Progress

I received a letter from my friend, Dave Lee, yesterday.  It's a strange thing, having one of his letters show up from time to time because whenever one does, my entire world comes to a halt and also immediately spreads out into the infinite.  This paradox is a simple one.  I love hearing from him no matter what.  Letters of the sort he writes are so rare these days that within them is contained an entire universe which has become anachronistic in nature---a time gone by, when people actually conversed in full sentences and complete thoughts.  It's like opening a window into a world the both of us can look into and almost, if we stretch up high enough, see each other over the horizon.

Over the years I have come to treasure his letters which come, packed to the brim with an exuberance no e-mail or text could carry.   I don't know how he feels about my letters, but I do know there are fewer of us who are writing like this than t here have ever been, and we aren't getting any younger.  I seem to be in the middle.  I am at a point where I have embraced e-mail and the technology of the blog.  I enjoy Facebook well enough, but I do not tweet, and I don't think I will easily make the transition to the next thing or the thing after that.  Well, Dave is stuck in the world of snail mail, hand-written letters, and telephones. 

Well, that is until now.  As it turns out Dave's letter was to tell me he has just signed contracts for nine (9) of his book to be transformed into ibooks, which will be a wonderful thing for him to experience.  It's a move certain to make Collin Kelley proud, to see a confirmed book-dust bibliophile allow his literary children hit the digital frontier.  I know there are a few people out there wondering why I am even mentioning this, but anyone who knows David Lee would tell you that even a year ago, this sort of thing would not even be a thing he might consider.  It's a really big step for him, and it's a really great advancement for all of us because when I get a reader I will be able to carry one more of my favorite poets with me wherever I go.

* * *

There is no new word on my chapbook, but then I really didn't think there would be anything to report until the new year.  Not for at least a few months yet.  I will say I now have several more poems for the new book.  The ideas just keep on coming and so do the poems.  I am taking deliberate steps to try and keep everything in perspective, but I have quite a few pages already and I feel like I am barely scratching the surface of what this project is supposed to be.  If everything goes according to plan I will be finished with the drafting in a year and I will have at least 100 pages from which to craft a book.  I have started to show my new poems to a few people, but I really want to just enjoy how the poems are coming to me.

Time to go.