expected it.

I have a handful of copies left right now from those I received a little over a week ago, and I probably won't be getting more until July, so if you're still interested in getting a signed copy, you can use the button on the top right of the blog to order through PayPal.

Oh, and for a shot in the dark, if anyone's interested in reviewing Ghost Lights, please shoot me an email and let me know, as I most likely wouldn't hesitate to get it into the hands of someone who would be willing to review it.

*

Though a few dates from the July "tour" have changed (I believe we'll be reading in Pittsburgh instead of Buffalo, for example), things are coming together more and more every day.

I'm excited to get in the car with some clothes and a box of books and a GPS and just go. I think I not only need something like this in my life right now (and thankfully I have a beautiful and understanding wife who doesn't mind that I'll be gone for over two weeks), but it's most likely the last time I'll ever have a chance to do something like this (though I do hope to have more readings in my future, of course).

My goal's to sell some books, see some (OK, many) places in the U.S. I haven't seen, meet some new people, and hopefully get some ideas for new poems. I really can't ask for anything more.

*

In the past few weeks I also received the new Nimrod and Center issues, which have within the pages a few poems from my new manuscript, in addition to some poems by friends, which is always great to see.

Thanks again to the editors for including me.

*

I also just sent the new manuscript out to a couple last places until the fall. As I've said before, I'm not sure what else to do with it at this point, so it'll be good for me to take a manuscript hiatus over the summer, see if anything happens, and do my best to try and move onto some new poems. And perhaps even some kind of a new project.

*

I have to also mention the new Hammock record, "Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts."

Not only is it one of the best records of the year, but there's also a 4-track Outtakes disc available, and a more ambient guitar-oriented 4-track disc called "North West East South."

With everything together, it ends up being one of the best non-official double albums I've had the pleasure of listening to in a long, long time.

I ended up ordering this package deal from their website because I couldn't resist the amazing hardbound book of gorgeous photos, and also Marc's studio I believe recently flooded (since they're from Nashville). It was worth it.

Listen to all that you can. These guys are nothing but inspiring, and I don't know how they consistently write and release such gorgeous music, but they do.

*

There's also a Deepdiscount summer sale on for anyone interested.

Though Amazon usually has great prices, especially on Blu-ray discs, a lot of the Deepdiscount deals, especially for Criterion Blu-ray discs, are much better (around $25 or lower, including free shipping).

I'm trying to limit myself to $100, as there are way too many I've been wanting to get for the last few months but have held out on. But now's the time to suck it up and get it done.

Release

I was pleased that the turnaround with Waccamaw was so quick. My poem from the new manuscript appears here. And you can view the entire issue here. Thanks again to Dan and the rest of the editors.

*

It looks like the release date for Ghost Lights (and the other two Orphic Prize finalists and winner from a year ago) will be May 15th.

Since the cover design's pretty much done, I suppose I'm finally allowed to post it below. I'm thrilled with everything about it (especially Felicia van Bork's beautiful painting). I also couldn't be happier about the generous blurbs from some of my favorite writers. I feel grateful and that I really lucked out. I also think the blurbs are very representative of the words inside the book, which always a plus.

In addition to all the online outlets where you can get copies (hopefully along with some bookstores, though I'm not sure which and where yet), I'll most likely be selling them, signed or not, through a new blog page, or this blog. Once I have everything set up, I'll let people know.

And finally, I'm setting up a 17-day tour for this July with Kyle McCord, who was the Orphic Prize winner last year for his great book, Galley of the Beloved in Torment. Lots of dates and venues to be confirmed still, but once we have everything locked up, I'll be posting the days and venues for anyone who's in those areas and wants to come out and hear us read. We're both looking forward to it, since this something neither of us have ever done.


*

My new manuscript is now around ten pages longer than Ghost Lights is / was (meaning the .doc file, and not page numbers in the actual book).

I'm starting to feel really good about it, and I'm not sure what else I can do with it at this point.

I can still write poems that could fit, but I think the best poems, and the most representational poems, considering the themes, are in there. And even though most of them have been published, I've revised almost every single one since it's either been published in print or online.

This is something I didn't do with Ghost Lights as much (mostly because I had worked the poems to death, mostly for my MFA thesis, before I sent them out as submissions), and I think I'm getting better at editing my own work.

