Pennsylvania gave us
rest stop kisses,
chicken wings,
and laughs about Victory
pursuing southwest Jewish
boys of Brooklyn.
There were no kisses
on the Ohio Interstate
as toes crossed
snow covered fields,
pushing icicles to
corners of Indiana.
We got a little tipsy
underneath
a patch of stars,
clarity far from
the reach of this city
girl willing to
stick her neck out to
catch a gust of road
in between her lips.
With only a half an hour to spare, I made my way to 61 West Superior Street in Chicago, Illinois right before I was due to leave. Because of the timing of my trip, I couldn't not explore everywhere I wanted to explore. I came to Chicago to visit my future grad school, to see a little of the area and find out more about this wonderful program I've been accepted to (more on that later). But time was not my friend and since I was traveling by wheels, my five days away from New York was really two. Today was not one of them. But I had to make my way to The Poetry Foundation where the iconic Poetry magazine is published. I could not come to nor leave Chicago without visiting this place. One of a few institutions that I follow and worship in this craft, it was like visiting the motherland. If I had to work in an office for a million hours a day, this would be one of the places I would do it (and trust me, I have applied and I'm waiting - perfect for when I move to Chicago). Not too far from places such as The Hard Rock and Rainforest cafes, The Poetry Foundation sits on the corner of West Superior Street. With a pathway that separates the outside world and the entrance, you feel as though you have stepped into a glass house of zen. The first floor is open to the public and contains an exhibit, a reading room where events are held, and a library of poetry books. The second floor and beyond houses the offices of the Foundation. In my brief time there, I spoke to both the receptionist/web intern and the librarian who definitely look happy in their jobs and are lovely ladies. I walked around the first floor and was overwhelmed by the library I could not dive into due to time. I did pick up some Sonia Sanchez books to browse through. For ten mintues, I read Sonia's work in the foundation's beautiful library under a gentle reflection of sunshine. Swoon. The perfect way to start National Poetry Month despite a 30 minute window. But trust me when I say I will be back and here often. Till tomorrow loves, continue to dive into poetry. Check out some pictures below! Hello my lovely readers and poets!
April 1st begins a month I love and know I am going to be absolutely immersed in this time around: National Poetry Month/National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). There are plenty of beautiful events and more importantly, there's the 30/30. The 30/30 is when a poet takes on the challenge of writing 30 poems in 30 days. They are shared on blogs, Facebook, in groups, or kept to themselves. It ends dry spells, pushes limits, breaks open gems, and brings curious readers and poets alike to your work. It's a beautiful thing! I've been participating in the 30/30 since 2009. First couple of years, it was easy and fun. As I continued, it became a challenge to find time and one year, I couldn't complete it. Though I don't think anyone but a few loyal friends really look at my blog during this time, I was disappointed in myself. I got through the challenge last year, but there was so much pressure and I barely remember the thrill of it. It wasn't fun anymore. As it slowly approached this year, I was weighing my options: Do I try again this year, know my time is limited? OR Do I change it up for myself? Let the change begin! Instead of writing 30 poems everyday, I am going to just do something relating to the nature of poetry everyday. I will write. I will read. I will share. I will participate and go to events. Yes, being a poet - poetry is about writing poetry. But poetry is always discovering the poems of others by reading and listening. Poetry is about history of the skin and the reaction to words. It's not just about what the poet can do with their pen. We have to support each other through feedback and sharing everything. So how are we going to start sharing a life of poetry? Check out my next post in a little while! Hello Write Queeners! Sometimes we run into the things we need to hear the most when we least expect it. This evening, I went to a happy hour for the younger crowd of my corporate job. I knew almost no one from the group and quietly observed and listened for most of the evening. As the group got smaller, I did get to hear some pretty awesome stories about how some of them got to the current point of their career, but when it was my turn, I was definitely the odd one out: a writer from a struggling Latino household who has had to sacrifice so much for survival and is barely able to pursue her dreams as she should, working in the insurance industry because they were hiring - not because she planned on being there like most of the people that surrounded her at the moment. While I made new acquaintances, I felt lonelier than I did before I went. Everyone parted ways and before I knew it, I was at home (one of my homes - I switch between my parents depending on who needs me around at the moment while I make some decisions). I went on Facebook like the good ol' social media junkie that I am when I noticed a link that my friend Annette shared. It was the link to the online premiere of a short film called Stereotypically Me. I trust Annette's Facebook shares so I decided to check it. "Stereotypically Me" is a film written, directed, and produced by Linda Nieves Powell. According to the event page, which was brought to audiences by Sofrito Media Group: Lydia, a struggling screenwriter, is pressured to get rid of her stereotypical muse Marisol in order to become a more successful writer. Marisol, a sassy, urban Latina, refuses to change. Lydia must decide whether to embrace her duality or kill the muse. Go ahead and check it out before you read the rest of what I have to say. In this almost ten minute film, Linda shows the world what every writer of any cultural background goes through.
