Lately, I've been reminiscing. My late friend Neal put out a record back in 2006 called No Wish to Reminisce. I always loved the title. I could relate to it. It can be painful to reminisce.
But an early morning check on Facebook this past week led me to some life events I didn't mind reliving. Eight years ago this past Friday, I wrote one of the last record reviews for The Boston Phoenix. The band? The Beachwood Sparks. Neal had turned me onto their music a while back, and when I learned they were releasing a new record steeped in that '60s/'70s California vibe, not only did I have to hear it - I had to review it (see below for the review). Back then, it was truly precious to have one's thoughts immortalized in writing. Not that it isn't precious now, but social media had not yet become the dominating force that it is today; print magazines were still devoted to music. I remember my time spent as Copy Editor of the now-defunct Noise and the careful editing that had to go into every story and review. I think back to my stint as Associate Editor of Rockabilly Deluxe and the challenges of finding just the right content for the magazine's pages.
Facebook went on to tell me that, three years to the day of my Beachwood Sparks review, I began self-publishing my own poetry. I have another late friend to thank for all that pushing me to publish. This person was the first story of my journalism career. Back then, with so much hesitation, I began a blog similar to this one and filled it with fledgling writings and photographs I had taken. Then I began making prints of my photographs available for sale. Eventually, I self-published my first poetry collection and called it Leave Everything. Funnily enough, my friend did not want to self-publish - save for his social media writings - every one of which was met with rave reviews. When he'd finally warmed to the idea, it was too late. I suppose he's just another "ghost" around me. I wonder if my ghosts can read me from Heaven and, if so, do they like what they read?
Over time, I became a confessional poet of relationships - primarily writing on connection and truth - truth of what we feel, truth of who we love, and the truth of what we believe in. Last month, I was contacted by SpillWords - one of my favorite literary magazines and a huge supporter of my writing - for their Spotlight series. Follow the image below to read my words and, if they move you, I would truly love your vote for Publication of the Month. Voting ends on 6/29. https://spillwords.com/vote/
Until then - with hope and some wishes to reminisce,
The Red Queen
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