I’ve read the manuscript in various forms, from the first drafts of the main story, The Bike Mechanic, to proofreading the final version. I am so impressed with the scope and ambition of the work, as well as the execution. I really encourage you to read it.

The Many Lives of Inez Wick follows the alternate possibilities that one character could have in her life. Inez Wick is an eco-heroine: part Lara Croft, part Hayduke. She fights injustice wherever she finds it, from power plants in China to waterbottling plants in Michigan. She is also vulnerable, in the interactions with the various men in her lives and in her future.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out Aaron’s post, which includes a description of the book and some advanced praise from other writers. And after you’re done with that, pick up a copy at Lulu.

My best quality proof of Blameless Mouth, headed to the Library of Congress for my LLCN confirmation

When I am grateful, I make a cheesy iPod playlist, full of songs about redemption and underdogs.  I am embarrassed by some of the additions.

When I am grateful, I find it impossible to concentrate. I float from task to task, leaving dishes undone and emails unanswered. I lose things: my wallet, my bus pass, my phone. Some of them get recovered.

When I am grateful, I talk about my gratitude over and over. I mutter thank you under my breath. I am giddy. I am sure I get under the skin of everyone I encounter.

When I am grateful, I slow down, if only for a day or two. I live in the moment, choose to savor the feeling. I save it for later, for days when I argue with others, for when the cat vomits on my afghan again. I carry my gratitude in my pocket, like a shiny quarter, careful not to spend it.

When I am grateful, I live in a state of awe and disbelief. I have to confirm, again and again, that yes, this is really happening. It has happened. It may happen again.

When I am grateful, I soften. My mind ceases its mechanical whirring, it’s clicks and starts. I become someone else, if only for a moment, a woman who breathes and feels humble.

***

In the past two days, I have done all of these things. I am so astounded and humbled by the response to the release of Blameless Mouth this week. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

For the third week in the Street Photography Now Project, our instruction came from photographer Nils Jorgensen, who said, “Take a bus. Do weekly shopping. Pop into a public loo.” This is the week I began to struggle with street photography.

I’ve taken pictures on the bus before, so that wasn’t a problem necessarily. For some reason, taking pictures while I was shopping, which I have also done before, started to feel a little predatory. I felt like a stalker of strangers. See, all the discussions at the Flickr group have been emphasizing the importance of candid shots of people within street photography. So, I tried very hard to take shots of people, while they were shopping or while they were working at the grocery store. I felt like I was taking advantage of these strangers, using them. I was too shy or too ashamed to get close enough to take good pictures. I didn’t dare taking pictures in the public bathrooms, because that definitely would have gone too far for me.

My cameras don’t have very good zoom lenses, so I was stuck with wide shots of people going about their daily lives on the bus and the store. I only took 3 shots that I felt were even close to good. Still, I didn’t feel connected  at all to any of them. After an informal Facebook/Twitter poll, I chose to post the above photo.
Even now, I am struggling with writing a poem about this woman. It may come to me some day, but I am not feeling it today.

Since we’re well into Week 4 of the Street Photography Now project, I felt that I better post this picture and try to move on. Maybe a poem will come to me later in the year.

You see, I’ve been planning and hoping to self-publish this manuscript for quite some time. In all of this planning, I told myself that I would make the cover myself. I’m a serviceable enough photographer that I could certainly create a nice cover for my book. Unfortunately, my ideas for the cover outpaced my artistic and photographic talent. My wheels would turn: I can’t finish the manuscript until I have a cover, but I can’t make the cover that I want, so I won’t finish the manuscript. This has been quite a convenient excuse.  Finally, after discussing this with Aaron, I realized that I needed help. He reminded me that between the two of us, we are friends with dozens of talented artists. We could put this request out into the network of artists and find a solution. Therefore, my open letter.

I am saying it here in public: My husband was (and is) right. Because here is the product, the cover of my forthcoming poetry collection:

Squee!

By putting the request out through this blog, Facebook, and Twitter, I came into contact with several talented artists who were excited to help me. I am so very thankful for every person who contacted me or passed on my link. I am truly lucky to know so many talented and generous people.

