Tonight my local poetry critique group had a zoom session and gave feedback on each other's poems as faces on screens. It's a strange new normal, but I am becoming more comfortable with the process.
I'd worked on several pieces today, primarily the one that I workshopped tonight, which was based on a prompt given in Diane Lockward's poetry newsletter that used Dean Young's "New Restrictions" as a template.
I also spent a good deal of time this afternoon working with my older daughter to get an updated author's photo for an upcoming publication. My previous photo is dated, and it also somehow feels disingenuous to use it now that my hair is long. It's funny trying to find just the right pose, expression, background, etc. that says what you want it to say about who you are as a person and/or writer. Serious, but not self-important, with a hint of sass. But humble. Rural, but not a hick. Put together but not stylish. Not too old. Not pretending to be young.
I don't think it would matter to me so much if it weren't for the fact that I search for photos of poets I read, just to try to get a sense of not only what they say but also what they look like, how they present themselves. Shallow? Perhaps, yes. But it's also a way to put a face to a name.
And speaking of "poets I read," my list of poets whose work (at least one poem) I've read is approaching 1100. This certainly doesn't mean I remember all of them, whether I see their pictures or not. But I feel as though I'm not doing too bad at getting to know who's out there. I can't imagine how many thousands of poets your average literary journal editor reads!
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