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- At January 27, 2019
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
0

Glenn and I near a creek in Woodinville
A Hint of Spring Sun
Greetings from Seattle! We had a little peek of sunshine today, so even though I’m still fighting off this virus from hell, I got out a little bit and saw the sun! We had deer visitors, the birds have been chirping like it’s springtime (even though it’s still a little chilly outside.) So if anyone tells you it rains all the time in Seattle, well, I post these pictures as proof that is not technically true.
Nature Poems up at Live Encounter

Sneak Peek at two of my poems up at Live Encounter
I love taking pictures of nature, as you may know if you follow this blog, but I don’t often write about it. That’s why these four poems, up at Live Encounter, may surprise you: “Halloween, 2018,” “Charmed,” “November Dark,” and “Lost Flowers.” These are the sorts of poems I write that never end up in books – orphaned, one-offs, or just not themed in a way that lends itself to a certain collection. Do you have poems like this?
Nature Pics: Baby Hummingbird, Super Wolf Moon Eclipse, Deer Gangs
Speaking of which, here are some nature pics: a gang of deer, a baby hummingbird, and a few pics of the Super Wolf Moon eclipse (I didn’t sleep right for three days afterwards, FYI,)
- Baby hummingbird
- Gang of deer
- Blood Moon
- Before the eclipse -supermoon
Reading the new Sylvia Plath Story

Sylvia with her namesake’s book – four paws up!
Delighted to receive my copy of “Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom,” a new short story published by Faber & Faber that Sylvia Plath wrote when she was 20 years old, and Mademoiselle rejected. She didn’t work on the story again for two years, and when she did, she diminished the mystery and darkness of it. A reminder that we, as writers, often let editors guide what and how we write way too often – and just because something is rejected, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. She was just way ahead of her time. This story seems today, Murakami-esque, in the school of magical realism or symbolism – some resemblances to the story of Snowpiercer, in fact – at the time, it must have been very surprising reading indeed. I wish she had been encouraged to write more short fiction – this piece shows she had a real talent for it. One more lesson from Sylvia: don’t let editors discourage you from writing something different, or something people haven’t seen before. Or, in modern parlance, F&ck the haters.
A Little Midwinter Panic (Health, Money and Poetry)
I’m already indulging in a little midwinter panic – first, AWP Portland (will I be healthy? Will I get sick while I’m there? What in the heck is the hotel going to be like – will it be accessible? Will the conference be more accessible than last time? Will I be able to meet with everyone I want to, or get all the books and lit mags I want home?) Also, health stuff – will I ever get better from this virus (as I speak, on a new inhaler and antibiotic and still running 100 degree fever and coughing like the dickens). I have to go get my thyroid checked out and some more cancer tests at the endocrinologist on Monday. And then I had this dream about the afterlife and how I told the afterlife people I shouldn’t have spent so much of my life trying to be a poet, that I should have aimed higher and tried to be a rock star instead. So obviously mid-life crisis-ing – this often coincides with about the time I do my yearly taxes, which shows my yearly writing expenditures vs ine. This may be the first year I actually made more from royalties than I made from freelance writing – which was still not very much.
I also posted a link to this article on Vox about money and a life in the arts. I’ll try to post a little more about my thoughts on poetry, money, and Plath a little later in the week, but to put it shortly: yes, a life in the arts is almost impossible without marrying money or having family money, no, most people won’t be able to pay off their MFA student loans writing (or even teaching, as I discovered to my dismay as an adjunct.) If publishers want “diverse” voices – women, writers of color, disabled writers – as much as they say they do, they should offer to waive those exorbitant submission fees, or they are literally ruling out the people they say they want to publish – and they should publish those “diverse” voices more often, rather than straight white men who happen to e from money (a dismaying majority, still.)? Sylvia letters reveal a great deal of anxiety about money, starting when she was fairly young – always worried she didn’t have enough of it, always looking for a side hustle though she was desperate for time just to write – having two young children and a terrible husband didn’t help that, of course. I would even say that Ted running off with their entire bank account and leaving Sylvia to support their two children alone may even have contributed to Sylvia’s death. So money is serious, and anyone who gives people advice about being a poet or artist or whatever ought to be frank about what is involved, and the hardships moneywise people will face. I still remember the advice I tried to give the students in the MFA program I taught in – I didn’t e from money, and many of those MFA students certainly financially struggling and from working-class backgrounds – and I was often distraught when I had to tell them the truth – how little I made from teaching (less than minimum wage,) how that was often the case for women who are most often assigned adjunct teaching roles and very rarely make tenure, how little I make from writing, despite some serious hustle on my part, how technical writing paid my bills for years until I became too sick to do it full-time, and that is why I had the time to bee a poet, but how I would probably still be working for the man if I had the health for it (ironically, mostly because working for the man provides the best health care.) I am still paying my student loans off. I do not make enough to pay them off as a writer – I have to rely on my husband’s help. That’s not cool, but it is the reality. I wonder often if I’m doing the right thing (see: afterlife dream) putting so much effort and time into poetry when it seems to give so little back – and I still wonder if the MFA was a silly expenditure for me. I wish more poets – and other people in the arts – were more up front about how the got where they are, how they afford their life, and how much their students can expect to do with their MFA once they get it. The truth about money – it’s part of politics, even poetry politics, and the more we keep it a secret, the more power it has over us.
Anyway, read the article for yourself and let me know your thoughts! Or just stress out about AWP ??
New Poem in Star*Line, Supermoon Eclipses, A Little Seattle Color, and Surviving January by Reading Writers’ Words on Writing
- At January 19, 2019
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
1

