ALL IS QUIET ON NEW YEAR'S DAY...You know that old saying about what you're doing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve will influence the rest of that year? Well, if that's the case, I'll be with a bunch of drunken lesbians playing Guitar Hero on PlayStation 2.

The last couple of days have been quiet, yet very busy...I'll get into that in a minute. Last night, I went to the special New Year's Eve Java Monkey Speaks, and I'm very glad I did. It was like when I first started going with many of the regulars on hand. Since there was no feature, we did a round-robin and everyone who signed up got to read two poems. It was rainy and unseasonably warm, so pretty comfortable on the patio.

After the reading, I was going to meet up with Mal, but she was delayed at a dinner party, so I wound up over at Tina's house where Guitar Hero was in full swing. I'd never played, but I tried it a few times (my best was I Wanna Be Sedated...go figure). The drunken lesbians were fun, so it was a nice evening. I also got to test drive an iPod nano and now I simply must have one.

Okay, so the part about being busy: for the last three days I've been deep into the sequencing process of the new poetry collection. The previously posted idea of having the collection hinge on cinema fell by the way side pretty quickly. Ah, well... The collection started at about 79 pages (way too big) and after a marathon session of shuffling and reshuffling, was whittled down to 57 (just right). I was sitting on the floor in my office space with poems spread out across the floor, moving stacks, grouping thematic work, dividing into sections. Any poet who's put a book together knows what a challenge this is and how frustrating it can be.

The coming weeks will mean additional shuffling and revision on some of the poems. I'd say nearly 70 percent of the collection is new work, and I had to be open minded about jettisoning previously published to make this book hang together. And yes, the book now has a title, but I'm not ready to reveal it yet. I will say it's one word with many meanings.

Keep this in mind, too...

3,000 American troops dead in Iraq for no good reason; anywhere from 25,000 to more than 50,000 Iraqi civilians dead since the start of the "war."


Comments

Jennifer said…
Collin, That one word better be Hanky...
Anne Haines said…
A bunch of drunken lesbians playing Guitar Hero, huh? Sounds like an excellent evening to me! :) Happy New Year to you, and good luck with the new collection...
Rupert said…
yes, it felt like Java family last night - and I loved your "jr high" poem, new stuff w a killer last line always rocks
Anonymous said…
i've been waiting for your take on "the painted veil!" i recognized your voice (saying "oy vey") as i was on the way to my seat at the tara, but didn't get to say hi afterwards. i thought it was damn solid. happy new year!
Collin Kelley said…
Barbara, that must have been my twin because I haven't see "The Painted Veil" or been to the Tara. The only film I saw over the weekend was "Volver." I saw the preview for "The Painted Veil" and I do want to see it. I love Naomi Watts.
Anonymous said…
oops -- it must have been "volver!" i saw 5 movies over the holidays... it's kind of a blur. anyway, i highly recommend "the painted veil."
Collin Kelley said…
Did you like "Volver?" You are a trooper, B. I have become so impatient with the noise and prices at the cinema that I've been waiting for the movies to come out on Netflix.
Unknown said…
I love drunken lesbians.

Awesome news on the new collection. How exciting. Can't wait to read it.
Anonymous said…
i agree with your take on "volver" -- i really was moved by some of it, but it was no "all about my mother," which is just amazing. i don't really enjoy watching movies at home, so i just try to avoid the multiplex scene and stick with matinees, where people are usually pretty well-behaved.
Good to hear about the new collection Collin.

Popular Posts