2013 is the year of Awesome / appearances / bad behavior in public places / BOOM. / coffee / creepers / Cue the Golden Girls theme song / Doing / Embarrassing stories / Emma is very lucky / Emma's Adventures in Over-Analyzing / Emma's attempts at normal life / Emma's attempts at real life (failed or otherwise) / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / Epic Cat Battles / Fear and how to face it / Free to Be You and Me / Frills and Fancies / Gertrude Stein (feline version) / Going to eleven / gratuitous photos of whatnot / Language systems / Losing courage and other freakouts / mullings and ramblings / Mustachio'd Kitties / My meowing roommates / My nerves are bad tonight. Yes bad. / NaPoMo / New Fangled Technology and Whatnot / overthinking / perfection is boring. period. / Photography / poems / poetry / reading / readings / shameless cat photos / Statesboro / Stationary Objects and Collisions Therewith / summations / Thanks and thanks again / The Hunger Games / the poem factory / The Secret Life of Objects / thought for the day / What Emma is up to / Where You Can Find Me (Or At Least My Words) / writing life / You gotta have friends

Radio Free Gertrude

In which Emma writes about why it’s really hard for her to not bring up the formal wear store Frills and Fancies in every conversation, and also talks about her cats, duh. Continue reading »

"The Glass Essay" / A manifesto of sorts / Academia / Academic inquiries / aesthetic theory / Anne Carson / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / Artist's Renditions / avant-garde / AWP / AWP 2013 / AWP Boston / balance / books / color-coding / contemporary poetry / creative nonfiction / Creative Writing Scholarship / criticism / definitions / education / edumacation / Emily Dickinson / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / Emma's Adventures in Over-Analyzing / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / Errata / evaluations / experimental poetry / experimental writing / Form / Happy accidents / influences / Inquiries into academics / Language systems / Maggie Nelson / Maps and legends / movements / mullings and ramblings / nonfiction / On being a poet / poems / poetry / Poetry Rock Stars / poetry superheroes / poets / publishing / publishing (or not publishing / ranting and raving / reading / readings / The avant-garde / the genre line (and stepping over it) / the lyric essay / Those Who Walk The Same Line / visual representations / writing community / writing life / You gotta have friends

Are We Après The Avant?*

In which Emma takes a lot of cold medicine and gets deep with her thoughts. Continue reading »

2013 is the year of Awesome / A manifesto of sorts / A teacher's education / Academia / Academic inquiries / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / awesome / AWP / AWP 2013 / AWP Boston / bad behavior in public places / books / bright shining spots in the very much dark / Chchchchanges / contemporary poetry / Corrections / Cue the Golden Girls theme song / disagreeable/agreeable / education / edumacation / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / Emma is very lucky / Emma's Adventures in Over-Analyzing / Emma's attempts at real life (failed or otherwise) / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / Epic / EPIC WIN / evaluations / events / Failure Schmailure / False Dichotomies / Fight the power! / Free to Be You and Me / Friendship Is Magic / Going to eleven / graduate school / Home / hopes and dreams / Inquiries into academics / inspiration / Instructions / learning / learning patience slowly / Losing courage and other freakouts / Maps and legends / META / MFA / mullings and ramblings / On being a poet / perfection is boring. period. / Perspiration? Inspiration? / poems / poetry / poets / Power to the People / publishing / publishing (or not publishing / random musings / ranting and raving / re-purposing / Recharging the mental batteries / rejection / rejection slippage / Retrospective / summations / teaching / teaching writing / The evolution of Emma / the poem factory / The power and the money / The Thoughts of a Poetry Fan Girl / the three jobs / thought for the day / where are you going where have you been / Who The Eff Cares? / wonders and apparitions / Words of Wisdom / writers conferences / writing and not writing / Writing Anew / writing community / writing life / writing space / writing teachers / You better work / You gotta have friends

AWP: Traditions, Revisions, Permissions (Or I’m Okay, You’re Okay, Let’s Skip The Dance Party)

She doesn’t even go here! Continue reading »