As I fine tune myself as a writer, I find myself contemplating the same sacrifices or break ups. This is something that I relate to not only through ethnic culture, but through genre, age, sex, and medium. We write about what we know, but "successful writers" must go beyond that and write about things that make others feel comfortable in order to get their foot in the door. We have to decompose and detach what is natural to us, even if the story is not true to ourselves to maybe achieve greater success. I have received many rejections. If only they were as blunt as the one in the film because I am constantly wondering what I need to change in order to be successful. Do I move away from what I typically write poems about? Do I change my writing style to match more closely with well-known poets? Do I change my niche for blogging or even my medium for art? Do I disassociate myself from experiences we don't see on paper often? What do I cut out? Who should I be? I am still trying to figure out what to embrace and what to change or if I should change anything at all. Do I get rid of all of my Marisols or do I let my Lydia and Marisol fight the good fight together so I can become a successful writer on my terms and leave the rat race (and avoid disheartening happy hours)? I have a lot to think about. Sigh...you know something is good when it creates a dialogue not only with yourself but with the community at large. Share this video, share your thoughts. Let's tell the world our stories because one day the color of the world will be US! Definitely a Write Recommendation! The event page will be up for the next 90 days here. Hello my lovely readers, I can tell you the story of how I became a writer a million times, but the story I struggle to find the beginning of is my affair with photography. I recently learned that the urge to photograph came from both of my parents, but mostly my mother. While she mainly photographed events of our lives, I found a couple of scene shots among the piles of photographs. That surprised me greatly. Let's look back to the ages of eleven to thirteen, when I began to beg for cameras of my own. First it was the disposable ones. Then I got to use the family camera occasionally. It was a trial to get people to develop my film. Once my parents split, money was tight, so that was a luxury. When it did happen, I was so happy - I stared at my pictures for hours. The things I like to photograph are people, clouds, dusk, and light. I remember one particular picture that started the need to photograph people was one I took in eighth grade of my first love. Looking back, I see that I caught the look that defines one of the stages of his personality. Sometimes I almost miss moments with my own eyes because I am busy capturing a person's essence through the lens. I could be with a person and all I want to do is photograph their every move. That has helped me capture some pretty amazing moments that others often ask me to send them before I get into my door and sit down to look at what I've done. That should say something of my talent (especially since I practice mainly mobile photography now), but honestly, it just makes me happy to snap a shot to hold on to for myself. Maybe it's my obsessive need to preserve the good parts of a person or a moment in life, but tell that to my crew. Now clouds...well come on. They are beautiful. Shape shifting at its finest. What would the sky be without clouds? Other than sheer beauty that I cannot describe, but certainly can capture, the most important thing about clouds is their role with manipulating light. I have been chasing light for as long as I can remember. Light is what makes magic. It may have started way before the camera, during trips to and from the Ponderosa (the restaurant, not the place on Bonanza haha!) when I was a kid. Most of the time, we would be traveling during sunset and we would drive towards this dying light which gave birth to a slew of soft colors twisted around moving clouds. Sunsets/dusk is one of light's greatest productions. It's natural art. To this day, I have to stop to capture this stunning movement whenever I encounter it. But my love of light goes beyond that. It's the way it hits the skin of one's hands. It's the strips of artificial light bouncing off of dark bedroom walls. It's the way shadows and objects play with light's path. With the right lighting, anything can become beautiful, even myself (but that's a whole other story!). I thought I was a weirdo for this love of light until I read The Bridges of Madison County when I was in my early teens. The main male character, Robert Kincaid, was a photographer for National Geographic. Other than his days long affair with Francesca, what I love about the character is his theory of light and photography. What teen-aged girl who was exploring her love for photography wouldn't fall for that description? I know for a while when I was younger, I was secretly looking for my own Robert Kincaid. But while I never found him, I found myself becoming more attached to image than ever before. When I was fifteen, my dad gave me a beautiful SLR Film camera that I could barely function. During harder times in my family, it became an outlet when the pen was too weak. Two years later, during my senior year, I took a photography class where I learned how to develop film in a dark room - messing up tons of film along the way. I spent many afternoons walking around my neighborhood, shyly taking pictures when I saw the right light. I also spent many hours taking pictures of my first love (yes that same one referenced earlier - a whole other