Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Virtual Blog Tour

I was asked to participate in a virtual blog tour by the most awesome Susie Clevenger. The purpose of the blog tour is to introduce talented bloggers and learn about their creative process. Please go check out Susie's tour at Confessions of a Laundry Goddess.


Its goal is to introduce talented bloggers and have them share insight into their writing and creative process. You can visit her tour post at The Edge of Silence - See more at: http://confessionsofalaundrygoddess.blogspot.com/2014/05/virtual-blog-tour.html#sthash.MR4fkyV6.dpuf
Its goal is to introduce talented bloggers and have them share insight into their writing and creative process. You can visit her tour post at The Edge of Silence - See more at: http://confessionsofalaundrygoddess.blogspot.com/2014/05/virtual-blog-tour.html#sthash.MR4fkyV6.dpuf


  Susie Clevenger
Susie Clevenger is a Poet, Author, Blogger and Photographer.  Her debut book of poetry Dirt Road Dreams is available on Amazon and Susie is currently working on her second poetry collection, Insomnia's Ink.  To view her work visit Confessions Of A Laundry Goddess.






Unsurprisingly to the people who know me, I am late posting. I was supposed to have this posted Monday, but my sweetie had some unexpected time off...and I goofed a bit.  So, I am going to talk about my process a bit and then share some of my favorite bloggers.


 What am I working on?

When I am not trying to clean up my house or keep my sweetie-pies from eating glue, I like to write and take pictures. I have been experimenting with poetry inspired by haiga where I write poems directly onto pictures. I have also recently been introduced to scanner photography, which fascinates me. I have also been exploring selfies on Instagram (biggerthanalasagna). Because of all of this, I have become a huge fan of Pixlr Express

I currently have three short stories on the back burner that have me stuck (I miss writing short stories), and I am working on a series where each post is limited to 100 words. 

How does my work differ from others in it's genre?

Hmmmm....I guess if you were to ask me what I wrote, my instinct would be to reply "Flash Fiction Horror." A cursory glance of any lasagna related social media, however, would reveal mostly confessionalist poetry and poems about my sweetie-pies, with the occasional pissed-off social commentary. And, where some of the poems about me are rather scary, I prefer monsters (lately, zombies). My poetry seems to differ from other poems in that I like to tell a story, and, right now, I'm not very interested in being poetical. I like the puzzle of the form and the quick release of a short poem.  Although, I'm always an advocate for alliteration!


Why do I write/create what I do?

 I have no idea. Honestly.  I know that with some of my poetry, I write it because I think that if I don't get that feeling out of me it will slowly poison me.  Then again, some of my poetry is maybe a pretentious way of saying "Look how fucking cute my kids are!" I like writing that is unexpected and or surprising. The more surprising, the more I like it. The surprise tickles me. The photography and the audio recordings are mostly because it's fun.



How does your writing/creative process work?

Like I wrote earlier, sometimes I am just miserable and I need to get that out. Those are usually poems and they come out quickly and it's done. Sometimes, I just want to write or make something, and I will go to one of the awesome prompts online and see what happens. Sometimes, the idea comes and I am in a place where I can sit down and play with it.  I find that some sort of routine, like NaPoWriMo, helps and I get very writey if I commit to write something everyday. (She writes as she's late with this post :) )

So, that's me today. Let's get to three awesome bloggers that you will love, if you don't already! Next Monday-ish they will give their own blog tour, but you don't have to wait..go check them out today!


Talicha J.

Talicha J. is an American poet/spoken word artist, aspiring novelist, music producer and an avid reader (she is quite proud of her ability to read an entire trilogy in one week). In March she competed in her first national poetry competition, Women Of the World Poetry Slam, along with 71 other female poets. She came in 36 overall landing in the top fifty percent. Talicha J. also released her debut poetry album “In the making” on May 1st. She is excited about realizing her childhood dream of being a poet, although she could use a raise. 

Official Website: http://www.talichaj.com




Yves K. Morrow

I am a 33 year old living in Sweden with my husband of 14 years and my 6 year old daughter. Mindlovemisery reflects the subjects most extensively explored in my poetry. Mind- philosophy, psychology, mental illness, society  Love- loss, unrequited, infatuations and obsessions, sex, true love, new love, relationships of all sorts both dysfunctional and sublime Misery- childhood trauma, Depression, the search for meaning, loneliness, spiritual dilemmas grief, social ineptitude etc.  I was a rather peculiar child (if you have read my poetry I am sure you can imagine!) and so I taught myself very early on to read and read everything I could get my hands on romance novels, text books, manuals, porn mags, newspapers, dictionaries, adult fiction, adult non fiction, biographies, mythology, fairy tales, cereal boxes if I could find it I would read it. Speaking of my peculiarities I used to visit strangers homes and listen to them talk for hours in an effort to better understand human nature (my own nature and feelings). I also used to go on horrendously long walks from dawn to dusk as a child. I didn't really start writing until it became increasingly part of my school curriculum, until then I acted out all the stories in my head. My first influences were Sylvia Plath, Arthur Rimbaud, and Oscar Wilde (though his influence is not seen so much in my work). Once I started writing I realized how intrinsic it was to my nature. Being devastatingly shy writing has given me a voice, a means of coherently expressing myself. In school I continued my vicious pursuit of the nature of man and studied psychology, philosophy, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, religion anything that had to do with the mind, body, or spirit.  Jim Carroll is another influence, though he came significantly later, his poetry has definitely shaped my work. Aside from poetry I am very physically active I dance, weight-lift, do yoga and Pilates, and various other types of cardiovascular activities.  I also paint, bake, watch an obscene amount of documentaries, medical programs, and biographies, enjoy the very occasional video game, and eat a lot hence the need for so much exercise!  
That's Bone, on the left.
Bone 

