cecil vortex

Dreamful swimming, it's the first

2009-06-06T08:27:59-08:00

wriggle of morning thought. Something to hold on to. To pull him out. Sharp. He bites-- Hold on! Hold on! Tight jaw, reeling in, line stretching, water shake. There's a bend and a swing. with the whole scene swirling past too fast then he's flopped over and down onto the plankety board bottom of the shiver boat. Standing above himself now. Wide awake. Cold....

Plug-ness: Poetry Reading, This Thursday

2009-06-02T08:52:59-08:00

I'll be reading a few poems this Thursday night at the West's Oldest Independent Bookseller (aka, Books Inc, Alameda) at 7:30 pm along with Jannie Dresser, Julia Park Tracey, and some guy named Don. I'm not sure whether we'll be reading in sequence or simultaneously, but that's the drama, right? Bay Area folks, of course we'd love to see ya there....

I don't know why

2009-05-31T13:37:26-08:00

everyone wants me to ashamed of my relationship with kale. Maybe it's because it's considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms? People need to get over that....

An about-creativity.com interview with National Novel Writing Month's Chris Baty

2009-05-25T20:02:26-08:00

Now that we've moved the creativity interviews over to about-creativity.com, my plan is to post brief excerpts here, both to share favorite bits, and to let folks know when new interviews go live. The most recent interview was with Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month, an extraordinary site, community, and annual event that exhorts people to write a 50,000 word novel over the course of November. Baty's been doing this for years now, and I wanted to find out what he's learned from getting hundreds of thousands of people to tackle a creative project of that scale...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 14

2009-05-20T12:28:14-08:00

Congrats, ye mighty 'marching band! It's the final week and this week's page count target is pretty straightforward -- we're racing toward the back cover. When you've finished and posted your closing comment, be sure to drop me a note at "poetry at cecilvortex dot com" with your shipping address to stake your claim on a custom magnet (not actually guaranteed but likely) to pull loose paper toward fridge doors. Big thanks to you all for taking this ride. I'll confess that I get a huge kick out these 'marches, and I hope youse do too. See ya round...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 13

2009-05-13T21:59:22-08:00

...in which I forgo all attempts at pith to focus instead on (1) timely posting! and (2) correct categorizing! I'm still reading, enjoying, trailing behind. Hope to meet you at the finish line, perhaps while you're all packing up your cars and/or napping under trees..... Next Wednesday: Let's catch up for at the end of Book Twelve, Chapter 8, along with the "indisputable one!" (which is to say: please use this thread for comments on pages 0-715; aim to finish reading that section and shout out here by end o' day Tuesday)...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 12

2009-05-06T21:25:44-08:00

Welcome to Week 12 and my first best opportunity to make good on last week's pledge to be late- nae-more. Let me also declare general amnesty to anyone who didn't have a chance to comment last week. There was hardly enough time to get the keyboard, and yet somehow, astonishingly, 17 of you did. I think, by the way, this is a Deathmarch record -- I can't recall this many marchers making it this close to the end afore. Speaking of which..... Next Wednesday: Let's meet up at the end of Book Twelve, Chapter 1 (just a little bit...

The Brothers Karamazov, Week 11

2009-05-02T21:26:55-08:00

I had a great day today reading 60 pages, and I'm still 30 pages behind the last target! But I pledge this to ye, my deathmarching pals: You've all been wildly patient with me, even a certain Old Man. From here on out, particularly as we close in on the conclusion, I'll put the good of the many above the few, and most especially the one, which means posting on Wednesday, whether I'm with the pack or miles behind. As regards the text, I'm in the happy-reader camp -- really enjoyed Dmitri's inquisition, all the lovely spins and dips...

The Brothers Karamazov, Week 10

2009-04-23T20:36:36-08:00

4/30 Update: I'm extra special behind this week but will post tomorrow. For those saying, "what the what?", between you and me, the next target is: Book XI, Chapter 6..... And just like that, it's Week 10! I'm still reading, having a great time with the book, but I can't say I've caught up. In my world, Dmitri just had a glorious extended freakout involving angry Poles and blood and money and at least one moment of delirium, and then the roof caved in. I can see now what everyone's been talking about in the comments. It does feel...

A Whole New About-Creativity.com (Don't You Dare Close Your Eyes)

2009-04-21T08:17:27-08:00

I'm delighted to share the news that the "Conversations about Creativity" interviews on this site have moved over to their entirely new digs at about-creativity.com. A post on the about-creativity.com blog gives a tour of the major changes we've made, but the quick version is: (1) interviews are now organized and presented in a way that should be much easier to browse through -- content burbles up, I say, literally burbles up through vents and other hot spots! (2) We've created a couple of all-new areas where you can let folks know what you're working on and share what...

My One-Word Review of Greg Mottola's "Adventureland"

2009-04-20T08:04:53-08:00

Gentle....

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 9

2009-04-16T20:32:38-08:00

Welcome to Week 9, in which I'm late again, the gap-doth-inflate again, I'm a need-to-be-reading-more 'march mate, again. Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered, I've fallen behind! I'm in a great part of the book tho -- still marveling at the fact that she's an onion. Lovely story, that. Just think of me as the voice from your not-so-distant past, cheerfully turning pages on the dusty path ye've already trod. Don't wait for me though. Charge on! Charge on! And here's hoping I have that extra productive weekend I need to get back in the thick of the pack..... Next Wednesday:...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 8

2009-04-09T11:43:15-08:00

Welcome to Week 8, my very own week-of-DM-shame, as the days have slipped past and now I'm suddenly a week behind. I blame the Cannonball Run references from a few weeks back, which inspired me to go on a 750-mile trek throwing my DM schedule into mad array! But don't wait for me. March on! March on! I'll aim to catch up with ya before the next bend. Next Wednesday: Let's Gumball Rally our way to the end of Part III, Book Nine, Chapter 2, "after a long but, I believe, necessary explanation." (which is to say: please...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 7

2009-04-01T20:56:31-08:00

Welcome to Week 7! From a sort of outrageous 70 or 80 marchers, we're now down closer to a still impressive as hell ~30. Another fun and thoughtful batch of comments this past week. I was particularly gratefully to Cookie for catching this (as So-Called-Bill pointed out) impossibly timely line: "We are assured that the world is becoming more and more united, is being formed into brotherly communion, by the shortening of distances, by the transmitting of thoughts through the air. Alas, do not believe in such a union of people." I'm not sure how I missed that...

The Brothers Karamazov Deathmarch, Week 6

2009-03-25T22:11:04-08:00

Welcome to Week 6, and let me just say: yikes. I'm talking to you, pages 246-264 in the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. There are brains made to absorb an endless prose description of a religious poem about faith and free will (and aftermath chit-chat) like the one we experienced this past week. Some of those brains are among us, as evidenced by this week's excellent comments section. But I'll confess, I have that other kind of brain. To me it all sounded like the same three sentences over and over and over again. And I say: here's to...