2013 is the year of Awesome / A festival of linkage / A festival of photos / A teacher's education / Academia / Academic inquiries / accidental confessions / All-around amazing people / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / announcements / appearances / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / awesome / awesome kids we should all keep an eye out for / awesome presses / AWP / AWP 2013 / AWP Boston / bad behavior in public places / Bad girls and good girls gone bad / Bizarre associations and other odd tendencies / book signings / books / bright shining spots in the very much dark / chapbooks / COLLECT! / contemporary poetry / Cue the Golden Girls theme song / Department of Writing and Linguistics / education / edumacation / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / Emma is very lucky / Emma's attempts at normal life / Emma's attempts at real life (failed or otherwise) / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / EPIC WIN / events / Fan Girl / Free to Be You and Me / Georgia Southern / Going to eleven / gratitude / Indian Springs School Visiting Writers Series / Inquiries into academics / inspiration / instagram / Internet culture / IRL Drama Llama / it is ON. / Kate Greenstreet / learning / my students / One Can Find Me Here (Or At Least My Words) / Online culture / Pass it on! / plans / poems / poetry / Poetry Rock Stars / poetry superheroes / poets / reading / readings / Sarah Lawrence College / schedules / shameless self-promotion / Sicilian slang / Squee! / teaching / teaching writing / The latest medical anomaly / The Witch Trials / Very Excellent News / What Emma is up to / where are you going where have you been / Where You Can Find Me (Or At Least My Words) / wonders and apparitions / writers conferences / writing community / writing life / writing teachers / You better work / You gotta have friends

Sometimes things are exciting …

In which Emma talks about some Seriously Exciting Things and gives so many links your head may explode with all the awesome. Continue reading »

A manifesto of sorts / A teacher's education / Academia / accidental confessions / aesthetic theory / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / bad behavior in public places / Bad girls and good girls gone bad / balance / books / bright shining spots in the very much dark / Chchchchanges / COLLECT! / contemporary poetry / cool/not cool / Corrections / disagreeable/agreeable / DUENDE / education / edumacation / Emma is very lucky / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / EPIC FAIL / Epic Fail? EPIC WIN! / Errata / failed or otherwise / Fan Girl / Fear and how to face it / graduate school / inspiration / Jack Gilbert / learning / learning patience slowly / Losing courage and other freakouts / MFA / mullings and ramblings / My nerves are bad tonight. Yes bad. / On being a poet / poems / Poems I should probably pay a lot more attention to / poetry / Poetry Rock Stars / poetry superheroes / poets / Poets I should probably pay more attention to / Poor decisions / Probably quite a bit TMI / ranting and raving / reading / readings / Righting Wrongs / The evolution of Emma / The Year Things Went Too Far / thought for the day / training / where are you going where have you been / wonders and apparitions / Words of Wisdom / writing teachers

Jack Gilbert and Graduate School Emma: A Cautionary Tale

In which Emma examines the mind of Graduate School Emma, who, because she didn’t appreciate Jack Gilbert, clearly had lost her mind. Continue reading »

A manifesto of sorts / A teacher's education / aesthetic theory / appearances / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / Bizarre associations and other odd tendencies / disappearances / drafts / Emma's Awkward Adolescence / Emma's Adventures in Over-Analyzing / Emma's attempts at normal life / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / family / fashion / Fear and how to face it / Free to Be You and Me / hopes and dreams / housekeeping / How Emily Dickinson changed (saved?) my life / Huffy Henry hid the day away / I really did go to a school called Our Lady of Sorrows / inspiration / learning patience slowly / mullings and ramblings / muumuus / nonappearances / On being a poet / overthinking / perfection is boring. period. / Perspiration? Inspiration? / Photography / pictorial representations / poetry / poets / Probably quite a bit TMI / rambling about verb tenses / random musings / ranting and raving / shallow thoughts on shoes and the like / The grind / the poem factory / The siege in the room / thought for the day / training / visual representations / writing life / writing room / You better work

I’m a Poet, But I Sure Don’t Know It.

