tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7031954745180968382024-02-19T05:56:46.480-08:00ShardsPieces of Thoughts & Thoughts of PiecesLouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-12295477843979836792011-07-13T13:40:00.000-07:002011-07-13T13:42:20.252-07:00Moving DayIn an effort to upgrade and consolidate, I will no longer be maintaining this blog. All information, my schedule, and any bloggy-type updates will now be at <a href="http://www.louannmuhm.com">www.louannmuhm.com</a>. Hope to see you over there!LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-71538177870796293422011-03-21T12:50:00.000-07:002011-03-21T12:55:14.582-07:00Wow--long time no post!It's been a year and a half since Ive posted here, and that's a shame. Life has intervened in the interim, but I pledge to be more diligent from here on in.<br /><br />I haven't been writing much, but I've been working toward writing more again, and the time is coming closer when I will consider myself, once again, a poet. I was lucky enough to attend the A Room of Her Own Foundation's Writing Conference in Abiqui, New Mexico in August of 2010, and the Key West Literary Seminar this past January. I will post about each of those experiences in more detail soon.<br /><br />Anyway, time to get back to the world of poetry and poets. I've been gone too long.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-42472674725637887442009-11-20T13:26:00.000-08:002009-11-20T13:31:41.326-08:00Leicester, England--December 30To my great excitement and anticipation, I will be reading on December 30 in Leicester, England (or should I say UK? Not sure what's correct) with the excellent poet <a href="http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/authors/matt.merritt.html">Matt Merritt</a>. The reading will be held at the Quaker Meeting House on Queen's Road. More info later on exact address and time (which should be around 7 pm). If you are in England, or will be in England, or know anyone in England, pass the word!LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-77953128715514428902009-07-08T10:56:00.000-07:002009-07-09T06:14:34.808-07:00Grand Marais, MN--July 11<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhXpMEcvQ2A4UhX-Kal-SQXilCnB-ayM6dziAHtdo4FO342tnZ33DOa-TNXZERcOAeio7jA4hCJKI2KFHcgxIXU_7DBv_lRT-IJiHiGAKOvi-ZaKYPUdRj0iE_bWcRVuO-2Tf_f6TSsU/s1600-h/vdevilskettle1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhXpMEcvQ2A4UhX-Kal-SQXilCnB-ayM6dziAHtdo4FO342tnZ33DOa-TNXZERcOAeio7jA4hCJKI2KFHcgxIXU_7DBv_lRT-IJiHiGAKOvi-ZaKYPUdRj0iE_bWcRVuO-2Tf_f6TSsU/s320/vdevilskettle1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356151567667233330" border="0" /></a><br />I will be doing a poetry "salon" at Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais, Mn on July 11, beginning at 5 pm. I'm really looking forward to it! If you've never been to Grand Marais, you must go sometime. It's just beautiful---wwaaaayyyy up the North Shore of Lake Superior. We'll be taking our leisurely time driving up Highway 61 (yes, Bob Dylan's Highway 61) on Friday, stopping at Betty's Pies in Two Harbors, hiking over to Temperance Falls, and generally enjoying the scenery. The first time I went to Grand Marais, I immediately came home and started researching teaching jobs there. I calmed down eventually, but I do still love to visit when I can. I'm looking forward to hiking to Devil's Kettle (pictured at right), taking a freezing plunge into that ocean of a lake, and picking up a few more beach stones for my collection.<br /><br />Happy Summer!LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-70110791036526093702009-05-15T10:08:00.001-07:002009-05-15T10:23:52.336-07:00Midwest Book Awards, Part 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrb3EzrILJ363KcVdgWSWEfzH60e7sGE2EngezXbo6VJtSol3T79h2hgqnKWyV5P9SDvVXwaTEWQ1os3YIinIri4NsvSslrXICs7NfhXO4NkPMxhTo2HOGM66Uy_hyphenhyphensPPWuu3KPCdFtg/s1600-h/milktides.