POEM: “The Great Pause”

Photo by Daniel Frank on Pexels.com

 

“The Great Pause”

 

our world holds its breath

as Mother Nature exhales

 

sighs of relief recede

clouds of carbon dioxide

from towering cityscapes

over brilliant barren avenues

satellite images clear like

a slate wiped suddenly clean

wildlife boldly ventures out

exploring storefront windows

from sunlit asphalt lanes

goats nibble untamed hedges

wolves play in lush backyards

occupy empty park benches

pink flamingos stroll across

pristine snow-white beaches

stags sport oak and maple racks

high and wide as their forest homes

mounting marble cathedral steps

beneath brilliant sun stained glass

as grey-skinned dolphins swim

unmolested in blue-green waters

 

while for once we are the ones

trapped behind translucent glass

looking out at the world

from inside

 

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Since we are midway through National Poetry Month, I thought I’d take a moment to review. As you know, all in-person poetry events have been cancelled or postponed due to the current pandemic, but the poetry community has come together in other ways. I was honored to have my poem, “Poet,” featured on April 5th for Cuyahoga County Public Library’s Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry!

April 23rd is Shakespeare’s birthday, so be sure to honor the Bard by reading a book, watching a play (online), or sharing poetry! I’ve linked a few free resources, in case you don’t know where to start, and many libraries offer free online materials as well through their own websites, as well as apps like Hoopla and Overdrive. Local theatres are struggling now (for obvious reasons), so you could make a donation to your local playhouse or attend a local online event (like Ohio Shakespeare Festival). You could also do some silly celebrations, such as Talk-Like-Shakespeare Day!

Also, since this blog is mostly poetry, you may not be aware that I’ve written quite a bit of prose over the years, mostly flash fiction. Lately I have been featuring a weekly free flash fiction post and podcast on my Patreon. This is my way of providing some free reading material for people currently stuck at home, as well as generating excitement for my upcoming book, An Optimist’s Journal of the End of Days and Other Stories!

I hope you enjoyed my poem! Remember, if you are quarantined at home, you are helping to save lives. If you need to venture out to work to keep everyone else going during these difficult times, thank you. Your efforts are appreciated, and my heart goes out to you all.

Take solace in the good things, and try to get through the bad. Stay safe, stay well, and read often!

 

POEM: “Social Distancing”

Photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

 

“Social Distancing“

 

Socially distant, virtually inseparable

the links between us:

 

the ways we touch others,

not warm fingers interlaced

but swept across cool keyboards,

 

music shared across balconies,

tasting notes like a crisp wind

crossing borders and boundaries,

not the comforting embrace

 

but the smiling face miles away,

countries or continents or 

six full feet apart

 

so long as we’re not six feet under

we can bridge any distance.

smoothly typed texts, raised

voices spanning gaps, our words

 

heard by ears, read by wide eyes,

felt by drumming heartbeats:

emotion’s rising tide.

 

in this new world of isolation,

We all pull together.

 

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April is National Poetry Month, and although many poetry and writing events have been cancelled due to the current world crisis, we have also come together in other ways through technology. Many open mics, book launches, and other meetups have switched to virtual venues, and people are searching for new ways to come together, support each other, and consume art. 

 

So in the spirit of this unity, I’d love to share some online venues to help get through these trying times. My favorite poetry magazine, Rattle, has a podcast and a virtual open mic called Rattlecast that meets/posts weekly. The FaceBook group for Latitudes Poetry Night has switched from monthly (in person) meetups to weekly Wednesday night (online) Open Mics as a way to support others during quarantine. Different libraries have switched to online meetups for book clubs such as Barberton Library’s monthly Hooks and Books. 

 

There are also free downloadable ebooks from ManyBooks.Net, Project Gutenberg, and (for audiobooks) Librivox. And, last but not least, many libraries have online resources as well for checkouts–as well as other events. My favorite of these is the annual Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry via Cuyahoga County Public Library; just sign up on the site for April emails with poems from Ohio poets as well as writing prompts.

 

This year, on April 5th, one of my poems from Soul Picked Clean will be the featured poem for Read + Write. I’m so honored to be part of this event and beyond thrilled!

 

So, I hope you enjoyed my poem! If you can, I urge you to take advantage of some of these online resources. If you are quarantined at home, you are helping to save lives. If you need to venture out to work to keep everyone else going during these difficult times, thank you. Your efforts are appreciated, and my heart goes out to you all. 

 

Take solace in the good things, and try to get through the bad. Stay safe, stay well, and read often!

2020-03-30: Virtual Poetry Reading for Soul Picked Clean by Cat Russell!

Today is the one year anniversary of the Book Launch for my first published book, my poetry collection, Soul Picked Clean.

Since an in-person event is obviously not possible now, I wanted to celebrate online! I read a few of my poems, explain the thoughts behind them, and talk about how to keep in touch online. Enjoy!

If you would like to attend my FaceBook LIVE Book Birthday Party tonight, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/rhmzktp

 

PODCAST LINK: https://authorcatrussell.podbean.com/mf/play/53ujkf/2020_03_30PoetryReading-SPC-CatRussell.mp3

*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons License.

CURRENT EVENTS: New Year’s and the New (and Past) Decade!

In honor of the decade’s end, as well as the new year, I’m posting my reflections on the past ten years as well as my resolutions for the next year. I’m obviously thankful for a loving family that I’m proud of, so this post is going to concentrate on professional accomplishments and goals.

2010-2019 REFLECTIONS:

I started submitting short fiction ten years ago, and my first publication credit appeared in Flash Me online magazine July of 2010, followed by my first print credit, the anthology The Best of Friday Flash: Volume One, and later The Best of Friday Flash: Volume Two. Over the years, I improved as a writer by participating weekly in Friday Flash and other online challenges like 52/250 A Year of Flash.

