Guardian Unlimited Books has a great Poetry Mood Matcher that tells you what sort of mood you're in and prescribes a poem appropriate for that mood. Great fun!

The fact that I ended up with a Walt Whitman poem seemed auspicious, since my novel-in-progress is centered around Walt Whitman (and the word auspicious is auspicious in itself! One of my wonderful UCLA students sent a link to show me that the word "auspicious" comes from the Latin for "bird seer"! I wish I had known about this when I was writing The Book of Dead Birds.) I love when signs and omens pop up in my writing process--they keep me going, help me feel I'm on the right path.

A not so auspicious thing today: I received official notification that both of my hardcover books have been remaindered. This of course makes me a bit sad. I'm just grateful that the books continue to live on in paperback. Maybe I can become part of the Rock Bottom Remainders band now--I can shake a mean tambourine!

Every February, UCR hosts a wonderful Writers Week, with free readings/panel discussions/etc open to the public. They always print up a big poster with all of the authors' names and photos on them. When my son was two, he was fascinated with this poster, which I had put up on our fridge. He would point to the pictures, and I would read the names to him, and eventually he memorized all of them. One day, I brought him with me, in his stroller, to a panel discussion. A dreadlocked man walked into the room, and Arin said "That's Quincy Troupe!" Everyone was quite shocked and delighted that this tiny person knew who the poet was. And then Ronald Sukenick walked into the room, and my son yelled, with great glee, "Sukenick!" (it was his favorite name on the poster.) I've had a soft spot for Ronald Sukenick ever since, and am sorry to hear of his recent passing.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Poetic Justice concert--everyone who performed (you were incredible!), everyone who got doused by the sprinklers, everyone who came to see the show and ended up helping us chop vegetables in the catering tent, every single wonderful person who walked through those park gates--your presence was deeply appreciated. I am very grateful. Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong logistically did, but it ended up being an amazing evening, nontheless. Sometimes beauty can come out of chaos. It did on Saturday. Thanks again to everyone for making it happen.

Some more wondeful poets have recently been added to the Poetic Justice line up:
 
Juan Delgado and Richard Beban.
 
You can purchase or reserve tickets for the event online now at Inland Abolition. If you want to join us for the dinner, please let us know by Thursday, July 22nd (and let us know whether you'd prefer a vegetarian or chicken entree.) Thanks! 

I got stung by a jellyfish yesterday, and I've been giddy about it ever since. I keep saying it out loud: "I was stung by a jellyfish!" I can barely believe it. I've always loved jellyfish; I'm tickled that one tasted me, brushed up against my legs. It hurt like hell--like being stabbed with hundreds of tiny shards of glass on the inner flesh of my knees (I wonder if the jellyfish mistook my knees, those pale globes, for other jellyfish from a distance. When it came up to say hello, maybe it was shocked by the opacity of my skin, the hardness of my bones; maybe that's why it unleashed its venom.) I am waiting for my superpowers to kick in--maybe I'll become Jellyfish Girl now. My niece was stung, too; I think both of us will be floating around town soon, our tentacles undulating, our spines dissolving, our domed heads gleaming in the sun.

I mentioned the upcoming Poetic Justice concert in a recent post, but I thought I should give the full scoop. It's coming up soon--please spread the word if you know anyone in Southern CA!

Here is the text of a letter I sent out to friends and family recently (at 4 in the morning, actually--I couldn't seem to sleep last night)...

>I hope you will be able to join me on Saturday, July 24th for Poetic Justice: An Evening of Spoken Word and Music in Opposition to the Death Penalty. We have assembled a beautiful group of artists from the Inland Empire and beyond to speak out/sing out/strum out against execution. Performers include renowned slam poet Rachel Kann, singer/songwriter Mark Nemetz (Bucksworth), traditional Mexican vocalist Ana Gonzales, myself, and many others. Comedian Jonathan Solomon, who has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, among other venues, will be our MC.

>The concert will be held at White Park in Riverside, on Market St. between 9th and 10th. A delicious optional dinner will be served at 7:00. $35 will bring you dinner, the concert, and free membership in Death Penalty Focus (normally $35 in itself). The concert will begin at 8:00. Tickets for the show, without dinner, are available for a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds will directly benefit the Inland Empire Chapter of Death Penalty Focus. Advance tickets are available at local coffee houses, or you can purchase them through me or Carolyn Boyle (boylecf@yahoo.com). Tickets will also be available at the door.

>If you have any questions, or if you would like to help out at the event, please let me know. We still have vending space, if anyone is interested in selling art/crafts/etc. Advertising space is still available in the program, as well (it's very reasonable.)