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336098899457770114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 101px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrb3EzrILJ363KcVdgWSWEfzH60e7sGE2EngezXbo6VJtSol3T79h2hgqnKWyV5P9SDvVXwaTEWQ1os3YIinIri4NsvSslrXICs7NfhXO4NkPMxhTo2HOGM66Uy_hyphenhyphensPPWuu3KPCdFtg/s320/milktides.jpg" border="0" /></a><em>Milk and Tides</em> by Margaret Hasse was the winner in the Poetry category. I haven't read it yet, but have read Margaret's poems elsewhere, and she is such an accomplished poet. I had the chance to meet her Wednesday night (though we felt we might have met before but couldn't remember where), and she is as gracious and lovely as her poems are. I also met the other finalist Larry Shug, who lives in the real Lake Woebegone--Avon, MN. I am looking forward to reading his book, too. It was great to meet two other MN poets I hadn't known. I hope to get to know them and their work better. Photos of the three of us, plus other pics from the awards ceremony will be posted soon.<br /><p><em>Edge of Forever</em> by Peter Scott Eide won in the two-color cover category. It was a finalist<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XgmvACU_uGS1pI_J6OPrkVprKniGcOuQSQqw469sicG5HCsV7QXmEaOMc8u0_D3ECgplJlJBjMPctg4kGucv3vVxIdOxBPwmjOBUWGqMSUUtJHRHqIJi_K5vVpZKZLyvbIB8K45WF5w/s1600-h/edgecover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336099919700572866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XgmvACU_uGS1pI_J6OPrkVprKniGcOuQSQqw469sicG5HCsV7QXmEaOMc8u0_D3ECgplJlJBjMPctg4kGucv3vVxIdOxBPwmjOBUWGqMSUUtJHRHqIJi_K5vVpZKZLyvbIB8K45WF5w/s320/edgecover.jpg" border="0" /></a> in four categories and won all four. I didn't get a chance to see it, but it must be an extraordinary book! Congratulations to Peter. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet him. I'm definitely adding it to my list of gifts to give nature-and-Lake-Superior-lovers (like myself). I will be reading at Drury Lane books in Grand Marais on July 11, and can't wait to get back to one of my favorite spots on the planet.</p><p>An unexpected bonus at the awards ceremony was running into Elizabeth (Coco) Weber, who was my roommate on a magical two-week writing trip to Italy in 2005. I hadn't seen her since that time, and it was great to run into her. Her book was a finalist in the Art Book category, so I don't think it's a book of poetry, but I did read her earlier book of poems, <em>The Burning House</em>, and loved it. I'll be finding out more about this new one of hers.</p><p>This was a great event, and I'm totally honored to have been a finalist and to have gotten great comments from the judges. Photos coming soon...</p><br /><br /><p></p>LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-39161245191925553082009-04-02T18:26:00.000-07:002009-04-02T18:37:26.873-07:00Midwest Book AwardsI just got word that <span style="font-style: italic;">Breaking the Glass</span> is a finalist for the Midwest Book Awards in two categories: Poetry and 2-Color Cover Design. Yippee! I couldn't be happier.<br /><br />The other two finalists in the Poetry category are Margaret Hasse, for <span style="font-style: italic;">Milk and Tides</span>, and Larry Shug for <span style="font-style: italic;">Arrogant Bones. </span><br /><br />In the cover category, the others are<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Field Notes </span>by Richard Quinney and </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Edge of Forever: Images of Lake Superior </span></span><span><span><span><strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">by Peter Scott Eide.</span></strong></strong></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span><span><span><strong><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></p></strong></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span><span><span><strong></strong></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span> The award is given by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.