This week was when my annual juried intensive poetry workshop would have been going on. I miss meeting the poets and working with them, but for several reasons I don’t regret ending it.  First of all it was incredibly draining.  Each year since I turned 85, it has taken longer to recover my strength.  Second, every May I could not work in the garden or write as I was busy reading, rereading and annotating 15 poems from each poet accepted to the workshop.  I also would be going over my lectures and handouts and assignments. Woody is happy he doesn’t have to cook that week, as every day by the time I finished the morning workshop and the three conferences with individual poets that afternoon. I’d be exhausted.  In the evening, except for Thursday evening when we gave a group reading together and sold books and Friday when I had only one conference in the afternoon and cooked up a storm for the class party, I’d be prepping the next day’s workshop and going over the notes I’d made on each mss. I gave them the notes after that poet’s conference, usually 3 pages, detailed comments on individual poems and general comments on areas that they should prioritize to improve.

A poet from the second to last workshop came by on Wednesday with his wife and great Greek yogurt from a farm.  It’s the best yogurt I’ve tasted since my time in Greece many years ago.

It’s hot here but not like the mainland and so far, it’s been breezy which cuts the feeling of heat and humidity so that so far, we haven’t had to use air conditioning units. We try to say hydrated. Cooking is not fun, but the results are worth it. We know our great spinach and fine broccoli will bolt.  Too bad, we’ve been enjoying them.  

My agent read my book finally and said she found it interesting and unique.  She had suggestions. She wants me to revise it over the summer and deliver it to her early in September when things get going in NYC publishing. I have been working to clear the decks or the desk in my reality, so that Tuesday morning, I can get going. I agree with most of her suggestions.  I knew I would need another draft, as no one else has read it yet. I’m happy when I’m on it.

Friday I had to fast until 2 pm because I needed to get blood work done before the appointment with my doctor on Wednesday.  I hate fasting.  I get nauseous, dizzy and grumpy.  I got  up @ 5:30 so I could eat some yogurt before 6 am when the 8 hours of fasting began. It pretty much wrecked the day but I did write a poem.  About food, of course.

It’s been warm and humid here, but we aren’t really experiencing the heat dome.  Also, we’ve had breezes and occasional gusts and that cools us off outside – at least somewhat. The ocean gives, the ocean takes away.  Currently, it’s protecting us, but hurricane season will come.