>Thank you for your support! I very much hope to see you there!

Moondance: Celebrating Creative Women, just published my poem, Matt, Hang Gliding (and chose it as one of the "best in theme"--the theme of this issue is "wind", which happens to be a recurring theme in my own work, and has been from the time I wrote my first poem!) It's interesting that Matt's hang gliding has come up twice online in just a little over a week--I referenced it in my post about my Antioch reading, as well. Matt hasn't flown in about 10 years (and I actually wrote the poem around 15 years ago, when I was an undergrad). I'm happy he's more earth bound these days, but it's cool that his flying experience has found a way to seep into my work.

My interview with Connie Martinson will be streamed this Tuesday, July 6, 9am PST, at Connie Martinson Talks Books. It will also be aired on select cable channels throughout the country that day--check the website for details. I had a great time with Connie, but I don't think I'll be able to watch the interview--I feel funny when I see/hear myself on tape. I mostly hope sweat isn't pouring down my face--those lights were hot!

Mark Sarvas was kind enough to post my account of my Antioch reading at his most excellent literary blog, The Elegant Variation. It was a very intense night for me. I think my heart is still pounding hard!

My short short story, Rapture, is now up at Vestal Review, too.

Thanks to everyone who came to see me read in San Francisco--I had a blast!

My short story, The Hurricanes of 2000 Come to Me as Lovers, just went live at Vortical Magazine, if you'd like to take a peek...

This is last, last, last minute notice, but if anyone is in the Riverside area tonight and would like to audition for the concert I am organizing (Poetic Justice: An Evening of Spoken Word and Music in Opposition to the Death Penalty), please join us at St. Andrew's Newman Center, 105 W Big Springs Rd, Riverside at 6:30pm. The concert will take place at White Park in Riverside on Saturday, July 24th, 7:30pm. It should be an amazing evening. We're looking for poets/spoken word artists/singers/musicians whose work addresses issues of social justice. If you have any questions or are interested in participating but can't make it to the audition, please email me at gaylebrandeis at hotmail dot com.

Hope to see some of you either next week in the Bay Area, or next Saturday at my reading at Antioch University in Culver City. I plan to read some new work that night--either from my memoir-in-progress, or my novel-in-progress (whichever I have the guts to share.)

I'm going to be a proud mama now and share some cool news. My 10 year old daughter Hannah's play, The Evilest Monk (a madcap epic), was awarded an Honorable Mention in the National Young Playwrights Competition sponsored by Stephen Sondheims Young Playwrights Inc. Her play was one of 25 Honorable Mentions selected from 300 entries. She's very excited. It's fun to have another writer in the family!

I am in love with the alphabet. My graduate seminar at Antioch was titled "Singing the Alphabet" and was all about the history of those 26 letters. We studied the evolution of different letters, wrote alphabet poems, discussed our favorite letters, and ate alphabet cookies. Great fun.

Over at Maud Newton (one of my favorite literary blogs) today is a link to an exhibit of artists' alphabet books (I am also in love with book art). What makes the link even more delicious is that the title of the exhibit is Abecedarium, which is very close to the title of the first poem (Abecedarian) in my chapbook Dictionary Poems.

It will be fun to read from Dictionary Poems at Book Passage on the 30th; I had such a great time on my book tour, but I'm a little tired of hearing myself talk about my novel (on the other hand, if you have any questions send them my way, and if you have a book group that wants to discuss my novel, I'm happy to join you in person or by phone!)

Bay Area people--I will be up in your beautiful neck of the woods in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday, June 29, I will be hosting a Fruitflesh event in the Ferry Building at Market and Embarcadero in SF from 11am-noon. It will take place outside the new Book Passage, within the heart of the farmers market. I've wanted to do a farmers market event since Fruitflesh first came out two years ago; it will be amazing to be surrounded by tons of fresh fruit. Thanks to Book Passage and HarperSanFrancisco for putting the event together so quickly!

Wednesday, June 30, 7pm, I will be reading from my chapbook, Dictionary Poems, at the original Corte Madera Book Passage. I will be one of many Pudding House poets reading that evening. It should be a fun night (I am very excited to meet Jennifer Bosveld, the powerhouse behind Pudding House!)

Hope to see some of you there!

I'm back from my tour--12 wild, inspiring, exhausting days. It was amazing to reconnect with Chicago, to spend time with my family, to see people from my past (my third grade science teacher! My best friend from elementary school!), to meet wonderful people along the way.

