http://carcinogenicpoetry.blogspot.com/2010/02/cl-bledsoe-two-poems.html

So I've been experiencing the closest things to panic attacks I've had in years. Not sure why, exactly, except certain difficulties on the job, but nothing really worse or even as bad as usual. Frankly, it's been a nice week, and yet my flight response is in overdrive. More on that in a bit.

So my sister called the other day and told me a story. Her step-daughter works at a tractor supply store in Searcy, Arkansas. She and a customer started talking about poetry, like you do while browsing the new Case IH catalogue, and the customer mentioned that his wife loved the work of this poet who was from Arkansas but now lives in Maryland.

"My uncle is a poet from Arkansas who now lives in Maryland," my neice stated.
"Is his last name Bledsoe?" the guy asked. When my neice confirmed this, the guy said, "My wife loves his poetry."

Weird, huh? I told this story to Chris and he said, "Well, I mean that's your demographic."

So then yesterday I got an email from a publisher to whom I'd sent a short story collection. They want it. Jumping the gun, here, because I haven't even seen a contract, but still nice. Couple of longer stories (in the 20 page range) plus quite a few 10-15 page ones. No flash--didn't seem to fit. Tentatively titles NAMING THE ANIMALS. Mostly stories about troubled relationships with a stong animal theme. I'll just ignore any sexual implications in the previous sentence.

My reaction to both of these things was paranoia and fear.

The bottom line is that the ant-si-ness may well be coming from a lack of literary production. I do feel anxious when I don't write for a certain amount of time, have for years. Frankly, it can cause insomnia, which I think is the reason I was waking up so early for a couple month stretch there. I've actually been writing a bit, lately, but I've also been feeling that itch to do more. Hence putting together the short fiction manuscript in the first place. But it's very difficult to find time right now. We're in the middle of term finals. Grades are due Monday, and I have a stack of essays about an inch thick (hey, it was 2 inches yesterday) plus May Program stuff, getting geared up for next year, possibly switching over to do college counseling (a big maybe) next year, etc. I'm starting new novels in all my classes, etc. So I scribble when I can, but that's not good enough for my belly and my brain. This post, for example, was only possible because of a late start due to weather.

Still, there are chipmunks wrestling on the back wall and there's only one more week until Spring Break, so there's hope. For what, I'm not sure. But it squeaks.

Carcinogenic Poetry took a couple of holdouts from Riceland.

http://www.pankmagazine.com/?cat=80

7. Moon (nice)
8. The Hurt Locker (meh)
9. Extras: Season 1
10. Taming of the Shrew (very funny)
11. Fringe Season 1
12. Weeds Season 5 (I'm amazed at how funny this show is.)
13. Inglorious Basterds (meh)
14. Gran Torino (very good)
15. Public Enemies (I don't know why I rented this.)
16. Paranormal Activity (meh)
17. The Unit, Season 1, Disc 1
18. The Importance of Being Earnest
19. Avatar 3D (Fern Gully meets Pocahontas. It looks really good, but that's about it.)
20. Extras: Season 2

* = saw it in the theater

So I was thinking that I watch a lot of movies, but when I sat down to think of the ones I'd seen recently, I couldn't think of many. So I thought I'd start keepong track to see if I'm really a movie junkie. The thing is, we don't have TV (we have A TV, it just doesn't receive transmissions...so we use it to watch movies) so I'm including TV shows we've rented. So this is total TV/movie watching.

So here's what I can remember watching in January (with help from Netflix):

1. Shakespeare Retold: Taming of the Shrew/Midsummer Night's Dream
2. Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5
3. Lost Season 5
4. Due South Season 1 & 2
5. The Book of Eli*
6. Legion*

Of all of these, Shakespeare Retold: Taming of the Shrew was the best. Very, very funny. It's available on Youtube.

* = saw it in the theater

http://www.ghotimag.com

Dear Ghoti Readers,

The term “soundtrack to my life” has become a bit of a cliché, but I think you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have some special relationship with music, a song that reminds you of an old lover or the trip you took wi...th your family in 6th grade or any one of life’s random moments.

For us at Ghoti, music holds a special place, so we have decided to dedicate and devote this issue to the energy and inspiration which music provides us on a daily basis. We would like to thank everyone who contributed, both working musicians and writers whose work has been influenced by music.

Also, a very special thanks to Sarah Jurado, a wildly talented photographer who graciously provided us with our cover photo. We hope you, the reader, enjoy this issue and continue to celebrate music and the musicians who make it.

Best regards,

The Editors

Boston Literary Review just picked up a poem I sent yesterday. It's been awhile...

http://www.troubadour21.com/series/clbledsoe/the-idealists-part-vi/

February

11. A Civic Pageant, poems by Frank Montesonti.
12. The Importance of Being Earnest, a play by Oscar Wilde
13. Marvelous Hairy: a Novel in Five Fractals, by Mark Rayner
14. What to Do with a Dying Parakeey, a poetry chapbook by Corey Cook.

Books I’ve read in January (all of these were for review in Ghoti):

1. Listen: twenty-nine short conversations, short stories by Corey Mesler. Brown Paper Publishing, 2009. $14.00.
2. The Future is Happy, poems by Sarah Sarai. Buffalo, New York: Blaze Vox Books, 2009.
3. Do Something! Do Something! Do Something!, a novel by Joseph Riipi. St. Petersburg, Florida: Ampersand Books, 2009.
4. Easter Rabbit, a collection of micro-fiction by Joseph Young. Baltimore, MD: Publishing Genius Press, 2009. $13.95
5. Airs and Voices, poems by Paula Bonnell.
6. Staring at the Animal, poems by John Cross.
7. Lost and Found, flash fiction by Meg Pokrass.
8. The Possibility of recovery, poems by William Delman.

Also:

9. Finding the Words, poems by Dan Maquire.
10. The Taming of the Shrew, by Shakespeare.

"Old Grey Mare"

http://www.hamiltonstone.org/hsr20nonfiction.html#theoldgreymare

"11:30"
http://www.decompmagazine.com/1130.htm