21 Comments
Aug 23, 2022Liked by Chris La Tray

I for one am happy to imagine the "what the?!" moments over at the university. My favorite classes as an undergrad had a good share of that sort of energy and were taught by renegade artists who were essentially using the U for their own poetic purposes, including teaching us baby writers about the joys of literature and writing, apart from commerce, status, etc. Your students will benefit, no matter what you do. (I have to give myself this pep talk fairly regularly and I've been teaching for 25 years! Oy.)

PSA: And in case anyone wants to get in on Poetry as Spiritual Practice, which Chris is teaching at Poetry Forge (online) during the month of September, we have two seats left. After that, we'll have a waiting list for the January session and the folks on that list will get first dibs.

More Info Here: https://poetryforge.mykajabi.com/poetry-as-spiritual-practice

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A photographer I follow on Facebook has been posting about the teepees for a week or so with some gorgeous photos, but I’m really happy to hear that this is also some thing that seems like a good thing to you. I took a class from this photographer, Jenny Lynn Golding, and her husband, George Bumann, on listening to animal language last year.  I hope you enjoy all of the things you’re doing, and I’m excited about the poetry class!

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Aug 22, 2022Liked by Chris La Tray

Enjoy the powwow, but I am looking forward to hearing about your experience teaching writing at the university. I have taught creative writing at the 200 level, and it was a joy.(although the students lack of knowledge of grammar was heartbreaking). But at the 400 level perhaps they won’t dangle their participles, and the pronouns will agree with their antecedents.

When I read a great paper I always thought of the last couplet of Robert Frost’s poem “A Considerable Speck” which ends:

No one knows how glad I am to find

On any sheet of paper an evidence of mind.

Enjoy Yellowstone. The powwow sounds wonderful. If you see Tantoo Cardinal who is also Métis tell her I am a big fan of all her work and have shown her films to my students.

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I always love reading about the goings on in Montana, it makes me hopeful that so much cool stuff is happening despite the dumpster fire of politics we are so often fed to read--and to hear more about cool people like you who are teaching others, what a gift they will get.

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YMMV on this, but one time I suckered UA - Little Rock into letting me teach a policy course in the School of Social Work and I had such a blast! I bet you have a good time.

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Aug 22, 2022·edited Aug 22, 2022Liked by Chris La Tray

I am so excited and happy about all of this but reading the rundown wow you are going to be BUSY.

Also -- a gentrification panel with you and Kathleen would be a dream! What a great idea.

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Just wondering if you saw the very adorable Corn Kid on TikTok and the numerous posts that spawned from his cuteness, so many that now there's CornTok for fans.

https://www.romper.com/life/corn-kid-tiktok-viral

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Aug 26, 2022Liked by Chris La Tray

You have some great stuff going on! Wish I could see you at some of it. Our summer is full too. Hope cooler weather has arrived your way. (That’s how I like to shuck corn too)

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Aug 23, 2022Liked by Chris La Tray

Hi Chris!

All of these events sound great. Have a wonderful time. And teaching at UM? That is terrific! I know that your students will love the course.

This is my favorite time of the year. Flowers in bloom, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, blue skies, moderating temperatures, golden light. I am very grateful that we are presently experiencing a rainstorm. It has been very dry here in NH as well. Tomorrow we are going to try to find some tomatoes and fresh corn at a little farm store we visit every year. It has been so dry I fear that the corn harvest will be much diminished. But I hope to be shucking a few ears tomorrow!

Enjoy every day.

Sincerely,

Melissa

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I will, henceforth, always refer to eating popcorn as shucking corn.

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What a great run of events you have ahead. It will be wonderful.

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