I have been wanting to blog. I'm not sure why. But I want to. So, finally, instead of trying to mentally figure out whether it's a good idea or what I should write about or strategize it in some way or figure out why, I've decided to just go with it. When I just go with things--even when I don't understand them--things usually turn out okay.
Here's another thing I've decided to go with: I really love the Conference on Poetry and Teaching at the Frost Place. I wanted to go last year, but then I went back and forth and back and forth about it and ultimately decided not to go and applied to something else instead because I'm not teaching anymore (except my son) and so what's the point of going to a conference full of teachers? The point is I want to go and I love the people and last time (already a couple years ago!) I came home totally inspired for two weeks! I remember I thudded back to earth after only because things were so difficult at work. Now that I edit at home, which I love, maybe that high would last even longer. Anyway, I want to go and feel drawn to going, and I am going to get out of my own way and go! Why do I stand there with my arms crossed in front of the idling car of my own heartfelt desires?
I've been reading Dahlia Ravikovitch's poems in the wonderful translation by Chana Bloch (my dear departed teacher) and Chana Kronfeld. I've been reading in small sips during my always-too-short poetry time in the morning, and I'm almost done. Most days, I've been copying out one of her poems, a practice I learned at the Conference on Poetry and Teaching that I had actually been doing for scholarship for years (copying out important quotes so I could really see each word). Now, I'm using my scholarly practices for poetry and trying not to berate myself for not having done it earlier. Since I'm almost done with Dahlia, I have to figure out what I'm going to read and copy out next. I'm also partway through a bunch of books--some about poetry, about writing, about other stuff (like the history of France, since my son is now learning French, and he loves history and I can find no histories of France for children). Also, I have this feeling like I should be deep in a novel just now, but I'm at a loss about what I want to read. So far, there are lots of things I feel I ought to read, but nothing that's grabbed me. I always have a list of things I feel I should read as research for my collection of Israel-Palestine poems, but it's often emotionally difficult to read that material and not at all the deep plunge into another world and escape that reading can be. So I'm waiting until something wonderful inspires me to curl up under a blanket and read, ignoring everyone and everything. My logical side wonders when I'd fit that in anyway because what I really need to do is edit.
It's been incredibly cold. It feels like winter came early this year. We had a snowstorm on Monday that downed some power lines in the village we live outside of; luckily, we have a wood burning stove and a small generator, so we weren't too cold. Right after the power came back on, the Internet went out, and we haven't had home Internet since. I joined the 21st century and got a Smartphone yesterday purely for the mobile hotspot, which is how I'm online now. My son had a bad cold with a cough, which worried me a great deal with the cold but he's on the mend now. Today, he is happy and shiny, excited for a wonderful relaxer day.
Today, I'm going to edit and have a lovely day with my family, probably going to one of our local libraries to check out even more books, some on France to complement my son's studies, and a book I need for fact-checking for editing.
I love editing. I didn't realize I would love it so much, especially literary editing. I feel so blessed it found me.
Have a lovely day!
