tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70890248573950305242024-02-07T13:43:33.341-08:00TLR Words & WorksWelcome to my Words & Works blog!
Here, you'll find my art, poetry, performances, articles, readings and cool lit stuff!
Enjoy!TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-40815088845661966952013-08-02T12:17:00.000-07:002013-08-02T12:29:29.497-07:00Back to School: Packing for PLU (at age 44!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju32N45mBl6cOLb59RUjxiYrLH9O78A3cMZRlwJzwAcQifRaVJJl6PdkFyBTsBG_qXZfdY5wcnQzSxYlLE0EurDnktKWvCL5H_0M9d78DZySPR6tm7lyGjZUfG5tmk7dZR0XNozW3yDEjq/s1600/highway-44.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju32N45mBl6cOLb59RUjxiYrLH9O78A3cMZRlwJzwAcQifRaVJJl6PdkFyBTsBG_qXZfdY5wcnQzSxYlLE0EurDnktKWvCL5H_0M9d78DZySPR6tm7lyGjZUfG5tmk7dZR0XNozW3yDEjq/s200/highway-44.png" /></a></div>I have decided to re-activate my lit blog to document my exciting and upcoming experience at grad school. Facebook just won't fit the musings and findings I experience, so I thought a more organic diary documentation of this would be fitting on Blogger.
Today, I am packing my bags to leave for college in the morning. I got two weeks off work (Nordstrom rocks). I will miss so many of the amazing women and new friends I have made in the Beauty division at the store, but I get to realize my dream and focus on my poems and give my entire heart to the love of my life: POETRY.
I begin my Masters residency at PLU to get my MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry. I will only be gone at my residency for 2 weeks, then I will meet and partner with a professor/mentor and work on my writing one on one with them, in a low-residency fashion, by working at home in mail, emails and writing writing writing throughout the year. However, for this first meetup, I have to move into a dorm on campus in Harstad Hall and will be living there with all my other program peers who are flying in from around the world to attend the <a href="http://www.plu.edu/mfa/home.php">Rainier Writers Workshop</a> program at PLU. We get food cards, to take our meals in the cafeteria, and have to pack all our things and bring them to campus by tomorrow! I never lived in a dorm EVER! I get my own little room, but I have to share a bathroom with other peeps on the floor, which sucks for too many reasons to list, but most of you don't need a lot of 'splainin' on that one.
As I load up my suitcase and my car, I am bringing everything that I need for the duration. How telling it all is of my age as I load up on: BP meds, Pamprin, a portable fan, my beloved fur blanket, compression socks, my various wrinkle creams and tinctures and a solid supply of Starbucks Via....I haven't been in college since the 90s, so my list of stuff to bring has changed so greatly at this age, I find it comical. Its mostly all pharmaceutical!
:/ doh!
TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-12321040083754445442012-04-12T10:37:00.002-07:002012-04-12T10:38:24.586-07:00I'm a Tour Guide for ART BUS in APRIL!Toot toot. Yeahhh, Beep Beep! <br /><br />Angela Jossy and ART BUS are partnering with the local poetry community to celebrate National Poetry Month. I get to be one of the celebrity tour guides this month as we visit lots of amazing galleries! VIP riders will receive a free, limited edition poetry book created especially for riders! Each poem speaks about art and creativity and poems are sourced from local poets about galleries, culture, writing and the muse. The booklets are handcrafted, signed and numbered by local artist and writer, Maria Gudaitis. ART BUS is sponsored by Tacoma Arts Commission & Weekly Volcano: <a href="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/242756">http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/242756</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-65509204151380267332012-03-30T09:43:00.006-07:002012-03-30T09:59:40.842-07:00HOPE IN HARD TIMES—TACOMA POETS RESPOND TO ADVERSITY<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJB8-jbU6Tjbl74jG8_ndZ1b4YnYwIHmVdyXUzU99NH6fyWc0TE3L8zwDZDWPauV6Qpk9TMy9IRd7UoFBXV-PWjMSzQc1Bifgr-3EnUDr4Ooyl68xlc5XW7VUeM4DgVZtCiwGCfrcOBTM/s1600/HIHT_JPEG.