But like Ghost Lights, time will tell. I'm aware of how this goes now. It could take me another year, and it could take me another ten years. But I'm still planning on doing what I can to try and get this new manuscript published before I get my PhD, and then move onto a new project, however the ideas arise that start to compromise it.

*

My first year at Binghamton University will be over in ten days.

With how fast this first year went, it really makes me aware that I need to do a lot more than I did this year as far as writing and reading. Because of everything that happened in the last year (marriage, book, starting the PhD, moving a few states away, learning the new teaching system at a new school, along with taking classes, etc.), I didn't get to read and write (outside of classes, that is) as much as I would've liked.

But I did work on my new manuscript like crazy, so the sacrifice I hope will have worked out in the end.

Now to find a job for the summer, plan the rest of the reading tour, and hopefully have at least a handful of new poems by the end.

Niece

My sister-in-law is, at this moment, in labor. Waiting by the phone to see if there's any news. Pretty exciting week, as this is the first niece or nephew on my side of the family.

*

Found out my new manuscript was a semifinalist in the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition.

Not only was this a draft that I sent in late October (which I think has gotten a lot stronger since then in the last five months or so), but the fact that it got that far with, most likely, so many great poets with much stronger books, makes me think that now it truly does have some legs. And even if I'm wrong, I'm doing what I did with Ghost Lights: sending it out like mad.

I also have to mention that Brian Barker (First Book Interview located here...) was one of the winners. If you haven't read his first book, The Animal Gospels, you should. But his book that won, The Black Ocean, I think is going to really turn some heads next year when it's released. His new stuff's been beyond amazing, so keep an eye out.

*

Also sent out some snail mail submissions to journals for the first time since last summer.

Though there are only seven or so poems that haven't been published from the new manuscript, a few of them are my favorites in the manuscript, and the rejections, from submissions sent through the online submissions manager, have been rolling in steadily for months.

I feel like that's how it always works: those we often don't have the most faith in are many times the first poems to get published. It's (always) bizarre how all of this works.

*

I'm in the process of putting together a book tour for July with a friend. Not sure if I've mentioned that or not yet...

We have the dates pretty much set, and the places, but not the dates and the places. This may be the last time I can ever do something like this, and I'll be visiting some states I've never seen before, so it should be a great experience overall.

I'll be updating the information here and on Facebook once we have the majority of everything together and finalized.

*

Saw the Bigger Than Life Blu-ray the other day. How has no one mentioned this movie to me in 28 years? I need to see more Ray films (aside from Rebel... which everyone's seen) and get back on my Douglas Sirk, 50s films, and Cinemascope kick.

A marathon may have to happen soon.

Summering

The school year at Binghamton University is officially over in a month. I'm sure the next three years will fly also.

*

Had an amazing spring break in Savannah with my brother and sister-in-law. Minus the pollen and the bugs, Savannah is one of my favorite cities. You really never run out of great things to do and see, and it literally has something for everyone.

*

Got my contributor copies of Cave Wall the other day. The journal is slim, handsome, and full of good stuff.

I have two poems from the new manuscript within the pages. Thanks to Rhett for including me.

*

Though we're still working on proofs for Ghost Lights, (mainly because I'm an editor's worst nightmare, as very few of my poems in the book, which I've probably mentioned before, are left justified) we're almost completely done at this point, and since the painting for the cover has been obtained, I can now show you what it's going to be. Again, thanks to Felicia for letting me use it. I love it, and I think it works perfectly with the book.

Bear is working on a cover design now. The back cover and blurbs are pretty much set, but we're trying to make sure everything on the front meshes well with the images, as far as the font and color scheme.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled with how everything's coming together.

*

The new manuscript also seems to be coming together, now that I'm working closely with Joe Weil on it.

I've written a new poem (with at least a few more to follow), continue to edit many of the poems, and have shifted many of the poems around in different sections (which works a lot better than it did before).

I hope it's close to becoming a legitimate contender by the end of summer or before.

*

The Days of Heaven (yes, the image at the top of my blog is from the film) Blu-ray is now officially one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen in my entire life.

Ai

RIP Ai.

