So Rough A Messenger

 

Here is my second chapbook of poetry, published by Finishing Line Press. It is also out of print, and yes, I would like to get this reprinted and available for interested readers to purchase. 

Long Island Girl

 

Here it is. My first chapbook of poetry that was published while I was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. Malafemmina Press published it in a series of chapbooks by Italian American women poets. It is out of print. I would very much like to reprint it. 

My Memoir Is No Longer A Memoir

I have a new website, www.carmelalanzawriter.com, and I feel good about how professional it looks. And it is easy for me to make changes and updates on it. Instead of working on my poems that need revising, I am spending time on my website. Not sure if that is a good thing? I have an option to start a newsletter on my website and am still trying to figure out how to use it. 

I am slowly understanding that my memoir should not categorized as a memoir. It does not fit the mainstream idea of a memoir book. I see my life story as the skeleton of the book, but it is a mix of genres (poetry and personal narrative), and it is not linear at all. It also does not focus on a specific time in my life or a specific problem that I survived. I took an adult learning class on "writing a memoir" and as the instructor discussed the various types of memoirs, I realized mine did not fit in at all.  I also realized that I was writing without even considering who my audience would be. 

I have been adding poems to the manuscript and it seems my ancestors have been taking over. The Atlantic Ocean is also there as a force, a presence, and a connection to my ancestral line.