friday feast: chatting with julia wendell about take this spoon

June 13, 2014September 1, 2017 ~ jama ~ 36 Comments

We are always eating
or about to, or just done.
We are hungry, we are sated,
we are wishing we hadn’t.
We are making up for it,
or planning our denials,
or confessing them.

~ from “Dieting” by Julia Wendell

I’m pleased today to welcome Maryland poet Julia Wendell, who’s as passionate about words as she is about horses. With a life marked by such difficult personal challenges as anorexia and alcohol addiction, it seems riding and writing have been her saving graces.

The 29 poems in her new chapbook Take This Spoon are presented in seven sections, each leading off with a favorite family recipe to whet the reader’s appetite. As she says in her poem “Dieting,” we spend much of our time obsessing about food. Some are addicted to eating, while others are addicted to not eating. Better to take a lesson from animals:

Self-consciousness doesn’t ruin

their appetite or enjoyment.
They don’t judge what they consume,
or long for what they won’t allow themselves.

They don’t confuse who they are
with what they eat,
fearing they won’t be loved
if they’re fat, or don’t cook,
or overcook, or nearly kill themselves
by making up for their gluttony
with fasting.

Julia explores the complicated relationship humans have with food by fixing a personal lens on her own family. In artfully crafted scenes, (a mother keeping her daughter out of the kitchen so she won’t see her drinking, a young woman bringing home a bohemian boyfriend to dinner at her mother’s “immaculate table,” a woman aching for her deceased mother as she comes across her handwriting on recipe cards), the subtexts of pain, regret, loss, and contention are plated to perfection. Her descriptions of food are lyrical and sensual, her voice intimate and honest, her ability to align what is being eaten with what eats away at the heart and soul is powerful.

Since so many of you enjoyed Julia’s poem, “My Mother’s Handwriting,” I know you’ll find her thoughts about writing, familial relationships, and the love of horses interesting.

Naturally, I asked her to share a recipe. Peanut Butter Pie, anyone? 🙂

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friday feast: chatting with barbara etlin about antique piano & other sour notes

March 7, 2014September 4, 2017 ~ jama ~ 56 Comments

*Extremely cool cover art by Kevin Slattery*

I’m just sitting here tickling the ivories, tickled pink that author, poet, fellow blogger and online friend Barbara Etlin has just published her very first book of poetry! Hoo Hoo!

In between tending her tulips, perfecting owl calls and waiting on HRH Echo (genius good-looking-poetry-writing dog), Barb has managed to cook up 33 mostly humorous, tickle-your-fancy poems exploring “the crescendos and diminuendos of life.”

Call Antique Piano & Other Sour Notes a quirky smorgasbord, a recital of finely-tuned off key musings and amusings about everything from “broken hearts to broken appliances.” It’s fitting that she’s chosen a musical theme for this collection, since she loves to play with lyrics by parodying popular songs and referencing favorite artists like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles.

Writers, especially, will appreciate the ode to an electric typewriter and the memo to Lewis Carroll from the Seven Maids’ Union. For minimalists, Barb has included four haiku; for mind-benders, a conversation between refrigerator magnets; for pet lovers, two barks and a meow; and if you’re feeling spacier than normal, check out the “Etiquette for Astronauts.” For the first time ever, we get to hear the Moon’s side of things (and it’s a little dark)!

I asked Barb to share some tips about humor writing and self publishing, and I was curious about the antique piano. Of course I also asked for a favorite recipe (yes, it’s chocolate!). And, as a special added treat especially for you animal lovers, we’re serving up a sample poem from the book by Echo himself (it’s a good thing Barb takes good dictation). Ruff!

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soup’s on: a blog birthday and other delights

August 20, 2013September 30, 2017 ~ jama ~ 46 Comments

Hey Hey!

I’m back! You look different. Have you had some work done? Eating more fruits and veggies, maybe?

Well, something’s changed.