 Bone was born some years ago, according to documents he obtained from a woman claiming to be his mother. He grew, in size and age, as many of his species are wont to do. He describes himself as a thinker of thoughts. For most of his life, he has been stricken with long bouts of little to no productivity. And he likes to eat donuts.

http://littlenibbler.blogspot.com/

*I'm considering a prize for the person (not Bone) who can tell me how many times Bone gets me to edit this post.




heidi 
written 5/28/14

Friday, May 23, 2014

Flying



poem and photo by heidi helmer


heidi
5/19/14

I have 37 drafts waiting to be posted. Why haven't I posted anything in 10 days??????????

Oh and Collum Lune!
 

Monday, May 19, 2014

A Morning Without Fear

It's been years since
   whatever happened
         happened

and the dead
    got hungry

devouring anything
    that moved
        animals
           people

only ignoring the insects
     as they crawled through
      their rotting
        bodies

devouring the devourers
    as our loved ones
      fed on our brains

making us take cover
    learn to fight
       kill the dead

for so long
    the only sounds
      were the groans of
         the deceased

as they looked for food
   as they fell apart
      as the feasted
          and felt pleasure
               as their hunger abated

and there was the light crunching
   as millions of bugs
       ate along with them

eventually, the dead stopped
    rising

the bugs kept eating
    and we just hid
        and waited
           for equilibrium

and this morning
   for the first time
      I woke without fear
         listening to the
            birdsong

and as my stomach
    complained
       I wondered
          if
            brains really taste that
                good.

heidi
written 5/13/14
in response to Marina Sofia's dVerse Poetics prompt

I had to write two other poems to get to this one, which is the one that I wanted to write!
 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Memory Drift

poem and photo by heidi helmer

My memories are here
drifting like

clouds.

heidi
written 5/15/14 for dVerse Meeting the Bar

Victoria is tending today and has us writing a Tilus, a form developed by Kelvin S.M. There is supposed to be a break in between the last two lines, but I forgot it before I saved the image. This piece is not only my first Tilus, but also my first attempt at scanner photography.  I am looking forward to trying out both again soon. So, while your surfing, head on over to the Pub and check out the Tilus!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Your Flame is Not Your Only Light

For the past seven
     years
we've been more
     strangers
than friends.

     Life
has kept us apart
     and still
I love you

Spending time with
     you
this weekend was
     not what
I thought it would be.

Years ago - in our
     twenties
you told me that when
you felt
     insecure
     afraid
     threatened
that is when you would
     flame

So I watched you
     be
the gay butt of
     every
stupid, asshole.
     redneck
          joke
at the wedding

I watched as the
     flames
consumed my most
  favorite friend
     and
in the middle of all that
     joy
My heart
     broke.

There is so much
     more
to you than who you
     fuck

There is how you
     love
And your dear sweet
     heart

You don't need to
     perform
for approval or
     love

I'll always love
     you.

heidi
written 5/12/14

For my dear sweet friend who does not realize how truly wonderful he is.

A Heavy Weight

poem and photo by heidi helmer


 
heidi
written 5/13/14 for dVerse Poetics

Marina Sofia has us exploring identity today. I have another response to the prompt floating around in my head, but I went with this one to link because it's more serious. (translation: sad) I'll write the other one and try to post it as well. I already like it better.


 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Love's Promise

photo and poem by heidi helmer

heidi
written 5/10/14

I wrote this as my sister-in-law was walking down the aisle. I'm sentimental like that. And it's hot like that in Mobile.



 

Friday, May 9, 2014

Some Comfortable Clothes

 
 
 
 
 
heidi
written 5/9/14
I just realized that sinceI sign these and date them, I should probably try to date the base picture as well. This one of from a couple of months ago. I'll do better in the future.

Light On

poem and photo by heidi helmer


heidi
written 5/8/14

I think you may see more of these.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

racing time

photo and poem by heidi helmer

heidi
written 5/7/14

My sweetie asked me how people know what to write. Is it you think of a word and something comes from that, or you see something, or is it just random thoughts? For me it's all of those things and then some. He said "So I could give you seven words and you could write something?" I said that I'd try and I let him expand to seven things, people, concepts. Here's the list he gave me:

George Carlin, summer, children ,ice cream , amusement parks, orange (color), sweaters

I have found Pixlr* in the past few days and have also started exploring Instagram*, so I looked through my pictures to see if there was something that I thought would give me a place to start.  The only image editing I did with this picture was to add the text with Pixlr. I can't remember what this picure is of, I think a Christmas tree. I was trying out the $5.00 digital camera I bought myself for Christmas (It has no frills!)

