Green Writer, Green Site, Green Life

rachaelikins.com, Life on a Green Site: What Does This Mean?

by Rachael Z. Ikins

In these tough economic and environmentally challenged times, it is really important for an artist to "practice what she preaches" to borrow from a commonly heard adage. Artists by their very connection to detail and condition of rawness that allows art to form, are in a position that no others share. We interpret the world around us in a way that makes our viewers feel something. And hopefully the feeling will inspire action. That is the responsibility of an artist to her or his audience. To live a balanced life that gives thanks to the earth which supports and inspires the artist's life itself.
How can we accomplish this? Well, first of all ,recycle. We don't "need" state of the art technology as long as whatever it is is as energy efficient as possible.. An old printer works just as well. Pass on your extra PC to a younger artist coming along who maybe can afford little. Visit an area on "trash day" and see who has put what gem out for the recycling truck that might be useful in the creation of a work of "found art" or used in one's own house with a cleaning and a new blanket laid over the rough spots.
When not using it, turn your computer equipment off. Even when the switch is off but the power source continues to be plugged in, this uses a constant supply of electricity. Which, in turn, creates waste gases at the production site and releases pollutants in the air. Even keeping your computer unplugged 6 hours a day can reduce YOUR contributions to greenhouse emissions significantly and lower your electric bill. None of us is in such a hurry with a reader dying because of having to wait to read one's newest poem, that we have to leave the computer in "sleep" mode 24-7.

Used recycled paper for your printer. And if you print out something that isn't exactly the way you want it, turn the paper over and use the other side instead of simply tossing it. Odd-ball pieces of odd sized paper from projects sized and stapled together, make a note-pad for groceries and rough drafts of poetry.
Don't be afraid to use a notepad and pen or pencil--remember those? instead of solely working on the computer. Writing giant Stephen King wrote "The Green Mile" on little notepads he kept in a back pocket while he was sitting in Fenway Park waiting to see if the baseball game was going to be rained out.

These are some other things that we do as a household to make our life a "green life". We raise chickens. Chickens are the vacuum cleaners of the bird world. We save kitchen scraps as compost for the garden. Chickens eat a lot of it and move it along yet one step further in the compost process from scrap to manure.
They are good eaters of garden pests and insects as well and by their scratching even contribute to the weeding efforts of the gardener. My chickens all have names, not recommended if your plan is ultimately the stew pot. Ours just give us wonderful eggs. We use the egg whites to freeze as our own "Egg Beaters". Eggs also supplement our dogs' food instead of canned.
If you keep a fish tank, use a vacuum hose or buckets and empty the rich water at changing time directly into your garden area. If you raise pet birds or rodents such as gerbils or hamsters, their cage materials can be added to a compost pile when necessary as well.
We also share our life with two pot bellied pigs. These fellows create wonderful manure in handy to collect pellets which, even fresh, seem to please every variety of plant I have dug it in around. If their enthusiasm is corralled and channeled, they can "help" break ground with their strong snouts and shoulders. They also work mulch in as they root through its fascinating scents and textures This aerates the soil and provides a talkative gardening companion who get some much needed stimulation, too .
We eat primarily a vegetable diet, most of which we raise ourselves and share with our animal friends.. The weeds from the garden go to the chickens to sort through with much commentary and joy. What we do not grow ourselves, we try our best to purchase from local and county farmers. We freeze or can produce each summer . One of our small annual goals is to serve a Thanksgiving dinner comprised only of things we raised ourselves. From potatoes to squash to pumpkin pie and jams.
Hang the laundry to dry. A recent statistic from the paper cited energy use from drying clothes to be higher than any other source in an average household. Sun is a great natural bleach. Rain a great fabric softener. Air costs nothing and wind doesn't make greenhouse gases. And you yourself get a break from typing at the computer. You get some weight lifting exrecise and walking. And if your cats are like ours, we have two who enjoy nothing more than climbing up the laundry posts and being "wild" or snuggling in the basket of clean laundry as it is folded, while we hang clothes up or take them down.
These are just a few examples today of how this writer's household stays "green". Look forward to more and an informative reference of books and sites for further info.

On The Teaching of Poetry Writing

To teach a student only "your way" of thinking and to parrot your attitudes for a good grade is really limiting. I think with the teaching of poetry it is really important not to squelch the voice of the student-poet. All poets have their own unique style and voice. A student shouldn't be a clone of a teacher because it strokes his or her ego. It is important to listen really hard, to teach a few sharp tools and to stand back when the craftsperson sings out.

