I had a goal to read 40 books while at Djerassi, because I normally like to raid the Alumni Library and read at least a poetry book a day. But I wasn’t reading as much poetry as I was memoir and fiction. And that’s okay. I ended up finishing 30 books in 28 days, so I’ll take that. I read some REALLY AMAZING books, and you can read my reviews on Goodreads. Some of my favorites were Townie by Andre Dubus III, My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem, and Living with a Wild God by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Last night was the launch party for Issue 17 of Superstition Review. It was also the last day of my 46th semester teaching at Arizona State University.
When I told my students that I have 14 semesters left they asked, “What happens then?!”
I answered, “I graduate.”
And what an education teaching has been. It has allowed me the immense pleasure of being more deeply immersed in my own field: contemporary literature and publishing. I have had so many wonderful colleagues, smart conversations, and lovely summers off.
But by far the most important lesson I take away is how satisfying it is to identify another person’s talents and encourage them to focus, practice, and excel. Working with Superstition Review is a unique opportunity because the magazine is their portfolio: a tangible item they can present and discuss in job interviews and graduate school applications, and that I can talk about at length when I act as a reference or write a letter of recommendation. Each of the students I mentor has endless layers of enthusiasm, creativity, intelligence, and skill. My great joy is focusing on something specific they do well that we can showcase during their short time working on the magazine. I act as coach, mentor, and encouraging friend.
I can’t say I made up this approach. In my 23 years teaching at ASU I have reported directly to five people: Keith Miller for 2 years, Duane Roen for 2 years, Maureen Daly Goggin for 2 years, Greg Glau for 6 years, Duane Roen again for 3 years, and Ian Moulton for 7 years. It’s rare in academia to have such consistency in leadership. Maybe it’s rare in business too.
But I am so grateful to these five people for helping me to grow as an educator and person. Each one of them gave me opportunity, courage, and encouragement. Special thanks to Duane Roen, who is so nice he hired me twice (and is also currently my Dean and my Provost)! He was also the person who said YES! when I had the idea of starting the magazine. His support and trust made all of this possible.
And huge thanks to my current Department Head Ian Moulton, who has given me some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten as a teacher and human, including the line: “Think of the work as practice not perfection.” For my Type A brain, this helped me flip a switch that made me more effective in the classroom and while walking around in the world. Ian also offered unwavering support to me when both of my parents died within 5 months of each other. He was gracious, generous, caring, and kind and I can’t imagine surviving that year without him.
I hope to pass on half the strength and help to my students that my mentors have passed on to me.
Published over 700 artists and authors in Superstition Review.
Took over 25,000 photographs.
I am really looking forward to my next 7 years teaching. I’m thrilled about the possibilities, and I can’t wait to see where my students will lead me.
I’m also kind of exhausted. And I’m looking forward to a lovely summer off! I’ll be teaching Travel Writing for ASU Online, and I will spend a month at Djerassi working on my memoir. I’ll attend a family reunion in Minnesota and a friend reunion in Denver. You’ll also see me haunting the trails of South Mountain.
I had a wonderful time meeting with students in poetry courses and a class in Publishing yesterday. And the reading went great! There were over 70 people there and they had to bring in extra chairs. Then we had a lovely recption at Blackstock Bistro.
I am really enjoying my stay in Gunnison so far. Today I get to speak with three creative writing classes and I’ll give a reading of my poetry and prose. Tomorrow is a radio interview and another craft talk. I’m so happy to be here. Even the Herefords are perfect!
I’m putting the finishing touches on my presentations for this visit to Western State Colorado University next week, as part of their Contemporary Writers Series.
I’m thrilled with the program’s innovative and thorough approach to teaching creative writing, and I’m looking forward to meeting the students and faculty.
I’ll be speaking in four classes: Introduction to Creative Writing, Creative Writing: Poetry, Creative Writing: Nonfiction, and Literary Magazine Submission and Production.
I’ll also be giving a reading of my own poetry and prose at 7:30 pm Monday Feb 2, and a radio interview on Tuesday Feb 3.