I thought that I would ask you to please leave you thoughts on writing if you are commenting on this post. I am interested and I think my sweetie would be as well.



*This is not a sponsored post. I am just having a lot of fun with both Pixlr and Instagram. :)

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Tree Lune

the moon sings
nightly to the trees encouraging
them to grow.

heidi
written 5/6/14
inspired by Abhra's dVerse prompt


Abhra is hosting the pub at dVerse tonight and challenges us to write about trees. I'm not linking, but I loved the prompt.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Sunday Afternoon

photo by heidi helmer


The breeze gently glides
 through the tall grass on
 this
Sunday afternoon.

 It is has been a pleasant, spring day
and not only
are my sinuses clear,
but
my tummy is full.

(The roast and root vegetables sitting under a slab of apple pie.)

The glass of  sweet tea
(no mint today, thanks)
is under my fingers

as I lean back in my chair
on the back porch.

I feel so grateful
to have moved here,
      to this old farmhouse
 in rural Alabama.

My house is at the end of
a gravel road
which is just my
long-ass
driveway.

Saturday nights
I sing along with
the bluegrass program
on NPR.


The people stuck in the cities
seem
so
unlucky
 to me.

 I hear the familiar click

as the trap springs

and I see the red spray

in the distance.

The animals know better than to go near the traps,

but the zombies seem to fall for them every time.

heidi
written 5/5/14
submitted to Free Write Friday with Kellie Elmore


This piece came about because I wanted to write something, and nothing was happening. Kellie Elmore's Free Write prompts are excellent for kick-starting some writing, and this last Friday's prompt was a word bank using these words:

Red – Mint – Gravel – Sing – Unlucky

which then reminded me of a Twitter conversation I had with @LatinoDeepSouth about the article "Would Alabamians Survive a Zombie Apocolypse?" and, I was off writing.

I wrote initially as straight-on prose, but it looked like a huge word block, so I did this with it. Is this prosetry? Or am I having a hard time shaking NaPoWriMo?

While you're online, why not hastag #BringBackOurGirls, and check out the Latinos in the Deep South website and Twitter. They are doing some awesome work!

Sunday, May 4, 2014

An Open Thank You to Gay Reiser Cannon

Dear Gay,

For the April 10, 2014 dVerse Meeting the Bar post, you challenged us to create our own form. I created the Geburstag, which uses the writer's birthday to determine lines and either word or syllable count. In my comments, you wrote that it would also be a good ways to write poems for other people using their birthday. Your challenge and comment opened a whole new way of celebrating my friends for me. I have been using it for birthdays and to commemorate any other special day. (I don't know if my friends like it as much...) But it has been such a fun way for me to remember and reappreciate people who are important to me. I just wanted to thank you for the cool inspiration!

With Gratitude,

heidi

May the Fourth Be With You



http://www.quickmeme.com/Han-Solo-come-at-me/



Han Solo you could always make my Kessel Run, even in only 12 parsecs.

heidi
written 5/4/14 for Star Wars Day

Okay...so it's naughty and it objectifies Harrison Ford and it's probably not the best thing I've ever written. But it makes me laugh. Plus if Harrison Ford is reading *swoons* I apologize and will be happy to show you how sorry I am! :)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

The Whole World Shines Brighter


the day begins with her

happy smile in
my mind

grateful
for my sweet mom

heidi
written 5/3/14

Happy Birthday Mom!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Racism and the Naughty White Guys

lately, race has been
                all                     over                       the                      news

the racist white rancher
    spewing his vomit
                   (while promoting treason and exercising his second amendment rights)


and the racist white basketball owner
      who seems to have gotten a pass
                        for so many years...

and people can shake their heads

tut

tut

tut

and pat themselves on the back

                     for being open

                                        and discussing race issues


but it seems

                   (to me at least)

we are still just
                   giving attention

to
   the
       naughty
               white
                     guys...


while a whole village is still looking for their daughters

heidi
written 5/2/14

#BringBackOurGirls

So...I have realized that I want to take more chances with my writing and write about the stuff that makes me uncomfortable and still angry. I want to write about the things that I am still not sure that I have a vocabulary for. Somewhere along the way my inner activist has started to wake up and she is super pissed. Why are the discussions about race still focused on white men? And I am not trying to say this is "reverse racism" because there really is no such thing.  I am worried about why the conversations about race are started with the actions of the white guys? And why is that more important than a school of missing girls?

Maybe it's apples and oranges, but I don't think so. I think that there is a link there that I am still trying to work out. So, you may see more of these types of posts here. And I am open to a grown up discussion in the comments about race. Although, I will delete any comments that are hate speech, or lies, or trolling.  And, since you've already read to this point, and are still online, go hashtag #BringBackOurGirls on the social media of your choice. Thanks!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

#BringBackOurGirls

Retweeted by BiggerThan ALasagna
234 girls kidnapped. They aren't worthless. The world must pay attention.
 
   · 

A New Habit

all day wondering
what have I forgotten? So,
here's another poem.

heidi
written 5/1/14