tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post4469669831756494433..comments2024-03-28T19:36:39.783-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Poetry, Murder and True Crime: a guest blog by Anne Carroll Fowler Jungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59797564427832360062015-04-18T08:00:00.121-04:002015-04-18T08:00:00.121-04:00To all of you who talk about my courage, I think I...To all of you who talk about my courage, I think I discovered a new dimension of that after Granny died. I wanted a George Herbert (17th C poet and Anglican priest) to be read at the funeral, as I was working on a doctoral thesis about Herbert and he is who really drew me towards ordination. I volunteered to read the poem at the funeral, and that was my way of saying that our family would not be vanquished by this event. But then, exploring the lives of the perps, and trying to imagine what was like for Granny to die, took me to new depths, or heights, of courage. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-4166576572175683872015-04-18T07:55:32.356-04:002015-04-18T07:55:32.356-04:00Barb, I sent my cover artist a note about the read...Barb, I sent my cover artist a note about the reading and the genre bending award, and he wrote back about the "gender bending " award. I told him I think my gender bending days are over. But I did try to get inside the minds and souls of both my grandmother and the perps, and that certainly involved some bending and twisting. Thanks, AnneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-79347877220112128322015-04-18T07:53:34.329-04:002015-04-18T07:53:34.329-04:00Denise Ann, you can get it from Antrim House, or, ...Denise Ann, you can get it from Antrim House, or, pretty soon, from Amazon. But Antrim, the publisher, and I both come out better if you order from them. Thanks so much, AnneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44076700463016581462015-04-17T21:16:48.670-04:002015-04-17T21:16:48.670-04:00Where can I buy this book?Where can I buy this book?Denise Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790883493798517829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-17965914063323525912015-04-17T17:26:16.731-04:002015-04-17T17:26:16.731-04:00Barb, that's how I felt when I read THE CASE O...Barb, that's how I felt when I read THE CASE OF THE RESTLESS REDHEAD. Anne is a talented poet,but even moreso the way this work smashes the barriers between genres.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553268569509053159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67911086555586798222015-04-17T16:32:37.647-04:002015-04-17T16:32:37.647-04:00Anne--I, too, heard you read in Portland on Friday...Anne--I, too, heard you read in Portland on Friday night. Both my husband and I were blown away by the poems you read and cannot wait for the whole book.<br /><br />Talk about genre-bending--poetry, true crime, biography, memoir. It is amazing what you've done in letting the barriers fall away.Barb Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16470220932617188498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58277559982436384192015-04-17T15:33:32.879-04:002015-04-17T15:33:32.879-04:00Thanks, Hallie. Yes, I think of poetry, mostly, as...Thanks, Hallie. Yes, I think of poetry, mostly, as pain management. And this project took me to far deeper levels of empathy and imagination than any previous work.I think it transformed me, as well as the story. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-78028648529903048112015-04-17T15:31:43.949-04:002015-04-17T15:31:43.949-04:00Hank,thank you so much. I think I inherited a good...Hank,thank you so much. I think I inherited a good deal of my courage from my grandmother. I did feel that I internalized some of her qualities more fully after she died: a form of eternal life, I believe. Courage, generosity, and a deep interest in people were some of her virtues.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-5569461804888521342015-04-17T15:29:23.755-04:002015-04-17T15:29:23.755-04:00Thanks, Wendy, and thanks for all your help in get...Thanks, Wendy, and thanks for all your help in getting this book to come into being. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-129565457050808442015-04-17T15:28:36.124-04:002015-04-17T15:28:36.124-04:00Kristopher, I am very much hoping that people who ...Kristopher, I am very much hoping that people who don't generally read poetry will find and appreciate this book. It's narrative, and for the most part accessible to general readers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-1221106403737475122015-04-17T15:27:25.240-04:002015-04-17T15:27:25.240-04:00Brenda, I'm so glad you were moved by the poem...Brenda, I'm so glad you were moved by the poems. I loved Two Minutes in the Slammer, and I am certainly going to try to arrange a fuller reading at the Library and perhaps the Historical Society, and I do hope we will meet,Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83462085241578336172015-04-17T15:25:36.765-04:002015-04-17T15:25:36.765-04:00I am so grateful for all these empathetic comments...I am so grateful for all these empathetic comments. I will reply individually once I can figure out how to do that! Thank you, AnneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48168224744368440092015-04-17T15:21:38.104-04:002015-04-17T15:21:38.104-04:00Edith, although I went to the trial, reliving it a...Edith, although I went to the trial, reliving it all through police reports and witness statements, and by researching her younger life,<br />I went much deeper. A transformative experienceAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-71786878409820817062015-04-17T15:18:44.488-04:002015-04-17T15:18:44.488-04:00My grandmother was indeed an inspiration in life a...My grandmother was indeed an inspiration in life and in death. I hope her story will move youAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9336944390546172112015-04-17T15:17:57.250-04:002015-04-17T15:17:57.250-04:00My grandmother was indeed a beautiful and strong w...My grandmother was indeed a beautiful and strong woman – an inspiration in life and in death.