Sylvia and Shakespeare taking care of my books
Down Time: Reading Writers’ Words About Writing
Good morning! At left you can see what I’ve been doing with my time – mostly sick in bed, surrounded by books and cats. Last night I finished Ursula Le Guin’s Words Are My Matter, from Small Beer Press. My favorite bits from the writing of her last decade were an essay called “Disappearing Grandmothers,” a diary of her time at our local Writer’s Retreat Hedgebook on Whidbey Island, “Learning to Write Science Fiction from Virginia Woolf” (whose letters I have been reading,) and some of her reviews, including Philip K. Dick. Quick quote from “Disappearing Grandmothers:”
“We really can’t go on letting good writers be disappeared and buried because they weren’t men, while writers who should be left to rot in peace are endlessly resurrected, the zombies of criticism and curriculum, because they weren’t women.”
I get the feeling I would really have gotten along with Ursula. And her mentary on Virginia Woolf made me realize why I’d been picking up her writings again – she really did have a way of approaching old subject matter in a singular way. I’m learning a lot from reading non-living writers, and coincidentally, a friend just sent me a collection by Mary Oliver, who recently passed away. Of course, we should appreciate and cheer our living writers, both friends and heroes, too! But it does feel fascinating to be reading letters from Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, and essays by Ursula Le Guin – like the most terrific conversation with women writers across time.
A New Poem in Star*Line
Thanks to Star*Line (this issue was edited by Vince Gotera) for publishing my poem “Self-Portrait as Pretty Monster.” If you join the SFPA you get a subscription to Star*Line for free. Here’s a sneak peek:
A Little Seattle Color and January Wildlife
Lest you think from my ramblings that in Seattle our January is always a dull grey and the rain never ceases, a rare sunny day when I was able to get out and do a little nature photography (and pose with an antique red truck – what a cheerful color!) Hummingbirds are regular visitors thanks to our feeders and deer love to eat the new grass that grows this time of year. In our neighborhood, you can usually find an array on antique cars or car shows on any sunny day. And I love all kinds of flowers, but this time of year, coral roses seem especially vibrant and cheering. Glenn’s been making a new quick-jam that I got out of a magazine called cranberry-pear butter (we make it in the instant pot, not a slow cooker, much faster) and not only is it beautiful, it’s delicious (the ginger really makes it pop and feel winter-appropriate!) Great on greek yogurt, a scone or a slice of pear-cranberry-ginger cake.
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Glenn and I pose with antique truck
- coral roses
- Woodinville Stream
- Deer Visitor to our yard
Supermoon Eclipse of 2019
Tomorrow night is the only full lunar eclipse of 2019 – and usually the night sky here is very cloudy – or it’s raining – this time of year. I hope you are able to watch it (around 6:30 Pacific, 9:30 Eastern) but I always feel a tinge of foreboding around supermoons in general and supermoon eclipses in particular. The red color of a lunar eclipse is so eerie. I do not consider myself superstitious and particularly astrologically-wise but moon cycles really get to me, and I think they affect something not just in the earth (tides, etc) but something in the human body. I wrote a poem about how eclipses are supposed to take away the veil between dimensions and worlds, between the subconscious and conscious. Lunacy and all that. Perhaps this year the supermoon will bring us good changes this year, which I think we could use with all the lunacy in the world right now. Here’s wishing good health and new poems to you and to me!
New Review of Who is Mary Sue in The Rumpus, New Poem in Scryptic, Poems set to Jazz, and the January Doldrums
- At January 11, 2019
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
1