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJB8-jbU6Tjbl74jG8_ndZ1b4YnYwIHmVdyXUzU99NH6fyWc0TE3L8zwDZDWPauV6Qpk9TMy9IRd7UoFBXV-PWjMSzQc1Bifgr-3EnUDr4Ooyl68xlc5XW7VUeM4DgVZtCiwGCfrcOBTM/s200/HIHT_JPEG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725735880706445730" /></a><br /><br />FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br /> <br />MEDIA & EVENT CONTACT<br />Tammy Robacker, Poet and Owner, Pearle Publications LLC, tamsugah@aol.com<br />RSVP on FACEBOOK: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/362728650438263/">https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/362728650438263/</a><br /><br />HOPE IN HARD TIMES—TACOMA POETS RESPOND TO ADVERSITY <br />Washington State History Museum Talk, Exhibit Walk & Poetry Reading April 29<br /><br />TACOMA—In honor of National Poetry Month, join 2010-11 Tacoma Poet Laureate Tammy Robacker and writer Maria Gudaitis with special guest poets as they read poems in response to "Hope in Hard Times: Washington During the Great Depression"—an exhibit at the Washington State History Museum. The event takes place Sunday, April 29, from 2 - 4 p.m.<br /><br />“The Museum, which celebrates and conserves images, words, artifacts and papers, is an appropriate, resonant location for this event that celebrates thoughtful writing about hope and suffering. Both the History Museum and poetry attempt to preserve community memories and individual experiences. Both also aim to preserve a sense of meaning associated with the human experience,” said Robacker.<br /><br />At the “Hope for Hard Times” event, Robacker and Gudaitis will read with prominent Northwest poets, including 2011-13 Tacoma Poet Laureate Josie Emmons Turner, Allen Braden, Elijah Muied and Hans Ostrom. The poets will engage exhibit stories, artifacts and images. Like the exhibit, the reading will touch on poverty and resourcefulness—distress and courage—to show how artistic voices add meaning to memories of important eras. <br /><br />“The Museum’s exhibit bears witness to Americans living through the worst economic crisis in our history. Survival and celebration go hand in hand. Even in the darkest time, people wrote poems. We see this in the Bible, in Holocaust art, in the poems of Prague Spring and in poets under house arrest in China today. Art lifts spirits. And the South Sound could use a creative boost, because the current economic downturn has depleted us,” said Gudaitis.<br /><br />Admission to the event is $6 per person. At 2 p.m., the public will be invited to enjoy an exhibition briefing, a gallery walk through of the show, a break with refreshments provided by Anthem Coffee and Tea, and admission to the special poetry reading at 3 p.m. in the Auditorium. All proceeds go to the Washington State History Museum, a non-profit organization located at 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 98402; 253.272.3500.<br /><br />Guests are also invited to join the poets at a post-event poetry party from 4 - 6 p.m. at Anthem Coffee and Tea (right next door to the Museum). <br /><br /><br /><strong>ARTIST BIO</strong><br /><br /><strong>Tammy Robacker</strong><br />2011-12 Hedgebrook Writer-in-Residence Award; 2010-2011 Tacoma Poet Laureate, co-editor of Tacoma poetry anthology, In Tahoma's Shadow: Poems from the City of Destiny; Author/Poet of The Vicissitudes (2010). Ms. Robacker's poetry manuscript, We Ate Our Mothers, Girls, was selected as a finalist in the 2009 Floating Bridge Press chapbook contest in Seattle, WA. Tammy runs her own freelance writing company, Pearle Publications. Her editorial writing has appeared in SHOWCASE Magazine, CITY ARTS Magazine, and the Weekly Volcano.<br /><br /><strong>Maria Gudaitis</strong><br />2012 Tacoma News Tribune Reader Columnist; 2007 40 Under 40 Business Examiner honoree; principal and owner of Maria Gudaitis Design.TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-459259718710383022011-09-25T08:36:00.001-07:002011-09-25T08:38:24.043-07:00great quoteThe way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
~ G.K. Chesterton ~TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-35672252966416105282011-08-29T14:00:00.000-07:002011-08-29T14:03:27.671-07:00Blog-Free MondayDue to the unavailability of the author, there will be no blogging from Hedgebrook today. :)TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-51545028940176140932011-08-28T09:03:00.001-07:002011-08-28T09:25:55.490-07:00Sugah Spotlight: Poet, Writer & Yoga Master, Margi Shindler<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWF5F4YfPyYaJn24xi_c8aJedlmEVIDXHNJLzmSESTiohk0QbG5AaiP34SOVv2DX5knBb3zKKyg1vodBTFN7V_7_yJjLIwCN_KSw_JjGkSS9sBzi67HsRm1GA6d__UPHcCFKDQmhezWUnd/s1600/Margi+Shindler.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWF5F4YfPyYaJn24xi_c8aJedlmEVIDXHNJLzmSESTiohk0QbG5AaiP34SOVv2DX5knBb3zKKyg1vodBTFN7V_7_yJjLIwCN_KSw_JjGkSS9sBzi67HsRm1GA6d__UPHcCFKDQmhezWUnd/s200/Margi+Shindler.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645940303652381826" /></a>
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<br />Date: 08.28.11
<br />Time: 9:30 a.m.
