It’s been a long time…as usual. But I do have some fun updates to share. 

Mel Edden and Bob Bowie have created something really special at Manor Mill, now a gorgeous art center in Monkton, MD. I highly recommend their 1st Monday of the month poetry events! It’s been a stupendous first year, so they decided to produce a book, the first edition of Poets of Manor Mill. It’s being released on September 2nd, and I’m really happy to have a poem in there! Come celebrate with us, 6:30pm-9 at the Mill. It’s a little bit of a drive, but, I promise, the sense of energy and community make it more than worth it. 

Earlier this spring, Sam and I were part of an ekphrastic poetry event there. Participants selected an image from their then-current exhibit, and wrote in response. I chose a painting of a small bird sitting on a branch with leaves showing summer coming to an end. (Fall is my favorite season.) I’ve included it for you below, “Listening for the End.” 

AND I have a poem and visual art appearing in a show at Hamilton Gallery, also in September, with the same folks from Artist’s U. 

The coming school year will be completely different as I’ll be in a different school and using a new curriculum. (Anticipatory anxiety, yes.) It’s going to require a lot of adjusting. I’m thankful to have these events in September to look forward to.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you at there!

Virginia

Listening for the End 

I’m a small creature

listening for the end. 

How to stay safe

in heat and hurricane, 

our world’s decline?

Green over green over green

goes on forever

until leaves begin to yellow,

crumble to brown,

some larger than I.

I’m a small creature

watching the sky. 

Wind will blow these leaves, 

my small self, 

away.

I will disappear in the feast.

My body will feed others.

Not even my skeleton will stay.

I am a small creature

becoming smaller.

Join me and my husband, Sam Schmidt, author of Dark Bird, discuss and read from our work. An open mic follows. Monkton, Maryland.

Hello!

Sam’s new book, Dark Bird, is finally out! And it’s beautiful!

We had a great time at our first AWP in Kansas City. We sat with his publisher, Barrett Warner, of Galileo Press, met many other interesting writers and publishers, and attended stimulating panel discussions and readings. Not to mention the vast (and overwhelming) Bookfair.

The experience was an excellent reminder of… myself! That might sound silly, but the last several years have been focused on learning how to be an ESOL teacher, and there’s been very little time for any creative writing.

Two moments were especially important to me. One evening we attended an off-site reading of poets and fiction writers associated with UB and Hopkins, Baltimore in KC. We already knew several of the readers, and we were excited to hear those new to us. Also in the audience was a woman who looked very familiar even though I couldn’t place her. Surely we’d met at other writing events. She looked at my name tag and excitedly explained that I had chosen one of her poems decades ago when I was reading for The Baltimore Review – and it was her very first publication! It meant so much to her that she’d always remembered who signed that acceptance letter. Shout out to Heather Rounds! The beauty of Smalltimore…

The next day I was walking through the bookfair trying to be my usual introverted self when I came upon the Finishing Line Press table. An older gentleman was standing there I thought must be Mr. Maines who runs the press with his wife. When I was close enough to see his name tag, I saw I was correct. I turned to him, instead of quietly slipping away, and said, “You must have hundreds of people come up to you and say that you published their first book.” He smiled and said, yes, he recognized my name. We chatted for a few minutes, unable to recall exactly which year Finishing Line published my first book, Touch. Eventually Leah joined us, and there I was meeting these people for the first time.

It is wonderful to have faces to put to the names of people who’ve been important in our lives. The parallel nature of these moments reminded me that the world is indeed round. We are all more connected than we might remember or recognize. And that is delightful!!!

Already? Again? Has this year flown by for you the way it has for me? Is this simply a function of age?

Some things don’t change: the painful idealism of young adulthood, the speed with which paychecks disappear, the idea that at some point everything will get done, the ease and frequency with which I contract viral illnesses…

In good news, Sam has a book coming out very soon! We’re making plans to be at AWP, and the Eastern Shore Writers’ Bay to Ocean conference, and we’re hoping to put together a reading tour. (Do you have or know of a venue looking for readers? Here we are!)

Our publishing history has been remarkably egalitarian in terms of taking turns. Years ago I was jealous that his book Suburban Myths had a spine. (Touch was a spineless chapbook. Thankfully questions for water has a healthy spine of its own.) This time Dark Bird will appear in both hard and paper back! Hard back with a dust jacket! Talk about arriving… We can’t wait to have them in our hands!

Massive congratulations to Sam, and thanks to Galileo Press for making it happen! Follow his updates at DarkBirdPoetry.com

And Happy New Year!

Meet Virginia Crawford

Art has always been exciting to me. I am happy to share that I’m participating in a Literary and Visual Art Show in November with other artists from a group called Artist U. Artist U is a program for any kind or artist or creative person that focuses on taking yourself seriously as an artist, prioritizing your artistic work, and purposefully planning your life. 

The topic of the show is Home and all the different things that it means for people. This summer I started writing a series of poems imagining the potential different people I might have become if I’d made different choices. For example, an apartment building is one thing, but it contains many things. I’ve imagined that the apartment building includes a different version of myself in each of eleven apartments. The poems give voice to those people and their perspectives. The text will be incorporated into a mixed media collage.

I’m so thankful to the Artist U program, the other participating artists, and for the opportunity to create art. 

Updates and more information coming soon. Thanks for reading!

Wishing you peace.

Ginny

It’s true. I’ve been “attending” the Edinburgh Book Festival through my computer. Thank the universe for this festival and their technical skills. It’s such a comfort to listen to international authors discuss their work and see, literally, there is an audience. On the other hand, there’s so much to read and so little time! 

So little time. Because my teacher-summer is coming to an end. And because I also have to get another master’s degree in teaching (and get certified). While it’s challenging, I also love to learn. Hard to balance. Plus the occasional impulse to write something of my own.

Sam is finalizing his book, Darkbird, which will be out this winter from Galileo Press. Hallelujah! He’s thinking about constructing a reading tour for the winter and spring. If you host or know of a reading series, give us a shout. I may be slightly biased, but it’s an excellent book. If you’re interested in writing a review, let us know and Sam will provide the text. (It really is excellent.)

Here’s one of my favorite programs from Edinburgh so far this year. A library of unread books to be made of trees specifically planted and grown for this purpose in Oslo. Authors are invited (1 per year) for an annual manuscript transfer ceremony among these trees. The manuscripts will be held until 2114 (I think) when the new library will open. It sounds AMAZING! Hope you enjoy it:

https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/future-library-announcement-future-writer-future-readers/player

Last week I had the pleasure of reading a few poems at the Blossoms of Hope event at the Columbia Arts Center in Howard County, Maryland. Prizes were also presented for the art show of the same title. Entries varied from traditional drawings and paintings to sculptures and even glassware. It was wonderful to see the show and hear the judge discuss her top selections. I’m thankful I was invited and glad to be there. Making connections through a variety of artistic media is something I’ve always enjoyed. I’ll post my portion of the event if I can make it “share-able.”

In the mean time, take a look at this: https://voyagebaltimore.com/interview/conversations-with-virginia-crawford/