Chapbook Number 5

Last night I went out to Whonnock - about 40 minutes East of Port Moody, real country living out there - with the Shoreline Writers publication group. Shoreline Writers' Society is our local writers group. The publication group is a sub-group that produces a chapbook each year. We met to plan our fifth, tentatively titled The Road to Hell. Looks like we will have 4 short stories, the prologue to a novel, and some poetry. We'll edit each other's work through the Fall and have the manuscript ready by the beginning of November. Books should come back from the printer beginning of December. I love meeting with this group to work on our project together. We collaborate to bring the best out in each other's writing, and to produce a book of very good work. We also have wonderful suppers together and great conversation.

I am struggling with how to put one of my slam poems into the book this time. Slam poetry is meant to be performed, so doesn't always hold up on the page the same as poetry that is created to be received primarily in written form. I believe that all poetry is as much about sound as it is about meaning - in fact you can't separate the two, that's what makes it poetry. But slam poems are especially hard to present to someone reading in his or her head. I will go back to my Slam Poetry book and chapbooks and also ask my friends from the Vancouver Poetry Slam how they address this problem. I'm sure there's an way to do it.

I'm coming out of my sadness about Grandma. The family will meet for a supper this Thursday to remember her and read some of the stories she wrote about her life. There's still a fair amount of stress in the house, though with both children heading to new schools in one week, and my husband's work schedule going bonkers with new projects and some staff leaving the company. I am trying to help everyone find positive alternatives to bitching, yelling and groaning.

mompoet - a rock when you need one

ps Question of the day: Any ideas about the slam poetry on the page problem?