I can’t even begin to tell you all the things I’ve sucked at this year. It’s only May 13 and I’ve already failed at: 1. training for a marathon (I dropped to the half), 2. keeping a writing schedule (I only wrote for 15 hours total spring semester), and 3. getting estimates (I need someone to paint my house, please? Don’t make me beg? I’ve left, like, 20 voicemails).
Lucky for me, I know some over-achievers who take pity on me. One is my friend Kaylee, who recently sent me an article about a book that turned out to be the perfect book to start reading on Day 1 of my 30-Day Challenge to Stop Sucking So Much.
It’s called Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey, and it describes the creative lives of 161 people including artists, authors, poets, and composers. I’m really enjoying reading it because it displays such a wide variety of routines. You have your morning people and your night owls. You have those who work for 8 hours and those who tap out at 2. You have your drinkers, your smokers, your amphetamine-takers–you even have one writer who was most creative while fondling his genitals.
No matter the routine, (strange or somber), it’s described here in a way that helps me visualize a day in the life of many of the creatives I most admire.
Reading these accounts not only makes me feel better about some of my own strange habits (none of them nude!), it also gives me some ideas about what might help me be more productive. While I don’t think I’ll start using Corydrane, as Jean-Paul Sartre did in spades–nor will I start doing headstands, one of Igor Stravinsky’s methods of getting “un-blocked,”–nor will I start using potent herbal laxatives, as Louis Armstrong advocated, I do have a few lessons to take away: such as a lighter lunch and a scheduled nap time.
Today I’m starting a 5-week Writer’s Retreat and I need to perfect my own rituals so that I can get the most out of the time ahead of me. I want to finish 2 books: a book of poems and a memoir. And to do that I need to get down to business. So I wrote a little entry of my own, mirroring the 161 in the book. Let’s see if my Daily Rituals will help me succeed.
Patricia Murphy (1970-)
Murphy devoted much of her life and energy to being a teacher and editor. During the academic year she struggled to find time to write, which nearly ruined her self esteem and made her feel like a failure as a writer. During the summers she often agreed to teach additional classes, perhaps to self-sabotage her writing efforts.
When she did get a summer to devote to writing, she was very disciplined. She awoke every morning at 5 am and drank coffee while reading and chatting with her life partner John. At 6 am she exercised–either going for a run in South Mountain park, or attending fitness classes at The Hub, where she enjoyed the social benefits of working out with a peer group. Back home, she drank a fruit smoothie with spinach, berries, banana, pineapple, and mango. Then she did a 15 minute stretching routine and took a shower and dressed.
Finally at the computer by 8 am, she read her journal from the previous day’s work, and started composing the current day’s journal entry. Murphy was a life-long journaler, and reflecting on her process and product helped her to perfect her routines and spend energy wisely. After journaling, she would read for 20 minutes to an hour, then start the composing for the day. Perhaps as a carry-over from her hobby as a runner, she used tools such as timers and spreadsheets to help her keep track of pace and tasks. She always composed using two computers–one open to her writing in Scrivener, and one open to a spreadsheet with lists of themes, characters, titles, wordcounts, etc. She might have missed her calling as an accountant.
While at her desk, with a clear view of her beloved South Mountain, she guzzled water and had to get up often to pee. By 11 am she was ready for a snack, which usually consisted of a big kale salad with chick peas, avocado, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, and sesame seeds. She liked to keep her meals under 400 calories, otherwise she would fall straight to sleep.
Back to the computer by noon, she completed another 3 hour writing session–moving between her journal, her spreadsheet, her poetry, and her memoir. Whenever she needed inspiration, she would grab a book and read for 20 minutes or so. At 3 pm she ate another snack of lots of fruit and vegetables and toast, and then she tended to give in to a nap with her beautiful Vizslas who were always herding her to the bed with their sleepy eyes and droopy ears. She could fall asleep like a champ once her head hit the pillow. She slept like the dead for 20-30 minutes and woke up feeling ready to go.
After the nap she answered email or managed household necessities until John returned from work at around 5:30 pm. Once John arrived they spent the evening together: chatting, reading, walking the dogs, watching a TV show, running errands, playing Scrabble, cooking, eating dinner, drinking a beer, or taking a dip in the pool. Between 8 and 8:30 they headed to bed to read, usually falling fast asleep by 9 pm.
Now let’s see if that helps. What are your successful daily rituals?
