your holiday annogram

Alhambra Poetry Calendar 2011
So happy that my award-wining poem, “Express,” appears in the Alhambra Poetry Calendar 2011. You can purchase this elegant ring-bound, desktop anthology through the American Academy of Poets. Makes a great gift!

Translator Guy Bennett’s recent work
I am most fortunate to have had an editor like Guy Bennett for my translation, Hence this cradle (Seismicity Editions, 2007) of Hélène Sanguinetti’s book-length poem. Guy has another of his own translations out, the big E, by Ernst Jandl: “a multi-section monovocalic poem of spartan texture and rhythmic complexity which follows the original’s word- and poem-shapes and sounds. While excerpts were included in Reft and Light (Burning Deck, 2000) and Twentieth-Century German Poetry (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008), it appears in its entirety for the first time in this bilingual edition.”

You can order the big E through Mindmade Books, and I also recommend Guy’s own poetry book, Snapshots of Marseilles (Sacrifice Press), which came out in April.

Things to do on a rainy Sunday
“Collaboration,” an interaction between visual arts and written arts, takes place today, December 12, at 3 p.m., at the Upstream Gallery, 26B Main Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 (914-674-8548). Our fav poet Brenda Connor-Bey will be reading. Or catch the exhibition Thursday-Sunday afternoon through December 31.

Racoco Productions will perform work in progress as part of Mary Anthony's holiday studio show, featuring dancer Rachel Cohen today, December 12, at 3 p.m., 736 Broadway, #7, between Astor Place and Waverly Place; tickets $10.

Holiday shopping

These vendors offer unusually high quality gifts: Clean Ridge Soap, luxurious scents, soaps and lotions at reasonable prices (see left); D & D Accessories (914-330-2122),outrageously unique scarves and shawls; Vermont Hardwood Pens, which offers a free pen if you order more than two dozen; Chatham Candy Manor, Cape Cod’s best homemade chocolates; Sharon, a jewelery designer who combines your favorite quote and artwork in a beautiful pendant; Nicole, another jewelry designer who creates fun work with her mom; Sueanne Shirzay who creates a beautiful amethyst necklace (at right) to support the National Domestic Violence Hotline; and Loretta Fay (RETFAY@aol.com) who makes gorgeous, durable purses from upholstery fabric you select—and affixes your most cherished saying inside.

Great yearend wisdom
Wonderful suggestions from David Allen to wrap up the year: “It's time to purge. The end of a year and start of the new is a great metaphorical event you can use to enhance a critical aspect of your constructive creativity—get rid of everything that you can.

Your psyche has a certain quota of open loops and incompletions that it can tolerate, and it will unconsciously block the engagement with new material if it has reached its limit. Release some memory.

· Want more business? Get rid of all the old energy in the business you've done. Are there any open loops left with any of your clients? Any agreements or disagreements that have not been completed or resolved? Any agendas and communications that need to be expressed? Clean the slate.

· Want more clothes? Go through your closets and storage areas and cart to your local donation center everything that you haven't worn in the last 24 months. And anything that doesn't feel or look just right when you wear it.

· Want to be freer to go where you want to, when you want to, with new transportation? Clean out your glove compartments and trunks of your cars. And for heaven's sake, get those little things fixed on your car or bicycle or motorbike that have been bugging you.

· Do you want more wealth? Unhook from the investments and resources that have been nagging at you to change. (And give more than usual to someone or something that inspires you to do so.)

· Do you want to feel more useful? Hand off anything that you are under-utilizing to someone who can employ it better.

· Want some new visions for your life and work? Clean up and organize your boxes of old photographs. Want to know what to do with your life when you grow up? Start by cleaning the center drawer of your desk.

You will have to do all this anyway, sometime. Right now don't worry about the new. It's coming toward you at lightning speed, no matter what. Just get the decks clear so you're really ready to rock 'n' roll.

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.

- Henry David Thoreau

Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein”

‘Round the Net
· Cindy Dunne for this update from her activist daughter, Maggie, who makes an appeal to former President Clinton to consider the Lakota when he speaks about domestic poverty.

· Sarah Bracey White for this update on the Purchase College Writing Center Fellows and hilarious take on the literary academic career path.

· Mary Ladd for this political send-off of Gilbert & Sullivan that defends our beleaguered president.

· Linda Simone for recent travel poems published online: “Mediterranean Lullaby,” “Passing Madame Tussaud,” “Villa Marina,” “Thanksgiving 3 a.m. Paris” and “I Ragazzi. “

· Meredith Trede for this PBS interview with new US Poet Laureate W. S. Merwin.