story!) during that time as well. My favorite place to take pictures was when I was looking out my bedroom window. Other than the fact that my mom was very overprotective at times (or I was being grounded for shenanigans with boys), I stood home to look out my window to capture the movements of sunset and how light created this mystic image of my South Ozone Park home. Waiting for film to be developed was trying at best. I like being able to see my results instantly, which is why when I got my first digital camera around the age of 18/19, I was in my glory. With a digital camera, I was able to capture a moment and see how well I did in a matter of seconds. My first digital camera was a Polaroid, which was about the size of a Klondike bar. With it, I discovered what we now call selfies, in addition to taking more scene shots. Being a young girl in college with a long distance boyfriend, the art of the selfie was to remind both him and myself that I was beautiful (decent looking at least). With every other semester's generous financial aid check, I managed to grab enough money, before it was handed over to my mother, to buy a better digital camera (mainly Kodak point and shoots, but most recently I have decided to try a Canon). When I was starting to embrace myself as an artist around the age of 19/20, I started to share my photos online via Blogger and MySpace. As I became more conscience of my online presence and built myself a website, I added a photo gallery to my site. It felt like enough until I got my first mobile phone with a camera. That's when life changed. It started with my T-Mobile Sidekick. That little device helped shaped me as an artist as much as learning more about every art medium I dabble in (we'll talk about that later). In terms of photography, being able to shoot and post became an obsession. Throughout the years, with each new phone, came the increase of photos I would take. Now with an iPhone and Instagram, I easily fill up my memory within days. Especially when a sunset is involved. If I am out with loved ones, most are tolerant of having to wait for me as I stand there and take 20 shots of the same thing, each time changing an angle, zooming in and out, using a filter or bearing focus on a certain point of the screen. While I aspire to get a DSLR camera one day, I have made mobile photography my medium. Writing is my number one passion, but photography comes a close second. In addition to taking pictures, I also collect photographs. A folder on my computer (or even my phone) can easily hold 4000 of my own pictures and a 1000 from others. One of my best friends is a photographer and I am in love with his work. Some of the best moments of my life in the past couple of years have been when we are out and about together and we both see the potential of a shot. You can easily find us with the cameras of our choice, taking pictures of almost the same thing. Sometimes, I just like to watch him at work. There's something about a photographer and the way he (or she) holds their camera that is sensual and intriguing. But then again, you're talking to the girl who has been looking for her Robert Kincaid. Or maybe, she has a little of Robert Kincaid in her. A slideshow of random shots throughout the past year. Some are from Instagram and others are unedited shots. Thanks for listening Write Queeners. It's nice to talk about what makes me tick other than writing. Embracing the artist is something we have to do for ourselves every day. I will be posting more stories soon.
Leave a comment or subscribe in the meantime! Digging Deep, Facing Self from Herman + Taf on Vimeo. On a cozy, snowy Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege of gathering with some of the very special women who make up the building legacy of Digging Deep, Facing Self. In between getting to know each other and writing poems together, we came together to let the world know why the experience of taking the Digging Deep, Facing Self course with Caits Meissner is magical.
For me, it was about finding a community of women and writers. It was also a push to consistently write, despite circumstances. If you need more convincing about why you should take this course, just watch the video. Hello My Write Queeners, The first week of December is filled with many poetry treats! First up is a feature on The Body Narratives. In collaboration with The Digging Deep, Facing Self course, The Body Narratives presents a week filled with poetry from incredible women. I was asked to be a part of this wonderful week. I am extremely honored and I am having a mini dance party in my head all day to celebrate my post, which came out today, December 4. In addition to that, I am performing as one of the featured acts for the River of Honey's cabaret showcase on Friday, December 6th. This show happens every first Friday of the month. The theme for their last show of the year is Offerings. This is definitely going to be a new exciting, but scary experience. Come out and support the show if you can! Finally, I have another mini e-book for you...and I mean mini! When You Down A Margarita is a series of haiku (about 24 in total, I think.) about my experience of falling for a woman during college (If you didn't know this about me, now you know. If you got a problem, you know what to do - we don't tolerate any intolerance here!). I previously published this on Smashwords, but now with my Creative Book Builder app, I wanted to give it a little facelift. To download it, head over to my "Store" page. That's it for now my loves. I have a couple of blog posts coming up soon. Be on the look out!