<br /><br />From the <a href="http://www.mipa.org/MIPA_Home.html">MIPA website</a>:<br /><br />Finalists were chosen from <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 1);">149 titles from 66 publishers in the 12 eligible states that were entered in the MIPA 19th Annual Midwest Book Awards competition for excellence in independent or non-profit publishing. More than 667 books were distributed to the judges for review in 25 categories. </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 1);">Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 13, 2009, with the help of our special guests from Publishers Weekly, Matthew Hurley and Associate Publisher Cevin Bryerman, who is a board member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). R<span style="font-weight: bold;">eservations are required</span> to attend the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Midwest Book Awards Ceremony</span> at the Minnesota Humanities Center, 987 East Ivy Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday, May 13</span>, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.<br /></span></p></span>LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-85578158770443393182009-03-10T06:19:00.000-07:002009-03-10T06:54:23.261-07:00Flurries<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVPYjHeL6Ru86KpFkk9zaAe5gj30eB0JpK3LHRkA6_uWB5yPOxw7wYxVJQsmBwap-4Z-EG2u6Iokb_bCBloDz3cRmj1Z-n0GUJ2oLSjbFVOcToJYKey2_TArET4KuvPfMytVutYzBsGg/s1600-h/tree-1-web[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311550780374993218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVPYjHeL6Ru86KpFkk9zaAe5gj30eB0JpK3LHRkA6_uWB5yPOxw7wYxVJQsmBwap-4Z-EG2u6Iokb_bCBloDz3cRmj1Z-n0GUJ2oLSjbFVOcToJYKey2_TArET4KuvPfMytVutYzBsGg/s320/tree-1-web%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>As a blizzard bears down on us from the Dakotas (6-12 inches of snow expected, with much blowing and drifting), a new poem of mine on that very topic has been included in <a href="http://www.toddbosspoet.com/Flurry/Flurry.html"><em>Flurry: wintry poetry, intermittently, from Minnesota and the Dakotas</em></a> , an online journal edited by Todd Boss. March 7 is the posting date. Be sure to browse the excellent poetry by lots of Upper Midwest poets, some of whom are friends and acquaintances.<br /><div>While we're on the topic, here's another <a href="http://northography.com/responses.php?stimulus_id=81#655">wintry poem </a>of mine. I've linked it to the Northography website, but it also was part of a collection that I entered in the 2007 <a href="http://www.creekwalker.com/poetry/LouAnnShepardMuhm.html">Creekwalker Poetry Prize</a> competition.<br /><br />Photo by Steve Peterson, from an in-progress collection of photos taken along Highway 64, between Motley and Akeley, MN.</div>LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-26317552510613171732008-12-11T08:20:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:41:54.365-08:00Visible and Invisible<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHcWhu9Qu6zbwUWz16lUwQLLWDmlmvNkw_BUmcGlCQu9OBCWkdHjc1qtEViFOr7JK0lCMd8MAr7VVfp_d4N_p2Qy8b_bHt3ObR3bhj4HueBOeJxzYAdBbiNEcdosQ2L0PJsEb5fic4rg/s1600-h/IMG_5398a.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.mnartists.org/tiffany_besonen">Tiffany Besonen's </a>collage incorporating a fragment of my poem " I am Smoke When I Can Be" is currently touring with the show "<a href="http://www.theveilbook.com/exhibition_about.htm">The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces</a>" (Tiffany's collage is on the right in this photo--2 panels). I visited the show in Milwaukee, and I recommend it highly. The exhibit will be traveling around the US until 2011. It is though-provoking and moving. The show's curator, Jennifer Heath, has this to say about the exhibit:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiM1jd5LNtyGCq5R8WC4SSrPYrxvPJVNSzGRgV4aNubKQn_SNLRRly0IQ5E0DFP3v5jdVFvOMo-ytyB9c6v6SbjrpGoXoVIUC9S0d_eBzIKaQM8eqPt4W7V6a7qIcIIb9dV9Gw-Gt-mo/s1600-h/IMG_5401a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278571337163607986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiM1jd5LNtyGCq5R8WC4SSrPYrxvPJVNSzGRgV4aNubKQn_SNLRRly0IQ5E0DFP3v5jdVFvOMo-ytyB9c6v6SbjrpGoXoVIUC9S0d_eBzIKaQM8eqPt4W7V6a7qIcIIb9dV9Gw-Gt-mo/s320/IMG_5401a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em>Visible and Invisible Spaces intends to engage received wisdom about the veil - particularly current clichés and stereotypes about Islamic practices - and to reflect on the great ubiquity, importance and profundity of the veil throughout human history and imagination. Visible and Invisible Spaces asks artists to investigate the veil in its broadest contexts. The exhibition will be divided into three categories to be interpreted widely: The Sacred Veil, The Sensuous Veil , and The Sociopolitical Veil. Visible and Invisible Spaces, however, is not a documentary exhibition.