BLOG
NaNoWriMo has come and gone...
Well, there's no easy way to put this but I did not complete National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) my first time out. With November surging in and barreling towards the end of a year where I have many deadlines to meet (personal, professional, creative, and so forth) I was unable to get to the halfway mark. At last count I reached 19,735 words for the novel I was to write in 30 days at 50,000 words (or more) to have completed NaNoWriMo successfully.
While I didn't complete the word count for my NaNoWriMo project I was consistently writing. What exactly was I writing you may ask? Well, I was writing artist statements for three pending fellowship applications, I was revising and writing and editing portions of my passion project (a linked story collection) for myself, my writing groups, and said applications; I was writing blog posts along with articles for submission to writer-focused magazines and numerous e-mails, tweets, and Facebook posts. If I tabulated all the writing I did in November that was creative I would've surpassed my 50,000 word goal in a span of not just 30 days, but probably within a week or two. So I don't feel too bad that for this specific task I fell short.
The novel I envisioned was part mainstream, part thriller, part coming of age, part LGBT love story. To sum it up a female college student in New York City plans to murder her abusive father with the help of her girlfriend. As they plan Sept. 11th (the new day that will live in infamy) happens and she thinks that in the midst of all the craziness of the day this would be the perfect time for her to enact on this plan thinking no one would care about one drunken man's death while so many lives were lost needlessly. Intriguing, huh?
Yeah, I thought so. And I think with most ideas that spring up on us we get excited at the idea itself in the beginning. We get amped at the action-packed portions that will titillate readers and engross them, make them keep reading past their subway stop. We as artists get a thrilling chill at the thought that we're about to embark on something fresh and thought-provoking. But the process of actually creating can be tiresome, laborious, somewhat tedious if you're not passionate about it. And while I went into NaNoWriMo with full enthusiasm it tapered off when the project I've been dedicating myself to for about three years came calling and I had to chose between my children (so to speak) and devote time to my favorite. So I shelved the new novel for the on-going project. When my mind was a blank I found myself back at the new novel typing away, not really considering how the plot was forming or if anything made sense, just letting my fingers move so that I could get the daily word count, weekly word count, or catch up when I was lagging behind, which became more consistent in weeks 2, 3, and 4.
Participants and organizers of NaNoWriMo don't expect you to craft the perfect novel. They don't expect your prose to be precise or eloquent. And they certainly don't expect the clearest piece of literature to come out of NaNoWriMo. Nope, they expect you to write! That's it. "Don't be afraid to produce crap," one post on the NaNoWriMo website noted. Just keep going and even when you're blank keep going. Don't edit, just write. That's right keep going, keep going, and don't stop 'til your fingers are about to fall off. Okay, maybe they're not that aggressive but you get my point. The point of NaNoWriMo is to bring writers together, to get your creative juices flowing for 30 days straight, for you to stop saying you're going to write that book and actually do it. Via the weekly write-ins in person or online or the big last minute write-a-thon in California or via weekly e-mail motivational blasts or through other events in your areas you're encouraged to be productive. And then, after all is said and done each region hosts a TGIO (Thank God It's Over) party! And you can meet participants who have or haven't finished like yourself and perhaps get a group going, meet your creative soul mate or inspiration, and come back next year for more.
While I was sidelined by my own goals that I didn't completely accomplish (I blame you root canal!) I think I did a pretty decent job for this project and am looking forward to participating again both in Microsoft Word, online, and perhaps at one of those in-person write-in sessions. 'Til then I'll keep trying to finish my passion project and such in the coming year and hopefully have something bigger to show you that I put all my love and care and time and energy into.
(Also want to mention that there's a NaNoWriMo for screenplays. This will be held in April and is called Script Frenzy. One hundred pages in thirty days, check it screenwriters!)
Interview with Caits Meissner (spoken word artist, graphic artist, lyricist, and all-around mellow lady)
Interview with artist Caits Meissner who is a New York City educator, spoken word poet, graphic artist, and musician.
I met Caits Meissner when we went to Ghana for the first year of the Pan African Literary Forum in 2008. Caits won a scholarship to attend for her phenomenal poetry and I was hankering to go to Africa and use up some bonus money. We were both there for the ambiance and the guidance of a great roster of instructors and authors, and we enjoyed our time immensely.
