It's the little things
In the ups and downs of January and February, it really is the little things that make a big difference.
Like Jack, my green apple friend, who is not little, obviously, but is one of those “little things” that sometimes come to the rescue.
Jack has lived in my Colson Hall office for, oh, I don’t even know how long. More than a decade, probably. Sometimes Jack tags along to class (as pictured below). He’s inspired a lot of good writing over the years, and he’s changed a lot of moods. Sometimes I even use him as a pillow when I need a little nap. Mostly, he just hangs out. He’s good to have around.
I have long been envious of visual artists. It seems they have more to show, literally!, from their art-making than I do from writing poems. Sure, books are nice, but have you seen paintings?! It might, of course, be hard to part with originals, but the pleasure of working with stuff - actually and not metaphorically - well, that really appeals to me. Which is why discovering weaving last year and returning to it this year has been deeply satisfying.
Round weaving in particular is that magical combo: structured (the loom itself) and improvisational (colors, textures, shapes, patterns - all of it, moment to moment). It’s also a much-needed break from language. Or, better yet, a different language.
My most recent weaving, “I’ll Take My Chances,” kept me up at night; I just couldn’t/didn’t want to stop thinking about it.
Unlike writing in which the middle can be a real doldrums situation (especially with prose), the middle is my favorite part of weaving. The less exciting getting-going bits are done, and I’m on my way, I have a sense of it.
Towards the end, there’s a little sadness. I hate to see the weaving go. But I have a few others lined up in my mind, and just as I keep a list of poem titles, I now have a list of weaving titles, which is very satisfying.
Weaving, because I like it so much, is a little thing that is turning into a not-so-little thing.
There are a lot of poems in the little-but-not-so-small-really category, including famous ones by William Carlos Williams, who my students in ENGL 343: American Poetry read this past week. WCW usually has a lot of fans, though not, I told my students, an older woman named Lydia whom I met years ago when I was teaching a class for senior citizens. Though the seniors liked Dickinson (of course) and Whitman (a favorite of the old dudes, especially), WCW did not meet with uniform approval. Lydia, in particular, was not having it. Her reaction to “This Is Just to Say”—? Anyone could write that. Furthermore, the poem reminded her of the time many years earlier when she went to MOMA and saw a painting of a big dot. Just that. A dot. Outrageous! That dot made her so mad! “But Lydia,” I said, “You’ve never forgotten that dot!” Begrudgingly, she agreed. But she still didn’t like that dot or the poem!
Jean Valentine wrote many poems that are not-so-little, despite appearances. You can hear her reading some of them on her site. I have many favorites, including “Willi, Home,” “The River at Wolf,” “Trust Me,” and “Door in the Mountain.” Jean, whom I was lucky to know a little, was also good at the dream poem, which is so hard to write. It’s never a good idea to poem-it-up (whatever “it” is), but especially when writing a dream poem. Always, be as clear as you can. No fake mysteries. The real ones are plenty and will keep us busy enough.
Speaking of mysteries and pleasure... Listening to Agatha Christie audiobooks is a little thing I really enjoy. Do audiobooks count as reading? I think so! Especially if you are a writer, it’s good to be focused on how sentences (or lines) sound. I’ve read most of the books before, but it’s been years, and it’s nice to meet them again and marvel at Christie’s plotting and her insight into character. She is also an excellent writer of sentences. Just really well made. Lots to learn from. At some point, I’ll do a longer post about her, but for now I’ll simply recommend my current listen: Murder is Easy.
Making a meal you like is definitely a little thing that can make a big difference. This past Sunday, I made Detroit pizza in honor of my Detroit Lions. The season didn’t end the way we wanted (sob!), but it was still a great run, and Detroit pizza is great pizza. Fun to make.
