this week flew by. it didn't help that i came down with another migraine mid-week. stress-related. how do i know? a sty is growing in my left eye at the moment. a sure sign of stress. i'm listening to cats fighting in the backyard hissing and screeching at each other. every one seems to be stressed out lately. i want to take cover. hide. stick my head in sand. disappear. yet here i am writing this missive tonight so i must be lying. we are all liars. trying to fit. square peg/round hole. trying to smooth our edges. hide our anger. trying to play nice. i'm tired tonight. fireworks are going off somewhere in the neighborhood. it poured earlier. like a lot. thunder storm rain. tornado warnings for nyc until 10 pm. if i could put my head down on my table i'm sure i'd fall asleep. i am restless. creative hunger lingers. i burned my back and it's only now starting to itch. the smell of smoke wafts thru my open window. i got a couple of poems published in Downtown Brooklyn, Issue #25. the weekend is upon us. my apt is clean and my mug empty of tea. now to actually sit down and write...
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2016 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Showing posts with label published work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label published work. Show all posts
Friday, July 1, 2016
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Burying the Lead
It's amazing how quickly the days go by during the holiday season. We are almost at the end of November. Here are some tidbits on what's gone on + Upcoming Event at Nuyorican Poets Cafe:
Me and my mother cooked a feast for Thanksgiving. We roasted a turkey that was so tender that the meat slid off the bone. Hoorah! And to think most everyone who sat at the table swore up and down that they didn't like turkey...we made believers out of them. An 11.3 lb turkey was stripped down to bones in record time. hehehe. No leftovers from that bird. It was fun to watch. Lots of spirited talk and laughter. I'm usually such a grump during the holidays and this year I really enjoyed being around my family. Not being in pain really helped matters.
My 6 year old and 9 year old niece stayed the night and slept in my bed which meant I slept very little / not at all that night. At what point do two skinny minis turn into elbows / knees / kicking monsters. Anyway, I spent most of Friday in a bit of a zombie state from lack of sleep.
Once they left I curled up into a ball on my bed and watched a long French film called Violette. A film about the writer Violette LeDuc who Simone de Beauvoir took under her wing and encouraged to write. What an amazing film. I love films that depict writers. And of course this woman LeDuc raged and howled at the difficulties in her life but she continued to write.
After watching this film, I woke up, ran some much needed errands, came back home, procrastinated a bit and then went to work on the writing. Spent some time writing up the monologue that I'm presenting at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe this coming Wednesday, Dec 3rd. It's in conjunction with the book launch by Applause books. I have a rough, first draft-two pages. It's resting now. I have to practice the thick Spanish accent and I have to write the intro to put the piece in context. Okay, I know I've been crap about promoting upcoming events in a timely manner. For some reason I was having an especially hard time making up my mind about showing up to this event...one night last week being unable to sleep, I finally made up my mind to just do it. I don't know what the hemming and hawing was all about but I'll be there with bells on.
Next I have to finish up Clara Betta. Just took a dinner break and decided to write this much needed blog entry before I go back to Clara.
Tomorrow I will give the monologue a once over--make edits/changes/deletions as necessary then ...practice, practice, practice the dialect until I have it down. Make changes as they come to me. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.
Who wants a drink?! I do, I do. That'll have to wait 'til the work is done. * sigh *
Peace,
L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Me and my mother cooked a feast for Thanksgiving. We roasted a turkey that was so tender that the meat slid off the bone. Hoorah! And to think most everyone who sat at the table swore up and down that they didn't like turkey...we made believers out of them. An 11.3 lb turkey was stripped down to bones in record time. hehehe. No leftovers from that bird. It was fun to watch. Lots of spirited talk and laughter. I'm usually such a grump during the holidays and this year I really enjoyed being around my family. Not being in pain really helped matters.
My 6 year old and 9 year old niece stayed the night and slept in my bed which meant I slept very little / not at all that night. At what point do two skinny minis turn into elbows / knees / kicking monsters. Anyway, I spent most of Friday in a bit of a zombie state from lack of sleep.
Once they left I curled up into a ball on my bed and watched a long French film called Violette. A film about the writer Violette LeDuc who Simone de Beauvoir took under her wing and encouraged to write. What an amazing film. I love films that depict writers. And of course this woman LeDuc raged and howled at the difficulties in her life but she continued to write.
After watching this film, I woke up, ran some much needed errands, came back home, procrastinated a bit and then went to work on the writing. Spent some time writing up the monologue that I'm presenting at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe this coming Wednesday, Dec 3rd. It's in conjunction with the book launch by Applause books. I have a rough, first draft-two pages. It's resting now. I have to practice the thick Spanish accent and I have to write the intro to put the piece in context. Okay, I know I've been crap about promoting upcoming events in a timely manner. For some reason I was having an especially hard time making up my mind about showing up to this event...one night last week being unable to sleep, I finally made up my mind to just do it. I don't know what the hemming and hawing was all about but I'll be there with bells on.
