tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88292268609759247902024-03-13T14:11:37.646-07:00Kathleen DriskellKathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-56319349218718022232022-12-05T09:16:00.000-08:002022-12-05T09:16:11.700-08:00My "Poem for Grown Children" appears in the 12/12/22 issue of The New Yorker.<p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/12/poem-for-grown-children" target="_blank">"Poem for Grown Children," The New Yorker</a><br /></p>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-73362147922979181242022-10-28T08:36:00.001-07:002022-10-28T08:48:24.907-07:00AWP, It's Been a Great 4 years! Looking forward to many more.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD77ljgMfebyLuDaYkJ_hXgn3z3ywzuh0AST9xzGN8HH6613_rJLtfiRLrM5ge0O4WBnQrKDFqqzbONYqwAN0ghl10ZMLqxOXFqMy4NTGxIrfb_KY2dJLtyTrohk9k323Sk45QO0yC8rpR-c8aDUhu2hAKcDrBqDJKsC7hUCgzg5c4Z_3T7OzI34O2/s419/AWP%20FALL%2022%20BOARD%20MEETING%20LOUISVILLE.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD77ljgMfebyLuDaYkJ_hXgn3z3ywzuh0AST9xzGN8HH6613_rJLtfiRLrM5ge0O4WBnQrKDFqqzbONYqwAN0ghl10ZMLqxOXFqMy4NTGxIrfb_KY2dJLtyTrohk9k323Sk45QO0yC8rpR-c8aDUhu2hAKcDrBqDJKsC7hUCgzg5c4Z_3T7OzI34O2/s320/AWP%20FALL%2022%20BOARD%20MEETING%20LOUISVILLE.jpg"/></a></div>This past week, I completed my 4-year term as an AWP Board member. Board members and staff were kind enough to hold our fall meeting in Louisville, my hometown, so I could be a hop away from my daughter, due to give birth any day to our first grandchild. (As it happened, Auggie was born the week before! Hooray, Auggie!)
For 3 of those years, I was honored to serve as Chair to the AWP Board, and though we passed through some rough times, I can say I’ve never worked with a more heart-minded staff and group of directors, all of whom I consider friends.
I have particular gratitude for ED Cynthia Sherman, who took over just as the pandemic hit, and steered us through some very chaotic waters with grace, heart, and unbelievable nonprofit acumen. As with all nonprofits in this time and space, we have challenges ahead, but AWP has brilliant leadership in place and is poised to do remarkable things in the future. I was so very very lucky to have Cynthia Sherman as a partner.
I'm delighted--and excited--that January Gill O'Neil has been elected as the new chair of the AWP Board. She's been a very valued board member for years, an integral and knowledgeable leader of the conference committee and more, and she is the perfect leader for AWP's future. I know everyone will join me in congratulating Jan, a wonderful poet, teacher, and literary activist.
Though I have genuine appreciation for all past staff and leaders, I’m astonished by the current staff’s immense talents and enthusiasm. It’s been a wonder to see the care they are taking with our members, but also the care they extend to each other.
Over the years, I’ve heard AWP being referred to as “the man,”—I suppose that’s a natural assumption about any venerable organization and, though we try, we don’t always get it right--but I’ve truly never met a collective of people, staff and board members alike, who (at the expense of their own writing, editing, and publishing) work harder and are more serious about creating meaningful opportunities for ALL writers and ALL teachers of creative writing.
