The reading at Cleo's went pretty well. There were 8 people there (expected for a Friday in Dec.??) who were very nice, supportive. They listened attentively and responded. :) A few of them read at the open mic after me, and there were a few very good pieces there. I read the first draft of the Thanksgiving travel poem, and it did not go over well. Too long and all over the place, I realize. There are good lines in it, which I will salvage and retool. As usual, the same works seemed to be best received. I hope that soon I will write something new that also works well.

Today I got a response from Blue Mesa Review. They liked my new sonnet on Nostradamus's wife and considered my work carefully, but they did not select anything. I also just got notice from the Journal of New Jersey Poets that my poems (submitted Nov 2002) were rejected. Argh. Tonight G hurt his leg and can't hold the poet's meeting. He told me to call S and meet without him, but I just don't have the energy to do it tonight. Maybe right after new year's. I think the poetry gods are against me today.

On a good note, I was scheduled for May in Hoboken for a reading at a new place. :) Hoorah. I want to see if there are any other places I can read early next year, even if there are just some new open mics I can go to.

Thought: Maybe the reason I can't write poetry well right now is that I keep thinking about writing fiction! Another idea today for a short story. Just not sure what to write these days. *humph*

Time to do more holiday preparing and cleaning up around here. I feel like I am living in a warehouse. And I'll be so much older soon that I may not be able to reach down to pick things up!