The Invisible Blog
1/26/10
Sorry everyone! I know I haven't been updating nearly enough, but things have been crazy with college. I am now the Secretary of the Writers' Guild on campus and I'm already planning a trip with the Center for Student Involvement down the Portland's North Star Cafe for an Open Mic - I even get to read there on Feb. second! Also some great news - we have money in our club to send students to AWP each year, and since I was elected, I get to go to Denver for this years conference April 7-10! I've never really been away from the East Coast, so I'm really excited. I'm taking nonfiction this semester and working on poetry - as always. Feb. is going to be a crazy month with meeting and plans - all trickling down to the first spring break of the year. Then I get to go home, relax and sleep in since most of my days start at 6 in the morning this semester with work and classes.
I was published in the Ripple, a zine on campus for feminist and activist and noise-making writing! i find out if my submission was accepted to Sandskrit in Feb as well.
Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is doing well!
-Casey
11/1/09
So I have spelling mistakes in my blog entries, and people like my poetry. It's great to hear back from people, and it's getting harder to maintain my writing spaces with so much going on. A big think you to those who've kept up with my writing and with my journals and everything in between. I owe a huge thanks to everyone who has supported me in the last few weeks- couldn't have gotten very far without you! I'm still reading and writing - trying to widen my reading as much as possible without cutting into my study time (which usually involves me trying to avoid studying, like most students). I might even have another short piece of fiction for you by the end of the semester. We'll see how it goes.
-Casey
09/28/09
Haven't updated anything in so long! I recently did a count and discovered that I had my work posted over twelve different writing sites - no wonder I felt so stressed. I've decided to narrow it down a bit, and while I'll still check in on the other sites, the best way to get in touch with me will probably be through my LiveJournal blog, my MySpace page or Facebook. I've been writing so much these last few weeks, mostly due to the fiction class I am in, but writing often doesn't mean you are writing well, though it's getting there. I've managed to fill/finish three notebooks in the past three weeks, and I can already feel the pressure of my school work building up. But through the rejection letters and the flame mail and everyone telling me how to write, I still find that I love everything about the writing world - I just hope it can support all my student loans (wishful, I know). Well, no matter what I'll always be right here. I'm trying to get some fresh work up in my portfolio, if anyone wants to take a look. I'm considering taking down my YouTube link. The more I watch professional poets, the more those old attempts just look sad to me. Well, thanks for listening, but sure to check out my other pages. Maybe in a few years I'll actually have a reason to update this website :).
Casey
07/13/09
I haven't updated my website in months. I was sad to remove the Guest Writer page, but no one was interested in submitting any of their work, and with the current economy, I really can't blame them. While my hours at work have been cut, I still like to believe that I am giving 110% at my job, which I really do love. Luckily, I am still a student so my parents are not charging me rent. I've been writing, mostly fiction pieces, all summer long, though I doubt any of them are good at all. I'm currently trying to catch up on all of my reading and make sure that I keep up with the world of poetry. Best of luck to all my fellow writers and readers. I hope things work out for everyone in the end.
Casey
04/09/09
There has been so much going on since April started. Not only did the well-known poet Taylor Mali come to UMF and host a work shop, but I was able to see him perform first hand later that night. That same day (the 7th) I heard from my mother that one of the journals that I sent my poetry to in my senior year accepted and published "Need for Stone". You can find my poem on page sixteen of Aoife's Kiss in the March 2009 issue! Thanks to everyone who has been keeping tabs on my progress so far. I hope someday I'll be able to hold my own readings and really help people learn and connect with one another.
Casey
03/29/09
Sadly my computer crashed this weekend, taking with it 50 poems that I did not back up in time and about 5 or 6 pages of a short story. I am currently investing in a external hard drive and plan to print out one copy of every poem I have ever written to avoid this massive loss of data again. The only problem with being a writer is your life turns into one big fire hazard.
Casey (in mourning for lost poetry)
03/18/09
The jazz singer did not work out in the end. However, I do have good news! My poem "Devoured Titles" is going to be published in either the Spring 2009 or Fall 2009 issue of the Sandy River Review. It is a student-run literary magazine up here in Farmington Maine. I am so excited! If things work out, then maybe I'll be able to publish more of my work locally, before working of a bigger scale. As my second semester of college runs down, along with it, my first year of college, I cannot believe how much I have changed in both my writing and my hopes for the future. Congrats to Craig Mullaney, a close family friend whose book, The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education, just name it to #9 on Amazon's book list. And good luck to all you other writers. There are so many of us out there, all trying to be heard over the white noise. It may seem impossible, but hope really does breed in the most unlikely of places.
Casey
1/26/09
So I've heard from a jazz singer that she is
interested in using one of my poems as a spoken introduction to one of
her songs. My first reaction cannot be posted - it consisted of
swears, jumping in circles and calling everyone one of my friends at
school and at home. Right now, some small part of me is dreading the
idea of sitting down and worrying about contracts and whatever else
goes with something like this, but I am still so excited! Well, that's
about all. Have a great week everyone!
Casey
12/27/08
Happy Holidays to everyone! Getting back home to
my roots humbles me every time. My parents aren't looking forward to
forcing me back home like I thought, and yes, it was mostly just my run
away imagination taking me with it. I've been writing a lot lately,
and I have about six more pages of Abril that I want to put up. That
is, if my writing goes as I hope it will this afternoon. I have until
the start of the next semester to fix up my term paper for my African
politics class, and I can already feel the procrastination setting in.
I submitted a poem to an anthology and I might just get published -
even earning royalties from the book sales. Pretty exciting! I find
out if it was accepted by January 30th, so keep your fingers crossed.
i really just want to get lost in the park near my house. It moves in
and out of backyards and parks, but it is beautiful there, even in the
cold weather. Winter has hardly started and I already miss the sun,
warm on my back as I work at camp. I'm nineteen now, so volunteering
all summer long with the National Guard's YDAC, Drug Demand Reduction
program is out of the question. I need a job, forget the fun stuff.
Maybe I can work at the local newspaper to gain some clout with a
publishing company. Luck to everyone, and have a great New Year.
From a silly poet, Casey
12/13/08
It's that time of year again for college students. Cramming the last few hours of studying before the test. You can almost taste the stress. Currently, my grand dreams of the freedom of being a college student and so forth are slowly sliding into doom. I see a 2.0 GPA and and incomplete grade in my near future. I learned my lesson, and while it may take me five years to complete my major, I plan on taking only three classes next semester, to give myself plenty of time to relax. I've never functioned very well under pressure, and this is the ultimate eclipse of horror rising over my head right now.
Greatest Fears: Failing. My parents refusing to cosigning my loans and forcing me to stay at home and get a regular, normal education with an actual future. College food. Gaining more weight.
Greatest Hopes: Having one of the twelve poems I sent out published. Learning something new, even though I am doing VERY badly in all my classes. Proving my parents wrong. My skin clearing up and this whole new roommate thing working out.
From a silly poet, Casey
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