Friday, January 01, 2010

your new year annogram

Happy new year everyone! I am gratified to share my poem “Invention” at Shaking Like a Mountain and see two chapters of my translation of Hélène Sanguinetti’s Le Héros (Flammarion, 2009) appear in The Dirty Goat 21.

Ann at Cornelia Street Café
Thanks to Jackie Sheeler, indomitable host of the Son of a Pony Reading Series, for inviting me to perform Halloween eve. I read from Sugaring (Dancing Girl Press) as well as new work. Always an honor to read at this fun and intimate poetry landmark. My gratitude to those friends who traveled a distance to be there and celebrate the evening.

Herbert Hadad debuts book
Award-winning essayist Herbert Hadad announces the release of his book, Finding Immortality: The Making of One American Family. “These gritty and flavorful essays,” says Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright, “address the emotional costs of virtue, faith, and true love.” Novelist Ben Cheever calls them “stories [that] will clear the mind and warm the heart.” For Herb’s former students, this is an amazing opportunity to learn more from the master. Congratulations, Herb!

Nagging questions about modern art
Does modern art perplex you at times? Beth Gersh-Nesic, the official modern art expert for about.com, invites your questions: “If you want to know about an artist, art term, art venue, art historian, or art movement, chances are many other people would like to know too. If you see an art term you do not understand, please send it to me and I will see if it is in the About.com: Art History glossary.” What a great opportunity! Thank you, Beth!

Achievement award to Jim Barry
The St. Francis College/University of New England recently awarded Jim Barry its Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award. Jim, a long-time advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, helped develop the ADA legislation, testified at related Congressional subcommittee hearings and participated in the White House ADA signing ceremonies in July 1990. I’ve been fortunate to work with Jim, also one of the nicest people on the planet. Congratulations, Jim!


Stand-out gifts
The close of the holidays demands a roll call of my favorite vendors: Clean Ridge Soap, which affords luxurious scents, soaps and lotions at reasonable prices (see left); D & D Accessories (914-330-2122), purveyors of outrageously unique scarves and shawls; Vermont Hardwood Pens, which offers a free pen if you order more than two dozen; Chatham Candy Manor, which whips up Cape Cod’s best homemade chocolates; Sharon, a jewelery designer who combines your favorite quote and artwork in a beautiful pendant; and Loretta Fay (RETFAY@aol.com) who makes gorgeous, durable purses from upholstery fabric you select—and affixes your most cherished saying inside.

’Round the Net
Thanks to the following people for these links:

· Patricia Carragon for the Brownstone Poets Reading, including Peter Chelnik, on Columbia University’s WKCR.

· Dalkey Archive Press for college fellowships for an online applied translation program.

· Myrna Goodman for her contribution to the anthology Love After 70 (Wising Up Press).

· Herbert Hadad for the 100 best movie quotes.

· Janelle Elyse Kihlstrom for the latest issue of Melusine.

· Linda Simone for the Thousand Kites program, which produces audio poetry programs for prisoners.

· Jackie Sheeler for Blog Talk Radio, where she read her work December 22.

· Neal Spitzer for his new web site

· Russell Valentino for this talk on why translation matters.

· Angela Virsinger for this hypnotic Chinese video.


Ode to a dog
I end with a heart-wrenching au revoir to Delilah who passed away Thanksgiving and figures predominantly in my poems. As animal lovers know, she transformed our lives—from watching for us at the picture window to greeting us with a Kong in her mouth to contain her excitement. A true adventure girl—game for anything from a car ride to a good run on a dirt road; also a yogini, showing me a superior downward dog, and a guru whose joy and gratitude ably handled whatever life brought. If you’d like to make a donation in her memory, consider the Elmsford Animal Shelter where we adopted her.

Until next time,
Ann


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