The Hermit Poet

January 3, 2007

The New Year Marks the Return of the Hermit

Filed under: General — Neil Aitken @ 11:12 pm

Or more precisely, the hermit’s return to blogging. I’m still out hermit-like on the edge of the city, but at least I’m back from the Okanogan Valley and settling into a routine again.

I spent New Year’s Eve with poet friends in Vancouver and had a wonderful time eating, chatting, and getting to know more poets and artists in the community. Jim Bolt and his wife Helena were up from Los Angeles — old friends of mine from the L.A. poetry scene — and it was good to see them at the party and to hear Jim read again.

Yesterday I met up with Jim and Helena and we toured the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia as well — something I loved doing as a kid and which both of them seemed to really enjoy. It’s one of the better kept secrets of Vancouver, but definitely worth a visit.

Today was spent catching up on reading and responding to submissions for Boxcar Poetry Review. I’ve handled almost all of the rejections so far and look forward to tomorrow’s task of making final decisions on the Yeses and Maybes. I’m much happier when I get a chance to send out some good news.

Today is also the day when my GRE Literature score becomes available. I’m not that gung ho about checking on it though and will just sit tight till the official letter comes. No need to fork out money to get the score over the phone.

As for resolutions, I haven’t made many. Obviously any resolution to “stop procrastinating” and “blog daily” have already fallen by the wayside. Some things can’t be resolutions because they depend on factors outside of myself (eg. getting my book published, getting into a PhD program, finding full-time teaching work). In such cases, I can resolve to do my best to prepare and apply, but someone else still has to make the critical decision.

So this year my resolutions are simple and a bit general:

  1. Write more often
  2. Be more honest with myself and live accordingly
  3. Make more friends and include more people
  4. Take more risks and live a fuller life

As the editor of Boxcar Poetry Review, I have another set of goals for 2007:

  1. Put our first ad in P&W
  2. Launch the first annual Boxcar Poetry Contest (summer 2007).
  3. Release our first print anthology by the end of April
  4. More as yet unnamed surprises

One Response to “The New Year Marks the Return of the Hermit”

  1. Rebecca Loudon Says:

    Okanogan Valley? In Washington you mean? Like, um, Tonasket and Oroville and Lake Osoyoos? I’m there all the time. Family Orchard to tend.

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