Should you enroll in an MFA program?

Google Books Saved My Soul
I love Google. Most people are entirely unaware of Google’s super powers, among them the ability to locate a book anywhere in the world and help you get it sent to you at your local library. Here’s how I did it (and how you can do it too). NOTE: You have to be a member of your local library. It’s free.

1. Go to Google Books.
2. Search for the book you want by title or keyword. You can do this in one of two ways. You can type the title or keyword into the search box and click the search button or you can click a genre link in the left sidebar and search that way. Example: I clicked on the Poetry link and typed in “Komunyakaa”. Google showed me two links asking me if I wanted books by or about Komunyakaa. I clicked “by”. A list of book covers appeared. I clicked on the “Cien Cai Dau” cover.
3. This is where it gets incredible. Google Books has a sampling of the contents of the book that I can read through, but it doesn’t give me access to the entire book. There are links in the right sidebar that allow me to learn more about the book, search the table of contents, write a review, or add it to my personal library. I’ll add the book to my library. I can also search the book, buy the book from one of the bookstore links just below the search box on the right, or find it in a library.
4. Click the “Find this book in a library” link.
5. You will now be transported to another website: www.worldcat.org. You should be looking at what appears to be a digital version of a card catalog. That’s precisely what it is. You should see the name of the book, the author’s name, publisher’s information, ISBN, and some other information. Below that, you’ll see a search box asking for your location. Type in your city, state, or country, and click “Go”. You’ll get a list of libraries that carry the book.
6. Being that I’m in Adams County, Pa., the book I’m looking for is located in Carlisle, one county over, so it’s fairly close. Click the link to the library that you are interested in getting the book from. You’ll be transported to another page within WorldCat to show whether or not your book is available. If it isn’t available, hit the Back button on your browser and click another library. Repeat that step until you find the book available.
7. Good, my book is available at Dickinson College. I’ve ordered books from Penn State this way. It works like a charm. Now, this is where the ordering process will vary depending on your local library system. In Adams County, Pa., we have a county-wide system. In DFW, Texas the library system is set up as a city-wide system. If I’m ordering a book from within Adams or York County then I have a localized way of performing an interlibrary loan, but if I go outside of these two counties then I have to use the statewide system. It looks like that’s what I’ll have to do. You need to find out what the interlibrary loan policy is at your local library and what the process is for ordering books that way. Some libraries may let you do it yourself from their website. Others may require you to make a phone call or to visit the library in person. Either way, you need a library card. Once you find out what your library’s process is for making an interlibrary loan you’ll have to provide them with the information to get the book you want. Here’s what you should have at hand:
   • The name of the book
   • The author’s name
   • Publisher
   • Card catalog number
   • ISBN
   • Where you found the book, as in which specific library

   The more information you have about the book you want to order, the easier it will be on the librarian, or the electronic system, to help you find it.

8. And that’s about it. Now you wait.

It will probably take 2-6 weeks for you to get your book, depending on how far it has to travel to get back to you. It will be clearly marked as an interlibrary loan and you’ll have to keep the paper marker that comes with the book and the book together. That way, when you return the book to your local library they will be able to get it back to its home library much easier.

See, isn’t Google Books wonderful?

P.S. OK, you got me. You can just search WorldCat directly and bypass Google Books, but I figured I’d take you the scenic route.

1. We like ‘em
2. We don’t like ‘em

Generally, the like ‘em crowd consists of the people who realize that bikers spend money and improve the economy of Gettysburg. The don’t like ‘em folks are the people stuck on the noise and they generally complain that the bikers are a nuisance. But they generally enjoy a reasonable tax so I don’t see the problem. They’re mostly older people and a few cantankerous young traditionals. I’m on the side of the like ‘em people.

So tonight, my wife and I took our lawn chairs to sit on the side of the road and watch the bikes drive by. It’s a beautiful sight. My only regret is that I didn’t take my camera or video recorder and catch it all for the memory. This was my first Parade of Chrome. I hope to do it again next year for it is pure poetry, noise pollution and all.

I remember when I returned from Iraq in December 2005. I had spent the entire year there with my National Guard unit. It didn’t snow once. But while I was gone my wife moved us to Pennsylvania where we now reside. My grandson, then three years old, wanted to go out and play in the snow. It was February 2006. His first snow experience with me (he’d played in the snow the year before while I was deployed).

He was so excited. And so was I. Afterwards, I wrote this poem. Read other poems of mine here.

(Source) For one friend who had difficulty remembering details from his travels, I suggested he take on the task of writing a poem every day during his journey abroad. The daily task proved impossible for him, so he decided to focus his attention on a one-week stretch through Paris, Prague and Florence. To this day, his memories of that time are the fondest of all his travels because, as he has told me, “when everything is a possible poem, the world is suddenly far more interesting.” – from The Art of Pilgrimage, by Phil Cousineau

I like how the author here uses poetry to make a point. The phrase “when everything is a possible poem, the world is suddenly far more interesting” is so true. I’ve lived my life this way for some time. Everything is a potential poem. Every moment, every act, every person, every idea. When you look at life – and poetry – this way you will never run out of ideas. Your life will be worth living and your poetry will be worth reading.

The terrible thing about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is that there is so much pomp surrounding the least important elements of the season while the reasons for them seem to miss their importance entirely. But why should I complain? It’s the American way.

My wife is a doll maker and quilter. She teaches at the local community center and showcases her wares at bazaars and craft shows. This weekend, she asked me to help her with a particular bazaar that she was participating in. I agreed despite the fact that I write several blogs and oversee a team of writers that also write blogs. I manage, in all, over 30 blogs for a list of clients as diverse as the Melting Pot itself. Where we were going to be wasn’t wired so I was not going to have access to the Internet. Fortunately, we were just a couple of blocks from my wife’s daughter’s house and I could walk to get online. I did.

Between helping my wife, walking back and forth through the streets of small town Pennsylvania, logging on to write, juggling an automobile between our daughter and her sister’s boyfriend, and attending a Fun Night at the local fire hall with my wife’s grandparents, I’m beat. The blogging took place in between all the “fun activities.” It hasn’t been that fun; it’s really exhausting.

And that’s the way I feel about the holidays. They aren’t much fun; they’re really exhausting. Yet, somehow, I usually find some kind of meaning in the midst of them. Seldom do I go an entire season without finding a morsel of wisdom, truth, or glory that I can seize. As amazing as that is, I never look forward to the month between Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day. When it’s over, I’m glad. In the space of that entire month I feel like a ping-pong ball slapping against the paddles of joy and despair. In the end, I’m just an existential puppet on an invisible string of meaning. It’s one long poetic moment. I hope my attitude changes soon.

While I have three grandchildren, this is the first time I’ve ever held a baby this small. Through three nephews and a niece, I’ve never actually been there to hold them on the first day. I feel like I’ve missed something. If only I could go back and recapture it. But, (sigh) life can’t be lived backwards.

I didn’t miss out on this one, though. These are the moments of poetry. The moments that, when experienced, you think, “if only I could capture that in a phrase.” The phrase hasn’t come to me yet. It may never come to me.

Good thing we have pictures. Otherwise, we’d be stuck with one thousand useless words.