Hey ya’ll,
Sorry I’ve been so quiet these last few months — a lot has been going on in my personal life, couple that with an overall lack of motivation and I just haven’t felt the urge to write. Unlike most, I’ve learned not to force my hand (literally) if I’m not feeling inspired. Nothing good ever comes of it.
As some of you may know, I graduated with my Master’s this past May. It’s a surreal feeling to finally be done with this incredibly intense portion of my life. I am intensely grateful for the downtime that I’m able to have; I’ve spent a lot of time with friends and am starting to remember what it is to have a social life.
There’s also a feeling of failure; I’m back working in a call center, a place I never thought I’d return, rather than working in my field. I’m trying to stay positive about it, to view it only as a resting place until I get my strength up to begin the search for the job I want…. or create the shit myself. That requires a little bit of mental space — which I just don’t have right now until I settle into my schedule.
I also miss my friends and our conversations. Most of them will be gone if/when I return for the start of my second Master’s (I got the official nod of acceptance in April). I’m still gunning for the PhD, so I need to begin looking at programs and writing applications soon. Clearly my last idea wasn’t interesting enough for the schools I applied to, so I need to rethink my plan of attack. I’ll keep you guys posted — the season begins December.
In other news — the one that I’ve been quiet about both on the internet and in real life — is that I’m divorcing. I don’t think many of you knew that I was married, which was intentional on my part. I never wanted to be defined by my marriage nor dismissed because of it. Either way, it’s ending. We’re in this weird roommate phase – me living in my purple office surrounded by books and and my collection of dead things – and him in the master bedroom. It’s a strange living arrangement and complicated to navigate — but the housing market is so terrible now that it’s impossible for me to find a place. I keep looking though.
In more exciting news — THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER! Song of the Sister was released yesterday morning, and I am… fucking STOKED it’s out there. HUGE thanks to Cody Sexton for taking a risk on this absolute beast of a genre mash-up; part biblical studies, part dirty realism poetry, part photo book. I am insanely proud of it…. and very glad editing is finished. 🙂 Here’s a few reviews:
“This is quite an achievement.” — Justine Jones, editor
“In Song of the Sister, Leia John fuses together flesh, desire, vulnerability, and lived reality, with the songs and symbolism of ancient voices burning with passionate familiarity. The result? A remarkable work of human experience that tattoos itself upon your soul.” – Joe Haward, author of Heresy
“Song of the Sister is a tender, lyrical, beautifully rendered portrait of the conception, death(s) and rebirth of a romantic relationship. At once a celebration and an elegy of a fraught love affair, this is a quietly devastating collection of linked poems that almost reads as a novella-in-verse. The language is gorgeous throughout, each poem shrewdly uttered in the frank and formidable voice that we’ve come to expect from Leia John. Presented alongside equally stunning visual imagery, these are poems that both sing and scream. To paraphrase the poet, ‘I could spend all my nights in awe / of this beauty Leia John, and consider it a / life well spent.’ Song of the Sister is a revelation of the highest order, I adored it.” – HLR, author of History of Present Complaint
“Erotic/elegiac/lamentatious poetry that reads like some of the hippest/disruptive Trash Fiction U wanna read.” – DuVay Knox, author of Pussy Detective
If you’re interested in snagging this lil beauty you can buy it here (and I actually get a percentage of the sales! I’m moving up in the world, baby!!)
Poems that Suck 