Next I have to finish up Clara Betta. Just took a dinner break and decided to write this much needed blog entry before I go back to Clara.
Tomorrow I will give the monologue a once over--make edits/changes/deletions as necessary then ...practice, practice, practice the dialect until I have it down. Make changes as they come to me. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it.
Who wants a drink?! I do, I do. That'll have to wait 'til the work is done. * sigh *
Peace,
L~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2014 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Falling Off the Grid
I admit, I fell off the grid for awhile. Been traveling a bit. Was also looking for a new gig since I have a stack of bills staring me down. Landed a temp gig down on Wall Street through my agency. The job is perfect. It's easy admin work and at the end of the day I can walk out of the building and not give the "work" another thought. Today I finished out my first full week so a full paycheck by next Friday will come in handy. I was told the gig is good until the end of August. I have the next three months to find something a bit more permanent but in this economy a steady paycheck is enough for now.
Where to start?
Moving: In 16 days, I move from my current apartment in the Bronx back to Brooklyn. Being out of work for two months left me needing to re-evaluate matters. I used up my piddly savings to pay for living expenses. So I'm moving back in with the folks temporarily while I get this whole job/money deal sorted out. Which is really kind of odd since they plan on selling their house in the next year or so. Guess I'll figure that out when it's time. Anyway, in the meantime I've been packing. I've got a stack of boxes, comprised mostly of books, against the dining room wall. It's strange to not have access to them. I know it will only be for a short time but I already miss the ability to grab a book at random just to read a passage. I've whittled down my library every time I've moved and I'm down to about 10 medium boxes. It's the object that I still spend money on acquiring. I keep sorting and re-sorting through papers and old journals and I keep wanting to chuck them but then my attachment to them stops me from doing it. Guess they go with me.
This whole transition time has me thinking about moving away from NYC to somewhere more remote. The problem with remote is lack of access to public transportation, 'cause altho' I have a driver's license, I really suck at the whole driving thing. The idea of having to take care of a car and insurance payments and gasoline and whatever else it might need just does not appeal to me at all. So I guess I'm choosing to stay in a more urban setting. At times, I wouldn't mind living a simpler existence. Have less stuff but I'm not sure I could live out of a backpack tho'. There are limits to my running away fantasies. I'm not much of a camper.
Movie: Wednesday night I went to see the movie: The East. It's another Brit Marling film altho' it was co-written with the director, Zal Batmanglij. I've been waiting for this one for awhile now. It's a decent flick but some of the storyline was problematic for me. Sometimes, the dialogue got caught up in it's own sanctimonious bullshit. I caught myself rolling my eyes a few times. HOWEVER, what's underlying the actual story is this call-to-action social activism that I really dig. I think Marling is still genius and I look forward to her next projects!!
Reading: While on vacation last week, I picked up the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It's a young adult science fiction novel. It's part of a trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium & Requiem. "In Delirium, the government requires that all teenagers be cured of love, a.k.a. deliria, to keep society safe. But 95 days before her treatment, Lena Haloway falls in love--and must face the truth about her own feelings and the world in which she lives." The writing at times has a lyrical quality that really made me savor the story. Oliver really captured that angst that comes with budding love. I picked up her second book when I got back to the city and then downloaded the last novel onto my Nook. I have to say the first novel was the best one for me because of the depth of emotion I felt while reading it. The second one was compelling but the writing was uneven for me. I finished the third novel today and hmmm....some of the story was satisfying and some of it was not.
Writing: I haven't been writing at all. I've been trying to start a couple of new short stories but they won't come out. Unfortunately, Indigo is still my obsession but I haven't been working on it either. Which reminds me, I want to change the title...the title is starting to bug me. I can't stop thinking about the story itself and my characters. I just have to sit and write but I've been too active, too up-rooted, too social and doing everything else other than facing a revision of this novel. I've been drinking with friends and going to movies instead. Ergh. Despite the fact the novel still calls to me. I feel it constantly in the back of my brain, working, working out some of the problems. But I need to take pen to paper or sit in front of my laptop and just start pounding on the keys. I just need to get past my laziness and just take it one chapter at a time. I can just feel that it's going to be a HUGE undertaking and I'm just not ready.
Play: I went to see the play Relatively Speaking and I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. I was up in the balcony section but I actually think the actors heard my hysterics. I really love comedies based on misunderstandings and in this piece they were able to sustain the misunderstandings almost all the way through. I want to know the craft behind that piece...perhaps I will break it down one day and figure out how it works.
Publication: I was notified a couple of weeks ago that Applause Books is going to take a monologue from Glass Knives and publish it in Best American Monologues. How cool is that?!! When I find out publication date, I'll let folks know.
All righty, I think that's all I have for the moment. I've been sitting here for an hour trying to fill in all the blank spaces on this page.
Peace,
L~
P.S. Please forgive all typos and grammar problems. I've realized lately that when I am writing off-the-cuff...the words are coming out before my thoughts have even formed. It happens.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Where to start?
