treasure

Recently, writer Michael Kimball visited BGSU for a Q&A and reading. (I just finished reading Dear Everybody yesterday, which I adored.) During his Q&A, Kimball talked about an ongoing project in which he writes a person's life story on a postcard. He mentioned how the whole project started as a joke, but then took on a life of its own.

Similarly, in an interview on the KR Blog, Lily Hoang talks about her forthcoming collection Unfinished, which began when she and a friend exchanged abandoned/unfinished stories. Hoang desired to expand the idea from something centering around the idea of play, asking writer friends to send her their "trash" that she in turn worked into something more whole.

The idea as a commodity is interesting to me--there are so many ideas of my own I've abandoned, but Hoang mentions how easy it was for her to continue these starts. Perhaps we should all make a habit of passing on some of our trash. As the saying goes...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

P.S. One of my poems is featured in this month's issue of elimae. Please check it out and let me know what you think! My friend Matt Bell was kind enough to post about it on his blog. Thanks, Matt! Be sure to check out all of the goodies available on his website, and read some of his great stories.