· Julie Wiskirchen for this news about this lost Ted Hughes poem.

Wishing you warm and wonderful holidays!
Ann

your october annogram

Hello everyone, it’s autumn--at right, in Vermont! We’re feeling it here in New York this week where temperatures have become chilly and brilliant multicolored leaves are starting to drop….

WAA members’ night
In September, my husband Michael Cefola (lower left) spoke to the Westchester Amateur Astronomers about how he created a roll-back observatory out of a garage rooftop in New England. Mike Virsinger shared dramatic video he and his filmmaker-wife, Angela, took of the next-to-last shuttle launch; John Paladini discussed a uniqueome-method for making a telescope lens, and Larry Faltz described star gazing from the Colorado mountains where he and his wife Elyse encountered almost as many sheep as stars.

The November 6 star party will be at Ward Pound Ridge (poor weather cancels: 877-456-5778); and on Friday, November 5 at 8 p.m.at Pace University, Caroline Moore will speak on discovering a rare supernova—see web site for details.

Avanti Popolo reading
The Avanti Popolo (Manic D Press, 2008) poetry anthology celebrates Italian-American experience. Contributors, including award-winning poet Linda Simone, will read on Tuesday, October 5, 2010, at 6 p.m. at the Calandra Italian American Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor, New York, (bet. 5th and 6th). Free but call 212-642-2094 to preregister and bring a photo ID to show the building concierge.

Boo at the Zoo
Gigi and the Lend-Me-A-Hand Band, which includes my favorite lead guitarist Michael Cefola, are performing at the Bronx Zoo every Saturday and Sunday this month at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Gigi leads the daily Halloween parade into the Grizzly Goodies Picnic Area. Discover children’s music with a grown-up rock edge and why WNBC-TV calls the band a “Best Bet” in family entertainment.

Racoco wine-tasting
A wine-tasting will take place Tuesday, October 5, 7-9 p.m., to benefit Racoco Productions, innovative dance reviewed by The New York Times. Suggested donation is $45; click here for tickets to the 25 W 54th Street Penthouse. Tell the doorman you're visiting Shaun Smith.

Purchase Writers Center
Purchase College has a new Writers Center: On October 13, the Writers Center will host a reception, 4:30-6 p.m., to welcome its new fellows, poet Pamela Hart, memoirist Sarah Bracey White (left) and novelist Christine Lehner. Congratulations to this year’s talented fellows, who’ve won a stipend and office space to pursue their projects.

Have you read your smory?
Smories are stories written for kids, read by kids. Congratulations to Linda Simone on winning fourth place in the top-five smories viewed in September! Discover the magic of a smory—for grown-ups too—by visiting Linda’s October smory, “Starry Night.” And pass it along to the kids in your life.

Toadlily at Poets House
Thanks to founders Myrna Goodman and Meredith Trede, Toadlily Press gives many talented poets exposure in its annual quartet series. On Saturday, November 6, 5-7 p.m., Toadlily will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a reading and launch of Sightline, at Poets House, 10 River Terrace, Battery Park City in New York City. Congratulations Myrna and Meredith, and keep up the good work!

'Round the Net

Thanks to the following people for these great links:

· Sarah Bracey White for this profile of her writing career

· Jeanette Briggs for this video about elephant-dog friendship

· Alice Orr for her valuable writing workshops in the beautiful northwest

· Jackie Sheeler for her new book, An Earthquake Came to Harlem (NYQ Books, 2010)

· Linda Simone for Paragraph, work space available for writers in Manhattan.

· Russell Valentino for this interview with translator Esther Allen (scroll down).

Wishing everyone warm quilts, homemade pies and the brisk energy of this beautiful season….

Ann

your summer annogram

Ann-thologies
I am thrilled that my tribute to Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), “Shrapnel,” appears in Motif 2: Come What May (MotesBooks, 2010). In addition, “Beloved Corporate Retirees” will be in the upcoming Knocking at the Door (Buddhapuss Ink), “Contagion” in One for the Road (Split Oak Press) and “Express” in the Alhambra Poery Calendar 2011 (Alhambra Publishing).

Translation in Source
My translation of Hélène Sanguinetti’s poem, “Two Kernels to Start the Day,” and essay on her work appear in a special issue of Source on Women and Translation. Editor Michele McKay Aynesworth packs Source, the online journal of the literary division of the American Translators Association, with fascinating articles. Take a look!

‘Andromeda’ as invocation
I read “Andromeda at Midlife” to open the Alumnae/i Citation Ceremony at the Sarah Lawrence Reunion on June 4. Thanks to Rona Carr, president of the Alumnae/i Association, for this lovely invitation. It was an honor to be back on campus and recall that the Sarah Lawrence community always reveres poetry.

