Progress (if that's what you want to call it)

Manuscript title Change:  

I am officially on my second manuscript incarnation, and have created the first real title for the manuscript.  It feels good, and I really think it has some staying power.  Yes, I am too superstitious to tell you what that title is right now.  Just know it is no linger "my Springville Book," any longer.

Poem Count:

As of this writing, I have 29 poems in the manuscript, plus two or three hangers-on, which still have a chance to eventually be included, depending on how they do or do not shape up into something better.  This number includes four poems whose primary composition took place in the month of April, the cruelest month.  I estimate I need to write approximately 30 more poems at a minimum before I can call the manuscript as operating at it's optimal fighting weight.  It will be with at least 60 poems when I will see this manuscript as being ready for serious revision (even though it is my habit to begin revision from the very first and continue throughout the drafting process.)

Structure Notes:

The book is back to being composed of three sections, and here I get a little nervous, for I am attempting to write each section with its own distinct voice, while maintaining several threads of continuity.  I should admit here I am much better at envisioning what I want the book to be than I am at actually being able to create it in accordance with what my mind sees.  The first section is constructed primarily in the second person, while sections two and three are rooted in the first person, but only one of those people is my familiar Springville narrator.  The other voice, for section two, is a real person who is not me and is not famous, so there is very little information to go from when constructing his narratives.


Good News:

I am closing in really well on a more contemporary, mature voice for the book's third section. 

I have almost completed the first section.

I actually feel good about the poems I have been writing in the last month or two.


Not so good news:

I still have a ton of work left with the poem about the Springville murder of 1857.

There are so many stories I want to tell but cannot because the only way I see fit to contextualize them is to write too much like my friend and mentor, Dave Lee, and I am afraid I won't be able to figure them out in time.

* * *

Well, there you have it.  It's all the news I feel comfortable about sharing with you regarding my latest poetry manuscript, formerly known as my Springville Book.

I have said this before, but here it is again:  I have another manuscript in my bag, and if any of you are considering a swap for your manuscript-in-progress, send me a note.  I am more than willing to trade with you.