Slog & sundry (+ requests)

Ruth Sanderson, from The Twelve Dancing Princesses

I'm afraid today is a Great Slog Day. Ruth Sanderson is coming soon, and I must quarry out the guest room, which is full of rummage sale items--too much stuff in this house!--and Scouts gear from the trip to the Grand Canyon. Do you know Ruth? Here she is at her Golden Studio, where you can learn about her painting and books. I met her when I was writer-in-residence at Hollins in 2010, and we had fine walks and talks (as I also did with then-MFA-student-and-now-teacher-and-writer-and-blogger Robin Rudd) and have a good deal in common. I am so glad that Amanda Cockrell (writer and director of the MFA in Children's Literature) and Hollins invited me to visit the MFA program; I enjoyed myself and made some grand new friends and acquaintances. (I'm not doing anything of the kind this summer, as I am going to tour a bit and focus on children and writing the rest of the time, but next year I will be doing a week-long poetry workshop at Antioch and maybe more....)

I've just done something that I never think to do, and have gone back and looked at the last six weeks to see what people are most interested in. And was pleased by the fact that lots of people keep reading even after the day is past. People appear to have been most drawn to the Tesla post from yesterday, one on Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Commonweal review of A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage, the "word-doodling" post, the seven deadlies, my mother (!) and her weaving, pictures of the house in Thaliad, "the value of art" post, the little post with links to Jeff Sypeck's review of Thaliad, a Lady Ise post, and one on Traherne.

I confess to being one of those bloggers (maybe it's all bloggers) who now and then think to jettison the whole enterprise. But I'm pleased that so many passers-by have paused to read. I wish that I had time to return the favor, as so many of you are bloggers, but in truth my life has become busy enough that I rarely do so.

Please leave a request or a question (questions are easier because more specific, usually) if you have something you'd like to see here. Or ask for someone--Susanna tends to ask for the Pot Boy--or some former guest. Requests and questions are always inspiring to the daily blogger.

I close with a list of links to my recent, in-print books. Careful. These paper children are looking for a home in your brain!

Marly, recent and elsewhere:

• Thaliad's adventure in blank verse, with art by artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins of Wales (Montreal: Phoenicia, 2012) here and here 
• The Foliate Head's collection of poems with art by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, Stanza Press (UK) here
• A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage (novel) from Mercer University Press (currently ForeWord 2013 finalist in the general fiction category; The Ferrol Sams Award, 2012) here
• The Throne of Psyche, collection of formal poetry from Mercer, 2011, here
• Samples from my 2011-12 books at Scribd.
• See tabs above for information on individual books, including review clips.

Mercer Frolics in Atlanta

I'm back in Cullowhee, North Carolina after two days in Atlanta with the 23rd annual Mercer Authors Luncheon. You might think that a luncheon would be a luncheon, but in this case it is a reception and dinner for 65 dear friends of Mercer University Press and some authors, and then some more events the next day, primarily book signings and a fancy luncheon for a much large number. It was quite posh. I was terribly well fed, and aspire to stay at the Intercontinental Buckhead more often... I didn't take a single picture but will post some links when Mercer pictures go up. Lisa Alter spoke (another wonderful Globe Pequot book! one popped up as winner in nonfiction at the National Book Awards), along with Ann Ross, Jeffrey Small (who I met the night before at the reception), and Louis W. Sullivan.

I had a grand time meeting Marc Jolley, Marsha Luttrell, Mary Beth Kosowski, Jenny Toole, and sundry other Mercerians. In addition, I chatted with a large number of bigwigs (the President, the Provost, and other vital P-people.)

And when it was all at an end, I had a lovely visit with Robin Rudd, future children's book author, who was one of my students when I did a summer gig as writer-in-residence for the MFA program at Hollins in 2010. We used to get up early and walk the loop of campus a couple of times before the world got--as it did--hot.

Robin has a giveaway

"The Ill-defined Giveaway":  play a game and win books by Amanda Cockrell, Alexandria LaFaye, Hillary Homzie, and me at Robin Rudd's lovely children's literature blog, Robin Has an Idea. As we have learned in recent days, rioters do not desire books. But maybe you do.

Insomniac roundup

the cassandra pages

You may see another picture of me with Beth Adams and one of me signing the hardcover version of my new book, The Throne of Psyche, for her at the cassandra pages. And you can hear Beth muse about our visit and her home region and see images of the place as well. (If you are a Clive Hicks-Jenkins fan and look closely, you will see the two new books about him as well as his Equus book, spread out for Beth to see.)

Pipedreaming

Look at that! When you get up at 3:30 with raging insomnia and proceed to fold laundry, adjust fans and windows, tackle the mess, and finally noodle on the internet, you find surprises. Wandering socks, for one thing. Snoozy breathing everywhere. Cats flopped on cool floors.

A bookseller, children’s author, reviewer, teacher, playwright, director, and scholar, Vikki VanSickle has posted a late but very welcome review of The Curse of the Raven Mocker at Pipedreaming. She says such lovely things that I'll have to remember to stick a quote or two on my Raven Mocker page on my web site.

And did I remember to link to this one?

Zoe in Wonderland

Zoe talks about our big, beautiful Clive Hicks-Jenkins book, and she has also-lovely things to say about my part in it.  Here.

and Robin Has An Idea

Interesting that she picked this little snip from the "Why poetry" interview to post elsewhere: "To be like a magic room that grows bigger on the inside, where it matters." If you missed it and are up, insomniac (or slumbering happily now but awake later), be sure and go by and visit Robin.  Her blog is noodle-worthy!

Inaugural honors...

Here is a picture of Robin Egg nesting
 in her natural environment.

I have the decided but slightly comical honor of being the subject of Robin Rudd’s first One Question Interview. (A mere two words:  that’s the comical part. I wonder what the next question will be.) Robin (a.k.a. Robin Egg) was one of my students when I was writer-in-residence at the Hollins M.F.A. program in children’s literature last summer. We used to walk the loop road around campus early in the morning, and she has kept up with me since—and she is altogether an endearing person to know or e-know via her blog, Robin Has An Idea.

You may fly to the interview at Robin Has An Idea here. And if you have something to say about the interview, please leave a comment there. Robin just turned her comments on at last! She needs to talk…


Here is a picture of Robin staring at a lost world.

And here is a picture of Robin Wood

(or Robin Hoodie)

in the Southern forests.

Alighting from Wales: Cullowhee, the valley of lilies

Robin Rudd takes a picture. May 12.

More on Wales, travels, and The House of Words after I make it to Cooperstown...

Here is a picture with me at the middle level of the house in Cullowhee, taken by Robin Rudd (aka Robin Egg), one of my students from last summer when I was writer-in-residence at Hollins. Robin has just finished her M.F.A. there and came up from Greenville, South Carolina for my reading at City Lights in Sylva. The dogwood peeping from right is in astonishing bloom this year.

Robin Rudd takes another picture! May 12.
The view from where I am sitting in the first picture.

And here is Robin with her alarming Shadow.

Were he a Pullmanesque daimon, I'd be worried for Miss Egg.