I look forward to being with all of them and all of you in Seattle!Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-59883999104068859072022-10-26T08:56:00.004-07:002022-10-26T08:56:59.937-07:00At the KY Book Festival, Saturday, Oct 29, Lexington, Creativity & Compassion: Spalding Writers Celebrate 20 Years<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodriverreview.com/post/creativity-compassion-spalding-writers-celebrate-twenty-years" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><i><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhknGxXLpCyCleDPUJlMpJTFmIxY8BQpxYa_bN7a5rJAHmmEBhlE_9ksO_buSI0zOwyuEL52o6u4p9-DYruewPeMJLdhy-UWThapDNwd5_OjIUVDhrg3sxMFeLeJsb4lT9H7aXTd3MS2vCN4-uc3iVVA2Gpl0kSTS4UWbjzXfXI4MQIXiToymy8--8i" width="160" /></i></a></div>I'm very happy to be taking <a href="https://www.goodriverreview.com/post/creativity-compassion-spalding-writers-celebrate-twenty-years" target="_blank">Creativity & Compassion: Spalding Writers Celebrate 20 Years</a>, an anthology of essays on craft and the writing life from faculty contributors of the low-residency MFA Program at Spalding University to the <a href="https://kybookfestival.org/" target="_blank">Kentucky Book Festival</a> at <a href="https://www.josephbeth.com/hours-and-directions" target="_blank">Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington</a> this Saturday, October 29. I'll be joined at our table by a number of Spalding MFA alums, so I hope friends will come by our table to say hello and chat a bit. <p></p><p> At 2 pm ET, I'll be talking about various publishing strategies with anyone who would like to come visit– <a href="2:00 p.m. – Publishing Workshop: Where, How, & What to Submit with Kathleen Driskell" target="_blank">Publishing Workshop: Where, How, & What to Submit with Kathleen Driskell</a>. </p><p>Besides a whole lot of books for sale, there will be a number of writers connected with Spalding's Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing, including faculty, students, alumni, and past guest lecturers. Here are a few with Spalding MFA connections: <a href="https://kybookfestival.org/lineup/" target="_blank">Crystal Wilkinson, Silas House, Frank X Walker, Chris Helvey, Julia Watts, George Ella Lyons, Richard Taylor, Jeremy Paden and more. </a></p><p>I look forward to seeing you at the Kentucky Book Festival, and hope you'll stop by our table!</p>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-45994695582670188182022-10-25T14:43:00.006-07:002022-10-26T07:41:58.014-07:00In PreSales . . . The Vine Temple, poems<p style="text-align: left;">My latest book of poems is in presales now! I'm delighted to publish this chapbook with the Cox Family Chapbook Series at Carnegie Mellon University Press. <i>The Vine Temple</i> will be released on February 14, 2023. </p><div class="purchase-item-detail-title-desktop" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 32px;"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 4rem; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><i>The Vine Temple</i></h1><div class="author-info" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="author link-reverse-underline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007396; font-size: 1.5rem; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/D/K/au196813500.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007396; text-decoration-line: none;">Kathleen Driskell</a></p></div></div><div class="purchase-item-detail-summary" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Source Serif Pro", "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 28px;"><div class="collapse-truncated-wrapper truncated-faded" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="collapse-truncated" id="example-collapse-truncated-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; transition: all 0.001s ease 0s;"><div class="collapse-truncated-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjroSkRypP1Ril_k_F9fY_eAdPv9trJDBpyykoQ04cjEKMX4Yf4_GE4vC9ZMw-fJitf5BGrKEKZJyKJVDyE0RIQHd6aoUf1jJOihV72UBfO1ToVIjeu0_A-bwOGr4PQdWO0bbaRT5AUABpRUW8UiqxG6VL6g5RgvpqmV-LarIcYMhUBZtEgWxkfBwbW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1874" data-original-width="1213" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjroSkRypP1Ril_k_F9fY_eAdPv9trJDBpyykoQ04cjEKMX4Yf4_GE4vC9ZMw-fJitf5BGrKEKZJyKJVDyE0RIQHd6aoUf1jJOihV72UBfO1ToVIjeu0_A-bwOGr4PQdWO0bbaRT5AUABpRUW8UiqxG6VL6g5RgvpqmV-LarIcYMhUBZtEgWxkfBwbW=w258-h400" width="258" /></a> <span style="font-weight: bolder;">Poems that meditate on light and darkness in the natural world.