Katie's Blog

I can think of no better way to begin my summer than with a poetry reading. Last night, I attended FIX, a poetry reading series at FIX Coffee Bar. I was one of two featured poets and shared the stage with the talented Ayokunle Falomo, a Nigerian poet and author of kin.DREAD. I had a marvelously unique Lavender Latte and read from both Goddess and Sue. B attended, too, which always makes a reading that much more special to me. So, now my routine changes. With grades posted, graduation complete, and a long expanse of warm months before me, I need to figure out what to do with the time before me. During our last meeting at Writing Group, I articulated the following goals for my summer. This is a good place for me to begin: 1. Revise my NAPOWRIMO poems 2. Find the shape of my next poetry manuscript, tentatively titled The Wrath of Mother Nature's Child 3. Write one new short story 4. Keep up with my column, The Beaumont Book Beat 5. Submit Illiad to two additional publisher

Here I am, decked out in all my academic gear on the evening of my first graduation ceremony as a faculty member at Lamar. It was a great way to finish off an amazing year--perhaps one of the most eventful of my life so far with a new job, a move across the state, a hurricane, a new book, induction into TIL, and my ear problems. It's had its ups and downs, though in the end, I really wouldn't have had it any other way (except maybe the ear thing. That's really sucked). Looking back, I think I'm at the point where I'm out of the "honeymoon" phase with Lamar and I'm starting to settle into a certain comfort and understanding for the department, the institution, and the community. That's a good thing. A healthy thing. I love my university, my students, my department and my colleagues. I love my job to pieces. But I also know that none of this is perfect, though it does feel like a perfect FIT for me. This time last year, I was a wide-eyed, big-