<br />Mood: Honored
<br />RE: Sugah Spotlight
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<br />Today I dedicate my blog to a dear friend who moved far away, but stays close in my heart and in my email :). Margi lived in Tacoma for a very short but crucial time for us to build a friendship after we met through a transitory writers group. We walked Wright Park all through the rainy, freezing winter while I was writing my first book. She was a constant source of support to me outdoors in our terrible mismatched warm weather outfits and runny noses. We cried and laughed and dished and dreamed. She's also an outstanding cook. I scammed many free dinners off of her at her beautiful house. Thank you for the best beet salad and the pie, Margi!
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<br />She commemorated me in her blog this week, so I'm giving her center stage in mine. Miss you Margi!
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<br />Click here to visit her blog, Heaven Now:
<br /><a href="http://yogapeeps.blogspot.com/2011/08/letter-to-writer-pal-at-hedgebrook.html">http://yogapeeps.blogspot.com/2011/08/letter-to-writer-pal-at-hedgebrook.html</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-71641412067923771292011-08-17T08:12:00.003-07:002011-08-18T07:52:55.981-07:00The Diary is in the Details<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wlCKUiBSfoKzS7448DciH45PwAlM5DwNjjTeamxe7b86ofZVWwt0t4idhEoTYLjLlhG7PEXWZo0jNYZRoAi1S7tLPJdrT5lTwYtgNESfWVUew6DtncKrbeC3h0ZZF3ASgGx8sKTBtout/s1600/Willow+Journals.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wlCKUiBSfoKzS7448DciH45PwAlM5DwNjjTeamxe7b86ofZVWwt0t4idhEoTYLjLlhG7PEXWZo0jNYZRoAi1S7tLPJdrT5lTwYtgNESfWVUew6DtncKrbeC3h0ZZF3ASgGx8sKTBtout/s200/Willow+Journals.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642209016350137154" /></a>
<br />Date: 08.17.11
<br />Time: 9:03 p.m.
<br />Mood: Content
<br />RE: The Diary is in the Details
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<br />The first day I got here, I was introduced to the fantastic journals on my cottage bookshelf. The cottage journals are known for being a total Hedgebrook tradition. Each writer’s cottage has backdated diaries to read, with entries written by the women writers who have stayed here before you. They are full of musings, quotes, photos, dried flowers, poems, tears, coffee stains, smiley faces, parental rants, break up woes, travels, fears, and overall great and sage advice. I read 3 years worth of entries just today….by the women who have all stayed at Willow Cottage. There’s a type of simple magic in the advice they each impart in their own distinctive ways, while staying here. Here are some important pearls of wisdom I took away:
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<br />Pick fresh flowers each day
<br />Search for lucky rocks
<br />Take naps
<br />There is a dark spot in Willow’s main room hardwood floor that looks like a slug (I found it; it really does)
<br />Even on days you don’t write, don’t feel bad; you will be a better writer just for being here
<br />Build a fire every night
<br />Host a party in someone’s cottage, play music, drink wine and read poetry out loud
<br />Open the windows
<br />Read Wolfs Room of One’s Own while you’re here
<br />Read Gloria Steinem’s journals (she stayed in Fir Cottage) while you’re here (where's that?)
<br />Two girls who stayed here in this cottage were pregnant
<br />My favorite college lit prof stayed here one summer (JT Stewart: thank you for making me fall in love with poetry. Especially with writing my own.)
<br />Well water makes your hair shiny
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<br />In the farmhouse tonight, where all of the women gather to eat a more formal dinner together that the chef has prepared each evening, some of us gals stayed late to shoot the breeze and I mentioned how one of my journals suggested someone throw a party while staying here. The idea was WELL received! So, I named Saturday night at party night. Poet K, a cool African American woman (near 50), offered up her swanky cottage as the party pad cuz she has the biggest space at H—-plus she is leaving next week so it seemed fitting to me that she was in on it. We can say goodbye to her in style. Fiction Writer E was TOTALLY into it too. She is 24 and I really like her. She’s like having a younger sister around that actually wants your advice and you can make her laugh quite easily. Oh, and she plays the guitar, sings and writes, so I told her she was a triple threat, and that means she could get a lot of stage time. Looks like a party is underway…we will go into town this week to buy Wine, but Poet K calls it “hooch.” I like the ring of that word. Which reminds me... I better close now and get to writing. Sounds like there will be an audience Saturday night.