Purple January Sunrise
January Doldrums, with Sunrise
How has your January been so far? I came down with a very-long lasting cold/virus and sprained my ankle, so I’ve been confined and resting…plus it’s rained nearly every day of the new year, which makes it tough to appreciate the gorgeous Pacific Northwest quite as much as usual (what the with driving cold wind and rain). A leak sprung up around our chimney after one of the windstorms, which somehow seemed symbolic. I’ve been able to read a little bit, write a little bit, but mostly I’ve been sleeping poorly, restlessly watching nature shows, and trying to make headway in the eight-ten books I’m reading. I’ve been researching publishers and vowing to do a better job this than last in sending out my book manuscripts (I have two now, a sixth and a seventh).? I have had some good things happen this week, which I thought I’d share – a new review, a new poem, and a poem set to jazz music.
New Poem, “Angel,” in the new issue of Scryptic, a magazine of alternative art
Thanks to Scryptic, who published a speculative poem of mine for the new year, “Angel,” in their latest issue. From the art to the lit pieces, it’s a bit of a rush to read. My poem’s on page 57 of the PDF, and here is a little preview to the left. The poem is called “Angel,” but it more science fiction than religion.
New Review of Sophie Collins’ Who Is Mary Sue in The Rumpus
Looking for something new to read in the new year that will challenge you and get you thinking? Check out my review in The Rumpus of Sophie Collins’ Who Is Mary Sue, a book that challenges the notion of female autobiography, the idea of authorship and authenticity, feminism and pop culture. I wasn’t familiar with Sophie Collins’ work when I picked this book up at local poetry bookstore Open Books, but she has a fascinating mind.
”?Might every character who is female and empowered be termed by male fanboys a “Mary Sue” with some derision? Might every female character, indeed, be a “Mary Sue?” Whether we write about ourselves or others, women authors will always be accused of the sin of autobiography in a way that men typically are not.”
Poems Set to Music
I also had a suprise when a gentleman named James Gardner contacted me and asked me if he could set my poem, “Robot Scientist’s Daughter [medical wonder,]” to music on his web site, Poetry DNA. Check out the results! I’m kind of a jazz fan, so this tickled me.
Surviving the Dark Winter
So what are your survival tips for surviving the dark, cold winter months? January and February are my least favorite months to live around Seattle, it’s pitch black by 5 PM and the sun doesn’t really e all the way up…ever, plus the cold wind and rain mean you never really enjoy being outside. It’s cold and flu season so I’m not surprised I finally caught something, and this bug is a loooong one. I’ve reorganized my office, written a few poems and revised both my poetry manuscripts, but honestly, I’m restless, ready for a little springtime. (I know, we’re still a long way, but Seattle does start to have some camellia and cherry blooms sometimes as early as late February.) I’ve already started thinking about how to successfully approach AWP – I’ll be doing one offsite reading, and I’m planning to spend max time at the Bookfair saying hi to friends and checking out books and lit mags, my favorite part of the conference. My big goals were: getting more sleep, trying to do something fun once a week, and reaching out and socializing with more people, have all been rendered moot by this evil virus (waking up with early asthma attacks and tossing and turning with fever not conducive to more sleep, sadly, and you definitely don’t want to give this bug to anyone you like), but I hope to be getting better soon and back to my 2019 goals! I also made a playlist called “Survivor 2019” which includes this Sam Smith song from the Netflix series Watership Down, called “Fire on Fire.” Happy January!
New Year So Far, Poem in Natural Bridge, Lunch Dates with Poets and Poet Letters, and 2019 Goals
- At January 04, 2019
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
1