</span></p> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />In <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Vine Temple</i>, Kathleen Driskell invites readers to walk with her through past landscapes, including a Confederate cemetery near her turbulent childhood home and more recent hikes in a nearby park, where the sacred and sublime reveal themselves in the natural world. Driskell’s poems examine the transmutability of human language and its ability to liberate and exhilarate, while at the same time often encouraging terrible darkness.</div><div class="collapse-truncated-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><noindex style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></noindex></div><div class="collapse-truncated-inner" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><noindex style="background-color: transparent;">Distributed for</noindex><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a class="link-reverse-underline" href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/publisher/pu3432382_3432383.html" style="background-color: transparent;">Carnegie Mellon University Press</a></div></div></div></div><div class="purchase-item-detail-title-mobile"><div class="author-info"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="hidden" style="text-align: start;">9780887486876</div><noindex style="text-align: start;"><div class="purchase-item-detail-purchase-widget"><div class="purchase-widget"><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://cdcshoppingcart.uchicago.edu/Cart2/ChicagoBook.aspx?ISBN=9780887486876&PRESS=CHICAGO" id="buy-button">Buy this book<span class="sr-only">: The Vine Temple</span></a><div class="collapse-truncated-wrapper truncated"><div class="collapse-truncated" data-forced-max-height="152" data-max-height="152" id="example-purchase-widget-1" style="height: 152px;"><div class="collapse-truncated-inner"><div class="purchase-formats" id="purchase-formats"><div class="purchase-format d-none d-sm-block"></div><div class="purchase-format"><div class="purchase-format-label">Paper</div><div class="purchase-format-cost">$10.00</div><div class="purchase-format-footnote">Pre-order Only</div><div class="purchase-format-isbn">ISBN: 9780887486876</div><div class="purchase-format-pubdate">Will publish February 2023</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></noindex></div><p><br /></p>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-85253190513763235462018-03-19T19:48:00.001-07:002018-03-19T19:48:40.196-07:00Next Door to the Dead Wins the 2018 Judy Gaines Young Book Award<a href="https://uknow.uky.edu/professional-news/upk-title-wins-judy-gaines-young-book-award" target="_blank">https://uknow.uky.edu/professional-news/upk-title-wins-judy-gaines-young-book-award</a><img src="webkit-fake-url://66d04ae7-fa66-4da9-96c8-51814cc4c72d/imagejpeg" />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-45401921914077366582018-02-06T06:38:00.000-08:002018-02-06T06:38:06.920-08:0021 Questions Answered: Louisville Magazine<a href="https://www.louisville.com/content/21-questions-poet-kathleen-driskell" target="_blank"><img height="180" src="https://www.louisville.com/sites/default/files/article_image/21Qs-Driscoll.jpg" width="320" /></a>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-14710232837587845112017-06-28T11:29:00.001-07:002017-06-28T11:33:30.856-07:00August 1 application deadline for Spalding MFA in Writing’s fall semester <pre></pre>
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CONTACT: Karen Mann</div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Master of Fine Arts in Writing <o:p></o:p></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Spalding University <o:p></o:p></span></pre>
<pre><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> 502-873-4400</span><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></pre>
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>August 1 application deadline
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Louisville, KY, June 28,
2017—August 1 marks the application deadline for the fall semester of Spalding
University’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing. The nationally recognized Top 10 MFA program offers fiction, poetry, creative
nonfiction, writing for children and young
adults, screenwriting,
and playwriting. The four-semester program is designed for writers ready
to carve out time for creative pursuits. A
post-baccalaureate certificate in creative writing, equal to one semester in
the program, is also available. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The
fall semester begins November 10-19 with an intensive 10-day residency on
Spalding’s campus in Louisville. Students and faculty come together
for workshops, lectures, readings, and other learning experiences.