From a .pdf via OSU: The poet Ai died unexpectedly from an illness on March 20, 2010.

Very, very sad news. This awful trend of amazing poets passing away continues. It's starting to frighten me. It's all happening too fast.

Before I made my decision about four schools last year, I was between Binghamton University and Oklahoma State University. A lot of it came down to my own confidence in being able to write anywhere, or at least that's what I told myself. Oklahoma State would've meant that Jess and I needed to take a plane to get home each time we wanted to get back to Pennsylvania. Also, we have no friends or family in that area. And we had just gotten married a few weeks ago.

However, though were offering me a pretty amazing package (which surprised me to no end), beyond anything I was thrilled for just the opportunity to work with Ai and Lisa Lewis, who I think are two of the most underrated contemporary poets.

Lisa, with two books coming out hopefully within the next 8 months or so, is on her way to continuing a brilliant career.

I have a feeling Ai will start to have the same following Larry Levis had after he passed away.

Though many people knew and loved his work at the time of his death, it was the vigor of the younger poets who discovered his work and were fanatic about it, along with the many colleagues and students that knew and worked with or under Larry. But I imagine Ai's name and work will live on exponentially, in the same fashion, as more and more young poets discover the importance of her work, a body that influenced me early on as a writer and will always continue to influence me.

A new and posthumous collection will be out this year. Though that will be her last, we should all be grateful that so much work will continue to be out there for us to teach and read and pass on and discover.

*

Though this has been a weird week, I did get my first poetry acceptance in the last four months or so, which was a breath of encouraging fresh air.

Waccamaw will be publishing a poem from the new manuscript in late April. Thanks a lot to the editors.

This was also the only poem I believed in during my first semester at Binghamton, one of the only poems in workshop I wrote that I decided to keep. It was also the very last one in workshop that I wrote.

Since then, though, I've written others that I like, and I have a lot of ideas that I hope will continue to turn into poems, poems that I think are only making the second manuscript stronger and more cohesive.

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I'm also working with Joe Weil this semester on my second manuscript, and I think it's going really well so far.

He's already had some great insights, and since he knows what I want to accomplish with the book and my writing, he's steering me in the best direction I can go.

Last week he told me that I probably need about six or seven more poems, and one has already been written that I really like. Then it's down to more editing within the poems and the organization of the poems and sections.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to what this manuscript's going to become in a couple months.

*

The last day of classes is May 7th.

I'm flying to Savannah for a week to visit my brother and sister in law in four days. I'll be there for a week.

Soon enough summer's going to be here.

The next three years, I'm sure, will go faster than the first. Which means I really need to start thinking about a third manuscript: themes, ideas, new structures, something different, something that I'm excited about.

*

Jess and I are starting to look for a house or town home. Our lease is up in August for our current apartment, so we'll probably start seriously looking around May.

It helps to have friends who have houses in different areas. There's so much to deal with when looking for a house. Many questions to answer and ask. Especially when we don't anticipate staying here for our whole lives.

*

Watched the Blu-ray Revanche the other day.

Amazing, amazing film.

Reminded me of Haneke and Wenders mostly, but it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. The cinematography's also phenomenal. I'll certainly be looking for more films shot by Martin Gschlacht.

I won't say a lot about it. Just see it.

*

It looks like almost everything for Ghost Lights has been taken care of on my end, minus the last proof or two (since I always seem to find small grammatical and surface mistakes that are my fault).

The artwork is all but finalized.

The painter has given me the go-ahead. I've passed on the information to Bear. But before I divulge the information, I want to make sure everything's completely finalized. I love the painting, though. The colors are great (especially since I'm hoping for a black cover and back cover, though I'm not sure what color the of the writing will be), and thematically I think it really works with the poems. I'm very lucky to be able to have something I love this much for the cover.

The blurbs are good to go too. Just have to get the OK from Bear for those used on the back cover.

And I got my brief-but-important Acknowledgments page finished, that which actually thanks people and not the journals who published the poems (which was done a while ago).

The tentative release date was May, but I have a feeling it's going to be more like June, or possibly July, which is fine with me. When I know for sure, others will know.

If you're planning on reading it, I hope you like it when it's in your hands.

Shade

Finally got finished applying for an NEA fellowship.

