Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer
Three quick things.
1. It’s not anywhere in my official bio, but I happen to be a third-generation purveyor of occasional verse!
My mother’s Aunt Mimi was famous for enlivening family celebrations with her customized odes, and that’s a tradition that her daughter Patti and my mother have sustained. Now I have taken up this mantle as well.
All of which is to say that the most significant writing project I’ve worked on this week is a poem that I drafted in honor of my niece’s 16th birthday. It’s a rhyming recollection of the day she was born.
It may not be the most literary piece anyone will ever read (okay, as these two sample stanzas show, it’s utterly lacking in any artistic merit whatsoever).
But you know what? We laughed our way through my recitation at our family celebration the other night. (At one point, I had to pause because I couldn’t read through my own laughter.) Most importantly, the birthday girl seemed happy with it—”I can keep it?” she asked when I handed her my printed copy.
2. I’m cautiously pleased with the progress I’ve made on my current to-do list. Over the past couple of days I’ve applied to present at a conference; submitted some of my poems for a special evening program here in New York; worked out some details for a spring 2020 webinar that I’ve been invited to teach; and managed to complete several other tasks. I hope to be able to share details/positive outcomes with you all in the not-too-distant future.
3. Finally, if you don’t follow my other blog, you may have missed yesterday’s post there. Here’s a hint of what it’s all about.
