Power Out and the Primary

Winds took down a power line in our area last night, leaving us in the dark. As any writer knows, timing is everything. This is not only true in books, but in life as well. So of course the power went out while I had lasagne baking in the oven and CNN was about to captivate me with primary and caucus results. Instead, I wrapped up in an Afghan, turned on the Coleman lantern, and read a few chapters of What the Dead Know. All was not lost on the lasagne or the election results, as the power returned just as breaking news came on CNN to announce Obama the winner of the Wisconsin primary. I enjoyed lasagne and beer while watching the speeches by Clinton and Obama. In recent days, Clinton looks more tired, stressed, and desperate. I think the rhetoric vs. results debate is getting her nowhere, and the recent assertion that Obama plagerized a speech simply seems ridiculous and trite. Obama comes across as bigger than life, while Clinton looks small and petty by comparison. Her inability to congratulate her opponent on his wins continues to rub me the wrong way. A poor loser is never pretty.



The debate takes place tomorrow. Here's hoping Virginia Dominion Power keeps my lights burning and CNN bright and clear on the tube.

Some Recommendations for Valentines' Day

First Amazon Customer Review of My Book

Dreaming in Color, February 13, 2008
by K. Becker

The poems in Jayne Pupek's haunting debut collection are technically polished, even as they confront rough material: a mother's deliberate killing of her children, a stillbirth, terminal illness. Pupek ranges comfortably from an imagined Eve in Kansas "shucking corn in high heels" to the effect of the discovery of Spalding Gray's body on someone whose own "body leans towards water." Imagery and association are surprising and sometimes startling--"Wounds open like the mouths of whores"--but always engaging. It is hard not to assume that Pupek's experience as a mental health professional has lent her compassion and skill in plumbing the depths of the psyche. Even when the speaker of a poem is "varnished in sickness," the poems themselves are robust. Gorgeous and evocative cover art by Megan Karlen complements the written work. "We dream colors/ while sleeping in the curl/ of an egg," Pupek writes. Unquiet dreams, maybe, but dreams that linger and demand attention.

Big wins for Obama!!!!!!!

I was glued to CNN last night. (I'm a self-admitted CNN junkie). What an amazing set of wins for Barack Obama! Not only did he win all three primaries, but he won by huge margins. Also significant is the fact that he made marked gains in Clinton's base of support, capturing the white, Latino, and women voters that were once squarely behind Clinton.

When this began, I liked both candidates about the same. As time goes by, I think less of Clinton. Not only did Bill Clinton's racially charged comments offend me, but Hillary shows herself to be less than a good sport. She doesn't even have the grace to congratulate her opponent when he wins. I take that as a sign she is desperate. And well she should be. I think Obama will undoubtedly win Wisconsin and Hawaii next week. That will give him ten straight wins, and the momentum will clearly carry him toward success in Ohio and Texas. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama sometime prior to the Ohio primary.

Yes, we can.

Support Barack Obama

Support Barack Obama

Grammy Night

Last night's show was one of the best. I thought the performances were amazing. Beyonce's duo with Tina Turner was electrifying. Alicia Keys has one of the most beautiful voices in recent memory. Kanye West's tribute to his mother was nothing less than heart-wrenching. I was happy to see Herbie Hancock win a Grammy for his jazz tribute to Joni Mitchell; I plan to add that CD to my wishlist. I'm pleased, too, that Barack Obama won an award for his spoken word CD for his book, The Audacity of Hope. The highlight of the night for me was watching Amy Winehouse perform. In spite of her personal demons and problems, she's an immernse creative talent. Her Back to Black CD is one of my recent favorite buys.

Review Up at Stick Poet Super Hero

I'm delighted to announce that Midwestern poet, Michael Wells, has reviewed "Forms of Intercession" on his blog, Stick Poet Super Hero. I'm reposting the review here:

“Today I am medium rare. Don’t touch me.” So begins the first line if the poem Forms of Intercession, the title poem in Jayne Pupek’s book published by Mayapple Press. Throughout the book, Pupek pokes around at medium rare subject matter. It seems there are few things that inhibit her writing which can be both disturbing and refreshing.Each new page seems to contain a poem that is scarcely able to clutch the edge of its page and as the reader, you find yourself hanging onto each line, each raw emotion in a desperate attempt to intercede and keep it from falling into the darkness of nowhere. I had to check my own hands for blood stains when finished.For all the dispare, Forms of Intercession isn’t all that fatalistic. No it touches a core reality of life… that it is “full of broken combs and blisters. Still we go on, / because it is in us, the need for continuance, / that sliver of persistence inside every cell.” I found it a very artistically mature and straightforward read.