<br /><br />Visible and Invisible Spaces is a visual companion to Jennifer Heath's edited volume, The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics (University of California Press, forthcoming 2008). The exhibition invited visual artists - including videographers, filmmakers and new media artists, as well as painters, sculptors, performance and installation artists - from around the world to investigate and re-vision the veil.<br /><br />The veil is infinitely visual, yet it is also a means of concealment. The veil is itself mystery, even as it is the shroud that guards the mystery. Veiling is found everywhere and begins in Nature - such as eclipses and the periodic shedding of animals' outer bodily layer (feathers, skin, fur or horn) before re-growth. As much as the veil is fabric or a garment, the veil is also a concept. Veils can be illusion, divination, vanity, artifice, architecture, clothing, hair, deception, curtains, magic, alchemy and transformation, dream, euphemism and metaphor, depression, hallucination, masquerade, beauty, eloquent silence, holiness, birth, liberation, imprisonment. Veils are the ethers beyond consciousness, the hidden hundredth name of god, the final passage into death, even the biblical apocalypse - the lifting of god's veil to signal the "end times."<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWHCwDIFCG9FqujPWB4QrHTlGY0kQVAUm5eI9AqUrP1Pww3y2E9URJkO_yOqtFIjvleZSOZ36FB7XERP1-1tj7dXQNtBo174YW4kH_GUwVFvqJRzZqQKhqrLSzzdUCSEtjCItIkY7eHU/s1600-h/IMG_5403a.jpg"></a><br />To be veiled is, to some degree, to be unseen, the condition of both great attraction and repulsion. The artists featured in Visible and Invisible Spaces will speak to these myriad aspects of the veil and more.</em></div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7bNpQgNSi6gRMt31KUW8Y5TAoJM-FDiVUlENKqUhQDSTORLv3ltglGMaunMeXukFC9Ll9OoieH4rVy4LIPjvO5BdPyoXxg3hl7zMFgqNed9S3_2rVUxvHvzEFZUIrBAFdNMgHRz1_l8/s1600-h/IMG_5427a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278571566084767586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7bNpQgNSi6gRMt31KUW8Y5TAoJM-FDiVUlENKqUhQDSTORLv3ltglGMaunMeXukFC9Ll9OoieH4rVy4LIPjvO5BdPyoXxg3hl7zMFgqNed9S3_2rVUxvHvzEFZUIrBAFdNMgHRz1_l8/s320/IMG_5427a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><em></em><em></em></div>LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-18963911576910821852008-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:002008-12-04T12:23:20.211-08:00My First Amazon.com ReviewI love it:<br /><br />"Deep thoughtfulness rides on the surface of these pages. I've read these poems over and over, and each time it feels like the first. Every page is interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Wonderful work. <br />I look forward to enjoying many future additions to LouAnn Shepard Muhm's artistry."LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-39936355945180528912008-11-17T07:50:00.000-08:002008-11-18T12:18:13.772-08:00New ReviewI reviewed <a href="http://www.dacushome.com/">Rachel Dacus' </a>excellent book of poems <em>Femme au Chapeau</em> last year for the now-defunct HerCircle E-zine. She has returned the favor with this brief review of <em>Breaking the Glass </em>on GoodReads:<br /><br />"Jane Hirshfield's blurb calls this "a book of fierce heart and strong hands" and I concur. These spare, almost haiku-like poems have deceptively simple surfaces, but the twist of insight shows in their depths. Many of the poems deal with relationships with others and with the ineffable. The compression of these poems often has a wryness that especially appeals in the more metaphysical themes. A must-read and re-read. "<br /><br />Another brief review was published this month in <em>Northwoods Woman Magazine</em>, "also, too," as Sarah Palin would say.