So what I was referring to in the last post: unfortunately, we lost Laddie this weekend. My dad called me a few days ago to tell me that the dog hadn't been eating anything or able to stand up for the last two to three days. At the vet, we found out that his kidneys were failing. This, paired with the epilepsy he was diagnosed with a few weeks ago, provided a very bleak outlook (4-5 days left) and we had to make a tough decision. We didn't want him to suffer any more than necessary, and decided to have Laddie put down. He would have been 14 in March. As sad as this makes me, I couldn't have hoped for a better dog, or for him to have had a better life. I received Laddie as a gift from my parents on my tenth birthday. He was a great companion and he will be greatly missed. This helped: James Dickey's Heaven for Animals.
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After hearing about Third Coast the other day via email, I came home to a mail acceptance from Beloit Poetry Journal, another great magazine I'm stunned to be showing up in. My poem "Corn Snake as Compass" will be in their Summer 2009 issue. They have such an amazing history and they also keep an online archive of all of their past issues (over 50 years) featuring poems by A.R. Ammons, Anne Sexton (her first published poem), Sharon Olds, Maxine Kumin, W.S. Merwin, James Dickey, Philip Larkin, Rosellen Brown, Charles Bukowski, and others. It's a bit surreal to think I'm going to be on the same list. I also had to sign a verse daily and poetry daily contract, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on those fronts....
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First banjo lesson today...
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about Laddie.
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James Dickey is an amazing poet. One of my first loves.
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Congrats on the recent acceptances.
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Jeanne Larsen claims to know you. Is that true?
Thanks for the condolences Eduardo. I, too, love James Dickey. Have you read his final lecture? A friend recently sent me a copy and it really made me feel blessed to be writing poetry.
Jeanne Larsen does know me. You guys are both at VCCA right now, yes? She's great. If you ever have any questions about poetic form, she's the lady to ask. I learned more about quaterns, spenserian stanzas, limericks, and the like from her than I ever should have cause to use. Tell her I said hi.
Hope you're enjoying some productive time up there and enjoying the mountains (the oldest chain in the world, whoo!). Thanks for stopping by!
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