Yes, I know how hilariously slim my chances are, but I figure with a book coming out (and enough published poems for eligibility), I might as well get used to applying for as many fellowships as I can: national, regional, state-wide, etc.

Plus, it was mostly for practice at this point (to get used to the annoying process of filling out the forms), so I can try to do it every two years from now and not take over six or seven hours to get it submitted.

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I think I have the blurbs for Ghost Lights finally in the bag.

I have an idea of what I want the back cover to look like too, so I'll have to see what Bear thinks.

I feel like I picked a good mix of blurbs: those I feel would give the hypothetical back-cover-glancer a good idea of what's inside the pages, which is most important to me.

*

Though the cover art's still up in the air, I'm trying to not let it drag on for too long.

If we can't find something I'm completely in love with, I have a pretty good idea of something I'd really be extremely thrilled to have for the cover if nothing else works out.

I've also talked to the artist, and they've agreed to let me use it if I decide to go with it, which is awesome.

*

I've been asking friends for better suggestions about the title of my new manuscript. I still don't feel as strongly as I would like to about it.

It's on its second title now, and I think I just got a suggestion for the working third title I'm becoming more excited about.

I'm going to live with it for a bit and see what develops.

Gave

I finally sent out a new batch of poems yesterday to a bunch of journals.

I haven't done that in a long time. It felt good. Even if nothing pans out.

Somehow I still feel good about getting rejections, which forces me to write new stuff that the journals who rejected the poems may actually like next time around.

*

The fourth proof of Ghost Lights found its way to me a few days ago. It's really starting to make me smile now. It looks great, and it's getting to those final stages. Clean text, a good design, a good font.

We're trying to figure out cover art and color schemes for the cover and back cover soon. I have a few paintings I'm looking at. The one I wanted we couldn't get. So it's more looking.

I have a handful of blurbs now too, with, I think, one more to go.

Things are coming together. I'm getting excited. I hope folks like the words.

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Josiah Bancroft, a friend and talented poet, is blogging. I have a feeling you'll want to frequent it.

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Added a few pages and poems to the new manuscript, and took out some pages and poems. I feel better about it each time this happens. This makes sense, I think.

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I looked at a poem yesterday in the new manuscript. A new poem that I've sent out a bit over the last month or two, though scattered, and after previously reading who-knows-how-many times, I found a mistake at the end of the very first line.

Seriously?

I think I read the manuscript too much on the computer. May have to suck it up and print it out again. I'm usually great at finding that stuff, but sometimes your brain just keeps scanning the error as correct.

*

My niece is going to be born in April. I will soon be Uncle Keith. Which is awesome.

She already has a ton of Giants gear, but Jess and I will certainly be getting her more.

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Seriously can't stop listening to the Amman/Josh EP Places. Get it.

28

The end of the semester, as those of you know who are in school or teach at the college level, is upon us, and the insanity, though past the start, is still in full swing. Hence the lack of updates.

*

I turned 28 today.

I had a pretty amazing year.

My first book got accepted for publication by Dream Horse Press.

I got married to an amazing woman, and though I'm biased, our wedding was also amazing.

I got into four out of eight schools for my PhD before finally choosing Binghamton University and moving to Vestal, New York with Jess.

And I "finished" a second manuscript, which is now officially at a total of nine contests and open reading periods.

I'm not quite sure how all of that happened, but it did, and I'm extremely thankful.

That said, the last the thing I want to do is slow down.

My new goal is to have the second manuscript accepted for publication by the time I turn 30 in exactly two years. It's lofty, I know, but I really feel that it's in a much better position than Ghost Lights was at that point, and even if it's deemed not so, I'm going to keep sending it out.

Though I didn't get a ton of poems written during this semester, which I expected, I'm hoping to come back fiercely next semester.

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I keep thinking about the page length for single collections of poetry. Ghost Lights, in a .doc file, is exactly 51 pages of actual poetry. At one point, I probably had it up to 60, but I kept cutting, and that's one thing I made a point to do, especially with published poems.

That's how the new manuscript is, too. I think it's exactly 50 pages of poetry. I like it like this.

I probably always will.

Longer collections seem to bum me out. I always keep finding poems in collections that I would've cut. Maybe I'm too hard on those books and my own manuscripts? Not sure.

