So far, 2010 has been pretty good to me. i almost don't want to ruin it all by blogging about it. so, i won't touch on all the good things-- only a few solid ones i know for sure.

first, i am guest editing the next issue of Past Simple. it's been great fun collecting different pieces and looking at submissions. i'm realizing just how fun/important it is to be publishing other people's work. as a writer, i think, it's important to support other voices you admire and to push that work to the forefront as much as possible.

second, i was asked to draw the cover for Thuggery and Grace, a literary journal put out by Richard Froude, Erik Anderson, and Anne Waldman. the work inside Thuggery and Grace is excellent. i'm so very honored to be a part of the whole thing. it's been fun to take an hour or so each day and just play around with different images.

third, i was recently a finalist in the Italo Calvino Prize for Fiction. this is the first prize i have ever submitted to really-- and it's so great to be recognized. i feel like the past two years have all been about working and working and being present (yet very alone) with the work. This year, things are expanding and moving. it makes me thankful for the slow quiet time. it reminds me that we are just getting started.

fourth, i was also asked to write an essay for a colleague's photography retrospective show in Thailand. the essay will be included in her photography catalog, which will be available at the exhibition. i have not seen this person for 10 years, so, it was such a surprise/honor to be included on this project. it's actually been so very fun to write. i try to tackle it for at least an hour every other day. i find this process to be the most rewarding-- leaving room for critical assessment and digestion.


. . . .and that's the news.

what is new with you?

i miss you.