A Great Deal of Company
My wife, poet Amy Nawrocki, has a new poem published by Phi Kappa Phi's FORUM this Spring 2011. It's called "A Great Deal of Company" and highlights our encounter in Cape Cod's dunes with an artist named Laura Gajeweski (out there, Laura?). Amy's poem won runner up in this quarter's PKP poetry contest, her second to do so. I'm hoping next time will bring her a win!
Afoot in Connecticut 34 - Blackberries
Dreaming of the Gaspe Peninsula
Winter at Home
The snow this winter has been amazing. Though it has caused some problems, I choose to focus on the beauty of it as much as possible.
Guess we won't be going into the hot tub anytime soon...
Amy Nawrocki Interviewed in The Port
Following is the interview my wife Amy Nawrocki did in the local web magazine, The Port, a couple years ago. They have since folded, from what I can tell, so I thought I would repost it here in advance of her poetry reading next week.
TP: Why do you prefer writing as your artistic medium? What makes the art of
writing stand out to you amongst other forms of artistic expression?
AN: I like the way words combine with other words to create sound and meaning. I can’t do that with music (others can but I can’t or haven’t), with something like photography I could create meaning but I particularly like words, so writing suits me. For me, writing stands out as an art form because of a personal connection.
TP: You’re a professor. As a writer and educator, how do you incorporate your
passion into your career? What would be some advice you would give aspiring
writers?
AN: Aspiring writers should read, read, and then read some more. We can find passion in works that we love, so we need to return to them again and again. We also find passion when we discover something new, a new writer or different voice. I try to inspire passion in my students by introducing them to other passionate writers and works.
TP: What do you find inspiring about a city like Bridgeport? What changes have you seen and what would you like to see more of?
AN: I like Bridgeport for its diversity. I like being able to encounter people from many different cultures. I enjoy being in a place where everyone is different from me. Growing up, I didn’t really experience that, so it’s fantastic that Bridgeport has it. I’ve been excited by the development of downtown, especially lately.
TP: You and a fellow professor have submitted pieces, both on the subject of the ocean and Long Island Sound. The ocean is a familiar muse in all forms of
artwork. What is it about the ocean that you find so stirring?
AN: The ocean is first of all a source of beauty. It’s also draws us through each of the senses. It’s full of contradictions--overwhelming, full of terror, yet among the most calming and tranquil places or things. It makes me feel small and insignificant yet mighty and invisible all at the same time.
TP: Daylights savings time recently occurred and the days are getting shorter. Are you a morning or evening person? Do you prefer winter or spring? When
and where do you find your inspiration?
AN: I want to be a morning person; I like getting up and getting things done, but in actuality, I rarely do that. The same thing happens in the evening. I want to accomplish a lot, but I end up getting side-tracked or tired. So I guess I’d say I’m a mid morning, early evening kind of person.
I like the seasons for how they look—lots of snow in the winter, changing leaves in the fall, and new green buds and colorful flowers in the spring. Summer bores me usually, and I don’t really like the heat, so that’s last on the list. I find a lot of inspiration in nature, so often inspiration for me is found outdoors.
TP: Why do you prefer writing as your artistic medium? What makes the art of
writing stand out to you amongst other forms of artistic expression?
AN: I like the way words combine with other words to create sound and meaning. I can’t do that with music (others can but I can’t or haven’t), with something like photography I could create meaning but I particularly like words, so writing suits me. For me, writing stands out as an art form because of a personal connection.
TP: You’re a professor. As a writer and educator, how do you incorporate your
passion into your career? What would be some advice you would give aspiring
writers?
AN: Aspiring writers should read, read, and then read some more. We can find passion in works that we love, so we need to return to them again and again. We also find passion when we discover something new, a new writer or different voice. I try to inspire passion in my students by introducing them to other passionate writers and works.
TP: What do you find inspiring about a city like Bridgeport? What changes have you seen and what would you like to see more of?
AN: I like Bridgeport for its diversity. I like being able to encounter people from many different cultures. I enjoy being in a place where everyone is different from me. Growing up, I didn’t really experience that, so it’s fantastic that Bridgeport has it. I’ve been excited by the development of downtown, especially lately.
TP: You and a fellow professor have submitted pieces, both on the subject of the ocean and Long Island Sound. The ocean is a familiar muse in all forms of
artwork. What is it about the ocean that you find so stirring?
AN: The ocean is first of all a source of beauty. It’s also draws us through each of the senses. It’s full of contradictions--overwhelming, full of terror, yet among the most calming and tranquil places or things. It makes me feel small and insignificant yet mighty and invisible all at the same time.
TP: Daylights savings time recently occurred and the days are getting shorter. Are you a morning or evening person? Do you prefer winter or spring? When
and where do you find your inspiration?
AN: I want to be a morning person; I like getting up and getting things done, but in actuality, I rarely do that. The same thing happens in the evening. I want to accomplish a lot, but I end up getting side-tracked or tired. So I guess I’d say I’m a mid morning, early evening kind of person.
I like the seasons for how they look—lots of snow in the winter, changing leaves in the fall, and new green buds and colorful flowers in the spring. Summer bores me usually, and I don’t really like the heat, so that’s last on the list. I find a lot of inspiration in nature, so often inspiration for me is found outdoors.
Necessary Voices Redux
Afoot in Connecticut 33- Eastern Cottontail
This is definitely the cutest subject of my ongoing series so far!
Afoot in Conneticut 32 - Gouveia Vineyard
Afoot in Connecticut 31- Snow Tracks
Welcome to the second season of Afoot in Connecticut! We begin just a few yards from my new house in the winter forest. I hope the hiatus has left you breathless for more of these videos, and I hope you like the next 30 that will be coming out in 2011.
