Birdbrains in Ballard!
I’m reading with several others at It’s About Time at the Ballard library next Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. and would love to see you there.
Posts
Where you’ll find me…
I’m overdue for a catch-up post.
Last year, as you know, was a tough one for me. (I saw my husband twice so far this week, and he is thriving, acting as though 
living away from home is his new normal, happy to see me, sending me away with a list of things to procure for him. And a bagful of guilt, but you know…)
Despite last year’s drama, I assure you that I am still writing. Lots of what I write stays in my notebooks, or, at best, in rough-draft manuscripts. Yes, I did manage to review several books of poetry in 2025—but only because I was asked to (which always works with me, if you’re wondering)—and I published a few poems, because I was invited to submit to three different anthologies. I did not send out any other work. Not a glorious year, submissions-wise (not after my push in previous years to send out 100+ submissions).
One of my goals this year has been to send out my work. (Why does “submit my work to the editorial process” sound like a dodgy thing to do? “Send out” sounds more assertive.)
So I belong to a small send-out group, and when our attempt to meet once a month and report our progress seemed a complete disaster, we decided to meet once a week and for one hour hang out on Zoom together and instead of talking or moaning or whatever, to work on our send-out.
This did the trick. I’ve now managed 21 submissions of poems, reviews, stories, and essays. Not a lot, but it’s something. And I’ve had a few things accepted.
First, the on-line journal Eclectica took my poem, “Windfall Apples,” which you can find here (and which I should have mentioned some months ago).
More recently, Bracken took my poem, “Her Honeyed Mask.” Their new issue is fresh off the presses and available here. (And it’s gorgeous.)
I’ve reported previously on a couple published reviews in 2026, but my most recent review is a new one, of Anna Odessa Linzer’s new memoir, Writing Home, published by Empty Bowl Press. You can find it at https://www.ravenchronicles.org.
I’m over-the-top grateful for the editors of these publications. Given our current political culture, we cannot take their existence—or the continued existence of any of the arts—for granted. Besides which, editing a poetry journal has always been a labor of love. It’s a privilege to appear on their pages.
I’ll be back with a blog-review in the next few days. Thank you for reading!
BIRDBRAINS: A LYRICAL GUIDE TO WASHINGTON STATE BIRDS
BIRDBRAINS: A LYRICAL GUIDE TO WASHINGTON STATE BIRDS, ed. Susan Rich. Raven Chronicles Press, 
2025.
I have two poems in this lovely book, lovingly curated by Susan Rich, assisted by bird note author Stephanie Delaney and artist Hiroko Seki. The poems are narrative and lyrical, longish and very short. The poets include Martha Silano, Jayne Marek, Kevin Craft, Joannie Stangeland, Sandra Yannone, Ted Kooser, Carolyn Forché, Mary Ellen Talley, Susan Landgraf—and so many others I’ve written about in these pages. You simply have to see for yourself.
Here is one of my poems:
Golden Diva
No bigger than a puff
of dandelion fluff, round bobbin
on a bare twig, breast
of muted light, gold-daubed head,
beak and feet tucked tight,
wings wrapped against wind.Reflected in a puddle, up-
side down, crowned
by cumulous clouds, imbiber
of dew and seeds, tiny diva,
rouged beauty hopping branch
to water, and back.—Bethany Reid, from Birdbrains (p. 241)
Tomorrow evening (Monday, April 27, 6 p.m.), I’ll be joining several other Birdbrains contributors to read at Everett Poetry Night (The Sisters Restaurant, Grand Avenue, Everett).
P.S. This morning I came across this post from Maria Popova at The Marginalian: “The Bird that Is Your Life.” Maybe you need to read it, too.
Last Call of the Dark
My review of Mary Crane’s Last Call of the Dark just went up today, on-line at Raven Chronicles. Follow the link to read the full review!
As a bonus for reading my blog, here’s a poem – about spring, which cannot get here fast enough for me.
Hazel Catkin
I greeted the first spring-like day
with exhaustion, no appreciation
of a small portion of sun
in gray mosaic, and a stiff wind.
I was tired. The retreating season
offered no space for my small needs,
as the world iced over in suspicion
and decent people passed away.I once fell in love with a hazel catkin –
heads drawn together, breath quickened,
we gazed into its bright red styles
instead of one another’s animated faces.
I don’t need to recreate the love
but the fall – the descent into desire
as the buds swell up, the body warms,
and a blush reawakens into life.—Mary Eliza Crane
Crane is a western Washington poet who has resided in the hills above the Snoqualmie Valley for nearly four 
decades. Our paths have crossed at poetry open mics in Kirkland’s Book Tree and at Easy Speak in Wedgewood (Seattle); she is a co-host of her local poetry night in Duvall. To learn more about Last Call of the Dark, see my review (of course), or visit Cirque Press.
And if you are looking for an open mic, you can find it here: Western Washington Poets Network.