Editor Barbara Harris Leonhard has published my Remedios Varo inspired 100-word story The Shadow’s Man at Masticadores USA. Hope you like another fun time in Varo’s surreal world.
Here’s an image of the Varo:
The Shadow’s Man at Masticadores USA
Filed under #amwriting, #writingcommunity, Art and Music, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Literary Journals, Publishing, Writing
101 Words Published by 101 Words, Or the Story of a Cat and a Woman
Editor Shoshauna Shy has published my 101-word story, “Home is Where the Heart Is,” at 101 Words.
This story was inspired by my dear cat Perry.
Two Arizona Bussokuseki: #TankaTuesday
The challenge for 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 19, 1/30/24, Part II: Deep Cold is to write a bussokuseki poem which is similar to a tanka, but has an extra line at the end: 5-7-5-7-7-7. My kigos are “ground hog day” and “depth of winter” and I used one in each of two bussokuseki. Spring really seemed to have sprung on my walk today, but of course we are supposed to get a rainstorm and cold tomorrow night.
in depth of winter
the sun comes out and warms us
the sweet acacias
blossom, perfuming the air,
birds chirp and trill their anthems
tomorrow chill will set in
***
Friday ground hog day
will determine spring’s advent
fair days came for us
with the birth of our grandson
who will celebrate one week
of life on that holiday
Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing
Baby Haiku: #TankaTuesday
24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 18, 1/23/24, Part I, Deep Cold (January 20 – February 2) Daikan 大寒
For this week’s haiku I used “bleached grasses” for a kigo.
the bleached grasses
wave in a joyful welcome
to my new grandson
Now you can tell me how adorable he is :)!!!!
UPDATE: I have switched out the baby’s photo with this one of me holding him because I don’t want his photo floating all over the internet. So hopefully it will go away from any searches soon.
Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing
Sonoran Blossoms Haibun: #TankaTuesday
In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge for #TankaTuesday we have Poet’s Choice, as it’s the third week of the Early Cold season. My kigos are “Amaryllis” and “cold light,” which can be found in the haiku portion of the following haibun.
***
Sonoran Blossoms
The two gardening seasons in the Sonoran desert are warm and cool. We plant flowers in the spring, which can be from February though May, for summer blooming. In the fall, we plant cool season flowers, which last until May. Our months of choice are generally October and May. My yard is one acre with a wash running through it. On one side of the wash the land is slightly higher than the other, and because cold air sinks, some winters the lower side may experience a slight freeze that lasts until mid-morning, while the other side rarely freezes. The flowers may freeze to death occasionally, if they are not covered by frost cloths. However, many winters we get no freeze at all. Because of the mild weather, we can plant blossoming indoor-outdoor plants outside after they lose their flowers.
amaryllis blooms
fade under winter’s cold light
time to plant outdoors
Sometimes people get creative with protecting plants when the temperature hovers uncomfortably close to freezing in the early morning hours. This person uses Santa hats usually, but this year after New Year’s they replaced them with multi-colored beanies!
Recently, I participated in an Ugly Art Club event and in Care December from Everything Art. I’ve mentioned them both before. This is the Care December journal I finished. Each spread is an exploration in emotions and self-care, rather than being an attempt to create art. So there is a lot of hidden meaning behind each one. And, yes, the idea for me was to create another GRUNGY journal, as they are my favorites. The theme this year was the color blue in all its meanings.
Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Arizona, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing
Verse Envelope Haibun: #TankaTuesday
In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge, we are now at Part II, Early Cold (January 5 – 20) Shokan 小寒. The request was to write a haibun, so I decided to try a verse envelope haibun where the prose passage is bookended by haikus. Generally, my haibun are prose passage followed by one haiku. My kigos are bolded. I think the first haiku is stretching the definition of haiku, but it’s what I wanted to say.
***
new year is now old
new beginnings are over
the routine is back
We approach each new year with anticipation, hoping for something to stir us. We want to feel renewed and ready for a spark to keep us placing one foot ahead of the other. But we are only in the second week of 2024 and already we have resumed the labor of our jobs, the routine of our personal care and feeding. For most of us, our relationships have not changed. But divinity willing, within the next 2-4 weeks I will have a new relationship with a grandson.
after we meet, I’ll
introduce you to snow crows
and sweet acacia
***
This tree is in my yard. Notice how its scars are hearts. Can’t wait to show that to the kid!
(I had to go back to classic editor to add the photo because I was getting an error message. “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed.” Has anybody else been getting that message and do you know anything about it?
Filed under #amwriting, #bloggingcommunity, #poetrycommunity, #TankaTuesday, Arizona, Poetry, Syllabic Poetry, Writing
Best Small Fictions 2024 Nominee
What a thrilling morning. The Dribble Drabble Review has nominated my micro story “Historia de La Iglesia Católica del Sagrado Corazón” for Best Small Fictions 2024. This is a huge honor, and I am so tickled.