*

Spent last weekend in Goshen, New York, at my Aunt Janet's for Thanksgiving. Saw a lot of relatives, drank well and ate well. Can't ask for anything more.

The weekend before Jess and I went to Baltimore. She had a suturing class she decided to take part in for her job, and since I literally hadn't been anywhere since Ithaca in three months, it was good to get out of Vestal for a bit. Had a blast. Met new people. One of the best weekends I've ever had.

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Speaking of getting away, here's an interesting blog post by Susan Rich: Artist Residencies - What You Should Know.

Residencies and colonies have always been funny things to me. I've never applied to one because I've never had the desire or need to go to one, but this seems like a good start for those who are interested.

*

Hopefully Ghost Lights will be out sometime around May 2010. Once I get the galleys, which should be soon, I'm going to spend day and night looking, changing, questioning, finalizing.

I already have some folks who said they're interesting in reviewing it, and I'm in the process of setting up some readings for next year. There's still a lot I need to learn about all this promotion stuff. Thankfully I have a lot of writers I can talk to.

*

There's probably more I want to write, but I can't remember anything else. Except that The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans was a great movie. Hilarious, dark, fun, and insane.

Kind of pissed The Road didn't get a wide release. Hopefully in a few weeks though. The Lovely Bones better be wide, because I'm psyched to see that too, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Oh, and it looks like the new issue of Handsome is out and shipping in December.

Look at that cover. Wow.

There's a poem in there issue from Ghost Lights, and it looks like I'm in good company, which is no surprise to me.

Day

It occurred to me a few days ago that I still didn't have a physical copy of my second manuscript in a binder.

So Immediately printed one out, took out the old version of Ghost Lights that was in there, hole-punched it and stuck it in.

The first flip through I immediately noticed some small things that needed to be fixed. This is after looking at it way too many times on the computer. Since I've done so much work on it, however, I'm glad it took me this long to get a physical copy, as I would've had to replace many single pages after changes to the poems.

But alas, I have a physical copy. There's something about throwing that sucker in my bag and carrying it around all day that makes me like it more. Now it feels real I suppose.

And I sent it off about thirty minutes ago to four more places. It's now at a total of seven.

By December 31st it'll be at about five more.

I hope folks like it.

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The time has arrived. Who's going to join me in creating their arduously constructed 100 Favorite Movies List?

Those who need not apply:

• If you have Citizen Kane as your #1 movie (and though this is a personal rule, you probably shouldn't make one if it's on your list at all. But hey, that's just me.)
• If you're including too many movies with attached names like Truffaut, Malle, Bergman, De Sica, Antonioni, etc. without having seen the movies, because people do that. And let's face it: like me, you probably want to see more classics than you've seen thus far. Don't be that guy.
  
• If you don't have a passion for movies. This probably goes without saying. Too bad.
  
• If you don't have the time to spend, because it takes a while, though it's certainly something you should be proud of when you're done.

Remember, this is your Favorite Movies List. If for some reason you could watch Gigli 1000 more times after the 100 you've already seen it, then you shouldn't be shy about putting it on there. Though you should probably make fun of yourself for such a thing.

For those who've already done one, the rule is that you can't go back to your old list. You have to make a new one.

So far two of my best friends from high school (who know their shit, most of the time) and my oldest brother (who also certainly knows his shit) are participating. Any other bloggers want to participate? If so, post your list to your blog by 2010...

You can find my old list in a previous blog post if you feel the need to try and make fun of or applaud mine. Go ahead, I say.

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You should get the new Lymbyc System record, Shutter Release. It comes out Tuesday.

Instrumental, complex, and beautiful stuff. Their songs on the former EP with This Will Destroy You are incredible, and those ideas have finally been expanded to a full length. Check them out if you haven't.

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I almost forgot. If you're sending out a book to contests and open reading periods, Kelli Russell Agodon has been ruminating about any and every topic you can think of as related to such an endeavor. A lot of good information, so if you're new to the whole ordeal and want to get a sense of it from someone who's willing to share a lot of insider information, if you will, then don't hesitate to start combing through her blog.

Though I've shared bits and pieces of my experience, Kelli's much more thorough and insightful, so read away if you're interested.