After residency, students return home for an independent study session of
intensely focused one-on-one instruction with a member of the program’s
outstanding faculty. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The
low-residency model makes graduate study possible for students with full-time
jobs and substantial family commitments, and it allows them to build writing
into their daily lives. Spalding MFA alumni include national award-winners in
every genre. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For
more information, email <a href="mailto:mfa@spalding.edu">mfa@spalding.edu</a> or call 502-873-4400. Complete application instructions
are available at <a href="http://spalding.edu/mfa">spalding.edu/mfa</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-51512731883508803332017-05-12T11:25:00.000-07:002017-05-12T11:25:16.870-07:00Reading at The Carnegie Center During Nat'l Poetry Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-21101106867474775532017-05-12T10:59:00.001-07:002017-05-12T10:59:27.399-07:00My visit to Madison, IN during National Poetry Month<a href="http://www.madisoncourier.com/Content/Lifestyles/Lifestyles/Article/PoetFest-2017-tonight-at-Ivy-Tech/182/264/102878" target="_blank">Three of our poetry alums, Jill Kelly Koren, Troy Alvey, and Angela Elles, from Spalding's MFA in Writing Program somehow landed together at Ivy Tech Madison, Indiana. They are all fabulous poets--I'm so proud of them and their work--but I'm also proud of the teachers they've become. I was happy to meet about 100 of their lucky students (who had all been assigned my books to read) when invited to read there last month. Lucky them? Lucky me!</a><br />
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-1573692923430797662017-04-05T09:25:00.001-07:002017-04-05T09:25:17.365-07:00Honored to be included in the Kentucky Great Writers Series<img height="262" src="http://carnegiecenterlex.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/KGW_Apr_2017.jpg" width="400" /><br />
<a href="http://carnegiecenterlex.org/event/kentucky-great-writers-series/" target="_blank">More information Kentucky Great Writers Series</a>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0251 W 2nd St, Lexington, KY 40507, USA38.0500523 -84.49565810000001412.528017799999997 -125.80425210000001 63.572086799999994 -43.187064100000015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-86451063108742937172017-03-03T17:43:00.002-08:002017-03-03T17:44:59.127-08:00So happy to be with the wonderful Ronni Lundy to help promote the 2017 Kentucky Women's Book Fair at U of L during Women's History Month. Thanks Great Day Alive WHASTV-11.<br />
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<a href="http://www.whas11.com/entertainment/television/great-day-live/kentucky-female-authors-write-it-all/419539080" target="_blank">KY Women's Book Fair 2017 WHASTV 11</a>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-60834920686256741382017-01-17T07:09:00.001-08:002017-01-17T07:16:11.759-08:00DRISKELL GUEST ON TARA ANDERSON's WFPL.FM PODCAST "FIVE THINGS"My <span style="color: red;"><b>sixth</b></span> favorite thing is having this conversation with<a class="author-twitter" href="https://twitter.com/TaraEAnderson" rel="external" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #55acee; font-family: ProximaNova-Regular; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 10px; outline-offset: -2px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@TaraEAnderson</a><br />
on her new podcast Five Things found<a href="https://wfpl.org/five-things-kathleen-driskell-death-mothering/" target="_blank"> here!</a> I hope you'll listen to this, but hope more that you'll subscribe to her podcast and support her wonderful efforts.<br />
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-14851933787523456982016-11-29T12:48:00.002-08:002016-11-29T12:50:26.947-08:00WFPL Louisville Interviews Kathleen Driskell on Her New Book of Poems: Blue Etiquette.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;">
“Louisville Poet Kathleen Driskell’s
‘Blue Etiquette’ Examines Class.” <a href="http://wfpl.org/louisville-poet-kathleen-driskells-blue-etiquette-examines-class/">http://wfpl.org/louisville-poet-kathleen-driskells-blue-etiquette-examines-class/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-23895206929570225832016-09-15T11:42:00.001-07:002016-09-19T08:07:00.155-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-46262003199439883522016-09-15T11:00:00.001-07:002016-09-15T11:08:37.748-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
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<pre style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></pre>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Contact:
Katy Yocom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Master
of Fine Arts in Writing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Spalding
University<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">(502)
873-4400<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="mailto:mfa@spalding.edu"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">kyocom@spalding.edu</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h1>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Award-winning Poet
and Spalding Professor </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">of Creative Writing Kathleen Driskell <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Publishes Her Fourth
Book of Poetry: <i>Blue Etiquette</i><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8829226860975924790" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">LOUISVILLE,
Ky.</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <b>(September
14, 2016)</b>--<strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spalding University’s Master of Fine Arts in