<br /><br />I hope you will be moved by the story.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09723647300448577605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-31140994688744354222015-04-17T15:06:53.210-04:002015-04-17T15:06:53.210-04:00My grandmother was indeed special, strong, beautif...My grandmother was indeed special, strong, beautiful, and an inspiration to me in life and in death. The book feels like a burden lifted, and a tribute to her. I hope you will be moved by the story. Thank youAnnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-89365778533345145692015-04-17T13:51:09.669-04:002015-04-17T13:51:09.669-04:00I love narrative poetry books, and they are not pl...I love narrative poetry books, and they are not plentiful, so this is exciting. I am so sorry about how you lost your grandmother, but I am looking forward to reading how you transformed something horrific into something beautiful.Denise Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790883493798517829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51507505215402955192015-04-17T12:54:04.784-04:002015-04-17T12:54:04.784-04:00Anne, what a difficult but important job you had t...Anne, what a difficult but important job you had to put into words this tragedy that befell your family. I can't begin to imagine the horror and pain you had to relive. It does indeed seem as if the timing was right for it. I'm a big fan of stories, both true and fictional, told through verse, so I am certain that I will be reading this one. I feel so bad for you, losing your precious grandmother that way, but you have honored her well with this book. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-68046059126896681552015-04-17T10:28:22.058-04:002015-04-17T10:28:22.058-04:00Good poetry pares down experience, emotion to a di...Good poetry pares down experience, emotion to a distilled essence that is incredibly hard to achieve, but when done well, it has the power to reach us in ways that other forms of literature cannot hope to emulate. I applaud your courage in tackling this immensely personal and painful subject and your ability to live with it and shape it over the course of those seven years.<br /><br />And then, of course, to stand in the public eye and read it. I salute you, Anne! Bravo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34747846929260951452015-04-17T10:10:54.362-04:002015-04-17T10:10:54.362-04:00Wow. This is an amazing post, Anne. It's what ...Wow. This is an amazing post, Anne. It's what we writers do at our very best, take pain and turn it into poetry.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-32420820312990267462015-04-17T09:15:40.418-04:002015-04-17T09:15:40.418-04:00Beautiful, and touching. And yesterday, Susan Ceru...Beautiful, and touching. And yesterday, Susan Cerulean talked about her journeys, too, and ours. I so agree in the collective unconsciousness, and listening to what the universe is telling us. <br />It is inspirational that you are such a brilliant listener, and that you are so brave.<br />Thank you, so much, for this.Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37918143427557450032015-04-17T09:04:03.692-04:002015-04-17T09:04:03.692-04:00Wonderful discussion of the hard work that went in...Wonderful discussion of the hard work that went into exploring, shaping and creating this book. I hope it reaches far and wide!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769062392685136522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-19878161410897801132015-04-17T08:41:18.144-04:002015-04-17T08:41:18.144-04:00Anne, I am so sorry for your loss, even all these ...Anne, I am so sorry for your loss, even all these years later. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to return to those memories and documents to research this book. <br /><br />But with that one poem as an example, it seems to have been destined. <br /><br />I very much look forward to reading the entire work. Poetry is something that most of us stop reading after school (at least those of us who were English majors had to read poetry in school). I do occasionally pick up a book of poetry to revisit the practice of reading poems. <br /><br />Just a few years ago there was a beautiful book of poems about the senseless murder of Matthew Shepard, called October Mourning (by Leslea Newman) in which each poem took on a different point of view - including one from the perspective of the fence to which Matt was tied.<br /><br />That book ended up being on my blog's Top Reads of that year list. I also love the poems of Sophie Hannah (a crime fiction author as well).Kristopherhttp://www.bolobooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-30682988897565623842015-04-17T08:36:31.109-04:002015-04-17T08:36:31.109-04:00Anne, I was moved by your reading from this book l...Anne, I was moved by your reading from this book last Friday evening at the Crime Wave conference opening event at the Portland Public Library. I've been talking about it ever since, and I only heard the two minute excerpt you read so beautifully. <br /><br />I admire you for taking on such a challenging project, and spending seven years transforming it into the book it is today. I will not only buy and read it, I will hope to cross paths with you soon so you can sign my copy. <br />Brenda Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161539130987122737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63879244680922960792015-04-17T05:57:12.031-04:002015-04-17T05:57:12.031-04:00Anne, that poem gave me shivers. Your leading to w...Anne, that poem gave me shivers. Your leading to write this book was obviously a true one. I hope it wasn't too painful for you to learn all the details of her death, and I look forward to reading the book.Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.com