Practice, Practice, Practice . . . Performances and more Practice Post 4

Singapore, United Kingdom, South Korea . . .HELLO to those of you, my readers, who are followers of Notesong Carpenoctum2 and thank you to those of you who are new readers.

                                                 Delores Fisher at the piano

I've been working on a couple of music sound-scape score revisions for poet and instruments. I have the performers picked out and the musicians, although I may add a violinist to the mix once I'm done. I'd be further along with these projects and my new books if I had not gotten a summer virus that pushed me flat on my back, unable to hold down food for several days. Please be cautious ya'll. Virus and bacterial illnesses are still around even if COVID 19 is no longer at pandemic levels. You are not being rude if you move away from people who are coughing and sneezing and NOT keeping their mucous or saliva droplets out of your personal space!!!  

ANYWAY . . .

It's good to be back feeling fairly healthy again.

Mid summer, before I became really ill, as most of you know who follow me on X (Twitter) or Linkedin.com. I stepped away from social media for a few weeks to take a short vacation. Getting ill after that break helped me focus a bit more on my priorities. This blog is one of those priorities.

These past few weeks have been a time for contemplation and setting new goals for the coming year. 

I always like to set benchmark goals at or around the midyear point. We 21st century millennials and Baby Boomer+  folks are very active. When social media is added into the mix, we often realize that we rest our feet but not our eyes, ears, hands, and brain. For instance, do you wake up in the middle of the night and reach for your phone before anything else? Do you text friends in other time zones when you can't sleep at night? Can you text faster than your kids and grandkids?  I rest my point, so to speak. 

Speaking of thoughts, especially thoughts on paper or computer screen, and friends---International poet Olga Gutierrez-Garcia, Jim Moreno, Reg E. Gaines, and Joe Milosch got me out of my artists' funk at the Coronado Writer's Festival. Writers from various genes held panel discussions and readings. It was a spiritual smorgasbord for the mind, body, and soul. (The physical food really was delicious too).

                                       Delores Fisher at the Coronado writer's Festival 2024

I went to the San Diego Poetry Annual's reading at the festival. Olga read several of her poems.

                                 Olga Gutierrez Garcia at the Coronado Writer's festival.

Olga also featured at Vino Migrante in San Diego's Old Town on Wednesday evening on May 15th with two other international poets: Atosa Babaoff and Beatrice Basso. The venue filled quickly. The three international travelers and writers offered poetry that was a sumptuous dive into food, family, and lived experiences. Olga's poems embraced childhood memories surrounded and infused with textures, aroma, family, and emotions. When we talked after the event, she noted that indeed, her poetic focus is shifting. Olga is now exploring what it means to be a wife, a poet, a mother, a grandmother in many of her new poems. 

Those who follow her work know that Olga is also the San Diego Poetry Annual's bi-lingual editor. In the interview below with writer and professor Michael Klam for the San Diego Public Library, Olga discusses some of the past influences in her life as a child in Mexico.

    

                                                  Olga Gutierrez Garcia Interview

Tony Award winning poet Reg E. Gaines who frequently travels from New York to across the country and to San Diego, performed one of his Hip Hop/Rap poems for the audience. He was here for several days before going back to New York to work on a project scheduled for production probably by next year. I only saw him briefly a few weeks later at a poetry performance where we both were appearing to encourage people to register and to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Reg. E. Gaines rocks the poem: "I know What I Like"

Oh yea, I have to give a loud shout out to San Diego Dr. Who Convention 2023 for arranging for Orange County Poet Laureate Wendy Van Camp to present a workshop on science fiction poetry writing during Who Con 2023.  Imagine, learning how to write science fiction inflected poetry from a poet laureate! Wendy is an effective and patient teacher. I am still referring to her prompts and explanations to shape my most recent poems. I also had an opportunity to talk with sci-fi writers and bloggers.  

                                         Kendall C. Stark, Wendy Van Camp, Delores Fisher

                                      at San Diego Dr. Who Convention 2024

I also had an opportunity to talk with other Dr. Who influenced writers and bloggers.  It was a pleasure to meet writer Kendall C. Stack. Kendall's questions during the workshop kept me on track with this new poetic content. Wendy's prompts were fascinating and provocative. I should have a few of these new poems edited and practiced for reading at open mics soon.

Well, more to share and update. However, this is all for now.

Ahhhhhhh....it's good to be back ya'll! 

delores