<br />TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-12290518841775160262011-08-17T08:12:00.002-07:002011-08-17T09:11:47.187-07:00Willow Cottage Writer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhdTDiiiqeYYMChp7PcgB_DLlpXkqc8WyjER0a_i2Uw4DX1MbTBfuZDbUZnmzr2h0-c1j1LiART-URRFMu-vOvAjBKnsRET4aLnPcLd-hHP4xPdS-U6uF8M7s0Eu9Lge9ZbVve8Eaf1tT/s1600/Lofty+Dreams.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhdTDiiiqeYYMChp7PcgB_DLlpXkqc8WyjER0a_i2Uw4DX1MbTBfuZDbUZnmzr2h0-c1j1LiART-URRFMu-vOvAjBKnsRET4aLnPcLd-hHP4xPdS-U6uF8M7s0Eu9Lge9ZbVve8Eaf1tT/s200/Lofty+Dreams.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641857619717549954" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMG3B9pnZt4c-VeBFCxNMjUZCyV3YFl4r0qBuh-zt9WzTciWnXH-wOCqSu1o4IitvQ8w3jFAlbgwALdIfzF6BLl0dk2JpK0YKsu5EVJWwpctwFez6G3rA-JoYhvdRGKb8_SpVQfi0I07f/s1600/Morning+View.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMG3B9pnZt4c-VeBFCxNMjUZCyV3YFl4r0qBuh-zt9WzTciWnXH-wOCqSu1o4IitvQ8w3jFAlbgwALdIfzF6BLl0dk2JpK0YKsu5EVJWwpctwFez6G3rA-JoYhvdRGKb8_SpVQfi0I07f/s200/Morning+View.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641857506849913282" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1rrF5gQLhdgvFdC5OLSKvjHLZ_1iEGfUrVeFdw1ykpICQ2fLfZTdKlglaWesKKFvNOV5LW98rlsqzfDdC9p5rmtASlon9oqdH-ET4der0FJtwH4inXQERf7BMfQonYjosI9ApdTuia4W/s1600/Rustic+Woodstove.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1rrF5gQLhdgvFdC5OLSKvjHLZ_1iEGfUrVeFdw1ykpICQ2fLfZTdKlglaWesKKFvNOV5LW98rlsqzfDdC9p5rmtASlon9oqdH-ET4der0FJtwH4inXQERf7BMfQonYjosI9ApdTuia4W/s200/Rustic+Woodstove.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641857210459216098" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndyzn4ocwFw6SGlYOb81umE5fEsRd5JGSv2D1e307zHh8_UmOfauusCacjOTiGD926CHV5icfLIdWOGNNPrWHBErHpab9vcAWjaFlK6EX5kKvv9Y2dEDrYhWHUR6phtxNuomK49lYvkAr/s1600/My+Writing+Station.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndyzn4ocwFw6SGlYOb81umE5fEsRd5JGSv2D1e307zHh8_UmOfauusCacjOTiGD926CHV5icfLIdWOGNNPrWHBErHpab9vcAWjaFlK6EX5kKvv9Y2dEDrYhWHUR6phtxNuomK49lYvkAr/s200/My+Writing+Station.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641857057797275666" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYa-fNf50LYlwnUCTSPRGZteETtWqaQqX2pWbR6ewNrXpb36qHB37-Srj5d_KJXQJFv5Z1Rw60VBY_UPopfVkYrEZQtNoz-OOtvG2vej9Ix0jXPVCLchiRus9Evk6NV4rwZGO5yJP3xBY/s1600/Willow+Cottage.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYa-fNf50LYlwnUCTSPRGZteETtWqaQqX2pWbR6ewNrXpb36qHB37-Srj5d_KJXQJFv5Z1Rw60VBY_UPopfVkYrEZQtNoz-OOtvG2vej9Ix0jXPVCLchiRus9Evk6NV4rwZGO5yJP3xBY/s200/Willow+Cottage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641856820021508178" /></a>
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<br />Date: 08.16.11
<br />Time: 4 p.m.
<br />Mood: Humbled
<br />RE: Willow Cottage
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<br />Upon arrival, a staff member (I’m sorry I don’t remember your name!) gave me a tour of the farm and then took me up to my new home, Willow Cottage. I was so profoundly humbled by the beauty of the cottage that I cried. It has been made with such great care and loving attention to the detail of what a writer needs to be creative: Beauty. Solitude. Inspiration.