Sunrise on the New Year
Happy Brand New Year!
Good morning and Happy New Year 2019! Hope you had a wonderful New Year’s celebration! Miraculously I wasn’t too sick on New Year’s Eve, so Glenn and I were able to do a daytime stroll to enjoy the sunshine and then go out in the evening to Willows Lodge where we toasted and listened to a live band and generally enjoyed ourselves – we got home in time to watch the Space Needle Fireworks, by which time the city was locked in icy fog, so we were happy to be home and warm! We ate grapes for luck, and then I stayed up late afterwards writing a new poem and working on my new manuscript – still in its birth phases, but definitely shaping up.? Auspicious writing start – actually writing a poem within ten minutes of 2019!
- Pre-Party New Year’s Eve
- Toast to the New Year
- Willows Lodge
- Fireplace at Willows Lodge

Sylvia in linen closet, her favorite reading space
First Poem of the New Year in Natural Bridge!
Thanks to Natural Bridge for publishing my first new poem of the new year – “Self-Portrait as MRI.” Here’s Sylvia hiding in the linen closet with a copy, and here’s the poem:

Sarah Mangold and I in black and white
Poet Lunches and Reading Poet Letters
One of my goals for 2019, besides getting more sleep (I average four hours a night, which I hear from doctors is not enough, what?) is getting out more and spending more time with wonderful creative people! Yesterday I had the chance to meet up for lunch with the lovely and talented local poet Sarah Mangold. I had run into her work at Open Books and liked it, so I was happy to have this opportunity to talk over coffee. And now I’m looking forward to reading her chapbook, Cupcake Royale! Nothing cheers me up like spending time with artists, writers, and musicians – I think it decreases the feeling of “I am crazy for doing this” and always inspires me to do more in my own creative life!
I’ve been reading a beautiful hardcover illustrated edition of Virginia Woolf’s letters and the second volume of Sylvia Plath’s letters. Virginia Woolf is always cheerful, restrained and clever in her letters while Plath is a little more self-revealing, passionate in her happiness and her disappointments, but I think both can teach us lessons about women writers. I’m also reading After Emily, a book by Julie Dobrow about the two women who devoted a ton of time and energy to make sure Emily Dickinson had a legacy and a reputation as a great poet. It’s kind of a wonderful lesson in what it takes to bee a household name in the 1800’s in upper-crust society in New England and dispels the illusion that Emily didn’t make en effort or that she became a sensation out of nowhere – a sort of early template for PR for Poets! (Book Clubs were very big, FYI.)? (Another 2019 goal: less television and social media and more reading books!)
One quote I thought I’d share – I was reading Sylvia’s new years letters from January 1957 – and she had just had poems published in The Atlantic and Poetry, but was running into trouble getting teaching work for either her or Ted without PhDs, which frustrated her. Plus ?a change, plus c’est la même chose, was my thought about her quote after getting a flurry of new year rejections – which I also got (albeit nice rejections):
“These job refusals plus a pile of rejections (of really fine poems, too) are enough to make me think the teaching profession is run by slick closed-shop businessmen and the literary magazines by jealous scared over-cerebral fashion-conscious idiots.”
Well, you can always count on Sylvia to cheer you up in the new year!
Poetry and Gardening – Things to Look Forward to in 2019
Now, since last year I did lots of individual poetry submissions (and even a couple of fiction subs) but not so many manuscript submissions, I’m going to take an ambitious stab at getting Flare out into the world and work on getting my in-process seventh manuscript finished (themes of witches, religion, nature, politics?) Some of my spring bulbs are already poking up out of the ground – it’s still the dark rainy season, but I’m feeling ready for spring! We planted 45 new bulbs last fall, and had a least a hundred in the ground from the last two years, so hoping for lots of hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. Poetry and gardening have that in mon – the more you put out there, you might get more rejections (unsuccessful bulbs) but also more to look forward to? How about you? What are you looking forward to in 2019?
Two End of the Year Poems in ACM, and Dreams, Goals, and Inspirations for 2019
- At December 29, 2018
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
2
Happy Almost New Year! New Year Poems up at ACM
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday. I was thrilled to discover two year-end-themed poems up at Another Chicago Magazine, “Lights Out” and “Sitting by Yourself at the End of the World, I Mean Year.”? ACM has been one of my “goal” publications for a long time, so I’m thrilled!