Writing Program congratulates Associate Program Director and Professor of
Creative Writing Kathleen Driskell on the September 17 release of her fourth
book, </span></strong><em>Blue Etiquette</em><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">: <i>Poems</i>, published by Red Hen Press of
Pasadena. Red Hen describes <i>Blue Etiquette</i> as “</span></strong><span style="color: #1d1d1d;">a vividly imagined and inspired conversation between the
poet and Emily Post about the rarely seen working lives of American women and
tense interactions between the haves and have nots.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">W</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">hen Kathleen Driskell pulled an old edition of Emily Post’s <em>Etiquette </em>from the
used bookstore shelf and blew dust off the blue linen cover, she instantly
found herself and her family within those pages—not as the Worldlys,
Oldlineages, or the Gildings (archetypes Post created to demonstrate how to
properly manage a grand house full of servants), but as the housemaids, cooks,
and useful men working for those very rich. The noted poet—whose
collection <em>Seed Across
Snow </em>was twice listed as a national bestseller by the Poetry
Foundation—explores class, the workplace, and those tense interactions between
the <em>haves</em> and
the <em>have nots</em> in
her new collection. As America watches its middle class quickly decline,<em> Blue Etiquette </em>rings
with relevance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Driskell reads from <i>Blue Etiquette</i> at Carmichael’s
Bookstore, 2720 Frankfort Avenue, on Thursday, September 29 at 7 pm. Other
presentations can be found at <a href="http://www.kathleendriskell.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">www.kathleendriskell.blogspot.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Blue Etiquette</span></b></em><b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> is available for
pre-ordering from Red Hen through <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GCDM5GUJPHWB8" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">this exclusive
link</span></a>. For any orders received through this link by</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <strong>September 30, 2016, Red Hen will
offer free shipping.</strong> Book orders will be shipped
out within two weeks of publication. Books are also available to order at
Carmichael’s Bookstore and on <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-etiquette-kathleen-driskell/1123755608;jsessionid=F154DA1A67582838B9C61A07CA9377FB.prodny_store01-atgap08?ean=9781597092388" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Barnes &
Noble</span></a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Etiquette-Kathleen-Driskell/dp/159709238X" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Amazon</span></a>,
and other independent bookstores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Spalding’s
low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program offers concentrations in
fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults,
playwriting, and screenwriting. Fall and spring semesters begin in Louisville
in November and May, respectively, while a summer semester with residency
abroad begins in June or July and is designed to fit teachers’ schedules. The
summer 2017 residency takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Spalding MFA
program also offers a post-baccalaureate certificate in creative writing for
those who are interested in graduate writing instruction but do not wish to
pursue a degree. For more information, see <a href="http://www.spalding.edu/mfa"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">www.spalding.edu/mfa</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-72407847751566918562015-10-26T13:05:00.000-07:002015-10-26T13:05:00.623-07:00Next Door to the Dead: More Q & A with the University Press of Kentucky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s1600/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s320/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Conversation with Kathleen Driskell</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">You write epitaphs for a number of your
neighbors in <i>Next Door to the Dead</i>.
If they (or one of them) could write an epitaph for you, what do you think it
would be?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Now
she knows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span></div>
Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-92028591750027576782015-10-12T12:58:00.000-07:002015-10-12T12:58:00.736-07:00Next Door to the Dead: More Q & A from the University Press of Kentucky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s1600/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s320/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Conversation with Kathleen Driskell</span></span><br />
<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">How does <i>Next Door to the Dead</i> connect to your previous collection, <i>Seed across Snow</i>, which also dealt with
themes of loss and mortality? How does it differ?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
have to admit that unlike many of today’s writers who are taking on more global
subjects, I seem to be completely obsessed with a mere square mile around my
home. I tease and defend myself by purporting to be “Writing Local,” an idea I’ve
stolen from the “Eat Local” movement. In that vein, the poems in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seed-Across-Snow-Kathleen-Driskell/dp/1597091502" target="_blank"><i>Seed across Snow</i> </a>address a number of tragedies
that occurred around our home, which local lore says, unbeknownst to us at the
signing of the deed, is haunted. The buzz that our church-home is haunted comes
