I am working on a series or long poem, titled The Hurricane Poem(s.) I think I can work this material (some old some new some yet to be) into a whole. The trick will be to secure the underpinnings.
What excites me is that I know there is material of substance under the surface of these words. I know that I can go deeper and deeper still into the raw hurricane experience, into the harrowing sights and sounds, ponder the force of nature to bring out something significant.
It is a demanding subject. There is much to say. I am so close to it right now that I am raw as well, and I will need some distance, but I want to capture what is so threatening to me, and perhaps acknowledge the after-effect of clarity and strength that I have also known.
I am excited to work on a piece that will require some time, concentration, fighting for ideas and letting them go, days of reflection and measured judgment.
I also have three writing-related engagements this fall, and my 40th birthday. I’m super-excited about that, surprisingly. I love my birthdays! I’m shameless like that.
Clare L. Martin 