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Interestingly, I am now not only a writer of poetry but I am also a rejector of poetry. I am reading a bundle of poetry slush for the department’s literary magazine with the simple instructions to forward on anything that’s fresh, interesting, and unexpected. We’ll see how that goes.

As far as my own poetry writing goes, I’m discovering that I’m actually not too bad. The professor has complimented me quite a few times on what I’ve produced so far. What I’ve noticed is that I have a hard time varying my style. I have no problem trying on different styles and voices with fiction, but poetry I find a bit tougher. It’s been a very good learning experience thus far, though.

I handed in my paper on Dubliners this past Tuesday and have already selected a paper topic for the final paper due in December: James Joyce and vampires. It might sound nuts, but there’s a lot in Ulysses about feeding on the dead. And Bram Stoker was Irish. My reasoning is that I might find Ulysses more manageable if I had something specific to be looking for. I find the book fairly impenetrable when I’m reading it by myself but the class discussion helps it open up a little bit. The Joycean criticism, however, still drives me mad.

My Halloweenie reading of “Working Out Our Salvation” went well. I was unexpectedly called to read second instead of fourth, and that didn’t provide me enough time to be nervous. I was a little nervous at first (this being my first public reading) but the many familiar faces in the crowd of 50 or so helped me relax and after an initial bobbling in the open couple of sentences, I found a groove. Practicing at home four times also helped.

A few different people have told me they really liked the story. It’s funny reading a zombie story aloud to a literary crowd, and the story is a bit weird. I suspect that some people didn’t quite know how to react—somebody initially laughed at the part where the father-zombie’s mangled body is described after he’s suffered a dozen different deaths in the coal mines; then the laughter turned a bit self-conscious, as perhaps the person though, “This is really kind of disgusting. Am I supposed to be laughing?” To which my answer is, Why not? ‘Twas intended to be a bit unsettling.

Anyway, another excellent experience.

Noontime indoor soccer starts tomorrow. I’m planning to track my general state of health as the season progresses. For October, November, December, and most of January I will be able to play Monday, Wednesday, and Friday should I have the time. The question is how the body will hold up. The sport is very hard on the body from the knees down.

Current Mood: Bushed |