My friends, I am a really terrible blogger.
Part of this is because I haven't written anything recently that I'm terribly keen on sharing, but it's mostly because I keep forgetting this thing exists. However, there is a silver lining!
I GOT INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL AND IN THE FALL I WILL BE ATTENDING MILLS COLLEGE IN OAKLAND, CA FOR THE MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM WITH A FOCUS IN POETRY!!!
(For those of you reading this and wondering, "were all-caps really necessary there?" the answer is yes.)
There is also another silver lining, and it is that I'm working, albeit very slowly, on some things that I will eventually post here. It's odd, and slightly worrisome, because here I am accepted into a poetry program and all of the things I've been writing recently have been some form of prose. I think poetry doesn't usually work, at least not for me, if I sit down and say "I'm going to write a poem now!" I just have to let it happen to me. Prose seems to be easier to make happen. I am a little worried that I'm going to get to Mills and not be able to write any decent poetry, but I suppose there'll be plenty of faculty around to force it out of me if need be.
Since my last post (in early February...seriously, I'm terrible), I started co-facilitating a writing workshop for incarcerated women at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation jail. I LOVE it. This work is, without a doubt, what I want to do with my life. I'm interested in editorial work as well, particularly assembling and editing anthologies,* but facilitating? It's my favorite thing ever. Every week I leave the jail and fall in love with these women's voices all over again. Not all of them are great writers, but does it really matter? They're enjoying themselves, getting something out of what they're doing, and letting their voices be heard. What more could I want?
*When I first started working with Voices from Inside, the organization that does these workshops, I began in an editing capacity because I hadn't yet been trained as a facilitator. I compiled, edited, and assembled an anthology of work by women in western Massachusetts jail writing groups from 2005-2010. I also wrote the "from the editor" section, and my name is right there in the front of the book! It's REALLY cool, guys. I am super proud of it - of myself, the other people involved in making it happen, and most of all, of the women whose work is showcased in it. I haven't met them all, but I can assure you they are amazing, incredible, talented, beautiful women whose words are valuable contributions to the world.
If you're interested, the book will soon be available here, and in the meantime, you can email Robin, director of Voices from Inside, at rrglenn@earthlink.net. Books are $17 each. (It's worth it.)
