Kibbles and Bits and Bits and Bits

I’m exhaling from a very difficult work week. This is how I know the summer season is winding down—our four-day work week ended yesterday, so this is my last Friday off. But you can stick a fork in me because I’m DONE!

This weekend is all about taking care of my family, who has not seen a lot of me the past few days. Even when I was with them for meals and bath time, I wasn’t really there. This time also is about taking care of me: getting to the gym, back to healthy eating, and having fun. That’s probably the easiest part because Saturday is action-packed, and Tim and I are going to tomorrow night’s Red Sox game!

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I constantly check the mail (e-mail or snail mail) for good news. Lately, even the junk mail has been living up to its name. So after sitting in traffic for 1.5 hours Thursday evening, it was nice to find a check from Crab Orchard Review waiting for me! I have a poem coming out in their next edition, and while I haven’t seen my contributors copy yet, it reminded me that there’s a market for my poetry, and that I can be recognized for my efforts.

It’s not about the money; it’s about knowing my worth.


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Lastly, the Massachusetts Poetry Festival released their schedule this week. This is our state’s first-ever poetry festival, modeled after the Dodge Festival—a long time coming in my opinion. While I think it could be a fun time, I really hope it is the first step in trying to unite and broaden the poetry and literary efforts in our state.

Many of the poets reading at this festival are well-established (“the big draws”), but I want real dialogue to flourish from poets coming together at all levels of their careers. MassPop, the organization behind the effort, is looking for financial support, but I haven’t seen any real attempts at community outreach. As we know, much of the best poetry happening now is being created and published through nontraditional channels (blogs, local events, community effots, etc.). Guess I’m not feeling the love, and that’s true of the other poets I speak to across the state about the festival. Time will tell if there is a second-annual event.

Bottom line: I’ve been to many a festival and conference in my day. So how is this one any different?