chrysanthemum

update

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:28:32 GMT

Recent publications:

Four poems at Dead Mule ("Deep and Crisp and Even," "Home Supper Home," "Glitter," and "Shavings")

I am waiting for the right instant to say your name at qarrtsiluni

A haiku that received a commendation in this year's Klostar Ivanic contest and was thus translated into Croatian

Recent posts:
A review and some recs at Vary the Line.

At Chrysanthemum:
Dec 2 - kvetching about catching cold; delight in George Gershwin and a postcard from New Orleans
Dec 1 - Jewish stuff
Nov 30 - Monday miscellany (including two Wimsey recs)
Nov 23 - notes/quotes on music and prayer
Nov 19 - Frank O'Hara and Zoe Polach

sleepily and unsystematically herding ducks into their rows

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:14:39 GMT

The short version: I'm copyediting a book on diabetes, I'm still wrangling my parents' affairs into order, and I just got back from a month in Israel.

The trip to Israel was primarily to attend a college classmate's wedding in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. I also visited Rehovot, Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Eilat, Petra (Jordan), and Haifa. It was good to get away (with only ONE laptop, for a change), and it's good to be back home. There are a dozen posts at Chrysanthemum so far on various aspects of the trip (which included riding camels, shooting guns, and railing at God), and I may well add to them as I sort through photos and sift through my notes. (Though, at the moment, I feel like I'm barely clinging to the subway strap of the present. Life hurtles on no matter where I am, it would seem. *rueful smile*)

Also, a fistful or two of recs at Vary the Line.

signal boosts and recent posts

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:48:25 GMT

SB #1: Joanne Merriam, editor of twitterzine 7x20, is keen to see more cinquains and American sentences.

SB #2: Don Kingfisher Campbell wants more 10-line, 31-word poems for his Halloween Poetry Contest.

Recent posts:
At Vary the Line, I point you to the September issue of The Flea, which includes a sonnet by Mary Alexandra Agner and Ann Drysdale's Said Yeats's Bones to Hardy's Heart.

At Chrysanthemum, I show off what I cooked for a dinner and a walk among scarecrows and roses, as well as expressing both incredulity and gratitude and quoting Kathleen Norris.

what I did during my summer (vacations and elsewhen)

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:47:11 GMT

* blogged intermittently at Chrysanthemum and at Vary the Line

* visited Portland, Oregon; Garden City Beach, South Carolina; and Memphis (national tour of A Chorus Line - met up with a friend on the crew).

* slogged through a fair amount of 4 a.m. beta-testing in tandem with assorted copyediting assignments. Still wading through various estate chores. My goal is to haul only one laptop with me to Israel (attending a friend's wedding in Tel Aviv later this fall), where I'm hoping to stay AFK for multiple days on end.

* I'm currently chair of two committees at my church, and treasurer of its endowment. Continuing to read for the Nashville Talking Library; taking a hiatus from volunteering for the University of Chicago. Only one future sermon on my calendar, and that's perfectly fine with me - need to refocus on mortgage-paying projects after the December holidays.

* ironically, my church has started collaborating with the local Conservative synagogue on a couple of musical programs - and I was/will be out of town for them. *facepalm* On the other hand, I expect to (finally) have enough Hebrew in my head by next midsummer to maybe look into joining a High Holidays choir...

* On a unrelated note, it is such a happy feeling to connect people with things that are meant for them.

Recent publications:

Kol Nidre (text and audio) at qarrtsiluni

Three short poems (two new, one reprint) at 7x20

I Hear You With Half of My Heart at my poem rocks

And there are at least six more pieces forthcoming in the near future (woo-hoo!).

So - those of you who don't journal, or haven't updated in a while - what is new and/or primary with you these days?

A sweet and satisfying rest of the year to you all. (I hope to get back to monthly summary posts here, but you've seen how well that's worked so far... *rueful smile*)

goings-on

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:31:59 GMT

Dead Mule's Summer Sabbatical Issue is up, with three of my poems ("The Language of Waiting," "Fuel," and "Sonic Crochet Hook"). Don't miss the Southern Legitimacy Statements of the various contributors.