“Sitting by Yourself at the End of the World, I Mean Year” from ACM

2019 Vision Board
New Year Inspirations, Action Plans, and Goals
It’s almost 2019, and if you’re like me (or January O’Neil, who has a cool “poetry action plan,”?you start thinking about your intentions for the year ahead – what you hope for, what you can plan for, what you are envisioning. This year’s Vision Board had a lot of animals in it, and more words about inspiration and creativity. I realized the last two years had been all about survival – first the liver tumors and the cancer diagnosis, then the surprise of neurological symptoms and the MS diagnosis. I’m hoping this ing year to be fewer doctor appointments, more wonder – less about survival, more about creating and befriending and embracing the world.
From the AWP conference in March in Portland to sending out two poetry manuscripts – one about the journey of the last two years and one about the history of women and witchcraft, which I was just shuffling through last night to think about organization and which poems to leave out and which to add. I’m going to get more serious about sending out both – I only sent out book manuscripts four times last year, but I sent out over 150 submissions (!!) total, including fiction and essay attempts, and published about fifty poems, which seems like an okay ratio, but I had no idea I had submitted so much.

Bobcat sighting in Woodinville
Other life goals include cultivating more friendships and socializing a little more, paying more attention to my body and treating it like something to take care of and not push, and spending some time (!!) meditating or doing something restful and creative every day, maybe even just five minutes of art or writing before bed. Also, trying to value my time more. One of the things about getting serious diagnoses is that it makes you re-think what you spend your time and energy on. What are the essential things for living for you? Spending time outside, reading good things, and time consciously building a life – whether that’s balance or motor-skill exercises, or reaching out to a new friend, or time spent noticing the new flowers in your garden to the kind of moon that rises. Or the visitors to your neighborhood – the day after Christmas, this bobcat visited our street!

Christmas Moon
A Quiet Christmas, and a Great Gift for Writers
Christmas was quiet – a sunny (!) Christmas Eve with a lovely church service with interpretive ballet, a retelling of the Christmas story, camels and baby goats and lots of candlelight singing – and dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, a beautiful almost-full yellow moon, and talking about our dreams. Glenn did? a great job as always with dinner (two whole ducks, asparagus and honey-roasted carrots, and cranberry tarts – plus, cracking open his Christmas port). I was lucky to receive LOTS of books this year, and Glenn got me a really special Christmas gift – a library book cart, yes, just like what they have at the library, because he worries about me trying to transport my reading material from one room to another – a pretty large stack of books. I thought it was perfect!
- Christmas book cart
- Christmas with Glenn, Mike and Loree
Anyway, I want to wish you a happy New Year! My traditions these days include eating grapes, black-eyed peas, and a toast at midnight, even if we’re at home at midnight. (We’re planning a low-key visit to a local wine bar with live music, so we can enjoy a little festivity without too much drama…) Also, sleeping in New Year’s Day seems important! May 2019 bring us a better year for all. Leave your inspirations/goals/dreams for 2019 in the ments!