I can't believe how much I packed into my time away--I spoke at my high school (kind of ironic, since I rarely spoke when I was a student there!), taught a workshop at my dad's work, signed autographs next to Kathie Lee Gifford (!), saw Bill Clinton speak (wasn't it nice when we had a president who knew how to put a sentence together?!), laughed my ass off at a breakfast with Jon Stewart, snagged bunches of books, and bumped into just the right people at just the right time. Thanks to all of you whose paths I crossed!

I'm going to be a guest on Writers on Writing with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett tomorrow (June 10) at 5:30pm PST. You can listen online at KUCI. Be sure to tune in at 5, though--my fabulous friend Caroline Leavitt is going to be the first guest on the show. Her most recent books are Girls In Trouble and Coming Back to Me. She writes with so much heart, so much honesty. We just found out we're going to be on the show together (too bad we can't actually see each other--she lives in New Jersey, and we're both calling in.) My life has been full of fun coincidences lately. I'm eager to see what will happen next!

I heard from my Spanish translator for the first time last week, and I have to share the list of questions he had about my book. It's very cool to see what translates directly and what doesn't. I had no idea the word "glitter" was so present in the book! The email has been making me smile for days. Here it is:

I've been entrusted by Alfaguara with the Spanish translation of
your Book of Dead Birds, and I'm close to ending it. There are some
queries which I hope you can devote a small amount of time to. It's
been a real pleasure to work on your novel, believe me. I wish you a
great success. Here goes the list. I thank you in advance.

page 1: 'midnight bullets'. Did they fly through the 'hood as a
regular (per year) basis? Or something happened on that particular
night?
page 4(top): 'pilly bedspread'.
pg 14(bottom): 'red bean buns'
pg 28(and more): egg-blowing. Can you explain to this dumb translator
the actual procedure?
pg 33(1st p): 'gooseneck lamp'
pg 59: Can you describe an 'airboat' please?
pg 64(top): 'a handful of glitter in the air.'
pg 66(2nd p): 'baggies', meaning condoms?
pg 67: What is a 'salt taffy'?
pg 74: Now here I'm lost: 'Tomato Adjuster'
pg 82(1st p): 'a nubby beige shade.'
pg 95: 'you dive my skin', suggesting penetration?
pg 109(mid): 'What's the damage?'
pg 114(bott): 'booty'
pg 117(2nd p): 'foil flavour packet' / Ramen: just a brand? thin,
short noodles?
pg 126: 'hostess stand' / baby-doll just any doll representing an
infant boy or girl? / what's 'tiki'?
pg 135: 'pacifier', what one gives babies to suck on? I'm afraid I
should've asked some rave's raver!
pg 136: 'glitter' --I hope it just means a long (and wide) shimmering
expand
pg 138: 'bird song.' Songs about birds? Songs emulating bird voices?
pg 142: 'glitter' Really lost, again
pg 154: What's the deal with 'Sam and Ella (or Janet) Eeeeevening'?
pg 211(top): 'princess sleeve' / rosebud underwear (somewhat pink?)
pg 218: Foley person
pg 236(2nd p): these broken... people

I had a fabulous visit with the Southern California Writers Association last week. Thanks to all who attended--you were wonderful! Have all of you started your blogs yet? :)

The paperback publicity machine is about to really start rolling. Hope to see some of you on my journeys. Here are the details of my upcoming events (click on the links for addresses):

This Friday, 3/21, I'll be participating in a Writing Moms reading at Every Picture Tells a Story in Santa Monica at 7:30pm.

Sunday, 3/23, I'll be at Skylight Books in LA (Los Feliz) at 5:30pm. This is one of my favorite bookstores (and it's on one of my favorite streets in LA.)

Monday, 3/24, I'm going to be a guest on Connie Martinson Talks Books, a tv show which is on a few cable stations around the country and is also broadcast online. It's broadcast at 3pm PST. I had my hair straightened for the first time in my life yesterday (I barely recognize myself!), and am trying to decide if I should go straight haired or let my hair go back to its normal Medusa self for the interview.

Wednesday, 3/26, I'll be reading at The Tattered Cover in Denver at 7:30pm. This will be a bittersweet event. I was supposed to do an event here last year, but my stepfather-in-law Jack died that day, and I flew home to be with my family. I can't believe he's been gone for almost a year. I've dedicated my novel-in-progress to him, and feel a real responsibility to do his memory proud.

Thursday, 3/27, I'll be reading at Women and Children First in Chicago at 7:30pm.

