Ascent
27
Aug 12
Play With Matches ~ Lilah Clay
I woke up this morning
to Spanish moss hanging from the chandelier.
While I’d been asleep
pepper vines had snuck in the back window
headed for the library,
and scarlet larkspur gathered around
to mourn your old shoes
in the closet.
The outside became curious of the inside.
What do humans do in these houses?
Downstairs, bushes of coyote mint
found the light switch,
and terrorized circuitry
like a club in Dublin.
Hummingbird sage guarded the fire place
while a cluster of trembling poppies
tried to strike a match
like a skinny lot of librarians
having a go at a criminal record.
And there I was scolding plants
in my pajamas before 8 a.m.
or a proper cup of coffee.
Is this what happens to me without a dog
or children?
The wilderness invites itself in
to play with matches,
while I frantically decide which
item of furniture I don’t mind
having covered in foliage, flowers,
roots, shoots, and dirt
and renamed as the Time Out Chair.
22
Feb 10
Pushcart ~
Congratulations to Judy Slater! Her story “Extra Lucky” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
04
Feb 10
National Book Awards At Concordia
Concordia College, home of Ascent, enjoys a unique relationship with the National Book Foundation, presenters of the National Book Award. Each year the College attends the award ceremony in New York, and then brings National Book Award winners and finalists to campus for a series of talks, master classes, and a large evening program. You will find links to videos of the 2008 and 2009 evening events under the Other Forms button on top. 2008 featured Jim Shepard and Woody Holton. 2009 featured Maxine Hong Kingston and Annette Gordon-Reed.
04
Feb 10
More congratulations!
The University of Texas Press has published the 2009 volume of Best of the West: New Stories from the Wide Side of the Missouri which lists Lawrence Coates’ “Belmont” as a “Notable Western Story of the Year.” http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/horbep.html