However, I had to choose just one artist to use. After conversing with a few very talented artists, I began working with Susan Sieber. Susan is a very talented illustrator and silk painting artisan from Illinois, and a fellow alumna of Beloit College. Her official bio reads:

Susan Sieber is a commercial illustrator and art instructor, working with both digital and traditional media.  She grew up in California, has lived in Morocco and Japan, and received her B.A. in English from Beloit College, WI.  Currently she lives in Illinois and is pursuing her MFA Illustration.  In 2008, she was named an Illinois Artisan for her silk painting, and sells and exhibits her work at various Illinois locations.  Her illustration gallery is located at:  http://susans-art-portfolio.daportfolio.com/

Within a few hours of my request, she had created a version of the cover that rocked my world. When I opened the file she sent, I just about squealed with delight. (I’ve been doing that a lot lately.) I had a real version of the cover and it was beautiful. The great thing about working with Susan is that she was so open to feedback. We chatted over email about some changes to the image and she turned around a revised image within a few days. I am so grateful to have worked with such a receptive and talented artist as Susan.

I would highly recommend that you take a look at Susan’s work on her portfolio website and consider her for any of your own illustration needs. Also, check out her silks, because they are just beautiful.

Within less than a week, I have a cover for my book. It’s all starting to come together very quickly, after spinning my wheels for months, and if I’m truly honest, years. I hope to put my final touches on the manuscript this weekend and upload the darn thing to Lulu.

I think I’m going to order and receive a copy from Lulu and check it over, before I officially release it into the wide world. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share with you my process for writing the book, a few samples of the poems, and more about the theme of the work.

Now that it’s starting to feel real, I am so excited to begin sharing more of my process and my work with you.

(Please note that the cover image is Copyright 2010 by Susan Sieber, used here with permission.)

For the past few months, I have been preparing my poetry manuscript Blameless Mouth for publication through Lulu. I am hoping to publish this book within the next month or two.

I am at the point in my process where I need cover art. Early in this process, I realized that I should check in with my talented artist friends and readers (that’s you!), to see if anyone would be interested in working on the cover art with me. So, here I am, querying you. (As a note, I am cross-posting this as a message on Facebook, so I apologize if you get to see this twice.)

If you’re interested in helping me develop cover art for my book, please read on.

Artistic Details

My manuscript focuses on the theme of hunger and the ways that hunger influence women’s lives, both personally and culturally. Therefore, the Adam and Eve story and apples figure prominently. My own ideas include:

1. A series of apples in a line, in snow. I would like the apples to take up much of the visual space, with the snow as white space.
2. Sailor Jerry-style tattoo art of an apple with a snake wrapped around it. The title would be emblazoned on a banner above or below the apple.
3. The same tattoo as listed above on a woman’s bare shoulder.
4. A red flower blooming out of a snow covered field.
5. Artist choice!

I am really open to collaboration and suggestion on this project, because I am only a dabbler in the visual arts. I am also open to a variety of mediums.

The Business Details

I am absolutely willing to compensate you for your work. Since this is a self-published, self-financed project, I have lots of creative ideas for compensation:

• Signed Copy of The Book – priceless on its own
• An “About the Cover Artist” Page, with picture, bio and links about your own work – definitely in the book and on the book’s blog, as well as on the Lulu page if they allow it.
• Work in Trade – I am a pretty good writer and editor. I am happy to help with a project that you are working on.
• A small, one-time fee – I am definitely willing to negotiate this with the artist.

All of the above is negotiable. Please let me know your expectations and we can talk.

In terms of copyright, I am planning on licensing the poetry in this book with a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike License. For the cover art, I am leaving that up to you. If you would also like to play along with the Creative Commons license, great. If you would prefer to retain the copyright, I am happy to accommodate that as well.

Great! How Can I Help?

I was hoping that you were going to ask that. If you are interested in helping me with my cover art, please message me on Facebook or Twitter, leave me a comment on this post or email me at my real email address:

fox dot jessica at gmail dot com

Thank you so much for your help and support!

Ghazal on Falling and Flight

Balled fists shoved in pockets, his shuffling feet choose flight.
Stretching his stride against concrete, shadows extend, choose flight.

When did we become so earthbound, so moored in place?
We awake from our dreams, slow and stuck. How did we lose flight?

This time of year, we are showered in gold and red
as brittle leaves break free from branches, drift loose and choose flight.

This morning, I watch the crows, those bundles of blue
black feathers. As they balance on bare trees, do they choose flight

In our calculated flight paths, we traverse air,
treat thousands of miles like mere steps. Flying, we abuse flight.