I can't wait to be back in my home town. I want to sit and stare at Lake Michigan for a long, long, time. For those of you who will be attending Book Expo America, I'll be autographing on Friday, 6/4 from 10:30-11 in the traditional autographing area. I am very much looking forward to BEA--tons of free books, tons of people who care about books. What could be better?

I just found out today that The Book of Dead Birds was chosen as a Notable Book by the Kirayama Prize, an international literary award dedicated to promoting literature of the Pacific Rim. What a cool surprise. It is quite mind-boggling to be on the same list as Jhumpa Lahiri, Mario Vargas Llosa and Kenzaburo Oe.

First of all, I want to thank Eula Palmer for her beautiful update of my website. Now you can see my gorgeous paperback covers on my home page!

The paperbacks will be out in a couple of weeks. If you would like to help me spread the word, please send me an email at bmcg at pe dot net, and I'll send you some postcards to distribute (they're in the process of being produced and should be available soon.) Also, sign up for my Notify list (you can find a link to it on my home page), and I'll keep you posted about my upcoming events.

Starting in July, I'll be teaching Novel Writing I: Writing the First Novel online through the UCLA Writers Program. Budding novelists, please join me--it should be a lot of fun!

Here is another lovely review of Fruitflesh, brought to me by Google Alert. Thank you, Story Circle!

I'm sorry I've been lax about posting about Santa Cruz and the Brandeis Women's Luncheon. Both were utterly beautiful, magical experiences. I'm not sure I can do justice to them by trying to wrap words around them. Needless to say, I am still glowing with appreciation.

I am now part of the Readerville Author Gallery! For those of you unfamiliar with Readerville, it is a fabulous forum for readers and writers. Lots of lively, intelligent conversation (beware, though--it's addictive!)

Another drive by posting...

You can get a sneak preview of what I'm doing with my thigh book--this little essay will be part of a very cool project entitled If Women Ruled the World. They are open to submissions until April 1st, if you'd like to contribute something about how the world would be different if women were at the helm.

Google Alert alerted me to this lovely review of Fruitflesh yesterday. I don't know who wrote it, but I'm very grateful.

And until I have time to write about my experience in Santa Cruz, I'll share some pictures instead (taken by the melodious Melody!) I'm the one in the crazy Celtic black and white pants.

More to come...

Just a brief update before I run out the door...

I will be on KPBS tonight at 6pm, not 6:30, as I mentioned before. Tune in if you can.

When I have time, I will tell you more about my amazing weekend in Santa Cruz (and my wonderful Brandeis Women's event in Palm Springs last week.) Thanks to all of you who were there--my heart is still brimming.

What a magical time I had at the National Association of Women Writers conference in Texas last weekend. I am so grateful to Sheri' McConnell for organizing the event (and the Association!) A day full of so much inspiration. Thanks to all of you who were there. It was great to see Jill Badonsky, who wrote the incredible book, Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard. We're going to try to teach some workshops together in the future--stay tuned!

I recently found out that The Book of Dead Birds was chosen for the March Book Club of the Air at KPBS, the San Diego NPR station. Very exciting! I'll be in the studio to discuss the book (with a special mystery guest!) It will be aired March 15th at 6:30pm. I think you can listen online if you're not in the San Diego area.

My review of Trader Joe's Unsulfured Three Flavor Guava (Sweet/Hot/Salty) is up at McSweeney's today.

I thought I should put my mailing list sign-up window closer to the top of this page again in case any one is looking for it. I had a fantastic time at the Southern California Writers Conference this morning; thanks to everyone who attended my "Embodying Your Characters" workshop.

It was quite an amazing day--I went directly from there to the Johnston reunion, where I taught a Fruitflesh workshop and caught up with wonderful old friends. Johnston made such a huge difference in my life; if you know any college-bound kids who would thrive in a very self-directed, creative program, check it out (it's the alternative program within the University of Redlands. I created my own degree program there--"Poetry and Movement: Arts of Expression, Meditation and Healing.")

If you'd like to stay caught-up about my events, sign up for my "Live Birds" list, and I'll keep you in the loop...

join my Notify List and get email when I update my site:

email:

Powered by NotifyList.com

Because I've been having trouble breathing for the last couple of weeks (due to a seemingly never-ending bout of asthma and bronchitis), I thought now would be a good time to highlight Drawing Breath, my piece on the connection between breath and writing.

I am hoping to find some inspiration from this current state of breathlessness, but it is getting pretty old. I hope everyone is breathing freely (and I hope I'll be breathing freely enough to attend the events below!)