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<br />I am quietly taking it in, but wide-eyed with joy. I feel like Snow White must have felt when she stumbled upon a charming cottage in the woods after having been lost. She walked in the door, and immediately, she knew she was home.
<br />TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-52535799455871765602011-08-17T08:12:00.001-07:002011-08-17T08:13:34.812-07:00Maiden Voyage to Hedgebrook<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFN9xjsVrICs-OxAfNJO66jCrxBwibqXCcuy32PQ1USd6y_Fdy0JjmsqXkfFeMXLdtb9f3ILEf-QL9VhxKvELeoa0xgKu6APfSz9AmIjXUC_nbtg-3ZCPGjpnLTcm_USX44nvktZuhGFW/s1600/Ferry+Tam.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFN9xjsVrICs-OxAfNJO66jCrxBwibqXCcuy32PQ1USd6y_Fdy0JjmsqXkfFeMXLdtb9f3ILEf-QL9VhxKvELeoa0xgKu6APfSz9AmIjXUC_nbtg-3ZCPGjpnLTcm_USX44nvktZuhGFW/s320/Ferry+Tam.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641843244639168066" /></a>
<br />Date: August 16, 2011
<br />Time: 2:15 p.m.
<br />Mood: Expectant
<br />RE: Departure
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<br />I headed for Hedgebrook today by way of water.
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<br />Once the grinding stop and go of I-5 North gave way to a smooth descent into Mukilteo, I sailed myself away to Whidbey Island on a ferry. Mid-August in Washington couldn’t get much better to pave my escape with its perfect blue skies backdropped to a beckoning island in the horizon.
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<br />As the azure water washed up against the side of the ferry and the wind swept through my loose hair, I thought to myself, “How poignant are these slapping waves?” I am cleansing myself from my life as I know it. With each ebb, I am erasing any constraints I have to concrete, to strip malls, to gridlock, to errands, to debit cards, to matching my shoes to my purse, to television sitcoms that can’t make me smile. I have to say, indifferently and selfishly and wickedly, I won’t miss a single urban thing.
<br />TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-10839525492171297542011-07-23T15:12:00.001-07:002011-07-23T15:13:20.127-07:00Summer 2011Since finishing the Tacoma Poet Laureateship term for 2010-2011 in late Spring, I've been resting on my laurels and regrouping my energies from copious volunteer and community service poetry work I have done over the past couple years to recharge my writer's batteries, clear my poetry plate, and creatively convalesce.<br /><br />I will be leaving for my Hedgebrook Writer's Retreat for the 2011 residency award I won. I set out next month to stay in a private cottage on Whidbey Island with a dozen other visiting women writers from around the WORLD, all having been honored with an award to attend the esteemed retreat and unplug from the day to day grind to honor my gift of poetry. I will spend the rest of the summer writing and working on my next book, which to this date remains untitled.TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-15085661591123642352011-04-21T15:36:00.000-07:002011-04-21T15:39:35.398-07:00Josie's Poesy: Editorial by TLR in Weekly Volcano<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsgHcuY_ZidwpCdBb1cwiSDi8UH4WGPyWLolfQi6hlcHx0iSpdbgC5CGl6QpHNRscrmF52CvBekrRi1Fce7IpNv48GgmPi0uaRqUaeXgjeIUip1yZkcsG34Rvk99sx1ci9Wbcxfn4utVr/s1600/logo.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 81px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsgHcuY_ZidwpCdBb1cwiSDi8UH4WGPyWLolfQi6hlcHx0iSpdbgC5CGl6QpHNRscrmF52CvBekrRi1Fce7IpNv48GgmPi0uaRqUaeXgjeIUip1yZkcsG34Rvk99sx1ci9Wbcxfn4utVr/s320/logo.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598169966420845426" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />I wrote a feature on the new Poet Laureate for Tacoma: Josie Turner. It went live this morn on the Weekly Volcano: <br /><br />http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/arts-feature/2011/04/tacoma-poet-laureate-josie-emmons-first-poetry-reading-bellaballs-studio/<br /><a href="http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/arts-feature/2011/04/tacoma-poet-laureate-josie-emmons-first-poetry-reading-bellaballs-studio/"></a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-80029908931859897972011-04-01T07:53:00.000-07:002011-04-01T08:03:18.575-07:00I'm reading on Arbor Day, Tacoma, WA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwWgjP4xwJ1Pf6bayRTmaCWlovuzMq8xhN7_9xRfxlEYyHx2eM9YKz2Y6tfR5zl6YP7O0jTn9Jecb8rsw4GratDmij6VvI1TnqTE64cgs4xJb2svlmGcLksDo7Ks32LDBVAfyKDJr4F7y/s1600/Birch.