Author: coffeehousejunkie

When books find you and do not let go

Other than “To an Athlete Dying Young,” my familiarity with A. E. Housman is very limited. But serendipitously a published lecture of his found me and I have been deeply reading it for a couple of months now. The lecture is titled The Name and Nature of Poetry.

In contrast, another book found me in late August. It is Finding the Islands by W. S. Merwin. This too have I read deeply for the last few months (and I dare not confess how much my library fine is to date).

These authors speak to be in a manner that few contemporary writers do. Modern readers consume modern fiction and poetry, but modern literary works seem less and less able to engage me. I feel — at times — as if I am drifting backwards in time as my years advance.

Help select Advent poems

A few years ago I posted a question: Why is it so difficult to find well-written Advent poems? There was little to no response to that post.

Undeterred, I collected a few poems that are good examples of poems of the Advent and posted either web links to the poems or the poems themselves.

Each year, around mid-October the traffic to those Advent poem posts increases dramatically. By the end of the calendar year they are in the most visited posts on this blog.

This year I am considering an audio podcast production featuring readings of selected poems. Here is where I could use your help:

  1. If you have a few minutes please take a look at a list of twelve Advent poems and let me know which is your favorite. Or if you have an Advent poem that is not listed please send me a web link or the poem for consideration.
  2. If you are or know of a musician who would like to contribute to the audio podcast, please contact me. Specifically, I am looking for instrumental compositions.

Thanks for your support. I look forward to your feedback.

 

NaNoWriMo: Why November Is the Best Month to Write

“I’d recommend aiming for 30k-50k. . . . So it’s up to you, depending on  how much time you’ve got, how fast you type, . . .

via NaNoWriMo: Why November Is the Best Month to Write.

Personal

After reviewing the near final edit, my wife commented, “That is your most personal podcast yet.”

 

Now I am really nervous. I look forward to learning your response to the upcoming audio podcast. It delivers tomorrow. Here’s an extended teaser:

What would you tell someone if they told you that your internet behavior was categorically a mental disorder? How much time do you spend on Facebook? These and other confessions make up the content of the next Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast. 

 

Excited. Nervous.

Putting final touches on the upcoming Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast.

The podcast is exciting, to me anyway, because it explores a topic that interests many — social media. As a teaser, here’s a question: would your internet behavior be considered a mental illness?

The podcast makes me nervous because it is part confession.

For readers of this blog, it will be available before the weekend.

Ready to Write a Novel?

Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month 2014?

What encouraged/inspired you to join the many people who plan to write a 50,000-word rough draft in the 30 days?

Quote: the journey is your narrative

“The process of writing . . . is . . . a journey by boat. . . . If you get distracted or allow yourself to drift, you will never make it to the destination. . . . The journey is your narrative.”

—Walter Mosley

Is free is expensive & how much would you pay for a good story?

Ever feel like you are asked to do the work of three people? Ever feel that most of your day is spent reading emails and sitting in meaningless meetings?

I am not sure I have answers for these questions, but it got me thinking about a couple articles I have read. One explores the shrinking size of the original content creators — i.e. newsrooms. The other touches on the devaluation of work hours.

  1. How Technology Can Help Work/Life Balance: http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-technology-can-help-work-life-balance-1414382688
  2. Why Free is Very Expensive: http://www.forbes.com/2011/06/10/forbes-india-why-free-is-very-expensive.html

Years ago, I worked for a news organization. After a meeting, the publisher told me that opinions are cheap to publish because it does not require the writer to do anything but write. But a good story is hard work and costs the company a lot of money to put boots on the ground, staff to interview and research a subject, photograph and edit lead stories. The quality of the content that goes into a lead story suffers when an organization is understaffed. Further, the consumers of the content receive sub-quality work. Is the fault with the consumer that wants free online content? Or the content creator that is unable to provide high-quality work on a limited budget that consumers will actually purchase?

How much would you pay for a good story?

Two rules to writing thank you notes

1. The note must be handwritten with a fountain pen.
2. The note must be on off-white, cream stationary or card.

I will elaborate more on the matter in an upcoming podcast.

The ancient Celts distinguished the poet…

“The ancient Celts… distinguished the poet, who was originally a priest and judge as well and whose person was sacrosanct, from the mere gleeman. He was in Irish called fili, a seer, which is Welsh derwydd, or oak-seer, which is the probable derivation of Druid. Even kings came under his moral tutelage.”

–Robert Graves

Question: Is it wrong…

Is it wrong to want my writings to be published in Vanity Fair? To mark a new century of publication, Vanity Fair needs new writers. Right?

Solitude and leadership and you

Being a leader does not always mean your job title is CEO or office manager or creative director. Leading from within is as affective if not more than leading from the top of the corporate structure. Based on William Deresiewicz’s essay/lecture (which I quoted portions of back in April, but for a refresher, read the article here: Solitude and Leadership), how would you apply some of the principles he suggests in “Solitude and Leadership”?

Maybe your work life is something like this. You have a full, eight-hour day work load of project management tasks (that you are trying to squeeze into ten hours), production items and internal and external clients to assist. Shortly after you sit down at your desk and take a sip of coffee, your email inbox audibly notifies you of an email from your supervisor. You do not respond to the email immediately because you are processing files from yesterday for today’s activities. These are files the supervisor needs by 10 a.m. That allows you one hour to complete the task. Within a few minutes you receive a Skype message from the supervisor asking if you saw the email. When you do not reply to the Skype message immediately, you receive a text message on my personal mobile device asking if you saw the Skype message about the email. Does this sound familiar? How do you handle such distraction and meet your supervisors requests and requirements?