mainly, I think, from our proximity to graveyard and also the train trestle where
the infamous Goat Man of Pope Lick is said to lurk—<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PopeLickMonster" target="_blank">Goat Man </a>has his own
Facebook page, by the way. I dismissed this matter as silly, of course, but in
a period of a few years, our neighbor was struck by a car when crossing the
road to her mailbox which sat right next to ours, two teen-aged boys were
drowned in nearby Floyd’s Fork, other neighbors discovered a young woman who
was severely wounded and thrown from a car into a ditch, a nearby house burned
to the ground, and on and on. Maybe there was something to the haunting? Meditating
on these tragedies reinvigorated old memories of family heartbreaks and I found
myself writing about the convergence of the old and new haunts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
I published that book, I thought okay I’m finished with this subject, but soon
poems from <i>Next Door to the Dead</i>
began knocking around in my head. I had no idea I’d write enough of them to
make an entire book, but here it is. And, <i>Next
Door to the Dead,</i> if anything, seems to narrow my real-estate even more. I
haven’t found, though, that writing from a small place limits my subjects and
themes. After all, <i>Next Door to the Dead</i>
takes on war, love, death—<i>and</i> Colonel
Sanders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-10928875048123210032015-10-01T14:41:00.002-07:002015-10-01T14:41:21.658-07:00A Grave Interest reviews Next Door to the Dead<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Avenir Book'; font-size: 14pt;">Cemetery poetry may be an odd concept for mainstay readers, but for those of us who are “tombstone tourists,” this genre offers a refreshing look into our clandestine indulgences and interests.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Avenir Book'; font-size: 14pt;">Next Door To The Dead</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Avenir Book'; font-size: 14pt;"> is Kathleen Driskell’s latest book; one I found to be irresistible. It takes an understanding of the taboos associated with writing about death, along with true empathy and respect for those living and dead to write poems brimming with thoughtfulness, heartbreak and humor. Driskell introduces us to her “neighbors” in a very matter-of-fact way because after 20 years of living next door to the cemetery, they are indeed the neighbors she’s gotten to know. </span><a href="http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2015/09/book-review-next-door-to-dead-by.html" target="_blank">Read more here . . . </a>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-26169290543187324002015-09-28T12:55:00.000-07:002015-09-28T12:55:00.797-07:00Next Door to the Dead: More Q & A from the University Press of Kentucky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman Bold', serif; font-size: 16pt; text-align: center;">A Conversation with Kathleen Driskell</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">In this collection, you engage with
age-old traditions of funerary art and poetic meditation on life, death, grief,
and loss. What advice would you give to a young poet who is interested in
writing about these themes?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Having
just come from our <a href="http://www.spalding.edu/mfa" target="_blank">Spalding MFA</a> residency abroad in Greece, I am struck again
by the ancient roots of our craft. When writing about these funerary traditions
and meditations on life and death, young poets follow in the footsteps of legendary
Homer and other ancient oral poets who were compelled to take on the same
subjects thousands of years ago. It is hard to pinpoint one “form” for an
elegy, but reading about this tradition can provide a good structure for
writing about grief. In his essay, “The Elegy’s Structure,” in the anthology<a href="https://structureandsurprise.wordpress.com/home/" target="_blank"> <i>Structure and Surprise</i></a>, poet DA Powell
discusses how successful elegies take on one of three structures: <span style="background: white;">one with a turn from grief to consolation; one with a
turn from grief to the refusal of consolation; and one from grief to deeper
grief.</span> It has helped me to think about which of these loose structure
best fits my subjects and themes and has provided useful boundaries for emotions
that threaten to overcome. Perhaps these structures might be helpful to a young
poet as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-71244035856537513112015-09-01T08:08:00.004-07:002015-09-01T08:10:42.493-07:00Structure and Style: On my poem "Too Late"Many thanks to <a href="http://structureandstyle.org/post/128111519595/too-late" target="_blank">Structure and Style for posting this generous comment on my new poetry collection <i>Next Door to the Dead</i></a>. Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-52978296376788774302015-08-26T12:56:00.003-07:002015-08-26T12:56:38.751-07:00Kentucky Women Writers Conference September 11-13So happy to be a part of the historic and yet completely happening <a href="https://womenwriters.as.uky.edu/presenters/kathleen-driskell" target="_blank">Kentucky Women Writers Conference</a> September 11-13 in Lexington, Ky. I'm looking forward to leading my two-day poetry "One Poem: Two Attitudes." Find more at the <a href="https://womenwriters.as.uky.edu/about" target="_blank">KWWC</a> website!<br />
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-75832838561402946302015-08-22T05:52:00.000-07:002015-08-22T05:52:27.829-07:00Louisville Poet Finds Inspiration in a GraveyardYou can listen to my recent interview with Tara Anderson, our local WFPL NPR affliate arts reporter and hear me read two poems from Next Door to the Dead at <a href="http://wfpl.org/louisville-poet-finds-inspiration-graveyard/">http://wfpl.org/louisville-poet-finds-inspiration-graveyard/</a><br />
