(Having just taught Baudelaire on Thursday, I had to give this a title from Fleurs du mal. Though his work is often gruesome and certainly not the kind of thing you want to put in a Valentine’s day card, I’ve always loved Baudelaire, and continue to love him more each time I read/teach him.)

Apologies for the brief blog drought. The semester is spinning into gear, here, with accompanying papers to grade and exams to write, not to mention lesson plans for Wordsworth, Coleridge, and the aforementioned Mr. Baudelaire. My students did a wonderful job with “Kubla Khan,” which can be a difficult sell — I’m very proud of them. Then, there was the Art of Writing program on Friday afternoon. We talked about personification, and the students wrote some beautiful poems personifying abstractions. And, best of all, my fabulous, forever fashionable, and frankly fantastic friend R. came down for a visit. I spent most of the weekend feeling incredibly thankful for her, and for the wonderful group of friends I’ve found here.

I have some good news to share: I’ll be taking part in the Alabama Book Festival in Montgomery on Saturday, April 19th. It promises to be an amazing event — Dan Albergotti, Rick Bragg, Kate Gale, Natasha Trethewey, and Jake Adam York will be there as well — I am beyond excited to see their readings.

Also, my second chapbook, The Mariner’s Wife, is now on sale! You can find it at Finishing Line Press’ website. It ships on May 16th, but, if you order it now, you’ll receive free shipping, and possibly some of my leftover Valentine’s Day candy.

R. and I had a conversation in which she said some brilliant things (as usual!) about verb tenses in poetry, and the potential promise in the oft-maligned be verb. An is is an interesting thing, implying presence, permanence. I’ll be contemplating the be for a while, I think, in the midst of grading and grant applications.