Hadad and Afzal-Khan this Thursday
Herb Hadad and Fawzi Afzal-Khan will read at the Hudson Valley Writers Center July 15 at 7:30 p.m. Hadad, author of Finding Immortality: The Making of One American Family, is a former New York Times essayist. Afzal-Khan’s memoir, Lahore with Love, explores her Pakistani childhood. $5 admission includes Middle Eastern refreshments.

Vitale feature at Montreal Festival
Montreal on Screen-Congress 2010 recently screened “Montreal Main,” Frank Vitale's classic underground feature. The film will also be explored in Queer Film Classics (Arsenal Pulp Press) which covers 21 influential 1950-2005 films about and by LGBTQ people. The remastered “Montreal Main” DVD is available here.

‘Round the Net

· Jamie Appel, for this YouTube film on the value of hugs.

· Maggie Dunne, on a State Department fellowship, for sharing more Bangladesh adventures.

· Linda Leedy Schneider for creating this Not a Muse Bowery Poetry Club reading DVD, which you can purchase for $20 by contacting brooks123@aol.com.

· Angela Virsinger, for introducing me to this journal of poetry and illustration.

· Julie Wiskirchen for this wonderful story of an inspirational pit bull.


Hope you’re getting in some great summer reading. I just finished Ulysses, spurred on by Declan Kiberd’s Ulysses and Us (Faber and Faber, 2009). All I can say is “Wow!” and “Whew!”

Wishing you classic discoveries….

Ann

your spring annogram

New Jumpstart web site
I welcome spring with a new web site, created by award-winning designer Lorraine Serra, for my coaching and creative communications business. Everyone wants their work lives to reflect their authentic selves, and I help professionals make that happen. I also advise executives on creative communication strategies, something I’ve been doing for more than 20 years at Fortune 10 companies. Visit the new web site to learn more!

Tribute to two greats
It gives me no pleasure to tell you about a poem in the current Autumn Leaves. The journal’s lovely editor, Sondra Ball, passed away in March. Her husband, Mario, invited submissions for a final issue. “Where Words End” recalls one of my mentors, New England Writers founder Frank Anthony (1922-2005), as well as Sondra who published his work. Here’s to you, dear Sondra and Frank!

Offbeats reunite
Back in the day, Jay Shulman made Scarsdale High girls swoon when he sang “Gloria.” On May 1, Jay (second from right) was at it again—when his band, the Offbeats, reunited for a Scarsdale Teen Center benefit at Vintage Café in White Plains. Original guitarist John Moses (far right) joined rhythm guitarist Michael Cefola (red guitar), bass player Larry Schwartzman (second from left), drummer Teddy Spencer (in back), and blues harp wailer/vocalist Thom Pernice (far left) for a return engagement hosted by the Peak’s Jimmy Fink. The benefit raised the most funds ever for the Teen Center.

Unicorn Writers Conference
What a pleasure to be the featured poet at the inaugural Unicorn Writers Conference! Literary agent Jan Kardys and professional writer Maureen Amaturo put together an impressive range of workshops at the beautiful Oronoque Country Club in Stratford, CT. My poetry workshop drew talented writers of all ages who pulled out amazing poetic abilities in our brief time together. I was thrilled to have this wonderful experience.

Poetry Translation Workshop
Thanks to Beth Gersh-Nesic for inviting me to give a Contemporary Poetry Translation Workshop at Manhattanville College. The seminar last month was part of a French translation course. How many schools give a course in translation like that? Brava to French chair and assistant professor Binita Mehta for this progressive curriculum. I had a great time with an international group of students savvy to the subtleties of language.

Hadad book party
Greenburgh Cultural Arts Director Sarah Bracey White knows how to put on a party, and that’s what she did recently for Herb Hadad to celebrate his short story collection, Finding Immortality (iUniverse, 2010). In one selection, Herb recalled a college course on Thoreau, where the professor insisted the writer’s name be pronounced “thorough.” When Herb dozed in class, the professor thundered, “Did you read the text?” Herb woke up to say, “Thoreau-ly.” And that’s why we love Herb….

Women in the world economy
New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof and journalist Sheryl WuDunn spoke at Scarsdale High School to celebrate the school system’s 225th anniversary. This Pulitzer Prize-winning couple gave inspiring examples of women worldwide who overcome odds to prosper themselves, their families and villages through ingenuity and hard work. More can be found in their book, Half the Sky (Vintage, 2010).