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwWgjP4xwJ1Pf6bayRTmaCWlovuzMq8xhN7_9xRfxlEYyHx2eM9YKz2Y6tfR5zl6YP7O0jTn9Jecb8rsw4GratDmij6VvI1TnqTE64cgs4xJb2svlmGcLksDo7Ks32LDBVAfyKDJr4F7y/s320/Birch.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590630336144623714" /></a><br /><br /><br />Tomorrow is Arbor Day. I'm releasing my inner tree and will be reading a poem at 2 pm, before the Mayor speaks, to open the event for Urban Forest Project: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1946869&more=0">http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1946869&more=0</a><br /><br />P.S. One of my favorite trees is the Birch. Reminds me of the woods, growing up in Pennsylvania. I was fascinated by their stark, white beauty and the appearance of black cuts in its hard body. It's bark peels like paper. Which is a cool thing...to a poet.TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-82641002590392678762011-03-30T12:37:00.000-07:002011-03-30T13:58:14.144-07:00The Last Word: Final Poetry Workshop Sunday! 04/03<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-PQ5IVvKEjy4qGC6t7497qeO72ySv3TcjxmhrvBnXf4KKb6r-6Pdutqob8m2s1RvXlo6JsailNueIIyOCB0Xw9YcFgEZ9GcRX4VQ4PvP9W5Vs5FIwWS6kqKLcJGsCwstmrpT21lpG_ei/s1600/images.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-PQ5IVvKEjy4qGC6t7497qeO72ySv3TcjxmhrvBnXf4KKb6r-6Pdutqob8m2s1RvXlo6JsailNueIIyOCB0Xw9YcFgEZ9GcRX4VQ4PvP9W5Vs5FIwWS6kqKLcJGsCwstmrpT21lpG_ei/s320/images.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589960124568274210" /></a><br /><strong>My Final Poet Laureate Writer’s Workshop </strong> <br /><br />The perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon is writing poetry with new friends!<br />Sign up and be a part of this last workshop I will be teaching as Tacoma Poet Laureate!<br /> <br />There are seats available for this <strong>last class on SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1:30p.m. to 3:30p</strong>.m. @ Urban Grace Church, Rm. 301, Tacoma, WA, Use 9th Street entrance! 902 Market Street, Tacoma, WA 98402<br /> <br />RSVPing is required. Simply email your RSVP and your full name to: tamsugah@aol.com <br />Class fee: $10 suggested donation. Bring check or cash to the class on the day you attend.<br /> <br />Class Outline:<br />This 2-hour workshop will be led by Poet Laureate of Tacoma, Tammy Robacker, and is designed to explore the craft of poetry writing for poets and writers of all skill levels. Workshop attendees will spend time examining and discussing poetic elements in existing, canonized poems by a diverse representation of poets. Then students will be given the opportunity to write their own poetry in exercises. Last of all, students will share their written work aloud in a round-robin fashion for gentle critique and commentary by the group.TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-41977748341821750402011-03-26T10:25:00.000-07:002011-03-26T10:27:29.480-07:00Arts Innovator Article in Showcase Mag- by TLRTwo cutting-edge Washington artists, Leo Berk and Margie Livingston, were recently recognized with the prestigious Arts Innovator Award. Here's a feature I did on them in the Spring issue of SHOWCASE Magazine.<br /><br /><a href="http://showcasemedialive.com/issues/spring2011/community/artsinnovatoraward">http://showcasemedialive.com/issues/spring2011/community/artsinnovatoraward</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-5347617843014595022011-03-21T08:29:00.001-07:002011-03-21T08:29:50.017-07:00powerful linessometimes<br />I have to stop to touch my life & see if it's real.<br />How surprising to find that I wanted so much,<br />and mostly got it. My fantasies are fewer now<br />(one involves living through a day without<br />...resentments...)<br /><br />--from the poem, Moon in Time Lapse <br />by David RivardTLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-18108403361776623112011-03-19T12:55:00.000-07:002011-03-19T12:56:42.395-07:00I'm in the TNT for St Paddy's poetry!Puyallup Poesy: Limerick or Lamerick?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/18/1589512/leave-it-to-us-amateur-irishmen.html">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/18/1589512/leave-it-to-us-amateur-irishmen.html</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-45864305013717530802011-03-18T09:10:00.000-07:002011-03-18T09:12:38.069-07:00TLR PR: bellaballs floats hope and help to JapanA press announcement I wrote for one of my FAVE businesses and local artists 'bellaballs' is on the Travel Tacoma website today. They are giving back to Japan: <a href="http://www.traveltacoma.com/news.php?nid=151">http://www.traveltacoma.com/news.php?nid=151</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-66912721363866645822011-03-09T17:01:00.000-08:002011-03-09T17:05:35.675-08:00Feelin' poemsaic<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaivqFD_Xn4o5gA930T6w8XxFi1rW34unMsOk6mwC5gZLqEWOfpIFZ1HiGwXVdXYTPBTjX-lb9Z_ieivhAPRF3ZUlZHTu6qsP_9BHFftkEtNTm-74WY41Iw6_rpUV98VE7unJIej93wy2/s1600/87214fb4c3350126699c3a6b53d33d5b.