Look at how we shelter our children: buckle
them in car seats, cage them in cribs. See how they strain, bruise flight.

A few weeks ago, still in summer, I watched
pigeons swoop low over a garden. Their wings’ beat: use flight.

We both take our turns. We inch towards freedom then
turn back, to meet safety. Our compromises ask: Whose flight?

Woman, you are running out of time. You have filled
all of your wasted days and weeks. When will you jump and choose flight?

***

I don’t really write ghazals annually. I would say that I write them rarely. I really enjoy the form, because it is a challenge. Beyond the obvious difficulty of creating good rhymes and repeating refrains creatively, it’s very difficult for me to write a poem that doesn’t follow a single subject. Since this is so hard, I only work on ghazals when I really feel like it.

I felt like it today. I decided on a ghazal to complement my second Street Photography Now Project photo, which I actually uploaded to the Flickr group on time.

The prompt for the week was the following quote: ”Turn your attention to the four-legged population” – Ying Tang. For many days, I carried my camera everywhere, trying to find a dog, cat, or perhaps even a squirrel to photograph. I learned in these few days that no one seems to own dogs in my neighborhood and squirrels are very jumpy creatures. As I was watching for four-legged animals, I noticed that at a certain time of day, people were casting shadow legs when they walked. So, instead of hunting real four-legged animals, I started hunting people’s feet. It’s much easier. Also, as someone pointed out to me on Flickr, the guy’s shoes has a puma on them, which is definitely four-legged.

I don’t really know why I chose a ghazal for this picture, other than it just felt right. (Maybe I was subliminally inspired to write one, since I recently bought a book of ghazals by John Hayes on Lulu.) I do know that I chose the refrain based on the fact that the shoe in the picture is extended upward, as if it’s about to lift off the ground. That little lift led me to flight, and to this poem.

Intimacy

I live with the smell of you
on my skin and hair.  You
are always there, sitting
one seat ahead or behind. Sharing
the space beside me. We both
do our best to ignore the other.
We rest our eyes against the sunlight, fight
to read our heavy books. We look
outside the window, watch the elms
and ashes blur to green and gray
streaks. All the while, we peek
at each other’s rumpled clothes. We
have always lived this close,
sat shoulder to shoulder
with strangers. Damn the danger
of breathing and living with people
we never know. You and I,
we’re just trying to get home.

***

I took the above picture on September 30, in response to the first prompt from the Street Photography Now Project.  Their goal is to post 1 prompt a week for a year, written by a prominent street photographer, and invite photographers to respond to the prompt with photos posted to a Flickr group. Photographers have 6 days to post their pictures.

I began taking pictures last week, in response to the following prompt/quote by Bruce Gilden: “If you can smell the street by looking at the photograph, it’s a street photograph.” As I was taking pictures, Aaron suggested that I write a poem in response to one picture per week. It seemed like a good idea, so I went for it.

Unfortunately, I misread the date cut-off for the first group, so I missed my deadline to submit on Flickr. I would have submitted this picture, if I hadn’t missed it. You can see all of my first week photos here. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck (and better attention to detail) with this week’s prompt.

Give Me America Anytime

We have the best government
money can buy. We  are rich

in values we barely know, in exported
aspirations we mouth silently. Our wallets

are empty. Still we are flush
with the rush of purchase

We imagine peeling twenties off a pile
like peeling the skin

off of a banana. We have yet to understand
the value of buying

(our carts full of necessities)
with a currency made of air.

Sifting Millet

Seeds get stuck in my nails.
I find myself counting grains
to calm myself. I am baffled
by the sheer numbers. I think
of grain elevators dotting Iowa
filled to bursting with seeds this size.
I imagine fields that stretch
state line to state line, with stalks
that will be harvested and broken down
into seeds. I think of the thousands
in this bowl alone. How can I live
with all this abundance
and still spend so much time wanting?

Written in response to a postcard poem to me by Bobbie Ogletree.

On Working

Somewhere there is satisfaction
for something other than the close
of another interminable day.  There is

the sweat we carry in our skin, the stench
of our effort.  There is the heft
of the body, the tug of the line, the waking
from an hour long nap, only to find

that you hooked
a many toothed monster and he
is never getting away.