Racoco at Mary Anthony Studio
One pleasure of my 2007 Santa Fe Art Institute residency was meeting Rachel Cohen, director of Racoco, a New York Times-profiled performance group. Racoco's "I-Fold" will be performed to Telemann's Sonata in F Minor this Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm, at the Mary Anthony Dance Studio. The piece features Rachel Cohen, Rebecca Ketchum, Kelly Kocinski and Erin Posanti. For reservations, call 212-674-8191.

Celebrating African American experience
Hear poet-artist Nikki Williams read at the opening reception for her exhibit, “Beautiful, Also, Are the Souls of My People” on May 16 at 3:30 pm at the Madeline Gutman Gallery at Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue Greenburgh, NY. Call 914-682-1574 for more info. Her exhibit of photography-poetry collages, celebrating the beauty and resilience of the African American experience, runs through July 7.

Port Chester Fest
The Port Chester Poetry Fest will take place at Copacabana, 29 N. Main Street, Port Chester, on May 22, 3 pm – 7 pm. The fest features multicultural artists and high school poets. If you love poetry, make a tax-deductible contribution payable to Council of Community Services (indicate on check that donation is for “Poetry Reading”) and send to P.O. Box 322, Port Chester, NY 10573. Many thanks!

Emily Dickinson in the Bronx
In an exhibit entitled, “Emily Dickinson’s Garden: The Poetry of Flowers,” The New York Botanical Garden has recreated a Victorian homestead and flowers that would have been most likely grown by the famous poet (1830-1886). The exhibit, which runs through June 13, features readings and a ballet this upcoming weekend. Tickets $20.

Walk Across Brooklyn Bridge
Poet’s House Walk Across Brooklyn Bridge is June 14 at 6:30 p.m. Poets Tina Chang, Galway Kinnell and Thomas Lux will read Walt Whitman, Marianne Moore, Langston Hughes and others beneath Roebling's famous arches, followed by dinner in Brooklyn. Tickets $250 (Poets House Members $225). Reservations required: call 212-431-7920, ext. 2830, or e-mail krista@poetshouse.org.

‘Round the Net

Thanks to the people below for sending me these fascinating links:

· Maureen Amaturo for this story about the quest for a day to honor dead poets

· Lucy Barber for this sweet story of a woman and her beloved wheels

· Julie Renszer for her new poetry book, Handmade Love (A Midsummer Night’s Press, 2010)

· Linda Simone for video of her poem “Grapefruit” in Alimentum and this New York Times article on machine translation

· Russell Valentino for this intriguing translation project.


Spring means intense creativity—both for the earth and for artists. Hope your muse is blooming!

Until next time,
Ann

your snowy annogram

The Year of the Tiger is off to a roaring start: My work will appear in two anthologies, Motif: Chance and the unlikely breast-themed Wait a Minute, I Have to Take Off My Bra. In addition, Hélène Sanguinetti, the French writer I translate, is the first international poet featured in Presa. The editor writes: “Recognized in her native France, Hélène is an innovative experimental poet [who] incorporates a wide range of elements in her poems, such as dialogue, shifting personae and visual field.” This power-packed Presa also features Eric Greinke’s astute essay, “The Potential of Poetry,” a must-read for poets everywhere.

Clapton and Beck at the Garden
What a pleasure to see two top guitarists play together! Jeff Beck, backed by a 12-piece orchestra, opened the first set. Looking buff in a white sleeveless shirt and black vest, Beck played with usual intensity, with bass player Rhonda Smith, and drummer Vinnie Colauita and keyboardist Jason Rebello. He performed his Grammy-winning version of the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” and other classically-bent songs from his new CD “Emotion and Commotion” (Atco). Beck’s gift, bending notes so that the guitar sounds like a haunting vocal, was most apparent in the Beatles’ song.

While Clapton is not god, hearing him is still a transcendent experience: Starting with acoustic Delta blues, he worked his way to Derek and the Dominos standards such as “Tell the Truth”; and then signatures “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Cocaine.” Third set brought both guitarists together—in suit jacket and glasses, Clapton looked like the professor next to punky Beck. Both electrified the Garden with “Moneymaker,” an emotive “Moon River,” Cream’s “Outside Woman Blues” and Muddy Water’s “Little Brown Bird.” A historic night—for more on this pioneering duo, see the current Rolling Stone cover story.

Hadad and Johnson celebrate new books
On Saturday, March 6, at 2 p.m., Greenburgh Arts and Culture will present Herbert Hadad, author of Finding Immortality: The Making of One American Family (iUniverse, NY and Bloomington) and Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All (Harper). Hadad is a superb, award-winning writer and Johnson an equally excellent raconteur. Free at the Greenburgh Library, 320 Tarrytown Road, in Elmsford. And save Sunday, March 21, 2-4 p.m., for NYFA award-winning poets E.J. Antonio and LaTasha Nevada Diggs at Greenburgh Town Hall.