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaivqFD_Xn4o5gA930T6w8XxFi1rW34unMsOk6mwC5gZLqEWOfpIFZ1HiGwXVdXYTPBTjX-lb9Z_ieivhAPRF3ZUlZHTu6qsP_9BHFftkEtNTm-74WY41Iw6_rpUV98VE7unJIej93wy2/s200/87214fb4c3350126699c3a6b53d33d5b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582250652394234050" /></a><br />Wow. I'm doing an editorial feature article on this local mosaic artist. She is so amazing. I wonder if I can trade her a poetry book, for<br /> a window... <br /><a href="http://www.behance.net/gallery/Columbia-Grill-Windows/926174">http://www.behance.net/gallery/Columbia-Grill-Windows/926174</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-23309948881000349162011-02-18T11:06:00.000-08:002011-02-18T11:09:05.849-08:00'Inspiring Poet of the Year' Award: FEB 2011WOW! I just won the 'Inspiring Poet of the Year' award from Peace Out, Inc-- a non-profit that supports Teen Philanthropy--for work I have done with teens & poetry. Will be attending their awards ceremony in Tacoma and have been invited to read some of my work to open their talent show. I will be sharing some new, special writing/poems I have working on for my next book. :) <br /><br />Thanks to Peace Out, Inc and Hilltop Artists for nominating me! Honored!TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-62082912204884872062011-01-23T16:08:00.000-08:002011-01-23T16:09:47.788-08:00Tarot Card Reading for January 23, 2011Your Card Today: Death<br /><br />Transformation. Death of the old ways. Making way for new energy and revitalization. Time to look for a new path. Change in a relationship, job or long-standing belief. Possible new beginning or liberation. Time to let go of something and let it pass from your life. Change of mind. Outside influence will cause drastic change. Accept change or change will be thrust upon you. Grieving a loss or change. Rebirth.TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-37144807567555932972011-01-10T08:37:00.000-08:002011-01-10T08:39:52.839-08:00My Birthday Wish"Never make someone a priority that only makes you an option."<br /><br />C! Thank you for the AMAZING birthday nite!TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-46175495023275821482010-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:002010-12-20T10:50:25.848-08:00Tacoma News Tribune - Go Arts: Highlight on my Award!Tacoma Poet Laureate Wins 2011 Residency:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.thenewstribune.com/arts/2010/12/20/poet-laureate-wins-writer%e2%80%99s-residency-on-whidbey-island/">http://blog.thenewstribune.com/arts/2010/12/20/poet-laureate-wins-writer%e2%80%99s-residency-on-whidbey-island/</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-50270494347903795092010-12-16T14:41:00.000-08:002010-12-16T14:42:41.572-08:00Robacker Awarded 2011 Writer’s Residency at HedgebrookTACOMA, WA –Tacoma’s Poet Laureate and writer, Tammy Robacker, has just been awarded a 2011 writer’s residency at Hedgebrook. <br /> <br />Hedgebrook, located on Whidbey Island, WA is one of the few retreats in the world exclusively devoted to women writers. Women writers from around the world come to Hedgebrook to take part in a multitude of programs focused on mastering their work. The Writers in Residence program is the core program. With no-cost residencies ranging from two weeks to six weeks they come to write, rejuvenate, and connect with each other.<br /> <br />Having narrowed the original 795 applicants down, the committee awarded only 38 final residencies for 2011. Robacker was one of these select few poets and writers from across the globe. The quality of work from this final group was most impressive and it represents a diversity of cultures and rich life experiences that Hedgebrook welcomes. <br /> <br />Robacker published her first book of poetry, The Vicissitudes, just last year (Pearle Publications). She is currently working on new material, and the time spent at Hedgebrook will afford her the space, privacy and creative surroundings to help her complete a second book—A work which will be thematically focused on the trials and tribulations of the American teenage girl; a subject she never tires of reading or writing about!