Cooking in My Sleep

I have been awakened by the smell of a 16-bean soup that I cooked overnight in the crock pot. It is the strangest thing—to be woken up by food. It’s like I’ve left something cooking on the stove. It always takes me a few seconds to remember I planned this.

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Have you seen the beautiful cover of Kelli Russell Agodon’s second poetry collection, titled Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room? I love reading how authors decide on the cover art because there’s usually a good story behind the selection. And many times, their stories end with, “this art was the best representation of my work.”


For the Underlife cover, I had two excellent choices, but the publisher liked the mannequin legs over another very strong image. It worked out for the best. In the end, the cover is an extension of the work—which is an extension of the poet. So cheers to Kelli for selecting her cover. I bet the book feels much more real now that the cover’s in place.

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What can you do to increase your chances of getting editors to accept your poetry submissions? Start by visiting Martha Silano's blog.

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Valentine’s Day is upon us. For those who don’t know, that’s my birthday. I’ll be 41 on February 14. I’m sure there’s some meaning there. More on that tomorrow.