North

A few weeks ago, after a ton of headaches with our ex-landlord, Jess and I decided to send a complaint to the Virginia Fair Housing Office.

If something came of it, cool. If not, well, we're unjustifiably out $200, but the world goes on, and we tried.

However, a nice woman from the aforementioned Fair Housing Office called today and said that though they can't do anything about it, the issue resides with Consumer Affairs, and she forwarded all of the materials to them.

Glad to know something at least got done from the initial step. We'll see what happens from here.

*

Had six contests and open reading periods originally for October, but I decided to wise up, for a few reasons, and get that down to four, which I think is a good number.

I've done some good work on it in the past month I think. I've been looking closely at a lot of things I was never really cognizant of before, and I think it's helped. I also don't understand the complete hatred of gerunds in poetry. I've heard it all before... but when a gerund needs to be there, it needs to be there. Simple as that.

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I found some pretty awesome paintings that feel like they could be a cover for Ghost Lights, but I'm not getting my hopes up, since I have no idea about the workings of obtaining cover art. But it's still fun to start looking around and having paintings, colors, and fonts in my head.

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Luke has given me a shout out before for getting a good number of poems accepted in a relatively short amount of time, and he certainly deserves the same right now.

I'm sure you'll be seeing his book around soon enough. All signs point to it.

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Speaking of which, I got two good rejections ("These made it to the last round, but we decided against them") in the last week or so for the last three unpublished poems in the second manuscript. Usually that means, at least in my experience, that sooner or later they'll get picked up by someone else.

Rejections, though many would disagree, can sometimes be a great thing.

*

The new Doveman record, The Conformist, is one that will most likely be spinning for a while. It's a record that one can immediately attribute to other bands and artists as far as influences, but it has its own great thing going on. Check out Footloose too if you haven't, especially if you're a fan of the original soundtrack.

Also been enjoying the new Tegan and Sara disc, Sainthood. They're damn good at writing short pop songs that stick in your head, but there's more to each one upon each subsequent listen.

*

I don't understand the hype around Paranormal Activity.

Has anyone seen The Gate? Yes, with Stephen Dorff. From 1987. 22 years later, that movie still freaks the shit out of me.

I guess Paranormal Activity pisses me off mainly because it's one of those "Let's take aspects from 25 different movies and try to claim it as our original film," and the comparisons are obvious if you've seen enough horror movies.

Once you understand the gimmick, and how it's clearly going to escalate each time the camera sits there and fast forwards until the, you guessed it, paranormal activity, it just becomes tedious to sit through. Though I applaud trying to make their relationship have a seemingly deeper element to it as related to all that's happening around them, it's another obvious plot point that you can see through from the very beginning.

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As far as hyped movies go, I thought Up was pretty incredible. I was actually kind of blown away. I love when hype's warranted.

How the hell they came up with that script is beyond me. I still think there had to have been illegal drugs involved. Either way, Pixar continues to kick ass.

*

We had a brief stint of snow a week or two ago, but nothing since then. The leaves are falling as we speak, and I actually have the window open near me as I write this.

I'm enjoying the fresh air now, because I have a feeling this weather's going to change soon. And quickly.

Drill

Jess has been at work for twelve hours now.

Two days ago she had to drill into some guy's brain. Late last week she had to operate on a woman's husband, and when the doctor was telling her what was going on in the waiting room, she was screaming hysterically.

Though I'm proud of what I'm doing and all I've accomplished, I'm starting to have more respect every single day for people who work in the medical field. The true people in the medical field I'm starting to think are destined to do that work. I don't think there are many fields that can claim those words.

It makes talking about poetry seem, well, not that important. But alas, I do it anyway.

*

I brought in two poems from the new manuscript into workshop last time, one which is published, and one which is going to be published in the next issue of a journal.

Before you say or think anything, keep in mind I understand that turning in a "finished" poem into workshop makes everyone a critic.

However, my goal was to hopefully prove something, and after a few weeks of thinking about it, I did.

I've mentioned before that many of the poems in this new manuscript have been seen by no one thus far except myself and the editors who (somehow) decided to publish them. That's certainly not dangerous, but it should make you realize that you need to show your poems to others, especially others who may know what you're going for. Or not.