I’ve also blogged consistently and completed several rough draft novels via Nanowrimo. One of the novels, Pinholes, I edited over the course of a year into a serial, then revised into a single document and began subbing to different publishers. About four years ago, I began concentrating on poetry more than short fiction and sold a few poems to online publications. In 2017, I was honored to be invited as a guest author and speaker at the Massillon Library’s Local Author Fair; I was surprised, because I didn’t actually have a book, but they asked me as a blogger. That was my first scheduled public reading.

A couple years ago, I was finally able to attend writing events on a regular basis, so I’ve gone to writing cons and workshops ever since. Every month I go to Latitudes Poetry Night and The Write Stuff Writers’ Group. At Latitudes, I started participating in their open mic, because I planned to self-publish and hoped it would help me get over my stage fright.

A friend convinced me to try submitting to a press before I self-published. As a result, in March 2019, my first book, Soul Picked Clean, was published by Crisis Chronicles Press! At my book launch on March 30th, I gave my first scheduled reading as a published author. I spent the rest of the year promoting my book, scheduling reading events, and working on my next two books as well as my blog. I also began my Patreon page, renewed my podcast, My Writing Niche, and starting volunteering more of my time to help the writing community in general.

I’ve been lucky enough to live in northeast Ohio, a place blessed with two of the best library systems in the country–Cuyahoga County Library and Cleveland Library. And last, but certainly not least, I’ve been fortunate enough to know many lovely and creative people who inspire me both professionally and personally. This decade, and especially this past year, have been incredible. I’ll never forget it.

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Next, I’ll share my New Year’s Resolutions with you; the point of this is twofold. One reason is to set them down so I’ll see them as something solid to work toward, and the second is to publicly declare them so I’ll pressure myself to complete them. If I make a big deal about them online, I’ll be too embarrassed to not do them (or at least work heavily towards them)!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:

1. Submit my short story collection to a publisher.
2. Submit another poetry collection to a publisher.
3. Publish my short story collection.
4. Publish my poetry collection.
5. Market and promote my work.
6. Volunteer more.
7. Do things that frighten me.

This may seem like a long list–most people have one or two resolutions, but they are mostly variations of the same thing. Namely, I want to continue to get my work out there, put myself out there, and not let fear keep me from opportunities. Maybe admitting to that fear isn’t a good idea, maybe articulating it gives it power, but I don’t think so. I know I’m not the only person who gets scared of new things and new experiences, but if the past year–no, the past decade has taught me anything, it’s that facing my fears has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I want to continue to grow, both as a person and a writer.

If you’ve read this far, I know this is much different than my usual poetry posts. I don’t know if sharing this helps you at all, but I hope it does. I know it helps me to read about other people’s experiences. If you would like to share your resolutions or have any polite feedback, I’d love to hear it! Thank you for visiting my blog, and I wish you the very best for the next year–and decade!

Happy New Year!

 

 
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons License

POEM: “Bread and Circuses”

“Bread and Circuses”

Today Washingtonian elephants Trumpet

away to the tweet tweet of distraction

for days on end while blue jackasses bray

away abuse, abused and abusing

the general multitude.

 

Meanwhile, the Ringmaster serves as clown supreme

serving double purpose: distracts us all

from our bread-full bellies as he erodes

our way of life, keeps us laughing

so we don’t notice

the price we paid to get here.

 

the price we still pay.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. If you would like to read more of my work, I’ll be posting fiction, non fiction, product reviews, and other goodies at my new Patreon in addition to this blog’s content. Until next time, have a lovely week!

 

*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.

 

Announcement: My New Patreon Page!

Patreon is a subscription site where creators provide content for a monthly subscription fee. It’s a modern low-key version of the patronage system that allowed Shakespeare and Michelangelo to do their work. Basically, it’s an opportunity to support someone whose work you enjoy, without needing to commit an exorbitant amount of money. Now, for the cost of a cup of tea (or less), you can support a creator, as well as enjoy additional members-only content available through her Patreon page.

I will continue my normal posts to this blog, once every other Friday, but now I will provide additional posts and monthly audio or visual content for Patreon subscribers. The details are on my Patreon page, as well as my introductory video. Please, check it out! Even if you don’t subscribe, I’m proud of the work I’ve put into the page and excited about my new projects!

Please, come back next week for another new poem. Thank you for visiting my blog, and have a lovely week!

POEM: “Trump’s Greenland”

“Trump’s Greenland”

 

Trump’s Greenland

wouldn’t be dwarfed

by a golden Trump tower’s

glittering phallus

not compensating for anything at all.

 

Trump’s Greenland

would be a dream

capitalist utopia

except that everyone

would know he’s the best, they all would love him, all!

 

if only Greenland was Denmark’s to sell,

he could trade Puerto Rico for it.

 

 

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Since this is more specifically political than I normally post, here is my common sense disclaimer: This is a joke, based on the President’s own tweets and words. One of his tweets that I based this joke on was a joke tweet he made about Greenland. The others were apparently completely serious. I’ve also included links, because I realize it’s hard to believe.

This post is in addition to my scheduled Friday post this week, because I frankly couldn’t resist. I hope you enjoyed the poem and come back tomorrow for my normally scheduled post: same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.

**additional source links

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/greenland-isnt-denmarks-to-sell-some-essential-reading-for-trump-on-colonialism-122193

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-once-joked-trading-puerto-rico-greenland-1455689

https://www.ft.com/content/da9e8170-c3fe-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9

https://theweek.com/speedreads/860462/trump-reportedly-joked-about-trading-puerto-rico-greenland