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-41776312078148222672008-10-09T08:03:00.000-07:002008-10-09T08:06:57.552-07:00Self-GooglingI know that people make fun of people who Google their own names, but I will be bold and admit that I do it on a regular basis. How else would I ever have known that British poet <a href="http://polyolbion.blogspot.com/">Matthew Merritt</a> had reviewed my chapbook a couple of years ago, or that someone posted my book and rated it on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4954389.Breaking_the_Glass">GoodReads</a>? So do it! Google yourself! It doesn't hurt at all.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-66323006821541642992008-10-09T07:53:00.000-07:002008-10-09T08:10:55.934-07:00Western MN Readings<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6V8xJYnfrKaFh-Ka5WjaLRteoDqGWKbKDbwNwQ7oAVm51mVUdY69wS7TGxgpdM7BMS_Yw8pcfHQ74PIpUPgxAAFF9jvqNwWc_N28VhF-qz7-ZdbgBWxYrHolY1xnyyiRhAcn8y6LUu10/s1600-h/4poets.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6V8xJYnfrKaFh-Ka5WjaLRteoDqGWKbKDbwNwQ7oAVm51mVUdY69wS7TGxgpdM7BMS_Yw8pcfHQ74PIpUPgxAAFF9jvqNwWc_N28VhF-qz7-ZdbgBWxYrHolY1xnyyiRhAcn8y6LUu10/s320/4poets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255168821746002866" /></a><br />This fall, I've done three readings for <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/LETTERS-WORLD-Poems-Wom-po-Listserv/dp/1597090999/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223564515&sr=8-1">Letters to the World</a></em>, an anthology of poetry by women from around the world. It's a collection of poems from members of Wom-Po, or the Women in Poetry List-serv, started in the late 90s by Annie Finch. I joined to read with the three other Minnesota contributors, Argie Manolis and Athena Kildegaard from Morris, MN, and Francine Sterle from the Gunflint Trail area, north of Duluth, MN. We read in Minneapolis in August, then at the Fergus Falls Art Center and University on MN, Morris in late September. All of the events were fantastic, and this poetic alliance is one I want to nurture and maintain. [Photo by Steve Peterson. L to R Back: LouAnn and Francine. Front: Athena and Argie].<br /><br />More photos <a href="http://">HERE</a>.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-71573623224387000812008-09-23T07:03:00.000-07:002008-09-23T07:04:50.352-07:00New Poems OnlineI have three poems up in the current issue of <a href="http://www.righthandpointing.com/Issue22/">Right Hand Pointing</a>. It's an interesting online journal. Check it out!LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-14663793256302440662008-09-18T09:18:00.000-07:002008-09-18T10:19:21.138-07:00Reading in Bemidji This WeekendOn Saturday, 9/20, I will be reading in Bemidji with some old friends. The readers are Gail Rixen, Anthony Swann, Diane Pittman, and Erin Marsh. Gail Rixen and I go back over ten years. We met in CarolAnn Russell's "Bemidji Poetry Salon," and have since taught together in a Bemidji Elementary "poet in the schools" day, and at the Thief River Falls Young Author's Conference. Gail has been a tireless supporter, and especially pushed and encouraged me to send out my full-length manuscript. I was thrilled when Loonfeather accepted it and Gail was named as the editor (along with Betty Rossi). Her insights are always good, and her poetry excellent. Diane Pittman was a regular attendee of the Creative Words Coffeehouse that I ran ten years or so ago at the Headwaters School of Music and Art. I remembering envying the volume of poetry she had memorized. I look forward to hearing her new work! Anthony Swann was also a Creative Words Coffee-houser, and has also had some connection through the Jackpine Writers Bloc. I don't know Erin Marsh, but look forward to meeting her.