Hodgepodging It

Robert posted a link to spam poetry, but Blogger cut it short: http://www.satirewire.com/features/poetry_spam/01strict_winner.shtml

It's a great read. I don't know how often others see the word "penis," "member," or "manhood" in their junk mail, but it's the recitativ of what I receive.

To return to my disdain regarding the overuse of simile, I was reading the latest issue of Poets & Writers today and ran across the advertisement page for new books. Abbey Laurel-Smith's new book of poetry, i lied: "a seduction of innocent minds," includes an excerpt that exemplifies my dislike of the abuse of the word "like":

Beat a bush to rattle a thief
and I'll walk on egg like a thief
with socks to hand
Risk a life to live like a thief
and I'll walk your lane
like a dog sniffing a trail

Blech! This poet hasn't sold me. Good thing she didn't come to me for editing. Which brings me to a quote I found in the article about three editors-gone-author. Former Paris Review managing editor, Elizabeth Gaffney, says, "to be an editor is to be very selfless, it is to help other people[...]" (Poets & Writers May/June 2005, pg. 51). This sums up my attitude toward helping others write, sans the assertion of selflessness. I've enjoyed watching those I work with improve, turning their writing from bad or alright to exciting and energetic.

Well, it's Memorial Day, but no barbecues or lakes for me. Nope. I'm about to write a poem using Word Count and the names of those on the SPEWS crew this term. I'll also finish revising my final poetry journal log for Kasey Mohammad's Advanced Fiction Writing, as well as some poems for my chap book. Hopefully, I'll finish both before I need to go to Ceramics tonight at 5:00. My instructor, Jennifer Eufusia, has been kind enough to come in on this holiday for those of us who've fallen behind. Thanks, Jen.