It's 40 degrees this morning. That's 40 more than it was last week. The roads are clear (at least the ones that I can see from here) and I am very happy. And I know 10-day forecasts are notoriously unreliable, but it looks like it will be in the 60's in Atlanta next week. It's a much happier morning than yesterday.
I think I'm going tanning today. I know, it's bad for me. But so is smoking and I did that for seven years--a lot more often than I'll ever go tanning. It's just that I don't want to wear my strapless dress on Saturday with all my pastiness showing. and old tan lines. I promise, i only tan when I am in a wedding. and I've vowed to never be in another wedding, so this should be the last time i ever go tanning. I'm also going to get my nails done and my eyebrows waxed this week. For those of you who don't know me, I'm not usually very girly, so this is big stuff for me.
We're discussing Denise Levertov in CAWP today. Hopefully we actually discuss her, because I loved the poems we read. And finally, I feel like we're reading someone contemporary.
Everyone knows I love the NEOMFA, but there is one pet-peeve I have about it. The U of Akron observes presidents day today, so school is closed. Well, I don't teach on Tuesday, so I have the day off from Akron anyway. However, I do have class at Kent on Tuesdays, so I don't get to observe presidents day at all (Kent has Monday off, as any self-respecting institution should). Also, I don't get spring break this year, because Kent and Akron don't have them at the same time. I can't go on any trips, I can't veg out on the couch for four days, I can't do anything I wouldn't normally do. Bummer.
notes & things | 11/2/2026
2 days ago
4 comments:
Hey, I dig the Tuesday off (since people who teach Mondays get MLK off...it's only fair). ;) Plus, it's a day off where we actually get mail.
I love "The Wings" by Denise Levertov. One of my favorite poems.
I am not looking forward to having to glam myself up (slightly) for AWP. It's so much work, kwim?
The Spring break before I graduated with my B.S. in history (make all the jokes you want), I spent the entire time writing my undergrad thesis. Yeah, I am a geek. I cranked out 22 pages of historical research writing(with some 47 footnotes) in just under 5 days instead of going out and soing anything remotely considered fun.
However, it was all for the best. On the first day of the new quarter, the one when I was supposed to write my thesis with everyone else, I was able to turn it in to the professor. He had heard rumors that 'someone' had already written it. That's when he looked me square in the eyes and said, "So why don't you come up here, Justin and turn it in."
that's exactly what I did. A lot of the others were shocked and amazed. Not knowing I was awriter, many were impressed. Still, I had my own reasons for doing it so quickly. I had a course load which included some 22 essays from two classes, and there was no way I would be nearly as successful at my thesis or those other essays if I tried to do it all at once.
so, Justin, are you telling me it's a good thing not to have fun on spring break? That maybe I'll have a stack of new thesis poems to turn in to Mary when we get back? That sounds kinda good.
Mary, I haven't read "The Wings" but I fell in love with "What Were They Like." Can you believe it--Sara likes a political poem!
Denise of the wonderful laugh. I had the good fortune of taking two workshops with her at Stanford in the mid-80s. Do you know her "To the Reader"?
As you read, a white bear leisurely
pees, dyeing the snow
saffron,
and as you read, many gods
lie among lianas: eyes of obsidian
are watching the generations of leaves,
and as you read
the sea is turning its dark pages,
turning
its dark pages.
Post a Comment