Fortunately, Unfortunately

This weekend, I am thrilled to be participating in the St Augustine PoetFest.  Tomorrow, Saturday morning, April 13 at 11:00, I will be on a panel discussing “From Bookstaplers to Substack—Publishing 101.  Independent editors and creatives examine the role of self in ‘self-publishing.’”

I feel so fortunate to have been asked by the organizer, Chris Bodor, Beat Poet Laureate, to be on this panel.  The festival is going on right now (April 11-13, 2024).  It started last night, April 11, with what was on all accounts an excellent open mic.  It continues all day today on Flagler Campus, with various offerings of a poetic nature.  Tomorrow, Saturday, will be the last day of the event.  So, whatever you do, make sure to pull out all the stops, and get there and enjoy some poetry! 

These past couple of weeks have been a game of “Fortunately, Unfortunately,” for me.  I wasn’t actually familiar with this game as a child.  Truth or Dare was more frequently played in my circles.  I first saw it on TV, but I always thought it was an accurate description of Life, in general.

The first player says “Fortunately, this happened to me. “  He then follows with “Unfortunately, this happened as a result of, or to foil the joy of the first incident.” The play continues and the players try to outdo each other, with worse and worse scenarios stemming from their successes.

 It’s a fun device to use when creating plots.  It helps ensure that every success is countered by a new challenge. 

This month, fortunately, the weather is beautiful.  That means, unfortunately, that the pool is still too cold to swim in.  You get the picture.

Well, fortunately, I was asked to be on this panel for PoetFest, months ago.  It is a stroke of good fortune and I feel most flattered, to be asked.  It is rare to have an opportunity to speak at an event, where people care about the same type of things that you do.  I was delighted, that Chris Bodor thought enough of my efforts on this website to include my voice on the panel.

I had originally planned to make a weekend of PoetFest, just like I did recently with the Amelia Island Book Festival.  I thought I’d spend the weekend in St Augustine, stay in a hotel, take in all the sights, go to the Lightner Museum, and stroll up and down St George Street, free from the cares and worries of home, sampling the local fare, and listening to all the amazing voices, that Bodor has assembled in one beautiful place. 

Unfortunately, I also have house guests this weekend.  So, staying anywhere other than my own house might be perceived as rude. 

I lived in St Augustine briefly, when my eldest was small.  It holds a lot of nostalgia for me.  My father owned property nearby, until he was forced from it, when his insurance was arbitrarily cancelled.  My mother, who was a poet. would have loved to have gone to PoetFest with me, had I been aware of this event before her lovely voice was stilled, years ago.

Perhaps I should phrase the equation more delicately, in “people first” language:

Fortunately, I have house guests coming this weekend!  I am so excited to see my sister again, after about a year apart, however brief her stay may be, and I’m thrilled that so far, the weather is cooperating.  Her Mid-Atlantic blood will not be deterred by a chilly pool, in the same way that my stodgy and sluggish Southern blood would.  The fact that they are driving all that way, just to see us and partake in the mild Jacksonville spring, is flattering in its own way. 

Unfortunately, PoetFest is the same weekend!

Instead of spending time listening to everyone this Friday (today), or joining them at the open mic Thursday (last night) I am busy ensuring that my house is suitable for guests.  Not to worry, I am allowing myself, one day—Saturday—while my guests are busy driving my way—to indulge my most poetic passions.  (Note the Emily Dickinson dashes!)  I hope this will be enough to sate my thirst for poetry, for now. 

But that is no reason that you should not indulge in the entire weekend of revelry, if you are able!

This week has been full of other fortunes and misfortunes.  The coverage of the eclipse was mesmerizing to watch on TV. Unfortunately, we were not in the eclipse’s path, so the best shots I saw from here  showed a ring around a bright sun, rather than the sun’s diamond ring, set in the darkened daytime sky.  Fortunately, the enthusiasm of everyone, including my science-whiz son, who told me to look at the shadows outside to see if I saw crescents, was a refreshing change of pace, when, unfortunately, so much in the news is doom and gloom. 

Taxes were due this week, unfortunately, but fortunately, they are done now, and I can get on with my life.  Like many women who stay at home, I am tasked with a lot of administrative functions, taxes being the least savory of these.  But I consider myself very fortunate, to be allowed to stay at home, making possible, at least at some future point in time, a full-time writing career. Unfortunately, administrative and housekeeping duties are just the flipside of that sparkling coin.

Another thing that fortunately happened recently, was that I gave a talk about Author Websites to the local Jacksonville WordPress group.  Unfortunately, this came with some trepidation.  Talk about feeling outgunned.  In the poetry world, at least I have a body of work, such as it is, to hang my hat on.  In the WordPress world, I am an adventurer of sorts, trying new things and seeing how they work for me. 

And here I was, talking to the professionals, those who create websites!  It just goes to show, that everyone, even the person who thinks they have nothing to say, has a tidbit of knowledge that others lack.  The event came and went, and I received nothing but positive feedback, which either speaks to the quality of the presentation, or to the politeness and patience of the audience.

I feel fortunate to have done this WordPress talk before taking part in the panel this Saturday on “Bookstaplers to Substack.” There may be some overlap between the two topics.  I had a chance to organize my thoughts about this nearly ten-year experience, of hosting a blog online which included much of my creative work.  Having the previous talk go well was encouraging, since the best indicator of whether you will do something well is whether you have done it before.  A small-scale event prepares you, at least in part, for a larger-scaled one. 

For me, Sunday April 14 is no less of a wrestle with my conscience. The Riverside Tour of Homes is happening, it is our only chance to visit the garden my daughter works at, and there is a poetry reading at a bookstore Happy Medium Books mere blocks from my home with some of my favorite local poets! I hope I will be excused, if I am counted among the missing at any of these!

I have gone to many writing events this past year, more than ever in my life before.   These events have ingrained in me a certain affection for writers as a species, from poets to novelists.  There is a certain shared understanding among them, that what we seek to do is hard.  And also, worthwhile. 

While the world may, unfortunately, not always agree, in small, shared, sheltered spaces like PoetFest, we can jointly celebrate our work and champion our right and sacred duty to do it.  And bask, in our very good fortune.

Do get out to PoetFest today and tomorrow if you can! I’ll look for you on Saturday!

For a flash fiction piece and a ballad on Good Fortune read Good Fortune I and Good Fortune II.