universalchampion

But The Truth Is That I’ve Been Awesome

I haven’t yet seen the film adaptation of Sapphire’s novel Push, but based on this interview in New York mag this week, Gabby Sidibe is my new favorite actress.

grad school redux

ok, ok, ok, ok, ok. those thirteen mfa programs i listed? i have some revisions. i cut two: indiana, being slightly harder to get into than purdue, got nixed. i was beginning to question my fit for u of houston’s prograqm (their foreign language rec, which u colorado also has, requires at least two yearsContinue reading “grad school redux”

you want a social life with friends

this poem got stuck in my head today. i used to have a copy of it sharpied on my refrigerator. also, i have it memorized and was known to recite it (drunk) at bars, back in the day. you want a social life with friends kenneth koch You want a social life, with friends, AContinue reading “you want a social life with friends”

this is what a literary death match champion looks like

Last night I attended my first Literary Death Match, and while it would’ve been entertaining to simply be in the audience, I was experiencing this American Idol/Double Dare-esque reading as a competitor. A few weeks earlier, the most awesome Mindy Abovitz asked me if I wanted to represent Tom Tom Magazine in a battle ofContinue reading “this is what a literary death match champion looks like”

crunch time

tomorrow is the first of september, and according to the brightly colored reminders that decorate my google calendar, that means: one month and three weeks until the GREs, and three months and one week until MFA applications are due. it is crunch time. it’s hard to look back at a summer and deem it eitherContinue reading “crunch time”

notes from home

on monday i got the call that my pappy had died, and four hours later i was on an amtrak train, going home. we have one saying in my family about death, and that is death is weird. it’s weird. what else can you say about it? i’ve been here in the suburbs of pennsylvaniaContinue reading “notes from home”

calendars are for suckers

two weeks into my vacation, and i have lost all sense of time. is it tuesday or friday? when did i go to bed last night? can i still order a bagel at 3pm? i feel like i have eleven months of pent up young urban night owl lifestyle coming through. here is a smallContinue reading “calendars are for suckers”

wordcount.$&^%&$##

“If you know what you’re going to write when you’re writing a poem, it’s going to be average.” — Derek Walcott it is okay to not know what you are doing, right?right.word count = 1,896

verbs of summer

suddenly you look up and july is 3/4 of the way done. when not sorting water colors or crayons or construction paper, i have someone managed to pass the summer: volunteering at rock camp socializing post-rock camp (this included several nights of convincing myself i am of fit age/mind to stay out until 4 a.m.Continue reading “verbs of summer”

independence

definitions of independence on the web: freedom from control or influence of another or others the successful ending of the American Revolution; “they maintained close relations with England even after independence” a city in western Missouri; the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail in other words: when i found a blue 3 speed racer bicycleContinue reading “independence”