June Cotner has reprinted my "Prayer for Perspective" in her anthology Serenity Prayers: Prayers, Poems, and Prose to Soothe Your Soul. Haven't seen the book yet, but the check arrived last week, and it will pay for lunches with friends tomorrow and Friday. :-)

Recent posts at Chrysanthemum (personal blog):

28: recent pleasures, including St. Ann Episcopal's 150th anniversary celebration (special guest Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop)
23: SERMON: Chocolate and Conscience
18: link to samhenderson on getting a job

At Vary the Line, I've just been linking to poetry in the news:
July 1 - Souter taking leave of the Supreme Court (quoting of Robert Frost on both sides)
June 23 - Murray Mound pantoum

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:43:29 GMT

At Vary the Line (the group poetry blog):

June 3: the net is lowest in the middle (tennis and poetry)

May 24: Mona Lisait = crack den

May 20: The Red Wheelbarrow

May 16: the poetry building (Rilke in Smichov)

And, during the last third of April, twelve more poems for assorted NaPoWriMo challenges.

At Chrysanthemum (the personal blog):

April
21: Cavafy / new poems
24: call and consider
26: SERMON: Turtles
30: five things Stephen Colbert and I have in common

May
02: feeding the roses...
06: fifteen books
18: ad te omnis caro veniet
21: three notes from Paris
22: notes from Paris
24: et ses va et ses vient

June
06: starting the note before you sing it
09: A choice is only possible if there are genuine alternatives.
11: helplessly LMAO; words to ward off darkness
16: SERMON: The Red and White and Starry Blue

General state of the Peg: Where the hell did the first half of June go??? (And how is it past 14h already?) Dealing with a pulled thigh muscle, warding off a sore throat, and trying not to sulk too hard about the whole daft writing compulsion at the moment. (Over the weekend, I wrote over 2000 words (in addition to 1 1/9's worth of sermonage) and was feeling pretty pumped about where things were headed. Then, yesterday, upon doing more research, I realized the whole thing was logistically hosed, which in some ways is a relief (that's 6000 words I now don't have to pursue) but in other ways, not so much (because I came across a phrase that would be <perfect as a title and theme for the gift-prompt that led to me wrestling with the trunked plotbunny in the first place...) And then there is the critique I owe, the poem-of-the-month I need to get into the mail, and last night's exceptionally frustrating nothing-to-show-yet-for-it session of musings on the Coupe de Mousquetaires...) On the plus side, there is a thunderstorm making a terrific racket outside, and our contractor brought by some fresh eggs I'm now going to go fry. And then it will be back to some pedal-to-the-metal PowerPoint wrangling...

As I went walking down Radlicka Street...

Sun, 10 May 2009 16:21:11 GMT

mrgeddylee, I couldn't help but think of you earlier this morning: I passed by a bookshop window that displayed a title on metaphysics right next to a gun.

From europe 2009

recent updates

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:24:54 GMT

17 April: I think the dog hates Verdi, and links to three new poems ("All I Want Is Not to Want," "So We Decided to Walk Down St. Claude," and "Flute White")

19 April: my weekend, Harper's index (and what I ate) version. (Detailed (aka chronic-grousing-about-writing) version and two finished poems("Practicing Jump Shots With William Shakespeare" and "Aftermath") at Vary the Line.

Posted a few minutes ago: Restless.

updates since 3 April

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:17:21 GMT

4 April: happy things

5 April: in memory of Bob Smartt

9 April: "Sometimes nothing is so solid to me as writing" (Robert Lowell quote + links to seven NaPoWriMo poems)

13 April: Easter weekend in New Orleans

16 April: links to the newest four NaPoWriMo poems

updates at Chrysanthemum (first quarter 2009 and a bit)

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:43:01 GMT

Posted at Chrysanthemum since 28 December:

3 Apr: oh, the drama! (or, the creative grind revisited, part nth + 26)

1 Apr: unexpected pleasures

28 Mar: "Knitting About Oracles" (poem)
26 Mar: Nine Things About Oracles (poem)
19 Mar: Sara Davis Buechner on Joseph Bloch
18 Mar: on Herod, Paris, and visual vocab
16 Mar: SERMON: Cults of Personality
16 Mar: Readings: Pomeroy and Wilder
09 Mar: happy birthday, Paula! (a musical setting of "Lo Alecha" + "Step by Step")
07 Mar: the complexity of silence

February:
01: the while my path illuming (morning at church)
02: sing out praises for the journey (mysticism/church involvement)
03: What in this unpleated world isn't someone's seduction? (pacing)
05: No, no, no, can't let them go / I love them so (Peter Mayer / pretty junk food)
08: the night I am hiding from them (Erica Jong)
10: from cloud to tumbling cloud (Waltz with Bashir)
11: it gets hot down where we're goin' (Hiatt/Lovett concert)
15: not too far out (physical activity)
17: the wages of sin are cramps and chills (food poisoning)
20: I forget to speak of how everything means (Cynthia Grier Lotze)
21: A glance held long and a stolen kiss (quotes from the NYT)
23: SERMON: Lessons from Country Dancing
24: these drops of rain / falling in Lake Ponchatrain (Catie Curtis)
26: shall shear my lambs and ewes and rams (church, radio, and Roy Blount Jr.)
27: rambling in Roy's wake (more from Mr. Blount, including on salacious dancing with oysters)