This may be a mundane example, but it is more accessible to most readers than that of a Wall Street broker. So, how would you apply some of the principles Deresiewicz suggests in “Solitude and Leadership”?

Pageantry of vanity

It sort of overturns my apple cart when a script for an upcoming podcast — that I have worked on for months — seems to be summed up in under four minutes . . . on Youtube . . .

Are you part of the one percent?

Is the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator an accurate assessment of your personality type? Or just an extension of Jung’s four main archetypes?

Have you completed one of those online personality tests to determine your career path?

Here’s Memorado’s personality type: link.

What is your personality type? And how has this helped your career? Life?

Quote: Most people believe that technology is a staunch friend

“. . . most people believe that technology is a staunch friend. There are two reasons for this. First, technology is a friend. It makes life easier, cleaner, and longer. Can anyone ask more of a friend? Second, because of its lengthy, intimate, and inevitable relationship with culture, technology does not invite a close examination of its own consequences. It is the kind of friend that asks for trust and obedience, which most people are inclined to give because its gifts are truly bountiful. But, of course, there is a dark side to this friend. Its gifts are not without a heavy cost.”

–Neil Postman

Confessions : 10

01. It has been many winters since my last confession.

02. Yesterday, I jogged three miles west of the village.

03. In the rain. And wind.

04. A woman stopped her SUV along the road to ask if I needed a ride. I thanked her and declined.

05. I am reading a volume of poetry by Robert Lowell for the first time.

06. And also reading Lamentations.

07. Last week, the faithful MacBook Pro of seven years — named Hagar — nose-dived into hard drive oblivion.

08. Nearly seven days without a laptop and connection to the internet.

09. Hagar’s replacement arrived. Now connected to the matrix.

10. Somehow, I miss those days of non-digital, non-internet existence.

Previous confessions: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

“Technology is a branch of moral philosophy”

“Whether or not it draws on new scientific research, technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science.”

–Paul Goodman, “Can Technology Be Humane?” The New York Review of Books, November 20, 1969

Quote: Simone Weil

“Distance is the soul of beauty.”

–Simone Weil

Photos from last weekend’s Racine and Kenosha Authors Book Fair

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Kelsey Harris reading her poem “Pinkest Thoughts.”

 

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Dan Nielsen reading is (in)famous five-liners.

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Nick Demske reading from his celebrated book Nick Demske.

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Marcia Eanes reading from Passion’s Zest.

 

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Kelsey Hoff reading from her recently published Sad Girls Poems.

 

Sunday paper, book fair and other notes

For those of you following my Sunday search for a copy of the New York Times in a fly over state, I finally found a copy last weekend. And I enjoyed reading it Sunday afternoon and evening. There is something about flipping through the printed pages of the weekend edition of a newspaper that is a luxurious activity.

Other notes of interest:

  • Last weekend was the Racine & Kenosha Authors Book Fair. Photos of the event will be posted here later this week.
  • The production and editing of the upcoming audio podcast is almost complete. It is running a bit long for this episode. So, I may cut one segment to fit the desired time slot of 20 to 25 minutes. What am I going to do with the extra segment? Suggestions?
  • On that note, Nick Demske — who curates the BONK! performance series in Racine — suggested contacting a few of the musicians and singer/songwriters to feature on upcoming audio podcasts. I am very excited to announce that two musicians — who performed at BONK! performances — have provided permission to feature their work on future episodes of the Coffeehouse Junkie audio podcast.

That is all for now, friends!

If you are interested, here are a few things said elsewhere:
[1] I really should not be allowed on social media. It no doubt alters and disrupts neural pathways.
[2] One feature I like about the @Kenosha_News paper is the Off the Shelves section. Kenosha Public Library staff feature authors & books.
[3] According to @WSJ (pg D2), corduroy is back in fashion. Yay! Since @goodwill is where I shop, my wardrobe is finally in style. I haven’t been this excited since the 90s… when grunge rockers brought flannel to the mainstream…

Banned Book Week

Something is missing. If you haven’t already noticed, Banned Book Week 2014 is celebrated September 21 to September 27.

Powell’s Books presented a catalog of banned books to purchase. CNN reported the top 10 books banned in 2013. The Huffington Post features a great infographic on banned books in America.

But one book, banned in 52 countries, is not listed in the Banned Book Week stories. Banned from Banned Book Week?

Autumn bee in a cafe

“There are not enough bees on the planet,” he tells his daughter as he captures a bee in a disposable cup from the coffee shop. He has gray hair and wears camouflage fatigue pants and an white maintenance and management crew t-shirt. He releases the bee outside the cafe and returns to get his coffee and sit with his daughter.

Google reports that it is the first day of autumn. Technically, Google is correct. It is the first day. Though my calendar says the first day of autumn was yesterday. At 10 p.m.

Ever feel like a bee bouncing around the inside of a cafe trying to make sense of this strangely confusing world?

Quote: “Two attributes of a poet…”

“Two attributes of a poet, avidity of the eye and the desire to describe that which he sees.”

–Czeslaw Milosz