Notes from Scotland
and bragging on the successes of writers from my classes
Hi folks! Sorry it’s been a minute. My body has been demanding more rest lately, and I’m afraid when I have a little energy, I’m spending it on gardening! Though we had frost less than two weeks ago, the climate here means I can grow tuberous begonias and cilantro and creeping phlox and fuchsia and radishes and sweet pea and… Memphis went from winter to extremely hot and humid so quickly that both the plants and I struggled.
Of course, “hot” here is anything over 70F (20C), which is hot in the sunny part of our house (kitchen and master bedroom). When you groan, US friends, just keep in mind that we don’t have a/c.
I’m also enjoying other things about Scotland:
They let me vote (!) because I’m a permanent resident. We don’t all have to agree on politics, but I will tell you that I was happy to be able to support the Green Party.
our polling place—we could have walked there! My husband and I stayed by the North Sea, just an hour and a half away, for three nights, and took a boat trip where we saw thousands of gannets, as well as puffins, razorbills, cormorants, a handful of seals, and more. It’s my goal now to get to the seaside at least once a month, and we’re close enough for day trips, too!
The view from our little pod (with running water & electricity): Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock. I’ve got five new local friends to schedule lunch with! It’s a little overwhelming for this introvert, but I’m so grateful to be getting to know the lovely people here. My only trouble is that I have trouble with non-American accents when in a place that’s loud with other conversations. Surely technology has something for that?
Since putting a hold on getting a driver’s license here, I’m far less stressed. I can legally drive until July 21 (12 months after my arrival) but otherwise my husband has to be my chauffeur or I take the bus, which stops only about 20 yards from our house. Narrow, twisty roads with trucks and tractors barreling towards me from blind turns are just not my thing. Not to mention roundabouts.
There are difficult things, too, of course. A couple of recent accidents with our indoor cats and birds (a cat got out once, and a bird got in once) felt as traumatic to me as being electrocuted. I can’t get two of the medications I relied on in the US. I miss my family and friends, those sparks of connection you only feel when you’re in the same physical space with people you know well.
But all our lives include both joys and sorrows. And writing creatively helps us make sense of them.
So on to the bragging!
Two of the amazing writers I’ve worked with in my classes have recently published pieces online! Please read Yes, I Tell Him by Jennifer Pinto in Beautiful Things and Sumo by Scott Bethay in Blood & Honey. I’m thrilled to say that drafts of both pieces were originally written for my classes, though I can’t take credit for these writers talent.
Please let me know if you’ve published something you may have started in one of my classes—I do love to brag about you!
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I received my box of the new book a few days ago, and it’s gorgeous! Many thanks to Mili Vishwakarma for the amazing photo (she lives in my home town of Champaign, Illinois!), Sarah Carey & Susan Leary for the kind and insightful blurbs, and Hayley Haugen at Sheila-Na-Gig for all the hard work she does as the editor there.
If you’ve already received your copy, please let me know. And if you haven’t but would like to order a copy, click here.
And Hayley is doing all the work to set up my virtual book launch! It will be on Sunday, June 28th at 2pm US Eastern Time (that’s 7pm my time here in Scotland). I’ll read, along with other wonderful Sheila-Na-Gig poets. You can click here to register (it’s free, but you need to register to receive the link to join).
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Last thing, I promise: my next asynchronous online class begins June 24. It’s on COLOR, and you can click here for more information and to sign up.
All sounds like good news to me, Katie. Yes, a good truism to live by...just listen to your body and shut down when you need to. Your garden sounds wonderful. Adjusting to a new sense of season takes time, but it's also wonderful to experience. My wife and I have successfully launched our immigration to France. We (along with our 3 dogs) arrived May 2. We are staying at an Airbnb in the southwest of France. We spend most of our days struggling through the bureaucratic wars related to immigration, health insurance, car purchase, car insurance, and (last but not least) house purchase. We have an accepted offer on a lovely house in Léran, again in southwest France in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We hope to close on the purchase in mid-August. In the meantime, we are in the lovely medieval village of Villelongue. Since our space is limited, we spend much of our time walking the dogs (and, with that, getting to know the area). The fields are awash in poppies and other related wild flowers. These will turn to lavender once summer hits. It's all quite amazingly beautiful. I am continuously feeling as though I'm walking through a Renoir painting. And, now 4 weeks into our stay here, I've written my first French-based poem. My poetry is very place and season oriented, so I had been curious as to how this rather radical change might effect my writing. So far, I am quite pleased with the results. Have you noticed a change in your writing since you have relocated to my beloved Scotland?