In which Emma explains why she isn’t a poet and why she has a particular attachment to hideous house-dresses. Continue reading »

A manifesto of sorts / A teacher's education / accidental confessions / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / Bizarre associations and other odd tendencies / bright shining spots in the very much dark / Chchchchanges / cool/not cool / Corrections / creative nonfiction / criticism / Dear Johns from the Po Biz / definitions / disagreeable/agreeable / drafts / DUENDE / Emma hits a wall / Emma is very lucky / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / EPIC FAIL / Epic Fail? EPIC WIN! / EPIC WIN / Errata / evaluations / Even goddesses get insulted / failed or otherwise / Failure Schmailure / False Dichotomies / family / Fear and how to face it / hopes and dreams / How Emily Dickinson changed (saved?) my life / inspiration / IRL Drama Llama / kidney stones / learning / learning patience slowly / Losing courage and other freakouts / mullings and ramblings / My nerves are bad tonight. Yes bad. / nonfiction / NOT COOL. / perfection is boring. period. / Perspiration? Inspiration? / pictorial representations / poems / poetry / Poetry as therapy / Poetry Exercises / poets / Probably quite a bit TMI / publishing / publishing (or not publishing / random musings / re-purposing / Recharging the mental batteries / rejection slippage / revision / Righting Wrongs / The Drama Llama / The evolution of Emma / The Great Kidney Stone Battle Royale of 2012 / The grind / the heft of cathedral tunes / The latest medical anomaly / the poem factory / thought for the day / training / visual representations / What Emma is up to / where are you going where have you been / wonders and apparitions / writing and not writing / Writing Anew / writing life

“She doesn’t want a husband, she wants a wedding.”

In which Emma ditches her dreams of a fancy party at the altar because she realizes they aren’t the point. Continue reading »

2012 / A manifesto of sorts / accidental confessions / aesthetic theory / Amazing discoveries and wondrous visions / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / DUENDE / Emily Dickinson = The Ultimate / Emma is very lucky / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / extended metaphors / failed or otherwise / False Dichotomies / Fear and how to face it / Home / hopes and dreams / How Emily Dickinson changed (saved?) my life / influences / inspiration / Language systems / learning / love poems / mullings and ramblings / music / no words / odd comparisons and awkward metaphors / Perspiration? Inspiration? / poems / poetry / Poetry as therapy / random musings / readings / Shifting metaphors / Thanks and thanks again / The evolution of Emma / The grind / thought for the day / wonders and apparitions / writing life

Before It Breaks

In which Emma talks about poetry and music and being in awe of it all. Continue reading »

A teacher's education / accidental confessions / All-around amazing people / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / bad behavior in public places / Bizarre associations and other odd tendencies / bright shining spots in the very much dark / cartoons / Chantel Acevedo / classroom / controlled burns / creative nonfiction / criticism / Cue the Golden Girls theme song / disagreeable/agreeable / disappearances / drafts / Ear Worms / edumacation / Emma hits a wall / Emma is very lucky / Emma's theories on what makes for A Very Good Poetry Submission / Emma's attempts at normal life / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / EPIC FAIL / Epic Fail? EPIC WIN! / EPIC WIN / Errata / evaluations / failed or otherwise / Failure Schmailure / Fear and how to face it / Fight the power! / Friendship Is Magic / ill omens / influences / inspiration / It is ON 2012 / Knottery / Lana Del Ray / learning / learning patience slowly / Losing courage and other freakouts / Macbeth doth murder sleep / Movin' on / mullings and ramblings / music / My addiction to terrible television / nonfiction / odd comparisons and awkward metaphors / perfection is boring. period. / Perspiration? Inspiration? / plans / poetry / Probably quite a bit TMI / publishing / publishing (or not publishing / random musings / ranting and raving / re-purposing / Recharging the mental batteries / revision / Shifting metaphors / submissions / Tangents that should be entires on their own / teaching / teaching writing / Thanks and thanks again / The evolution of Emma / where are you going where have you been / wonders and apparitions / writing and not writing / writing community / writing life / writing teachers / You gotta have friends

Koopa Troopin’

In which Emma develops a metaphor out of the original Super Mario Brothers game. Continue reading »

2012 / accidental confessions / Art and life and love and The Big Stuff / contemporary poetry / cool/not cool / Dad / e.e.athon / Emma's Awkward Adolescence / Emma's dsyfunctional relationship with Diet Coke / Emma's theories on what makes for Very Good Poetry / family / housekeeping / Lana Del Ray / My meowing roommates / poems / poetry / poets / Queens of Poetry / reading / readings / Thanks and thanks again / The evolution of Emma / thought for the day / writing life

“I am just passing through”

In which Emma celebrates the life of Wislawa Szymborska. Continue reading »