Saturday, July 14, 2012

Long Summer (So Far) of Writing

It's been a while since the last post, but life has been pushing, and I have been pushing back. The summer began with my department's having to evacuate our building, so I have been working in a space that looks like the set for Sanford & Son, and it's been difficult to focus on composing while thinking of the moving job to come. At the same time, though, I have been writing chapters of a book to be published this fall--I am co-editing a volume of essays about the interaction of country music lyricists and American culture. My co-editor, Roxanne Harde, and I have been bearing down on this project for the last year. I am down to tweaking a chapter on Cindy Walker and Lyle Lovett (I have already written chapters on Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, as well as co-writing the introduction with a discussion of The Dixie Chicks) and securing the publishing rights to reproducing some lyrics. I will make a big announcement when it appears.

There have been other writing projects, as well. I have been writing some poetry, and I have managed to place some, as well. I also received a few days ago Louisiana Literature's spring 2012 issue, which contains my two poems "Jones Valley" and "Copperhead." My blog's title comes from a line in "Jones Valley." I have poems accepted at a handful of journals, including Cape Rock Journal, The Connecticut Review, and Stoneboat, among others, and I will have two poems in the "Tennessee" volume of The Southern Poetry Anthology, due next year. I am also revising a couple of academic articles that will appear in scholarly journals in the next year, and I am scheduled to present two papers this coming fall semester.

Did I mention that I'm taking mandolin lessons, too?

I just want to assure you that absence from the blog does not mean I am slowing down. I'm pushing harder.