Hello Write Queeners! I want to take you back to way over a year ago. Remember the Late Night Feelings blog? I know you do. It's the Book tab. Remember when I was promoting a sampler called Bitten In The Wake of Dusk: Anticipating Late Night Feelings? Of course you do! I told you to print, fold, and go! Well now, for those that don't have the time or ability to print, fold, and go - I am happy to tell you that it is available as an e-book. Eight delicious morsels you can sample of Late Night Feelings. Ever since downloading Creative Book Builder on my phone, I have been making plans to turn many things into e-book format. They make it so easy! Bitten, made available on Payhip, is free with the option to pay as you wish if you would like to donate to The Write Queen blog. Funds go towards publishing Late Night Feelings, Home Sweet Home, Sweltering Sugar and other projects. Bitten is available in .EPUB and .MOBI format (ie iBooks and Kindle). It is also available in its print, fold, and go PDF via the Late Night Feelings blog. Don't forget to spread the word and if you haven't already, subscribe to the blog! Hello Write Queeners! Yes, you are reading it right. An e-book! In a decision to self-publish my work, I decided to start with a little experiment titled Beloved. The reason I call Beloved a mobile e-book is because everything was written on my phone AND the e-book was created on an app via my iPhone. The app is called Creative Book Builder by Tiger Ng, who not only has this wonderful little app, but a few more that help you create interactive e-books on the go! I do promise that you will get a review of these apps within the week. Beloved is an e-chapbook of poems and musings about opening, swimming through, and drowning in floodgates. This is a mobile e-book creation and experience that was complied between the condensation of Summer and the chill of Fall. It's FREE for a short period of time (or indefinitely...still deciding!). You can also pay-as-you-wish, where the funds would be used to put out Late Night Feelings, Home Sweet Home, Sweltering Sugar and other projects. Beloved is available in .EPUB and .MOBI formats (i.e. iBooks and Kindle) and a special edition web app for the iPhone and iPad. Be on the look out for a post on the Late Night Feelings blog about the process of creating Beloved. Don't you just love the cover? The photo I used for the cover is by my wonderfully talented best friend and business partner, Alshawn Rushing. He is the Head of Photography and co-founder of EAT Media. If you want to use his awesome skills, head over to EAT Media's website or check him out on his website NerosisMuse Photography. Look out for an update on the link to the web app. Still working on getting that up! Don't forget to subscribe to the blog so you can receive updates like this and more! Hello My Write Queeners, With all this talk about rejection, regret, and selling out, it's about time we talk about victories, accomplishments, and life changing surprises. So far this year, I have complete three official manuscripts (I have a couple of experiments in the works), have made contact with a couple of literary heroes, and have been published in a couple of anthologies. This is the most recent anthology I was published in...five poems! A little section just for me! I feel so blessed. I finally received my copy of the book after someone I know kept it hostage from me. Though there is a reason for that if you glance at the next picture. My lovely boyfriend decided that I should receive a little praise along with the book. I nearly cried on the train when I found the card and read it. Look at it...there's even a typewriter on the front of the card! This almost was better than the book (almost...very few things beat publishing). Even though it's just my boyfriend, this kind of acknowledgement makes me feel like I am doing something right. Also makes me feel downright special. The first anthology was a challenge for me. It was a theme-based contest. Writing my piece brought me back to my experimental days. It was also the first longer piece that has been published in an anthology. The fact that Lady Chaos Press has given me the opportunity to do this twice is a blessing. It's amazing to know that people have the opportunity to be exposed to my work when they purchase these books. Thank you so much Lady Chaos Press! Check out the press my loves. In between all of that, I took an online writing course over the summer. The class put together this amazing and powerful e-book anthology, available for free. I have two pieces in it, one being very special to me. But I'll just let you read about it if you click on this awesome lady's name: Caits Meissner. This also gives you a chance to explore the blog if you are a first time reader (or one who needs to catch up!).
Even my best friend threw me and these ladies some praise on his site, NerosisMuse.com. I was so touched when I saw that post. Once again, it was my best friend, but knowing that my crew was paying attention shows that bring brave and making moves to improve and showcase my writing is the path I need to be on now. It's one thing to work hard. It's another to gain some accomplishments. Knowing that you have people behind you and willing to tell the world or go out of their way to give you a bit of praise is a warm glowing feeling I can't describe (which means I must work harder because a writer should be able to!). Don't fuss when they want to, just let them. It's okay to be celebrated. Most importantly, take the time to acknowledge and celebrate yourself. It's okay to give yourself praise once in a blue. You work hard. When you have something to show for it, darn right you better have a mini dance party and say YAY! So now it's time for us to have a mini dance party! YAY! I hope to be able to have more mini dance parties soon. Take care my lovely readers! Celebrate yourselves! P.S. I have an official mailing list now. Don't forget to subscribe here to get updates from the blog and more! Also, don't forget to check out my fundraiser for publishing my own books. Every little bit counts! Even just sharing so please pass this along to all of your friends. |
Christina D. RodriguezA Latinx poet and entrepreneur who blogs about poetry, music, writing, and life. Archives
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