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<br />Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-22720829777776441002015-08-22T05:47:00.001-07:002015-08-22T05:48:20.520-07:00AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF POEMS An appreciation by this blogger, Therese L. BroderickMany thanks to the Poet Apace blogger Therese L. Broderick for this recent comment on my latest book <i>Next Door to the Dead</i>. <a href="https://theresebroderick.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/kathleen-driskells-new-book-next-door-to-the-dead-poems/" target="_blank">An Excellent Collection of Book of Poems</a>Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-6642324511347300372015-08-17T12:50:00.000-07:002015-08-17T12:50:00.527-07:00Next Door to the Dead: More Q & A from the University Press of Kentucky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s1600/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuQOFNXbkwx5hDNv83d2OoVtYHFskvkkPdgkcE0tvd9cGFUKIWggThhWw0aEju2uz5Ue31OEecCwCtl7Gzu5-wHl669xu4vEpaZe2RLArOSxB1IRenxg-HgRR60RLIHtzv10LG-Davzw/s320/Next+Door+to+the+Dead.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman Bold",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Conversation with Kathleen Driskell</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman Bold",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What was the most striking piece of
history you encountered when researching for <i>Next Door to the Dead</i>?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m
interested in lots of history, American history, and the South, in particular,
and couldn’t believe my luck a few years ago when Harry Girdley, a trustee of
the Mt. Zion and a descendent of the church founders, dropped off <i>The History of Mt. Zion Evangelical Church
and Cemetery as Told through Documents and Deeds with Latest List of Burials</i>,
a book he researched and compiled with his sister Frances Christina Girdley
Barker. Over the years, I had tried on my own to do a bit of research on the
property, but as the church was nonprofit, I could find no tax records that
established its origin. I regularly cornered folks visiting the cemetery, but
memories were foggy and conflicting. Harry’s book provides deeds, church
minutes, and burial records that have proved endlessly fascinating. I learned,
finally, the church building we live in was dedicated in 1859. And for over a
decade, I’d been taken with a brushy corner of the cemetery next door where I’d
discovered four primitive-looking nubs of stone seemed placed haphazardly. It
was only through Harry’s records that I learned they were the markers of a “slave
family.” Much is still unknown about that family—did they die as slaves or were
they a freed family?—but a bit of that particular mystery is filled in, and
continues to engage my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829226860975924790.post-73104947859362287972015-08-04T08:16:00.001-07:002015-08-04T08:16:11.524-07:00First Poem: A Guest Blog by Kathleen Driskell <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9220519444723689367" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 548px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1YT9i3Qkj8aWxBxIBdHWSmbztjn28u-P0jxBYeN2vP_nPIjj5JZcu2KZGsdB7RNGRSU8ZAYNeOtYIysaKBTs-muyUVxUJnuic_-dtDfFJIHwGhF1tgHJMerrxVjiqGhs2eLnM3v2T2a_/s1600/Kathleen+Driskell2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #286094; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1YT9i3Qkj8aWxBxIBdHWSmbztjn28u-P0jxBYeN2vP_nPIjj5JZcu2KZGsdB7RNGRSU8ZAYNeOtYIysaKBTs-muyUVxUJnuic_-dtDfFJIHwGhF1tgHJMerrxVjiqGhs2eLnM3v2T2a_/s320/Kathleen+Driskell2.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;">My new book</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;">Next Door to the Dead</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;">(University of Kentucky Press 2015) includes many poems I’ve written about living with my family in a Civil War era country church that is directly “next door” to a humble graveyard. We’ve lived here for over twenty years, and since then the poems I’ve written and published do concern religion, spirituality, mortality and grief, but the truth is I’ve been writing about mortality and grief since I was a child. In</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;">Next Door to the Dead,</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.05pt;"> because of that, I thought it important to include this poem:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Child’s Poem for Sgt. Horace Mitchell, Jr. 1946-1968 <u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> War is bad.<u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It makes me sad.<u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">When my uncle gets home<u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">from Vietnam,<u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I will be glad.<u></u><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If you’re a teacher, as I am, I want to tell you something most of my readers don’t know . . .</span></div>
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To read the rest of my post, visit Marjetta Geerling's blog at </div>
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<a href="http://marjettageerling.blogspot.com/2015/07/first-poem-guest-blog-by-kathleen.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">http://marjettageerling.blogspot.com/2015/07/first-poem-guest-blog-by-kathleen.html</a><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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Kathleen Driskellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09871580159229758261noreply@blogger.com0