"The eradication of poverty is the way to peace."-- Yusef Islam

All is well. All will be well. Everyone is healthy. I've been writing a lot and doing a lot of soul searching. Good things are happening. Good news today!  Peace at last. Wrote some more poems titled so far "Smarter than everyone else," "Sleep," and "The Lonely Woman."

Today, I'm at the Jeffco/Belmar library disappointed because I left my flash drive here yesterday and it's nowhere to be found today. Anyway, reading Alice in Deutschland by Dona Stein, which I hope to review in EPT. Need to order a book I lost in order to review it as well, but mostly just wanting to write and send poems out to magazines. Some new possible titles for poems: "Song for being put away for unsuccessful robberies," "Denial," "Confidence," "The Lonely Woman," and "Residential Treatment Plan." There's an article about Eduardo today in the Arizona Republic here. Well, I suppose I need to re-write letters to poetry editors and get more poems ready to mail. I want to send to a number of journals. A large number. :)

My new mantra. More poems will be out soon. Hard copies for mags that charge for electronic submissions.

Just sent poems to a number of journals, nervously and wildly. Somewhat concerned about my work, not sure where it's going or what it's doing. Lots of "songs"-- Song for the Bully, Song for the Discombobulated, The Song Home, The Song Back. Song for Two Crones. Others reflect my current living conditions waiting for my Social Security Hearing: The Beggars, The Beggar, The Friend, Starting Over ect. Basically, I have a lot of backlogged work. A lot. Not sure what editors will think of it as some of it is quite frank. I wish I were more linguistically acrobatic, but I am writing much shorter poems than I used to write, though I have a long one called "The Final Border." At least I'm sending work out. Fearful it will all come back rejected though, but I suspect something somwhere will be taken.

I've been sending a lot of poems to various journals. Feeling some of the work could be better, but that insecurity is part of what I must get over. Similarly, I was going to sell my drawings for three or four dollars, but I was told by a very good artist that I should sell them for fifty bucks!!! So, I'm going to go to an art co-op meeting tomorrow at noon and doublecheck on that with other artists who do shows at galleries and stuff. It seems a bit high as I'm a beginner, but I am learning a whole lot from visual artists about marketing work in terms of overhead costs, confidence in your product and includingcosts of things like education, postage, materials etc. and I realize I recently really underrated myself re: teaching a workshop at a public school. I said I'd do it for 200 dollars, when I should have said 500. So from now on I'm going to double plus money figures for honorariums and stuff. I have written quite a bit and drawn quite a bit since I am no longer working. It feels good, though I'd like to have poems with more pizazz linguistically. Recently someone showed me his poems, hidden from others for years and let me tell you, they are phenomenal-- best stuff I've read in YEARS! This guy will be publishing soon! But he built up his collection and crafted it very carefully. Some of the most beautiful poems I've ever read and I do have a doctorate in poetry and have kept reading poetry 12 years after I earned the doctorate. So overall, I've been underestimating myself, and this is why I'm sending work out even though I don't feel it's perfect. I have been enjoying the creative process both visually and poetically very much of late. I feel good things are coming.

I'm going to keep on writing! I was very down yesterday, almost ready to give up, thinking I didn't have it in me anymore. No duende. No spark. But I'm back, ready to face the rejection, ready to strive to write something decent.

I've written a lot tonight, and it feels pretty good. Pretty much having a love affair with a Bach c.d.

Going to email U. of Arizona and state that I'd like to make the manuscript better, much better. I'm thinking about retitling it, and creating new sections/section titles. I'm also thinking about shopping it around to other presses as AZ will take a long time. I'd like to make individual poems much stronger. Though one person whoose opinion I trust says it's ready. Two men say it's not, one for the individual poems and the second insists that the whole manuscript/ordering is off and that it's mistitled. I'll feel better taking another thorough look at it. I really don't want to get something in print that I'll later regret.

Spent some time dancing to Beck today. Wrote 3 drafts of poems tonight. It's slowly coming back. Was on radio in El Paso, Texas, but I haven't yet found the link for words on the wire at U.T.E.P.. Will be on Ft. Collins radio station Dec. 4th around 7 pm for the Donna Stein show. Donna Stein is a fantastic and interesting poet, most notably humble. So things are still happening. Thinking about sending manuscript elsewhere aka shopping it around a bit, but I'm so broke it makes that difficult. Thinking about sending to Vassar Miller Prize where Major Jackson will be the judge. It's out of my alma mater's press, UNT.

My new roomate is working out wonderfully. Her piece was also accepted for the Jefferson Center for Mental Health Calendar. Can't believe I am getting paid for artwork. It's very encouraging as a lot of "real" artists entered as there's an artist's co-op that's been formed with a lot of visual artists from the Jeffco/Denver area. I'm thrilled. Maybe I'll go ahead and post a picture if I can figure out how to do so. Yes, I can ask someone for some help with that.

With 100.00 I'm thinking about buying a printer, yet again. Those cheap printers and I don't get along very well for very long, but alas, it would be another cheap one. Then I would like to buy some oil pastels as my designs look better in pastels as this one was picked.  I'd also like to buy some copies of Pity the Drowned Horses, as I've gone years without copies. I will try to sell some at the artshow on Dec. 17th. I just hope they sell, and I'm selling them for 18.00 a pop too!!!

I have value! I have worth! What a concept. Better late than never.

Got my new computer today!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Won $100.00 for a piece of artwork I did!!! Woo Hoo!!!