Poet Self-Love

Saturday evening, Bryan and I went to a get together with the Lucipo gang. We had a lot of fun, got to get to know the local poets a bit better, and and got to see Ken and Kathryn's beautiful house in Pittsboro.

I took more than a few ideas away from the night. One is that UPenn does have an excellent sound site with a load of poetry to download and hear from the poets themselves. Tony Tost had emailed the Lucipos a linke, but I hadn't gone there yet. I spoke to him that night and he talked it up some more; so yesterday, I ended up downloading some Linh Dinh and Stacy Doris.

Another thing I took away from Saturday night is that I'm still a good poet. :) I guess it is kind of difficult writing by myself out here. Or, it has been difficult since grad school. When I'm not doing readings regularly, I think it's hard to remember that I can write poetry well and it's not just some fantasy I've been making up in my head all of these years. He he he. The Lucipos seemed quite moved by my work and I found that very encouraging. The last time I said I was going to Borders to write, I didn't, but today I am going to go out for sure.

The truth is that I should trust my writing group more. I have to remember that one time that made me feel so wonderful. It was about 6 months ago when I brought a new poem to my writing group with Sharon and Amber when I was so taken by what Sharon said. Although I can't remember her exact words, I do remember that she basically said that the poem completely sucked, was a big cliche, and that she couldn't believe I wrote it. He he he. I was so relieved. Suddenly, I thought, they really are telling me the truth when they critique my work. They really will tell me if they think one of my poems is horrible; so, I've got to believe them when they tell me one of my poems is wonderful. I know I shouldn't have doubted them in the first place, but it's always a struggle to really believe in myself.

I still love the poem, though.

On order: Equivalence and Unnecessary Roughness, by Shin Yu Pai. I'm mailing in my order for the first one today and have ordered the other over the internet. I am so excited!

And now for...
My American Idol Picks:
So, I didn't get to see Nikko Smith, because we took too long at the Winn-Dixie last night. From the recap, it seemed like he sounded great. His mustache really bothers me though. It makes him look like a slime.

Anwar Robinson was the best last night. He sang so well and stood out among the others.
Bo Bice: I didn't like the song he sang or the style, but I thought he sung it so well and with such spirit. I think he really knows what he does best and how to show it.
Honorable Mention: Joseph Murena has such great control over his voice. I think he really stood out last night, too.

Anti-picks:
Travis Tucker looked like too much of a player last night. Bryan and I both think that too many people told him he was hot. He was totally flat--probably too consumed with his "dance" moves. I think the judges were lying.
Constatine looked like a wannabe rocker. It was sad to watch. He was trying to do screechy rocker screams, and they just sounded like cars crashing. The hair just will not cut it this time.