dulcetly...notes on a bookish life

I'm seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, which either means the semester is nearly over or I'm dead..either way, no more schoolwork. At least for the summer anyway. We're still waiting for the semesterly deluge of book returns at work, but it's coming no doubt. I've been wearily eyeing the last minute paper writers with their stacks of books on Renoir, Degas, Andy Warhol, all the same really, surveys of the artist, where 10 probably won't help more than two or three. And then there's the issue papers, people checking out stacks about abortion, gay rights, euthanasia. (This is also when I thank the lucky gods I'm not teaching freshman comp and don't have to actually read/grade these papers.)Either way they'll inevitably bring them back seriously late and whine about the fines they owe. I'm rather looking forward to the quieter more studious folks somehow over the summer term.

And summer, I'm almost desperate for it. Iced tea and the beach, flip-flops and summery skirts, lemon italian ice, beer gardens and boat rides, the film festival in Grant Park and the Printers Row Book Fair. Bring it on. I'm not so crazy and pre-occupied this summer, so I plan on enjoying every bit of it. All I have to focus on is the press and wicked alice stuff and my own writing. Bliss.

Last night, finished up the layout on How to Study Birds, which will go to the author for proofing shortly. Hopefully, I can get the covers printed this weekend. I've finally caught up on all the orders from the last two weeks, so if I owe you a book, it will be on it's way today.

Got the excellent news today that I'm going to the featured poet in the next issue of After Hours: A Chicago Journal of Writing and Art. Very cool, and the issues are always so damned pretty, very slick and polished, one of the best I've seen. I've got to round up some more poems and a longer bio in the next couple of days, but considering the caliber of past features--Stuart Dybuk and David Hernandez for example, it's hugely flattering to be chosen....