January:

02: "star of the east, the horizon adorning" (dancing into the New Year)
03: productive vs. unproductive worry
05: stars at elbow and foot (watching my mother die)
07: I inflict despair and angst upon the BYM yet again
08: When fingers open and the hedges burn (assorted notes)
10: happiness meme, day 1
11: happiness meme - day 2
12: truth... in the faces of them who seeke to tread it out (journalism)
13: happiness meme - day 3 / clippings
14: happiness meme - day 4 / ranting in spite of myself
15: cold in Nashville
17: happiness meme - day 5
18: "pain is not good, but pain is necessary" (hope trapped in my throat)
19: Nashville-area notes
20: messages hither and thither
23: strivings toward social justice
24: saying farewell to an old reference book
28: And all around me a voice was sounding (folkie service)

30 December 2008: notes from Christmas Country Dance School

posts at Vary the Line - first quarter (and a bit) 2009

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:17:17 GMT

At Vary the Line (poetry collective):

April 3: "The Problem With Easter" (poem + notes on process)

April 2: "An Asian American" (poem)

April 1: "Goose, Goose, Duck" (poem)

March 25: "notes on STAR*LINE and Plaths"

February 28: I admire Jennifer Atkinson's "Landscape with Mud Turtle"

February 13: reading Carolyn Miller on Ono Island

January 26: cinquains

January 16: happy birthday (in a few days), Edgar Allan Poe

updates since 4 December

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:49:55 GMT

At Vary the Line:

28 Dec: "some for the measure of a poet's song..."

17 Dec: And yet more harping on sonnets

At Chrysanthemum:

28 Dec: have sword, will dance
21 Dec: SERMON: Tidings of Light
20 Dec: navigating amplified times
17 Dec: That in course the flower may flourish...
16 Dec: affirming the margin of hope
15 Dec : clippings from the New York Times
12 Dec: quote of the day
09 Dec : where to donate surplus giftwrap?
08 Dec: auction, accessibility, etc.
07 Dec: Grant to your heart its hopeful promise

pssst...

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:01:18 GMT

I know at least one of you would kill me if I didn't make sure you were aware that Katharine Kerr is offering several signed editions of her work (including the rare Polar City Nightmare) in the helpvera auction that's up until 20 December.

I also know that one of you would probably kill me if I purchased this cat-shooter for your partner. I'm still tempted, because seeing it made me laugh out loud, but there's also about twenty other things I could get for them, so I'll probably play it a bit safer. The list of people who want to throttle me is long enough as it is. ;-)

updates since 25 October

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:39:05 GMT

At JournalScape, I've posted about...

4 Dec: Peter Mayer to be playing at my church this Sunday, and other pleasures

3 Dec: in memory of Doug Shaw

2 Dec: the Winter issue of flashquake includes two of my poems, "The Sharpshooter Assembles A Relish Tray" and "A Stack of Cards."

30 Nov: Belfast

22 Nov: "Hi, I'm a boarding pass!"

21 Nov: Pete Morton sings sweet shepherd's songs

16 Nov: not quite in harmony with calm soul of all things

10 Nov: Alice Walker to Barack Obama, Amanda Shelton on John McCain, and other notes

8 Nov: lists

5 Nov: cool books I've recently copyedited

1 Nov: hymns I love and William Logan on Elizabeth Bishop/Robert Lowell

29 Oct: lots of carrot salad

26 Oct: a happy Sunday and the New Poetry Order

recent updates

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:08:19 GMT

At Vary the Line, Joanne's posted about terza rima, Mary's musing on the point of persistence, and I'm touting the SFPA's 2008 Online Poetry Reading (which includes a .wav of me reading "Da capo senza fine") and Georgia Tech's free McEver workshops (which I've attended in the past, both because they're a good way to recharge the writing mojo and because I can usually work in a visit with Rancho Lesbiano and other peeps during the same shlep).

On JournalScape, I've posted about the following:

25 October: avoid vote-flipping by selecting each candidate individually (as opposed to straight ticket); this morning's Electoral Map in the NYT.