Moving: In 16 days, I move from my current apartment in the Bronx back to Brooklyn. Being out of work for two months left me needing to re-evaluate matters. I used up my piddly savings to pay for living expenses. So I'm moving back in with the folks temporarily while I get this whole job/money deal sorted out. Which is really kind of odd since they plan on selling their house in the next year or so. Guess I'll figure that out when it's time. Anyway, in the meantime I've been packing. I've got a stack of boxes, comprised mostly of books, against the dining room wall. It's strange to not have access to them. I know it will only be for a short time but I already miss the ability to grab a book at random just to read a passage. I've whittled down my library every time I've moved and I'm down to about 10 medium boxes. It's the object that I still spend money on acquiring. I keep sorting and re-sorting through papers and old journals and I keep wanting to chuck them but then my attachment to them stops me from doing it. Guess they go with me.
This whole transition time has me thinking about moving away from NYC to somewhere more remote. The problem with remote is lack of access to public transportation, 'cause altho' I have a driver's license, I really suck at the whole driving thing. The idea of having to take care of a car and insurance payments and gasoline and whatever else it might need just does not appeal to me at all. So I guess I'm choosing to stay in a more urban setting. At times, I wouldn't mind living a simpler existence. Have less stuff but I'm not sure I could live out of a backpack tho'. There are limits to my running away fantasies. I'm not much of a camper.
Movie: Wednesday night I went to see the movie: The East. It's another Brit Marling film altho' it was co-written with the director, Zal Batmanglij. I've been waiting for this one for awhile now. It's a decent flick but some of the storyline was problematic for me. Sometimes, the dialogue got caught up in it's own sanctimonious bullshit. I caught myself rolling my eyes a few times. HOWEVER, what's underlying the actual story is this call-to-action social activism that I really dig. I think Marling is still genius and I look forward to her next projects!!
Reading: While on vacation last week, I picked up the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It's a young adult science fiction novel. It's part of a trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium & Requiem. "In Delirium, the government requires that all teenagers be cured of love, a.k.a. deliria, to keep society safe. But 95 days before her treatment, Lena Haloway falls in love--and must face the truth about her own feelings and the world in which she lives." The writing at times has a lyrical quality that really made me savor the story. Oliver really captured that angst that comes with budding love. I picked up her second book when I got back to the city and then downloaded the last novel onto my Nook. I have to say the first novel was the best one for me because of the depth of emotion I felt while reading it. The second one was compelling but the writing was uneven for me. I finished the third novel today and hmmm....some of the story was satisfying and some of it was not.
Writing: I haven't been writing at all. I've been trying to start a couple of new short stories but they won't come out. Unfortunately, Indigo is still my obsession but I haven't been working on it either. Which reminds me, I want to change the title...the title is starting to bug me. I can't stop thinking about the story itself and my characters. I just have to sit and write but I've been too active, too up-rooted, too social and doing everything else other than facing a revision of this novel. I've been drinking with friends and going to movies instead. Ergh. Despite the fact the novel still calls to me. I feel it constantly in the back of my brain, working, working out some of the problems. But I need to take pen to paper or sit in front of my laptop and just start pounding on the keys. I just need to get past my laziness and just take it one chapter at a time. I can just feel that it's going to be a HUGE undertaking and I'm just not ready.
Play: I went to see the play Relatively Speaking and I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. I was up in the balcony section but I actually think the actors heard my hysterics. I really love comedies based on misunderstandings and in this piece they were able to sustain the misunderstandings almost all the way through. I want to know the craft behind that piece...perhaps I will break it down one day and figure out how it works.
Publication: I was notified a couple of weeks ago that Applause Books is going to take a monologue from Glass Knives and publish it in Best American Monologues. How cool is that?!! When I find out publication date, I'll let folks know.
All righty, I think that's all I have for the moment. I've been sitting here for an hour trying to fill in all the blank spaces on this page.
Peace,
L~
P.S. Please forgive all typos and grammar problems. I've realized lately that when I am writing off-the-cuff...the words are coming out before my thoughts have even formed. It happens.
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Friday, December 2, 2011
A Tasty Morsel
You can now download a digital copy of my book of poetry onto your Nook via Barnes and Noble:
A Scorched Page
It didn’t include page count but it’s roughly 65 pages long.
Pass the word along.
Peace,
Lily~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Bit of News to Share
 |
| Brooklyn Paramount #1 March 2011 |
 |
By the Overpass #1 Spring 2011 |
Two amazing literary magazines came out this Spring.
I'm excited to announce that I have work in both of them.
Brooklyn Paramount holds two poems:
1. my problem not yours
2. Increments
This lit. magazine has work by Stephanie Gray, Uche Nduka, Jamey Jones, Ann Waldman, Lewis Warsh, Christine Francavilla, Tamara Lebron and John Casquarelli just to name a few. I just received my copy so I can't wait to read everyone's work.
By The Overpass holds Carping On, a color print of a larger acrylic painting. It looks amazing!! I'm really pleased by the way it looks in the context of this literary magazine.
Peace,
Lily~
All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.
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