Here’s the recipe I use:
DETROIT PIZZA
adapated from seriouseats.com
For the dough (Note: this amount makes two 8 x 8 pans… I often halve the recipe)
2 generous cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon of instant yeast
1 ½ teaspoons of table salt OR 1 tablespoon kosher salt
about one cup minus 1 ½ tablespoons of water (I warm it in the microwave to 110-115 degrees)
extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
For the sauce…
jar marinara is fine! Or… 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + garlic minced (amount up to you) + teaspoon or two of oregano + dash of red pepper flakes + 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes + 1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder + 1 tablespoon of sugar + kosher salt to taste
For the toppings…
12 ounces of brick cheese, shredded, OR Monterey jack
turkey (or regular) pepperoni (as much as you like… I use about 20 pieces under the cheese and another 9 on top per square pizza)
The easiest way to make the dough is to use a stand mixer and the dough hook. Combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add warmed water and mix until rough ball comes together. Shut off the mixer, cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then continue mixing at med-low speed until a smooth, silky ball forms. Might be fast… could take 10 minutes. Once the dough comes together, remove it from the dough hook, and form it into a tight ball. Place the dough back in the bowl and allow to rise covered until doubled, about two hours.
Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 500 (or 525 or even 550, if you like) pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil in the bottom of the pan(s). Transfer dough to the pan(s) and turn to coat in oil. Best you can, spread the dough to the edges. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Make your sauce now (or open the jar!) and shred the cheese.
Return to the dough and stretch again to the edges. Should be easier now. Place pepperoni over the dough. Yes: before the cheese! Then cover, fully, edge to edge, with the shredded cheese. Add some more pepperoni and then spoon the sauce over the pizza in two rows.
Transfer to the oven and bake, 12-15 minutes, until edges are black and bubbly and cheese is starting to brown. I begin the pizza on the bottom of the oven and then move, halfway through the cooking time, to the center rack.
When the pizza is cooked, let it cool for a minute or two, then run a spatula around the edge. The whole thing should lift out easily for slicing on a cutting board.
Sometimes people are surprised that I like football, but I really do, and it’s ok, no matter what other people expect, to like what you like. That seems obvious, maybe, but I find, especially when talking with students, that it isn't. When something like this comes up in class (poets can like football?!?!), I always think: “ok, good! Now we’re getting to a real takeaway.”
There’s the lesson plan, and then there’s what really happens; the latter is nearly always more interesting. Sometimes, life lessons pop up (“it’s ok to be yourself”: commonly said but not so easy to do); other times, little mysteries are solved. Just this past week, my students read poems that mentioned some things that had never heard of: a hair shirt; a red herring; a box of Sucrets; the word “balk” (in the sense of hesitation not as used in baseball). Are these things small? Sure. But do they matter? Kind of, yes. And it’s satisfying to go from not-knowing to knowing. No big drama. Just click-click—click.
Other recent lil’ pick-me-ups:
Plain M&Ms, always, but especially in seasonal pinks. Gotta keep ‘em in the fridge if you want that snap! Know what I mean?
Chocolate chip banana bread. I follow this recipe. Only difference: I don’t “cool completely before serving.” I mean, come on, who does that?? Oh, and maybe not 50 minutes. I find 45 or so is more like it.
I’m still regularly making cranberries, as I mentioned in an earlier post, and one super pleasing thing is the sound of the frozen cranberries clattering into the pot (I keep several bags in the freezer). Very much like Mah-jongg (Mahjong?) tiles hitting against one another. I know nothing, really, about Mah-jongg, but I would like to, partly because of the sound of the tiles. Scrabble has a little of this energy, but not quite as much. And this sound is a good sensory detail that I could use in a poem. Gotta stay alert for those small moments.
My growing stash of yarn and all my plans for future weavings. Just laying it out is satisfying.
War and Peace! I’m happily chugging along. Past page 200 (of 1300). Wouldn’t want to write an essay about the novel or take a character identification quiz, but that’s ok. Not everything needs to be school. I’m a big believer in “take what you need.” In this case, I need the routine of near-daily reading; the feeling of accomplishment that comes with tackling a big book; the pleasure of zipping through a short chapter and wanting to continue because the writing is good and the story has my attention; the fun of going down lots of rabbit holes when the novel inspires me to look up something or do a little historical research.
Winter walks with my dogs. No matter the weather, Kip and Polly and I are out and about. We had a snowy couple of weeks; now we're in mild stretch; we like it all.
What about you? What little things are making a difference these days? Here’s hoping it’s actually a lot.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned. More soon!