I swear you’re even more good-looking than you were back in July. Tell me, tell me — how is that even possible?

When last we spoke, 6lueberries were taking over the Alphabet Soup kitchen. Well, you’ll be pleased to know we polished off every last one of those indigo beauties and haven’t had any other grocery shopping mishaps — unless you count the time I asked Len to bring home a spaghetti squash.

Me: That’s not a spaghetti squash. It has a pointy end.

Len: Of course it’s a squash.

Me: It looks too small.

Len: Well, I found it next to all the other squashes and there was even a big sign.

Me: Imposter!

Len: Don’t be silly. This. is. a. squash.

Me: Hokay, if you insist . . .

Marinara sauce simmering, smells good.

Two hours later, a scream from the kitchen.

Len: OH NO!!

Frantic, disheveled writer comes running, expecting to see a gaping knife wound and lots of blood.

What?!! What’s wrong?!!

Len: Look! It’s a . . . MELON!

Writer displays admirable restraint.

Me: Is it a muskmelon?

Len: I don’t know.

Me: Well, I tried to tell you. This is just like Aunty Ella and her Chinese soup fiasco. Instead of winter melon, she got watermelon. So much for our low cal alternative. I’ll cook some penne . . .

Turns out the object in question is a canary melon, and it was delicious! I like it better than cantaloupe but not as much as honeydew. Canary melons are also called winter melons, but they’re not the same “winter melons” my aunt wanted for her soup, which are actually winter gourds. These guys are actually fruits eaten as vegetables. I swear it’s all a conspiracy. Squash espionage abounds. Henceforth, my code name is Melon Head. 🙂

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Debbie Ritter of Uneek Doll Designs

May 14, 2013September 27, 2017 ~ jama ~ 32 Comments

artistdebbie (2) — Debbie in her Cullman, Alabama, sunroom studio.

I think it was Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference who first tipped me off to Debbie Ritter’s wonderful handmade character dolls at Uneek Doll Designs.

I was delighted to see so many of my favorite authors and poets (Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, the Brontë sisters, Emily Dickinson, Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Joyce) in miniature form, and impressed by the quality of workmanship, attention to detail, and amazing quantity and variety of figures available (600+ items currently listed at Etsy).

Debbie is an artist after my own heart. In addition to creating lots of writers, she also features the characters in their stories (Scarlett O’Hara, Anna Karenina, Anne Shirley, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Darcy!). And just as fabulous as her literary dolls are her artists, musicians, singers, historical figures, movie stars and TV personalities (love the Three Stooges, Lucille Ball, Willie Nelson, Aunt Bea, Captain Kangaroo, The Marx Brothers, the Royal Family!).

mayberry (2) — Andy, Aunt Bea and Barney Fife

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Patty of Dedalos Art Dolls

April 1, 2013March 31, 2013 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

hanna doll — Hanna the Writer Doll on a Bed of Roses

I first saw Patty’s lovely dolls several weeks ago when Etsy posted her enchanting stop motion video, “A Doll Making Story.” Instantly charmed, I was curious to find out more about the artist who was able to transform pieces of paper clay and scraps of vintage fabric into beautiful dolls with heart. All her pieces are handmade without the use of molds and are one of a kind.

The mysterious Patty, who chooses not to divulge her surname or reveal her likeness in a photo, lives in Florence, Italy, surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world, known for its rich history, culture, art, architecture, and high fashion. Who would not be inspired to create some form of art when living in the birthplace of the Renaissance? I still sigh and swoon whenever I recall standing in the Uffizi Gallery gazing at Botticelli’s “Primavera.”

I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting Patty, who, in addition to English, speaks Italian, Spanish, French, and a bit of Russian. She named her shop “Dedalos” (“maze”), after Daedalus, the first artist and artisan in Greek mythology who built the famous Labyrinth for King Minos in Crete. I’m always fascinated by how an artist can make a doll actually resemble a famous person yet still emanate her own trademark style.

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