I have kept in touch with a handful of people from PALF and am certainly glad that Caits is one of them. She's a teacher, artist (in various genres), and gentile soul who's work will simultaneously inspire and astound you. I've heard her live and heard her audio and seen her graphic work and am consistently blown away. (Definitely check out her website(s) and follow her for upcoming gigs.) I was glad she offered to do an interview for her friends with blogs and she has inspired me to do a rotation of interviews with friends who are artists in their own right and want to spread the word about themselves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JBH: As an artist, how do you deal with the constant changes in media and social networking? Do you feel face-to-face is dead or as a spoken word poet do you feel you get to engage in meeting people more through performances than perhaps fiction writers and non-fiction writers and so on and so forth?
Caits: What a relevant question! My students, sometimes, when you ask them what their interests are say, "the internet," or "facebook." This fact frightens me, but I am not immune to it. I find myself "plugged in" too often and it accounts for a lot of disconnection in my own heart, despite the facade of intimacy. Its also a great way to be heard, so, like all things in this great life, its a balance. Unfortunately, I have never been much good at balance. I have a plugged in community, so I keep fairly up-to-date with the latest tech invention but its overwhelming. And exhausting. And I find myself less able to focus and lose myself in my art the way I was able to as a kid, with parent-limited 'net access, and a slower than syrup dial up connection. These days, I write a little, check my phone, write a little, check a blog, constantly checking in. Who wants to troll the internet for accolades and mentions constantly? Who wants to pump themselves to their friends and supporters over and over? The trick is detachment from an already detached networking system, and its a sincere practice in this day and age.
The good thing is, as a performer, I do feel connected to the larger world in a very tangible way, being on a stage. There is a direct contact: a handshake, a wink, a hug. But there is something very special, I still think, about being behind a pen and paper. You maintain a certain old-world mystery. I say embrace that. I waffle between wanting two very sharp distinctive worlds: being known and celebrated, and hiding, running away.
Caits: I struggle with this question, deeply. There are moments in the past when I would have loved to answer this question, ranting and raving and grinning. It defined me. These days, I am more acutely aware of what hard work being in front of a classroom is. How much energy you must give to the young faces in front of you. How unkind they can be and you take home the day like an old coat and dust it off, patch up the holes, put it back on and walk back into the wind. I shared this sentiment with a close friend, also a teaching artist, who said, "the amazing thing is, even when you aren't trying, young people are the center of your world when you teach, even if you teach part time, and there is a beauty in that." I agree.
Teaching becomes the center of my life, whether or not I wish my focus was more on myself, my love, my art. Teenagers demand a certain level of patience and attention and it becomes a very real meditation. Sometimes you wait weeks for a breakthrough, but when it happens, nothing is sweeter. The students I teach, for the most part, are not artists by their own definition. They find it difficult to be free in their expression and are afraid to create "wrong." Teaching reminds me there is no wrong. What a victory it can be to pull the creativity out.
Caits: I love this question! I am pretty good at sharing how much I love someone's art with them and I am blessed to have crossed paths with many of my old and new favorites. Of course, there are some that I just haven't... met, or written to, or expressed to. My friend Dionne Lee (look up her photos! Wowee.) has been writing to her favorite artists and getting amazing responses! She has been urging us to write to our influences and give them our love. I'm going to choose two women I'd love to gush to. Let me get to tell them now:
Dear Ani Difranco,
You saved me at thirteen. Seriously. In every way. Let me open for you.
Love, Caits
Dear Miranda July,
You remind me I can make all the art I wanna, in all kinds of ways. Thank you for expanding the boundaries of what my heart believed was possible for an artist. Thanks for destroying the box.
Love, Caits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caits: Of course! I have a big, baaaaddd website at http://www.caitsmeissner.com and I keep a daily blog at http://caitsmeissner.tumblr.com I tweet sometimes, too: http://www.twitter.com/caitsmeissner
Thanks, Caits for tackling these questions and for sharing your work, your kindness, and influences!
(Mini) Flushing Food Crawl!
My friend Anna is at it again! The day before Halloween she organized a mini food crawl in Flushing, Queens. We hit up three places, including the Flushing mall! And enjoyed some delectable and specifically Asian cuisine. Unfortunately, since a couple of these places had names written in Cantonese or Mandarin (Flushing is Queens' Chinatown after all) I couldn't name every location we enjoyed. But, good food is good food.
My friend Anna is at it again! Taking place the day before Halloween she organized a mini food crawl in Flushing, Queens. We hit up three places, including the Flushing mall! And enjoyed some delectable and specifically Asian cuisine. Unfortunately, since a couple of these places had names written in Cantonese or Mandarin (Flushing is Queens' Chinatown after all) I couldn't name every location we enjoyed. But, good food is good food.