Kristof and WuDunn on Half the Sky
New York Times editorial writer Nicholas Kristof and journalist Sheryl WuDunn believe women are the secret to the prosperity and stability of the global economy. Come hear the husband-and-wife team discuss their new book, Half the Sky, at Scarsdale High School, White Plains Post Road, in Scarsdale, on March 2 at 7:30 p.m. This free event, sponsored by the Independence Institute, the Scarsdale Teachers Institute and the Scarsdale Middle and High School PTAs, celebrates 225th anniversary of the Scarsdale Schools and its dedication to preparing students for an interdependent world.

Amazing Maggie (or how to get things Dunne)
Nicholas Kristof recently held a YouTube contest for college kids asking them why one should accompany him to visit a developing country. Maggie Dunne, family friend and Colgate University student, challenged Kristof to do something else first. Maggie founded the Lakota Pine Ridge Children’s Enrichment Project, an annual clothing and book drive for children on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She has since interned with a bank in Southeast Asia that specializes in microloans to poor people. IMHO, Maggie’s a winner no matter who wins the YouTube contest!

Unicorn Writers Conference
I’m honored to give the poetry workshop at the Unicorn Writers Conference on Saturday, April 10, at the Oronoque Country Club in Stratford, Connecticut. Organizers promise “a writers’ conference like no other!” The day includes opportunities to receive feedback from publishing insiders on manuscripts, attend one or more of seven craft workshops, and get insights into the business of books—from contracts and cover art to media, marketing and promotion. Gene Wilder, actor and writer, is the keynote; and a dinner dance with live music will wrap up the day. Sounds wonderful. Hope to see you there!

French Film Festival
See the last in this free film series, “Un secret” (Claude Miller), on March 7, 7:00-10:00 p.m. in Room 8, Brownson Hall, at Manhattanville College. Q&A session to follow. For further info, e-mail mehtab@mville.edu, or call 914.323.5407.

Alexander and Theroux to read
Pulitzer Prize Finalist Poet Elizabeth Alexander will read at Manhattanville College on March 2nd at 7p.m and author Phyllis Theroux on April 13th 9 at 7:00 p.m. Each program includes a reception, Q&A and book signing. The free readings will be held at Manhattanville College’s Reid Castle, 2900 Purchase Street, Purchase NY. Reserve a seat by calling 914 323-5239 or e-mailing sirabiank@mville.edu.

Sosin and Seaton’s not-so-silent films
Pianist Donald Sosin and vocalist Joanna Seaton will perform at the Tarrytown Music Hall: March 21, 6 p.m., “Nosferatu” (Murnau); March 24, 7:30 p.m., “The Last Laugh” (Murnau); April 18, 6 p.m., “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (Reiniger); and April 21, 7:30 p.m., “Pandora’s Box” (Pabst). Donald will also perform April 9, 9:15 a.m., at the Orphan Film Symposium at the School of Visual Arts: “Origin of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata” (Edison, 1909); “Rip’s Dream” (Georges Méliès, 1905), “A Poet from the Sea” (China Sun Motion Picture Co. 1927); at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 14, 7 p.m.: “Nana” (Jean Renoir); and Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center: April 18, 1 p.m., “The Prisoner of Karlsten’s Fortress” (Georg af Klercker, 1916), and April 24 at 1:30 p.m., “Thomas Graal’s Best Film” (Mauritz Stiller, 1917). FIN

‘Round the Net
Thanks to the following people who sent me these great links:

· ALTA list-serve for this Reading the World podcast with Lawrence Venuti discussing his translations from Catalan

· Beth Gersh-Nesic for the Vassar Haiti Project

· Janelle Elyse Kihlstrom for Melusine’s winter issue

· Cesar Milan for this memorial page for Daddy the pitbull who passed away February 19

· Dusty Sackett for this fascinating video palindrome on YouTube

· Linda Schneider for editing Mentor’s Bouquet, work by writers she has mentored

· Linda Simone for the lovely journal Assisi with her page one poem, “Stunning with St. Francis in the Garden”

· Linda Simone for Terry Dugan reading her poems “Body Fluids” and “Holiday Cheer” and Sarah Bracey White discussing her work at Greenburgh Arts & Culture

· Julie Wisckirchen for her new blog

I will end with this Clapton quote: “I’ve always believed that if I’m true to that part of my consciousness that is the music, I’ll be all right.” Amen.

Until next time,
Ann

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