<br /> <br />Residency applicants are selected based on the quality of their writing and strength of their proposal—not whether they have been published. Hedgebrook is committed to nurturing the individual voice and creating a sense of community amongst writers. This creates a ripple effect, as the connection that begins between writers radiates out to countless readers and audiences who experience their novels, poems, plays, screenplays, graphic novels, memoirs, and more. <br /> <br />The Writers in Residence Program offers women writers the opportunity to unplug from their daily demands in life, to be free from worry about putting food on the table or paying bills, and to find their story and have the peace and time to give it a voice. Repeatedly, writers say they are able to begin, develop, and complete work at Hedgebrook that they would not have done otherwise. <br /> <br />For more information about Hedgebrook, including the Writers in Residence Program and upcoming readings and events, check out the website at: http://www.hedgebrook.org<br /> <br />###TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-88616444202802469632010-12-06T16:14:00.000-08:002010-12-06T18:29:31.405-08:00Sleeping is giving in.....by Arcade Fire<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuIpKu5HCTNCV-56wit-aYuotvaerJn4-Ln9OcbYD6ckCjdLH6UP9qoop0k92dGaJQxQeMQY8Z6MFuJUB5teU0vlif2l9pj1ByUO7sGkZ4R9VPL2z3bHgzhrH-07n6TQfGTkUWTqKoshD/s1600/photo_arcade_fire.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 159px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuIpKu5HCTNCV-56wit-aYuotvaerJn4-Ln9OcbYD6ckCjdLH6UP9qoop0k92dGaJQxQeMQY8Z6MFuJUB5teU0vlif2l9pj1ByUO7sGkZ4R9VPL2z3bHgzhrH-07n6TQfGTkUWTqKoshD/s200/photo_arcade_fire.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547733024846372002" /></a><br />As 2010 closes, I have cinched up a lot of personal goals and projects as Poet Laureate of Tacoma. Now, I am beginning planning new projects and laying plans for the upcoming year and my poetry. At this point, I am gearing up to write book #2. <br /><br />I'm entering into a very incubatory, productive and creative time for my writing. As poet laureate of Tacoma for the past 8-9 months, I have been on the go--taking action! Lots of readings, workshop teaching, volunteering, school visits, lectures et al. I'm looking forward to a more reflective pace of the holidays and the slowing nature of snow here...it has a way of shutting the world down, which makes for lots of writing time for me--as long as the power doesn't go out in Pierce County. :/<br /><br />I'm working on a poem right now and listening to the bass-driven, piano-plinky, hypnotic build of Arcade Fire's song-- Rebellion (lies). I cannot stop playing this tune in my car, on my computer, in my mp3 player. Listen to it... you won't be able to get it out of your head. Tight song:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNfWC4Sgkcs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNfWC4Sgkcs</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7089024857395030524.post-19564083386041039742010-12-06T08:01:00.000-08:002010-12-06T08:09:00.957-08:00Another Winter issue article: Inspired Design, by TLR<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyedgUSEioA8TBhzvTWfiPLRb7My0PG-tWcLaVWmfLOOYVc0B9gzPZVimB5qZz9cjIQDImf0BtPVzgEmkKhux4FZO6wFnEVsGZ7ytisjbwb84AMyZj6KRrWUnDvG5lEJkwCfv1Kph_18u-/s1600/olympic_landscape+cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyedgUSEioA8TBhzvTWfiPLRb7My0PG-tWcLaVWmfLOOYVc0B9gzPZVimB5qZz9cjIQDImf0BtPVzgEmkKhux4FZO6wFnEVsGZ7ytisjbwb84AMyZj6KRrWUnDvG5lEJkwCfv1Kph_18u-/s200/olympic_landscape+cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547601951529853426" /></a><br />This feature on landscape design was written by me about Olympic Landscaping. It got the cover shot for Showcase Magazine/WINTER Issue. My first cover shot! Quite a thrill to see that on newstands. It made my day....well, my year really. What a great way to cinch up December, and a year of freelancing for the magazine. <br /><br />It's been a great journey full of food and restaurant reviews, interviews with amazing artist, designers and jewelry makers. I have learned so much more about the many, creative entrepreneurs who live among us here in Pierce County and beyond and the strategic and artisinal ways they do business. It's an inspiration to me too as an artist, poet and writer.<br /><br />To read the article: <a href="http://www.showcasemedialive.com/issues/winter2010/design/inspireddesigns">http://www.showcasemedialive.com/issues/winter2010/design/inspireddesigns</a>TLRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00791794876446221087noreply@blogger.com0