At any rate, these two particular poems also lead off the manuscript. I've changed them up, and I think they're much better. And a lot of the specific advice for those poems I've been able to use as I've been revising other poems.

So each day I'm happier, it seems, to work on this manuscript, with hopefully a much keener eye.

A handful of contests I'm sending it to in a week or so.

I decided that if I end up sending to about 15-20 by the end of 2009 and I don't get even a pull on the poetic line, then I'm going to get restructuring and writing again.

The first time I sent out Ghost Lights over two years ago, when it was, quite honestly, a pretty horrendous "book," it was a finalist. I think this one's better, so we'll see if I have any clue in the least.

*

I started reading for Harpur Palate today. Considering I'd only met three PhD poets in the program officially before then, I figured it was time to meet others and get involved with our graduate journal, something I really didn't do at VCU.

Already, after just two hours of reading today, I want to make a How To Not Make An Ass Out Of Yourself When You Submit Poems To Journals list...

Here are a few things I'd mention to folks, in no particular order:

1. When you clearly haven't read over your cover letter, and there are a bunch of repetitions and misspelled words, you're not going to get someone excited to read the poems.
2. When you name the journals you've been in (of course that's fine, and I think editors like to see that), 6-8's a decent number, and some may even say more than enough. But seriously, 19? 19! I kid you not. I wondered if I should write down her name and call her out on my blog, but I decided not to. Not cool probably.
   
3. No one cares about "anthologies" you've edited (or "interned" for).
   
4. No one cares about residencies you've been to (especially if you have to name way too many of them and still don't have a book to your name).
5. Under no circumstances should you include a long blurb from an "established" author about your work as the bookend of the cover letter. You shouldn't do this even if you have four books out. Seriously, I was absolutely blown away by this, and never thought I'd see anything like this. Ever.
6. The more your build yourself up, almost always unnecessarily and inexcusably, you're giving readers and editors more of a reason to immediately shut down your work. If readers and editors don't like your work, most of the time it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done: you'll be rejected.
7. If your work's good enough, it'll find a home. Read more journals. Send out more. Take advantage of the journals who accept submissions electronically. Etc, etc, etc.
   

I've been sending out for a while, and as someone who hopes to be an official editor of a small magazine someday, this is what I adhere to, and this is what I'm looking for on a cover letter:

• The date
• Name and contact information on every sheet
• Titles and number of poems
• A handful of the journals who have published you
• Books you have out or books that are forthcoming
• Briefly: what you're up to now

That's it. And then you don't waste ink either.

Considering this has already been a learning experience, I'm looking forward to getting more involved, and I'm also looking forward to meeting and hanging out with more of my fellow classmates.

*

Finally, if you read this blog, you may also read my First Book Interviews blog.

I've been thinking about this during the past few weeks, and I decided to ask some questions here and see what people think.

I've had some poets with great books recently get a hold of me and ask for an interview, and the books are, of course, piling up at this point, especially when you add in the ones I've received in the last year or so.

Considering the semester is not getting any easier with time constraints, here's my question to potential readers: Would you be opposed to seeing more "stock" questions in the full interviews if that meant they were posted more on a regular basis?

As much as I wish I had the time to sit down and read through these first books, while giving them the attention that every single one deserves, I have a lot of reading I need to do while I try and keep my funding here and whatnot, which is at least slightly more important. The books will be read, but I feel like the more time I spend trying to gather questions and hone questions to each particular book, the less interviews that are posted. And I'd rather have more for people to read. That's what I continued Kate's project in the first place.

Not to mention that four poets, who have all the interview questions, still haven't given me their interviews, and they've had plenty of time to get them back to me. That frustrates me at least a bit, because I did spend that time reading their books and getting questions ready for them for nothing at this point, when I could have four additional interviews posted right now from four other poets.

I think the point of First Book Interviews is to ask about the first books. The site isn't dedicated to Third Book Interviews, after all.

I guess I'm wondering if you trust me to trust the poets to answer even the questions which go out to everyone with care and attention and not clipped and one-sentence answers. I'll still read through the books, and there will be questions tailored to each book, but I just won't have as much time, and I really do want to keep them going and start getting them posted again on a regular basis.

Please please please let me know your thoughts if you'd be willing to share them on any of the points above.