24 October: it's fall and I'm a Tennessean: volunteering and other pleasures

23 October: a photo from Raleigh and quotes from the NYT

18 October: sorting out my Tennessee ballot; quoting Elizabeth Bear

18 October: what the media is saying about the public and good taste

16 October: late-blooming creativity

15 October: Dr. Atomic and other intriguements/pleasures

14 October: Christine Kane, Anthony Lane, and Martha Silano

13 October: two quotes from the St. Louis Dispatch

12 October: Frank Rich takes McCain/Palin to task

10 October: on despair and endurance

recent updates

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:13:54 GMT

At Chrysanthemum:

Oct. 7: happy things (auction donations and other facets of church life)

Oct. 3: ugly, ponderable, doable, good

Sept. 29: in memory of Sue Alley

Sept. 25: Japanese festival in Memphis

Sept. 17: reasons to vote against McCain

Sept. 2: link to a link to "non-dopey Chanukah music"

Aug. 31: a Catholic for Obama

Aug. 28: closed on the sale of my mother's house

Aug. 26: dodging the tongue of a frog

At Vary the Line (group poetry blog - great thought-provoking posts from the other members of the collective there as well. Go see!):

Oct. 7: quotes from Ted Hughes and a U of C physicist

Oct. 4: east winds and poetry on war

Sept. 25: some introductory nattering about myself and some recs

what's new

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:59:34 GMT

General state of the Peg: recovering from a nastily virulent bout of bronchitis (severe enough to prod me into working on my will, although I'm feeling past the worst of it); working feverishly (way too literally for my taste) through the typical clustermangle of myriad projects; getting oriented as the new treasurer of my church's endowment; possibly on the verge of closing on the sale of my mother's house. My respiratory system may have the stability of a Rube Goldberg spaghetti-shaver, but I am armed with copious quantities of stubbornness, dried squid, and tea. I shall prevail!

My recent posts @ JournalScape (http://www.journalscape.com/mechaieh) have been about...

24 August: a link to Maho Kiwi's call to action re: the conscience rule. [Side note: if the current regime had wanted to give me added incentive to volunteer for Obama's campaign, they couldn't have picked a better means. Between that and McCain's multiple votes against increasing minimum wage...)

23 August: Edna St. Vincent Millay is still relevant

21 August: Two poems of mine at Dead Mule; links to a poem by Rodney Jones and an essay by Andrew Sullivan

20 August: general update; link to a poem by Connie Voisine

6 August: the start of my trip to Chicago

4 August: quotes from a Waldo Beach sermon

3 August: notes on a memorial service

3 August: outburst re: fulsome election coverage

1 August: a small thing making me happy (clever NYT headline)

30 July: link to an article on Allen Grossman; notes on Julia Cameron's Finding Water

29 July: assorted pleasures

28 July: UU sorrows and joys (Richmond, KY)

25 July and 24 July: on homiletics and HAIR (Lexington, KY)

18 July: weekend in Louisville

10 July: a quote from a Louis Patrick sermon

9 July: "the best-kept secret in the Bible"

8 July: pleasures

new at Journalscape

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:53:15 GMT

http://www.journalscape.com/mechaieh

Taking pleasure in marvelous things, including "Victory Garden", a poem Sam Henderson wrote for me.

"Left with me in the sheets" (poem based on a marymary snippet)

goodies for a good cause (...and if you've ever wanted me to write a villanelle or sonnet for you, you can fight it out with the very kind souls who have already bid...)

assorted other natterings and quotes

new at JournalScape + news

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:02:58 GMT

The sermon and readings for last Sunday's service at UUCC, on "Introversion and Community"

1 kvetch and 3 pleasures

New poem up at flashquake: As She's Dying

A very cool concert this coming Tuesday (I'm in the chorus).

posted at JournalScape this week

Sat, 31 May 2008 22:03:44 GMT

today: If you are in or near Nashville, and feel like treating your ears to some virtuoso saxophone playing, you might consider visiting First UU tomorrow morning (services at 8:50 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.). For this year's Music Sunday (a tradition at our church), the choir has been working on Paul Halley's In Sideribus Domi - At Home in the Stars, a cantata celebrating the interconnectedness of art, science, religion, and creativity... [more on singing Sanctuses, creative confidence, and other topics]

yesterday: on callings and chores

Sunday: whining

older entries

PSA: check your LJ account filter

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:44:34 GMT

LiveJournal has instituted a tag and flag system for "adult concepts" and content.

What you should be aware of: the default setting on your account for reading other journals is for "moderate" filtering (scroll to the bottom of the screen).