Here is the story, which I have posted before.
I know I don’t talk about rejections very often, but I sure get them. I had fun with one of them, making an erasure out of it and posted in on Facebook where it was seen by the editor of the amazing MacQueen’s Quinterly who posted it with some other rejection erasures. They are all funny so take a quick look!
http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ21/Rejection-Erasures.aspx
Shadow and Light: #TankaTuesday
In the 24-season syllabic poetry challenge, we are now at Part I, Early Cold (January 5 – 20) Shokan 小寒. I suppose even in Arizona this is true. We are now colder than we were. On my daily walks I wear a lightweight neck scarf, a thin cardigan, and a rain-type jacket. It is not really winter wear, but it is a far cry from the heat of our summers when I only want to wear the lightest sundress I can find.
This winter’s cold light,
crisp and startling, throws shadows
on glistening grass.
Have you seen the cat lady portraits by art photographer Brooke Hummer? Gorgeous and smart. https://apanational.org/inspiration/entry/brooke-hummer-cats-women-and-art/
The gardener and I have an anniversary on Friday. We have been married so long the kids need to plan a party for next year! Also in news: grand baby is coming in a little over three weeks! I’ve been working on my grandma name. Thinking of the Dutch “Bomma,” but still mulling.
I submitted the second section of my unpublished memoir to the Tucson Festival of Books contest. I received notice that it is a finalist for the contest. Last year the first section was a finalist in the same contest. I have been joking that I’m “always a bridesmaid,” although I am grateful that it is
Joy Neal Kidney’s Latest Leora Book in the Wilson Family Saga
Joy Neale Kidney has documented an American saga of hard work, dedication, patriotism, and above all, sacrifice with her four Leora Books. I have reviewed Leora’s Dexter Stories, Leora’s Letters, and Leora’s Early Years previously.These first three volumes tell the Wilson family history and the tragedy of losing three sons to WWII through the mother, Leora’s, perspective. The fourth book in the series, What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers, describes Kidney’s own search for more answers about her uncles’ military careers.
The book contains heartbreaking information, such as Leora receiving news of Dale being MIA on her birthday. Dale’s sister Doris was pregnant and had only told Dale in a letter. But the letter was returned to her, “marked ‘Missing in Action.’” Kidney puts together information and shares it in an easy-to-read style. For instance, the Wilsons received three notes from radio operators that Dale had been taken POW by the Japanese, but this was never confirmed. The information included personal identity info that was not on their ID tags. Where would the Japanese have gotten this information if they didn’t have Dale?
I love that Kidney included images of documentation and letters. The visuals help to connect the reader to these difficult days that her family went through. A poignant section is when Kidney realizes that Dale had a diary and how it was separated from his other belongings. I could tell you more, but why don’t you just read the book? You might want to read the other three before you get to this one or if you want to get right to this one, consider at least reading Leora’s Letters, the first book, the one where I learned that all three men had died during the war, a book that reduced me to tears in a doctor’s waiting room.
Instead of commenting here, feel free to head on over to Joy’s blog and comment over there if you want to say hi! https://joynealkidney.com/
Filed under #writerlife, Book Review, Cats and Other Animals, Family history, History, Memoir, Reading
Trying the Abhanga: #TankaTuesday
This is Part I of 2, Winter Solstice (December 21 – January 4) Touji season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.
I decided to try an abhanga, which is an Indian form of 6-6-6-4 syllables with lines 2 and 3 rhyming. Generally, this form is–I believe–a religious poem form. I have bolded the kigo words.
This first poem is about Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women. In the book, Mrs. March shows the girls how to begin their Christmas by delivering food and care to a starving, freezing German immigrant family. In the mid-nineteenth century, Germans were one of the main groups immigrating to the United States. But the March family was living without the father for the time-being, and they were quite poor themselves. The girls ate bread and milk for Christmas breakfast because that was all that was left after feeding the strangers.
DELIVERING THE FAMILY’S BREAKFAST TO THE POOR IMMIGRANTS
Alcott’s Little Women
models Christmasy love
gifting others above
that of one’s self
***
Here’s another poem that uses kigos that fit with my daily life.
THE SEASON OF DAILY WALKS
on my pink sunrise walks
the wren and the robin
sing sweet carols, all in
for the season
***
I submitted the second section of my unpublished memoir to the Tucson Festival of Books contest. I received notice that it is a finalist for the contest. Last year the first section was a finalist in the same contest. I have been joking that I’m “always a bridesmaid,” although I am grateful that it is a finalist
Here’s a fun 101-word story published by the journal 101 Words. Hope you find it humorous!
https://101words.org/small-battles/
I’ve been working on the 5 minute challenge hosted by The Ugly Art Club. These are the first three spreads I completed. The prompts, in order, are CYCLE, LUNAR, and SLOTS.
May your holidays be healthy and happy. XO
