Waiting and Ted Kooser

My (potential) thesis advisor told me that he’ll let me know if a) he thinks my thesis idea is viable and b) if he can advise me by Monday. Which gives me the entire weekend to mull over the possibility that he will say it’s not viable, meaning I’ll have to whip up another entire thesis proposal by Friday. Not a nice thought. Thus, I’m trying to look on the bright side and take advantage of the fact that this is the first weekend I’ve had in a looong time during which I don’t have any imminent projects looming overhead – at least, not any that I know I have to do yet. So basically, my idea of taking advantage is watching Law and Order: SVU all day long and whatever movies happen to be on TV. (American Beauty and Monster-in-Law, FYI. Two very different qualities of film, but somehow both equally entertaining to me. I’m not ashamed.)

And where are my friends and beloved boyfriend? – one might ask. Well, let me tell you. They do not have the advantage of a responsibility-free weekend like I do. Poor saps. Corey is at this moment toiling away on a paper, or at least he should be. I don’t envy him. That could be me by next week.

Also, I want to say a word about the poetry reading I went to yesterday. Former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser came to my little college for Sophie Kerr weekend, and I was lucky enough to get to see him! To be honest, I’d never heard of him before yesterday… but I am now hooked on his writing. I would have bought one of his books yesterday if only I had fewer friends with birthdays in April (birthdays sap up loose change like nothing else; if I were truly economical, I’d give up friends altogether). Anyway, I thought he was fantastic (though Corey and Laura both fell asleep during his reading… but… whatever; they’re not really poetry lovers to be fair). I loved his voice, for one thing – he’s one of those people who pronounces the “h” in all “wh” words (like white), which is great. I was so glad that he was a good reader – I feel like some poets try to put so much meaning in their readings that they linger on every single word and take away from the poem itself, but I think this reading was perfect. I had just enough time to enjoy it and feel the impact of the words. And his poetry was amazing! Though I guess that’s to be expected from a U.S. Poet Laureate. I got so caught up in his descriptions of things, especially his metaphors (like in his poem Tattoo where he describes a tattoo on an old man as “the spot where vanity once punched him hard and the ache lingered on”), and I loved the poems he read where he attempted to capture the “moments” that vividly describe random strangers. Oh, and I particularly loved the fact that he writes Valentine poems to anyone who wanted one, and once had to spend over a thousand dollars in postage to send them to all. What a cool guy.

I think poetry readings are so great because although I don’t always love the way a poet chooses to read their own work, it does give some insight into how they intended it to be read and understood. And I like that the poet usually talks about each poem before they read it, which further illuminates the meaning of the poem. It’s great! Anyway, I strongly recommend Ted Kooser’s poetry, even if you’re not a big poetry fan. It’s surprisingly accessible, but beautiful and poignant. Kind of makes me want to move to Nebraska and write Valentines all day long.