My current reaction to this is very mixed. I'm fine with the theory of provocative content being opt-in; after all, that's why I maintain a separate journal for my own fandom natterings (and vice versa - a lot of the folks who follow that journal aren't interested in the minutiae of my daily life, my lover's quarrels with God, etc.). That said, I am once again dumbfounded by LJ's ineptitude and half-assedness on multiple fronts. (A number of people have already articulated my concerns and cynicism better than I have, as well as raising other issues that wouldn't have occurred to me, such as how sex ed/health awareness comms may be affected by this new mishegoss.)

Anyhow, while I'm theoretically in favor of opt-in filtering, it's not "opt-in" if the general readership doesn't know about it. Which is one of the reasons why I won't be voluntarily restricting this journal or bronze_ribbons to 14+ or 18+ readers (another reason being that the tools don't appear to be bug-free, judging from early reports from the field). A third reason being that I read Ayn Rand, Kathleen Woodiwiss, D.H. Lawrence, Nancy Friday, and many other sexually frank authors before I turned 18 (which wasn't until the end of my first year in college), and that was before I had regular Internet access. (Not to mention the occasional racy guest contribution to a friend's ongoing Real Person Fic series, which was passed from music stand to music stand in all its dot-matrix glory every afternoon during sixth period. But that's an anecdote for another time...)

*stomps back to the em-dash mines*

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:50:12 GMT

To my mysterious well-wisher: Thank you for your kind thoughts. The same to you!

General housekeeping note (there being new names on the friendslist, etc.): I moved my online hammock over to JournalScape in June, so that's where you'll find my current natterings. There is an LJ-feed (mechaieh_js), but be warned that (1) the coding sometimes goes splat between JS and LJ, and (2) I'm not notified of comments on syndicated posts.

Wishing you all a good week, and safe traveling/happy feasting to those observing this Thursday's giving of thanks. :-)

update

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:01:09 GMT

6A/LJ has been making an effort; jury's out on whether it's sincere and/or will stick.

For now, I plan to continue at JournalScape, but as long as things appear to be improving here, I'll reverse my stance on not linking to any LJ content from there.

The fabulous and gifted xochiquetzl has set up an LJ feed, mechaieh_js. I am honored and humbled.

ETA 9/3: Oy. Staying at j-scape, y'all.

migrating

Thu, 31 May 2007 02:48:19 GMT

Effective immediately, this journal will no longer be updated (unless SixApart suddenly wises up and does right by those wronged, which is looking less and less likely by the hour). I won't delete it (if it disappears, it wasn't my doing), but neither will I be linking to it or anything else posted at LJ, no matter how scintillating or thought-provoking or gorgeous or just wildly funny. Yes, I'm that angry and annoyed.

I do plan to delete all information on my user profile (including the friendslist) as soon as I have time to reorganize the information for myself elsewhere. Between that and the ongoing crush of work, I will likely be even slower and more erratic than ever in terms of following all y'all's posts and comments. I beg your patience (and if it's important, do send me a note or e-mail).

Going forward, you can find me here: http://www.journalscape.com/mechaieh

Wishing you all the best. Let's keep in touch!

Blessings,
Peg

"Make firm my changeful heart / so I may do my part"

Mon, 28 May 2007 07:07:36 GMT

Longevity buns at the Panda buffet after church.

The two senior Asian men at the table (one 67, the other 79). Watching them try to outrank each other over the bill was especially entertaining.

The postlude was a violin and guitar rendition of "Come, Come Whoever You Are," which had been the closing hymn.

As the musicians played, a couple in the front row (co-founders of the fellowship) waltzed together to the back of the meeting room. A magical moment.

Didn't care for the too-casual arrangement of "Eternal Father, Strong To Save" on this weekend's "Prairie Home Companion," but the sound of the entire auditorium singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" -- that was worth tuning in for.

Abandoned fully drafting the homily around 6 a.m. and extemporized the bulk of it. Didn't fall flat on face or scare off visitors.

Being able to refer one of the visitors to Church of the Larger Fellowship.

BPAL's "Port Royal" and "Taurus" both very nice and spring-appropriate.

Three poems accepted by kingfisher1031 for SGVPQ 34.

The New York Times occasionally runs "Op-Charts" (by Adriana Lins de Albuquerque and several co-designers) that analyze aspects of the Iraq war in graph form. (It's one feature that definitely comes across better in the print edition than online.) The latest one, "In Memoriam," is here.

This morning's opening hymn (words by Carl Seaburg):

God who fills the universe
from the atoms to the stars,
make firm my changeful heart
so I may do my part
and bring joy to all the earth.

God who webs the universe
with amazing mysteries,
make glad my fragile soul
so I can see life whole
and bring hope to all on earth.

God who keeps the universe
by the truths of living love,
make strong that love in me
so I can set it free
and bring peace to all on earth.