Katie's Blog

Yay! I've broken my publishing rut! See my latest pub HERE: http://www.themonitor.com/articles/festiva-43834-issue-welcome.html That's meee! Katherine Hoeth... wait a minute... they mispelled my last name. Ok, well read the poem maybe they did it on purpose ;) Well... that and I've also once again flooded the market with submissions. Bad news came atumblin' in from Hayden's Ferry Review, Blackbird, and... probably more I'm just selectively forgetting. But let this not be a day of woe - but a day of triumph :-) Katie's pubbed again, even though - yes, local newspaper, but regardless I am proud :-)

Phew. After a long talk with BruBru, we've decided that indeed - we have outgrown this valley. I love 'The Valley' with everything I've got - it's my home, the place I write about, where most of my family lives, where I grew up, and where I'll always be attached. But... it is almost time to move on. So my plan is to finish up this MFA, and then ride the wind to wherever it takes me. I'm going to start prepping PhD applications ASAP. I'm going to start looking for a new job. New life. New home. New town.... but the same Katie. I promise. Details to come - as soon as I figure them out. I would very much like to stay in Texas, and my eyes are most certainly on Houston or Austin... maybe Dallas, even El Paso... or New Mexico. One thing for sure, though, is that for both my personal and professional well being, come August, I will be someplace else, moving up in life, becoming the Katie I know I need to be.

You know something... I'm really loving my poetry workshop this semester. Something's jiving well with me, my collegues, and my prof. My writing is changing. It's less narrative, more lyrical. Or - the narrative is in the lyricality of the words. Something like that. Here's a little piece of my latest poem: The Green Lake I’ll ask you – will you let the heat of your body part the surface? A stone skips across the water, leaving ripples of breath between your answer. I won’t tell you - this lake hides a beast behind her eyelashes and tall grass. The hurried breaths of lovers and the smell of sex exists between the hissing of snakes and songs of frogs. This body That's my favorite stanza. Anyway - life's happened. Between my two jobs, working on my thesis, my grad class, chachalacas in orbit, being bruno's moral support, readings, writings, submissions, rejections, conferences, presentations, book signings, ect - sometimes I really feel like I'm going to...

Aww, there we are! In all of our awesomeness. This was from the Art That Heals reading at Jitterz this past Saturday. Thanks to Julieta for this wonderful picture :-) So you probably can figure that I'm on the far right. Next to me is poet Frank Pina, and... I forget who that man in red is next to him... Anyway, then is Julieta in the pretty black dress, and... XAVIER GARZA! right there in the middle. Yes, Xavier Garza made a surprise appearance, reading from his latest release from Arte Publico Press. Ok - next to Xavier (we're going to the left) is Lady Mariposa, Nepthali De Leon (author of Chicano Popcorn!), The Poet Mariachi, and then... Mr. David Solis. So what a night it was! Bruno made it out to show his support, in addition to his mom and my parents too! I even sold a few copies of Among the Mariposas. What's next for this poeta? Good question. How about some good old fashioned rest? LoL.

Gwahhh!! :-P Ok so I'm feeling seriously overwhelmed these past few days. I think maybe it's the second job. Anyway, news to report: The El Mundo Zurdo program has posted. So I now have a day/time that I will be reading at UTSA. I will be reading Friday, November 5th at 4:30 in the Durango room. Joining me will be poets ire'ne lara silva, nancy green, Laura Eglin, and Carolina Monsivais (all mouthfeel press authors! :) :) :) ) I'm uber excited to meet these talented ladies. I feel unworthy, so unworthy.... Other news.... Still pumped about Saturday's reading at Jitterz. See sidebar for details on that one. Don't forget to come out and show your support ;) and.... I wrote a new poem for my grad class. And it's about being... well... overwhelmed I guess. Here's a little exerpt: At the moment her finger switches the coffee maker on, a body curls into question against the force of water. She listens for the groan of the machine, telling her the single serv...

So a bit of news this weekend... First of all, I would like to thank Pablo from Chacalacas in Orbit for the wonderful preview of my chapbook. You can see it here: http://chachalacasinorbit.com/2010/10/among-mariposas-katherine-hoerth/ It looks absolutely fantastic! And what is that at the end there? That I will be writing for the blog? Why yes, yes I will be X-D In the very near future be on the lookout for my reviews of literary scene happenings here in the Rio Grande Valley. This bit of wonderful news aside, I also have another tidbit to share: I'm going to be featured at a reading organized by Art That Heals! Here's the details: Art That Heals, Inc. presents Coffeetalk Series: 2nd Saturday of each month @ 7:30 p.m. with featured speakers/artists/performers and Open Mic @ Jitterz Coffee Bar in Mission. Featuring Katie Hoerth, award-winning author of "Among The Mariposas." The mission of Art That Heals, Inc., is to promote cultural literacy in the Rio Grande Valley b...