Anna and I wore our Halloween outfits for this crawl on a chilly and breezy Saturday. And I have to say I kind of regretted holding a bow and arrows during a food crawl on a chilly day, it got kind of tedious finding places to put it while eating on the street. We met up at Flushing library and headed across the street and ducked into 41st Avenue, across the street from the Starbucks and hit a whole-in-the-wall place that had a menu that was in English.
It was mainly appetizer, finger food type goods and most of us indulged in dumplings. I enjoyed the spring roll which was greasy and flaky and delicious. Plus those prices were reasonable for bite-sized goods and a good preparation for larger dishes.
The line was a bit long and you have to kind of elbow your way in and stand your ground so you can order, especially if you don't know the language.
Next up, we had $1.00 duck buns(!) at Corner 28 Restaurant and Caterers on Main Street.
These buns had more skin than meat, but all around good. And as Anna said "It's a dollar!" So how can you complain?
And we're walking, we're walking, northbound to the Flushing mall on 39th Avenue. We went to the food court here and passed by a booth that made and sold mini moon cakes. The moon cakes were bite-size and filled with cream so it reminded me of a mini Boston cream doughnut, but the cake portion wasn't overly sweet. 
They were so good at 12 for $3 that I ended up eating the whole batch within minutes. And I am not ashamed to admit this.
Once we were in the food court we found a table and half of us went for food while Anna and I waited. Anna's recommendation was for Xian's. This location was endorsed and visited by author Anthony Bourdain and also recommended by New York Magazine. It took the first leg of the group about 15 or so minutes to get their orders.
It took way longer for Anna and myself. I watched numerous people get their orders and then watched one of the women behind the counter make my dishes with ease within seconds, which kind of irritated me about the wait since everyone else who ordered after me had gotten their dishes already.
I got lamb meat soup, which wasn't as meaty as the picture at Xian's counter. And the cumin lamb burger which was HEAVY on the cumin. Basically that's all I tasted when I bit into it. My husband liked it and said the cumin wasn't too much for him, but that's where he and my pallets differ.
By the time Anna and I returned to the table the group had basically finished their dishes and rallied for seconds.
Bev got szechuan dumplings with garlic that wasn't as szechaun-y as she would've liked. As I was informed it should set your throat on fire and this was not the case. Andrew got a noodle dish which he thought was okay and I ventured off to find a bathroom after a while. When I returned Anna bought a large bowl of ice with many accoutrements such as tapioca bits and coconut jellies. We didn't know everything that we were eating, but it was tasty and light and probably a nice cool down for those of us who had exceptionally spicy foods.
Afterward, we all went our separate ways from the 7 train and went for some napping, trick or treating, or other plans. All-in-all another successful crawl and I officially got to vegetate for the rest of the weekend.
National Novel Writing Month Begins!
Well, it's official. I am a participant in National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo).
After several years of saying I was going to do it and planning to do it (sincerely, I did) and almost doing it I've registered and dagnabbit I'm doing it! Full throttle friends! So, if you're interested feel free to join in and start something brand new to get those creative juices flowing. I'm going to attempt to revise my current work for submissions to residencies while also starting a brand spanking new piece for NaNoWriMo. Very excited.
If you're also doing NaNoWriMo lemme know how you're doing or friend me on your page (jenn.bakerhenry). Now, let the writing commence!
Grub Street Food Festival 2010!
Today is the Grub Street Food Festival in the Lower East Side! There are vendors from all over NYC represented dishing out savory and sweet dishes as well as liquids (warm and cold)! So head over there already.
*Photo Credits: L. Pink. Today, Hester Street was renamed Grub Street for a wonderful food festival. My friend LPink and I went to partake in all the goods available. I was especially happy about being able to finally taste the deliciousness of the Wafels and Dinges truck which had been on Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay. There was also a "celebrity" sighting of Bethenny Frankel formerly of Real Housewives of New York. She had a camera crew and boom mic operator following her and everything.
We got there around noon to a reasonable crowd. The space above Seward Playground was somewhat tight, but not so much so that one couldn't get around and preview menus and what each booth had to offer.
The first stop was at one of the first booths and that was...wait for it...Wafels and Dinges! We had their wafel which was renamed post-Throwdown as de Throwdown wafel. This wafel had spekuloos spread and whipped cream. The wafel was super moist and the spekuloos was tasty and sweet and it was a dish that set the bar pretty darn high. The owner of Wafels and Dinges was manning the booth and was extremely pleasant and personable and I informed him I've been following their tweets on Twitter and was amped to finally taste his legendary dish. I'll definitely be stalking the Wafels and Dinges truck from now on.
