Poetry is Stupid; Change My Mind

Today, at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, Darrell Parry delivered a presentation at the organization’s morning meeting called, “Poetry is Stupid. Change My Mind.” He followed that with an afternoon workshop of what he described as 12 enthusiastic writers participating in various exercises relate to the crafting of poetry and how it benefits you, regardless of your preferred genres.

Darrell discussed common conceptions about poetry and dispelled them with examples from some of his favorite poets and read one of his own works, the recent poem, Baker’s Doesn’t, commemorating his mother’s confectionery talents and her one unmastered dessert, the rice krispie treat. It’s a hysterical poem that not only sums his mother up perfectly, but it also uses alliteration and word choice to roll across the reader’s ears and bring double the pleasure to the reader/listener, providing laughter and poignancy, causing us to reflect on our own families and our own social gatherings.

In other GLVWG/Parisian Phoenix news, both involving Publisher Angel Ackerman:

• The Programming Chair of GLVWG invited Angel to give a presentation and workshop at the October meeting on writing podcasts, how to find and use them to promote your work and how to be a good podcast guest. Angel has invited William Prystauk, who has an essay in Not An Able-Bodied White Man with Money and is the author of the Kink Noir series published through End of the Line Publishing, to join her as he has podcast experience as the host of The Last Knock with Johnny Numb.
• And Angel also received a nomination to serve as president of GLVWG. This would be Angel’s third term as president of that group, having previously served on the board of GLVWG for eight years about a decade ago.

In other Parisian Phoenix news:

• Angel has received the final changes from author Larry Sceurman for his upcoming book Coffee in the Morning. Larry has worked really hard adding photography to the book, so that did hold up production by about a week or so, but with a little elbow grease we still hope to get that book on the proverbial shelves before the end of May. The ebook may slow down the release. So Angel and Gayle need to review that.
• Eva Parry’s tarot journal has passed through editorial and has a very loose dummy on Gayle’s desk right now. The copy waits in Eva’s inbox for her approval before we begin official layout.
• Rachel Thompson reports that the copy for the RV book is coming fast. If you’re looking for a practical kind for living in an RV full-time, Rachel, with her partner (in crime?) Lisa Cross have the easygoing but “been there” trips and tricks for not only surviving but also smelling some roses along the way.