Lord, how things can change. I've been reading back over some of my older posts on poetics, also the srticles I wrote for Write Anything up through December 2012. And I'm finding that my attitudes, my core beliefs about poetry and communication, have hardly changed at all. That's comforting-- although to be fair, these writings go back at most about 8 years. There's plenty of life ahead yet.
What has changed is how I'm living those beliefs. I wrote quite proudly about my involvement in online communities back in the late oughts. I have since dropped them almost completely. I've stopped following poet blogs, with only a couple of exceptions.
Instead, I've been active with real life poetry communities. I now routinely go to three or four poetry readings a month. I deliver at open mics. I've been in a number of critique and writing groups, meeting at people's homes by rotation. As a board member of the Oregon Poetry Association, I've organized a conference (spring 2012), am currently winding up a statewide student poetry contest, and am gearing up to organize another conference (fall 2013). I also produced a chapbook that collected work by several OPA members, to honor our outgoing President.
Oh yeah... I'm also the acting President. Within a month, I'll become President for real, unless someone else jumps up and wants the job.
And I have big dreams. I've restarted the OPA's book review column, we're revising and expanding the website, and we're recruiting new volunteers and networking with other literary groups in Oregon. They're thick on the ground out here, and we have lots to offer each other.
And my pet project... I want OPA to sponsor an anthology. A bilingual anthology, English and Spanish, authored by Oregon residents of Latina/Latino extraction. I'm recruiting a biligual editing and translating team; I'm researching grant opportunities; I'm hoping we can land a contract with an academic publisher, but if not, we'll go print-on-demand.
God gives me work!
Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside
Friday, April 26, 2013
Life, and other updates
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1 comment:
Good for you, Tiel Aisha Ansari. For many of us, the true life of a writer is what we seek. I am beginning to go beyond the borders of online poetry, speaking to crowds instead of friends in the blogosphere. To me, it's equally rewarding!
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