<br /><br />Bemidji has such an important place in my poetic development--it was while attending BSU and studying with CarolAnn Russell that I really began writing poetry seriously, and being affiliated with her and with the vibrant writing community there was crucial for me. It will be a lot of fun to be back there, in that place and with those people.<br /><br />Here are the details:<br /><br />7 p.m. <br />September 20, 2008<br />Masonic Building<br />501 Bemidji Avenue, Bemidji<br />Free and open to the publicLouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-36774952890704313632008-09-09T08:58:00.000-07:002008-09-09T09:22:44.300-07:00Octopus BeakI have a poem in the inaugural issue of <a href="http://www.octopusbeakinc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=983:lou-ann-muhm-poems&catid=126:lou-ann-muhm&Itemid=64">Octopus Beak Inc</a>., a new online journal based in Thailand. Not sure yet if this is going to be a high-quality, reliably-published journal or not. It currently has some bugs, but I know how hard it is to get a complex website up and running, let alone to get everything to work right at first. On first look the content seems to be good. The editor had read some of my poetry online and contacted me to request a submission, so I sent something. Be sure to check out my "<a href="http://www.octopusbeakinc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=126:lou-ann-muhm&Itemid=64">headshot</a>," which is actually a painting by Alec Olander, formerly of Nevis, MN, now of NY, NY.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-83399568516226570552008-08-14T20:39:00.000-07:002008-08-14T20:48:37.035-07:00On the RadioWasn't that the title of a disco song in the 70s? By Donna Summer, maybe? I think so. Anyway, now that I have officially declared myself <span style="font-style: italic;">old</span>, I will call your attention to an interview I did on KFAI radio in Minneapolis today. <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> was actually in Park Rapids, but the <span style="font-style: italic;">radio station</span> is in Minneapolis. It was a phone thing. Anyway, it is available for the next two weeks or so in their archive, <a href="http://www.kfai.org/archive/08/14/2008">HERE</a>. You have to scroll down and look for "Write On Radio " (speaking of the 70s...) and click on the "Stream" button.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-703195474518096838.post-57762687545745720302008-08-11T08:37:00.000-07:002008-08-11T12:04:30.831-07:00This is my new, official blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKroV6NZfKCK8H7pbRsjfNAkgGQ2UKSXRcbBj_X8OK9P93moG0tvZBr_zX1tiLsgJIwrPcXR5DLLxn9jWW6hz7RAsqY_Tb5zcfwpwB7Z-OCIcAqcNj5hI44RtwO-h-z3zMH_44McgNno/s1600-h/cornelia1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKroV6NZfKCK8H7pbRsjfNAkgGQ2UKSXRcbBj_X8OK9P93moG0tvZBr_zX1tiLsgJIwrPcXR5DLLxn9jWW6hz7RAsqY_Tb5zcfwpwB7Z-OCIcAqcNj5hI44RtwO-h-z3zMH_44McgNno/s320/cornelia1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233289687486314706" border="0" /></a><br />Goodbye, MySpace! I've left you for another, cleaner, more mature blog, in an effort to lead a cleaner, more mature life. Or something.<br /><br />This summer has been a blur, with a new grandchild born, and a flurry of readings and events. I'm just back from NYC, where I did a <span style="font-style: italic;">Letters to the World</span> reading with Mendi Lewis Obadike and Amy Lemmon. There is a slideshow of photos by my partner, Steve Peterson, <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/lmuhm/Letters%20to%20the%20World/Letters%20NYC/?albumview=slideshow">HERE</a> for your viewing pleasure. For a schedule of upcoming events, look at my <a href="http://www.muhmschedule.blogspot.com">schedule</a>.<br /><br />In July, I did another <span style="font-style: italic;">Letters</span> reading with Christina Pacosz in Kansas City, and there are pictures (also by Steve Peterson) <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/lmuhm/Letters%20to%20the%20World/?albumview=slideshow">HERE</a>.<br /><br />Watch this space for more shards of my thoughts. Or not. It's really up to you.LouAnn Muhmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01125986724482593009noreply@blogger.com2