Endings

A good poem should have a slap -upside -the -head ending. Labelling it masculine or feminine, soft or hard seems inane. Poetry shouldn't end for you all neat and tidy and nice--this is poetry not a romance novel..the reader should be going along pulled into the story then WHAM! surprise..that 's what makes a poem endure , in my head anyway.. I really appreciate a writer who doesn't condescend to me and respects me as a reader enough to shock me.
Human beings have been walking around the earth telling each other their stories since the first cave paintings and probably before that. A poem tells a story. We want to hear a new story. So if the ending surprises us, perhaps that is what makes the story new. It is a disappointment if a reader gets to the ending before his/her eyes actually READ all the words the writer wrote and loses interest. Doesn't bother to read it all the way through.

Poetry Whore Speaks on Becoming Debt Free

Perhaps many of you have read that if you are a poet, it had better not be the only way you earn a living. Like Stephen King did in a laundromat, many of us work cashier jobs, gas station jobs, and anything else to pay the bills. I happen to have at least three friends, through writing, at this time who've declared bankruptcy at least twice. One asked "How could I do this not once but again? How did I not know when I was going down the same path again? " Lack of self-awarness scared him.
How to change the course of one's financial management life?
Well, first of all, if you have done something the same way multiple times, and it doesn't bring success, stop doing it that way. Know that whatever that was, it did not work.
Second, become a brutally honest monitor of your self-talk. Nobody can over-hear you so your privacy is guaranteed. Do you get a weak feeling in the stomach when about to make a purchase? Do you have a persuasive train of mental dialogue trying to convince you that you NEED a new computer a new car, a new calculator, cell phone, the latest and greatest and your mind justifies it by saying "Ok. well ,I have to have this for my business. The business will pay for it." Is it your habit to whip out the credit card that has only $20 credit left? Do you have alot of concern for improving your credit rating?
Let's ask what is important about improving your credit rating. The better your credit rating, the more money this allows you to borrow. Those who stand to benefit aka make money from your borrowing are, of course, financial institutions such as credit card companies and banks. Which puts you back in..DEBT. Understand-- that the weak feeling in the stomach, the speeding heart is your body telling you "hey, man, you're listening to a fine line of BS up in your head."
Set up a budget. On a pad, list your income for one month, your expenses. Allot so much for extras if you have money to do so. Ie. one $20 entry fee for a poetry contest in the month of March. Or one $12.75 photo film and developing, or a book of stamps for postage for the submissions.. If you have a partner, share the plan with her or him.
Eat at home. Plan your meals week by week on Sundays-- so you know exactly what ingredients you will need. List them. In one month, average folks eat breakfast 30 times, lunch thirty times and dinner thirty times. Overall, this will help you plan a monthly grocery expense without nasty surprises. Feeding the writer and family.
Use that old beater computer and printer for the writing. Long as you can type and print you're in business. Nobody needs a cadillac of computers to be a prize winning writer. It is the person not the computer who wins.
Dump the change from your wallet into a piggy bank every week. When that is full, open a savings account.
Pay cash. Cut up the cards.
Borrow books from your local library. Its free. Reading is the ebst way to learn tow rite. And if you are able to stick to some of the financial management ideas suggested here, you wil llessen stress which will free up more energy to create great writing.

helpful hints for beginning poets

so you want to write poetry. Don't worry about being the next poet laureate. Just follow these few helpful hints.
What is a poem? a poem is often a combination of an emotion and an image that seem paradoxical. Here is an example. A friend of mine recently lost her mother to a long battle with Alzheimers disease. This was her first Christmas without her mom. Her husband's relatives came unexpectedly to stay and so my friend decided to decorate her house. While she was searching for packed-away Christmas decorations, she found a box of glass ornaments that had belonged to her mother back when my friend was a child. She was thrilled to find them. And saddened not to be able to sit down with her mom and say "Oh look at these! Remember them?" Instead, she hung one each in all the thresholds of the rooms of her house as she had seen her mom do long ago. The poem lies in the contrast between her joy in finding and hanging these beautiful ornaments that are each a memory of her mother and her mother's absence. Feeling grief and the image of each delicate shining ornament.
It is important to write from the gut not the head. Not to "think about " writing poetry. I sometimes recommend closing your eyes as the pen or keyboard reveals the words. You can always look at it later. Tinker with details after.
Don't end a poem all tied up nicely like a perfect predictable bow. A reader's mind likes surprise and respect. For example in keeping with my illustration of my friend's mother, suppose she paints us a wonderful word picture of her mother hanging these ornaments-- good memories as a child, and then surprises us with feeling angry because why did her mother leave her? with "what good are these glass things? when I can't ask my mom what to do about a life situation any more".."when I can touch the glass but not hug my mother." Another possible image she could use would beif she dropped an ornament and the sound and sight of the broken shards..and feelings evoked...