Thanks in advance.

Mesh

An interview with Brian Teare, one of my favorite young poets. Still need to get Sight Map. Maybe this post gives me an excuse to order a few books I've been wanting for a while.

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I found seven more journals I'd love to be in, somehow, that I haven't sent to already. Those are journals, however, that accept submissions online or through email.

I'm saving the cash right now for the second manuscript. And there are five more contests and open reading periods where that will be by the end of October.

Three poems from the manuscript have yet to be published in its current state, and I think it'll be nice this time around to have a small batch of three, since I usually have the number of poems make them into four or five. Like Ghost Lights, I really didn't expect to have all the poems published this time around either, and even though my new manuscript will undoubtedly change, because that's the way things go, it's always a good feeling to know that editors are liking your words.

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New Tunes Worth Spinning:

Richmond Fontaine - We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded like a River
Qwel & Maker - So Be It
Lisa Germano - Magic Neighbor
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - White Lunar
Califone - All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

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Weekend-intensive workshop this weekend with Maria Gillan. Second of the semester.

I was going to go with Jess to a wedding (her freshman roommate from college), but there are only three workshops a semester, and I can't miss one. (Sorry, Celeste!)

Since I've been doing a ton of work with my second manuscript over the last year or so, it's been tough for me to get out of the, for lack of a better term, complacency I've been in while writing these poems. Stylistically. Thematically. Structurally. Everything.

What I'm saying is that I need to move on, or the same thing's going to happen in workshop, and I don't want to take all this time for granted I have to discover some new things in my writing, not to mention working with a new crop of talented writers. I guess we'll see what happens this weekend...

Lift

Jess calls a kind of malaise that sets in during periods of moving and transition, fittingly enough, "Transition Keith." I can get irritable, depressed, and annoyed at stupid things. I'm usually not like that at all.

And it gets worse because I know I'm acting like that and have a hard time combating it. I think it was delayed this time around; it's almost been two months since we got here, and I think it set in at the end of last week.

I also keep forgetting that there's been a bit of a whirlwind the last three months, so the delay makes sense I suppose. I guess I had too much to think about, so much that there was no real rumination.

But the first semester at a new place is always tough. And considering I remember how awful my first few months at VCU were, that alone is able to take me away from the funk a bit, because things have been much better than that here.

*

The Giants are 4-0 for the second year in a row, but the injury bug seems to be biting again. Here's to being healthy and the streak continuing.

*

I'm looking to work on a new project as far poems go, but right now I'm not sure what it's going to be. Sometimes when I'm not writing I feel, probably unnecessarily, guilty. It's silly, but it happens.

There was a period after I felt Ghost Lights was completed where I pretty much knew it was either going to get published in a handful of years or I'd burn it and forget about it. I knew that because I wasn't writing poems that would fit in that particular book, and I felt like I couldn't write poems that would ever fit in that book. Poet maturation? Not sure.

But the same thing has happened now. What I mean is, once you start parodying yourself unnecessarily, or you're writing watered-down versions of better poems that you immediately know are better, that seems like a good sign that it's time to move on to a new project. I'm repeating what I did for Ghost Lights, though I don't think I'll burn this one if it eventually keeps floating in the poetic void. I have more faith this time around.

At least it seems to be my litmus test so far. But there's nothing wrong with relaxing and letting stuff swim around in your head. I feel like forcing words right now will just make me lose a little zealousness, and I don't want to do that. But I say things like that a lot, and then the poems seem to arrive. Maybe I just jinxed myself.

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Thinking about the job market also has me a little crazy. I know I have four years until I really have to think about that, but there's still a lot of pressure. Hopefully good pressure.

There are folks that have many more credentials than I do, and there are barely any 5/5 teaching load non-tenure track composition jobs available that pay less than $40,000 a year. Would I do that if I had to? Of course. I know I'm not going to get something fantastic right out of school, if I get anything right out of school.

And though I do tend to be pessimistic, hopefully things are on the upswing in academia and the economy and the tandem of both working together. Four years, though not a long time really, tends to be pendulous in the ways it can swing in a small amount of time, especially in academia.

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A lot of music. A lot of movies. I'll try to post something coherent about what you should be listening to and watching next time.