When It's So Many Hots
The hots have arrived here. Which does mean that the garden is starting to pop, as in, this gorgeous poppy (after many years of trying to grow them!). It also means it’s time for some refreshing beverages. Today with my young people, I made lemonade, mint tea, and an herbal iced tea blend. Here’s my tips:
For lemonade, make sure you add the lemon ZEST! Otherwise you’ll get the sour of the lemon but not the wonderful flavor, a lot of which is in the essential oil in the zest.
For mint and other herbal teas: steep your herbs in a small amount of boiling water. Then pour off the now-infused-water, and discard the herbs. Add honey if desired (mint is naturally sweet tasting, so you only need a lil bit) - if you add the honey with the herbs, the herbs will soak a lot of it up. And then add cool water/ice, to your desired intensity.
Our herbal iced tea blend from today was: 1 pt rose petals, 2 pts oat straw, 1/4 pt hibiscus, 1/4 pt schisandra berries, and just an itty bitty pinch of lavender (the lavender gets overpowering very easily). As the French say, you want only a soupçon of lavender (a “suspicion”).
I have two classes coming up this summer that I’m very excited about. The first is Speaking Up & Talking Back: Troubling the Archive with Write or Die magazine, over zoom. Erasures, blackouts, centos, & more offer us opportunities to change the archive, add to the archive, and alter the archive. What's been left out or mis-represented? What still needs to be heard and seen?
In this course, we will look at examples of how different writers have troubled the archive, from the Ferguson Report to ideas about illness to perceptions of the Deaf (& more!). We will learn several different techniques for working with the archive in our own work, and have some writing time together.
I asked via Instagram what folks wanted me to teach next, and this got the most votes. So bring on The Confessionals! at Looky Here in Greenfield. This will be a 6-week session, reading and talking about the confessional poets from Anne Sexton to Ani Difranco. We’ll talk about why “confessional” is still a dirty word in some circles, taboos in poetry and breaking them, read lots of poems, and do lots of writing!
This class has 2 free spots for BIPOC writers and 1 half-price spot for low income writers.
I had two poems published this month in a journal I’ve hoped to by published by for years, alongside some really terrific poets. So check out Couplet Poetry—online and free to read!
I will also be running a poetry feedback (critique) group starting this summer, over zoom, that may have one space in it. Reach out if you’re interested.
Be well, take care of your tender hearts, enjoy the sun, and also some shade! Also enjoy this hot cat.
Adrie