Civil War Roundtable
I had a great time presenting "The Dickermans of Hamden" to the Civil War Roundtable and Friends of the Hamden Library last night. I also spoke about the importance of telling local stories to connect people to not only the past, but each other.
Warm at Home
Like these beavers in the Adirondacks, I am cozzled up at home today. There's a wood fire roaring, a hot toddy on my lap, and writing to be done. Later, an aged apple brandy from Westford Hill Distillery awaits. I just wrote about the Chateys and their wonderful eau-de-vie this morning, in the course of writing the History of Connecticut Wine. Of course they are not making wine, but...well, you'll see.
Roast chicken for dinner, and a relaxing night in front of the fire. Don't let such days pass you by. Savor each moment, like an amazing apple brandy, and life will seem long and meaningful.
Henry Miller's Birthday
Happy Boxing Day! Or Henry Miller's birthday, for some of us. For the special day, Kreg over at Millerwalks posted my classic story The Ghost of Henry Miller. It was the first thing I had "published" back on Hackwriters in 2002. It's been a long hard slog of writing since then, but of course now it is all paying off. Enjoy!
Swinging at the New House
Let me show you the reason I didn't post often last month.
Nomad's End at Bridgeport Public Library
Recently Amy talked about her new book, Nomad's End, with Mary Witkowski's memoir class at the Bridgeport Public Library. It was a good lecture/reading, and we enjoyed speaking with the budding writers there. There was talk of an anthology of Bridgeport memoirs, and I hope that happens. Sharing stories is what being human is all about.
Hamden Antiques Show
Amy and I worked the Hamden Historical Society's antique show at the Miller Library this year again. It was a lot of fun, and we look forward to doing it every year.
Amy is joined at the food service counter by Al Gorman and Craig Reynolds.
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
I encountered The Dharma Bums for the first time in college, on a classmate’s shelf. She gushed about the book, but I was more interested in her roommate and didn’t pay enough attention. Many years later, I finally read it on a lonely road trip through New Hampshire during an unusually cold May. Snow drenched the higher elevations and my camping experience became uncomfortable and risky. I paged through Kerouac’s autobiographical novel and wrote two dozen poems. I finished the treasured Beat tome in front of a roaring campfire, beside a bubbling river, before crawling into my sleeping bag. A near-perfect reading experience.
This book is sometimes ignored, due no doubt to its similarity to the more famous On the Road. The sprightly Japhy Rader resembles the more famous Dean Moriarty, though one is based on Gary Snyder and the other Neal Cassady. But this is no retelling, not even a prequel. The Dharma Bums has a charm of its own…from its bookend experiences in the high mountains to its evocative exploration of Buddhism. Of course, the journeys Kerouac’s narrators take may be similar. He always seems to be searching for truth. Does he find it? That’s up to the reader, but the real lesson is that the search is what is important.
Read this book and listen carefully to Kerouac’s barbarous prose. Hear the message both in the words and behind them. Break out of your simple routine and hit the road. Climb a mountain. Fall asleep in a treetop. Meditate for three days. Change your life and broaden your mind. The Beat generation and the counterculture that followed may have had their problems and failures, but at least they tried. And they got one thing absolutely right: life is a journey and if we don’t keep moving, we die.
This book is sometimes ignored, due no doubt to its similarity to the more famous On the Road. The sprightly Japhy Rader resembles the more famous Dean Moriarty, though one is based on Gary Snyder and the other Neal Cassady. But this is no retelling, not even a prequel. The Dharma Bums has a charm of its own…from its bookend experiences in the high mountains to its evocative exploration of Buddhism. Of course, the journeys Kerouac’s narrators take may be similar. He always seems to be searching for truth. Does he find it? That’s up to the reader, but the real lesson is that the search is what is important.
Read this book and listen carefully to Kerouac’s barbarous prose. Hear the message both in the words and behind them. Break out of your simple routine and hit the road. Climb a mountain. Fall asleep in a treetop. Meditate for three days. Change your life and broaden your mind. The Beat generation and the counterculture that followed may have had their problems and failures, but at least they tried. And they got one thing absolutely right: life is a journey and if we don’t keep moving, we die.
My Wife's Battered Suitcase
My lovely wife, the poet Amy Nawrocki, is published in the latest issue of The Battered Suitcase, an excellent and highly regarded literary magazine. I particularly like her poem about wine in the Finger Lakes. It makes me want to get back to writing our book on Connecticut wine...which is due in less than two months at the publisher!
The Battered Suitcase is available online, but why not buy a copy of the magazine while you're there?
The Battered Suitcase is available online, but why not buy a copy of the magazine while you're there?
Ottawa in Winter
A few years ago, my wife and I went to Ottawa over winter break. Although many might see this as an act of madness, we took the opportunity to walk the lonely, snow-choked streets in search of warm food, music, and art. Sure, next time I go I'd like it to be a sunny spring day along the river, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Always look for the unusual travel opportunity, and you will often be rewarded.
The Forge
This is the restored "forge" at the Eli Whitney Factory in Hamden, Connecticut. A beautiful building itself, I am also struck by the beauty of forging. Recently, at the Renaissance Faire in Massachusetts, I once again had the opportunity to watch the forging of metals (to create swords in that case). Three times I've done it myself, creating a knife, a candle holder, and a crowbar. This ancient technology is nothing short of miraculous, and I encourage everyone to both witness and try it. Make an attempt to understand the process, the amazing way that heat changes the structure of the substances, and allows us to create tools.
We take so much for granted that people even a hundred years ago did not. Make an attempt at understanding the processes that create "civilized" experience and you will take less for granted. Take nothing for granted, and you will be surprised at the rich intricacy of human life.