Next up we tried Pies n' Thighs! The dish of the day there was their mini chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter. It was LPink's favorite dish of the day and a top one for me because it was so freaking tasty! The biscuit was perfect, the hot sauce not too hot, the chicken crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the addition of a sweet butter just brought it all together.
While munching on the chicken biscuit we also had some chicken tacos and some churros from Cascabel Taqueria. The people manning the booth were extremely friendly and pleasant and were on their game! The chicken taco had guacamole and chipotle sauce and was all around tasty. Very good. LPink liked the churros also which were two for $1.
And we continue to move south for Hot Blondies! I was really interested in trying their stuff because they don't have a store and only deliver. They had tiny samples of their blondies and brunettes (brownies) which were a nice treat and they also displayed some HUGE rice krispy squares (regular and cocoa). So having the chance to eat their blondies and brunettes without having to wait was a major bonus for moi. We shared their peanut butter chocolate chunk blondie which was so good! Moist and chewy and of course for me peanut butter and chocolate together can do no wrong so I was in heaven! I also got their classic blondie that I'm saving for later. Yeah, I hoard my sweets sometimes...
After this we headed towards the back, passing Purple Yam which I had tasted at a Ramen and Friend's event soon after the place opened. Seeing Purple Yam's line go through the playground was also a deterent. So we went next door to Georgia's Eastside BBQ for an applewood smoked BBQ chicken sandwich. LPink and I split this one in half and got to taste the smoky chicken with a good amount of BBQ sauce that was a good mix of tangy and sweet. Good stuff. I bought my husband one of their applewood smoked pulled pork BBQ sandwiches and he loved it himself. "I can taste the smokiness in the meat," were his exact words. They also had banana pudding but I held off on that since I was planning on collecting many sweets.
We decided to take a break from the budding chaos of the festival, it was getting to the point where you were dormant for a bit because people weren't moving or didn't know where to move to. But I did stop off at Melt and got their deep fried pumpkin pie with ginger sugar. A new item for them is their deep fried apple pie with cinnamon sugar. The big items for Melt are their ice cream sandwiches. Since the day is breezy and chilly the deep fried items seemed the most intriguing and warm so they were a big seller at the moment.
After a detour to use el bano and get some diet coke and talk with some other patrons we headed back into the festival to complete madness! At this point it was after 1pm and was bustling with people. One of the booths selling only pulled pork sandwiches was out of product and thus taking up space.
LPink and I had to wait (along with others) for 10 minutes for empanadas at La Sonrisa. I was introduced to empanadas by friends from South American backgrounds and always had them homemade. I also tried Ruben's Empanadas which are decent enough, but these were huge and I was gasping for one. I got a beef one, LPink a veggie one, and I just shared a dessert one (strawberry and nutella) with my husband. The dessert one was small but nutella and fresh fruit always go well together and in a flaky crust it was a perfect compliment to the meaty/savory ones.
Shuffling as best we could on LPink and I tried, and were luckily the last, to taste the seafood paella from Green Brown Orange (representing Green Catering, Brown Café, and Orange Épicerie), which had some nice healthy foods as an aside to all the meat and deep fried items. Their cauliflower and carmelized apple soup was a huge hit from all those who purchased it.The seafood paella was delicious and was my favorite dish of the festival. Though cold it still packed a punch and a lot of flavor with grilled calamari and roasted mussels. Phenomenal.
When circling around to see what we may have missed we saw many places were losing customers due to lack of items and others that had short lines were now the place to be! Lines of people stretched all over so it was hard to see what were the popular booths and who was being blocked off by a mass of people. We headed back up and I noticed a lonely booth at Il Buco and decided to try their panna cotta with aged balsamic vinaigrette. The panna cotta was solid and tasty and not too sweet, albeit perfect. My husband has roasted balsamic and when done right it can gain a sweet flavor and lose the bitterness, but this wasn't aged enough for me, luckily it didn't take much away from anything. I've had "panna cotta" elsewhere and it turned out to be just yogurt. Panna cotta is solid, solid, and creamy and good so I think this was perfection.
From then on LPink and I pushed and trudged our way out of the festival to head home. I had some sugary spoils in my backpack and a full stomach so I was a very happy camper. We both see naps in our very near future but are pretty psyched we made it to this festival and made it out in one piece. While I wish I'd had the opportunity to try more I think it best we ate as much as we did and got out early enough to enjoy the day and rethink on what places we'll be trying out again very soon.
The Grub Street Food Festival is on until 6pm or whenever these vendors run out of food so if you happen to be in the area don't hesitate to check it out or at least grab some menus.