Turkey Photo Album

Finally (finally!) got all my photos from last summer organized, edited, and uploaded. And it only took me six months, ha ha. This latest album is for my trip into Turkey for the second time, in the summer of 2014 (I also went in 2013). Turkey is just amazing, and I had a blast, as usual! Included here are photos from Izmir, Sirince, Ephesus, Cappadocia, a hot air balloon cruise, and Antalya.

Link to the public Flickr album, here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentivey/sets/72157650068942269/

  

Fire her up! Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia, Turkey. July, 2014.

Video Poems

Just found this great site, Moving Poems: The best poetry videos on the web. Check 'em out--there are pages and pages of work by a variety of poets. Here's one below, by Rachel Eliza Griffiths, from the 2011 Mule & Pear (I actually got this from You Tube, as I can't figure out how to post individual vids from Moving Poems):

Awesome, huh? I've got to get back in there and watch more, once my internet connection speeds up (major issues, of late!). Cheers, Lauren

Orphanage Volunteer Program Article

The article on my junior class Orphanage Volunteer Program is now up on the school's website, with student writings about the experience. Also included is information about our December 2014 Orphanage Clothing Drive. We've gotten a LOT of donations, so far, and expect to deliver all the items at the beginning of the new year. I'm so proud of the students, not only for their compassion, but their efforts to make a difference! Here's the link to the article:

Orphanage Volunteer Program at Nanjing Senior High School:

http://www.njschool.cn/Item/5153.aspx

Morocco Photo Album

Finally getting around to organizing and editing the rest of my travel photos from 2014. I'm trying to finish them all by the end of the year this time. Included in the Morocco album: Essaouira; Marrakech; Fez; Chefchaouen; Tangier; a side trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tarifa, Spain; and Casablanca. Also, some photos of the Beat Generation/literary hot spots I hit up in Tangier. And yes, I went on a camel trek. It was just amazing! Here's the link to the photo album: 

Morocoo Flickr Album:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentivey/sets/72157647651082563/

Now, on to finish up all the Turkey photos. Wish me luck!

Japan Photo Gallery

Finally, I've got my photos from the trip to Japan last August edited and organized. Included in the album: Tokyo (Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, Shibuya Crossong, Love Hotel Hill, Shinjuku, Kamata, Odaiba); Kyoto (Fushimi Inari, Pontocho, Kinkaku-ji, Philosopher's Path, Arashiyama, Sagano Bamboo Forest); and Nara (the bowing deer of Nara and surrounding area). This album's huge--I can't believe I took so many photos! But I fell in love with Japan, which is just amazing and magical in so many ways, Now, on to the Morocco and Turkey albums. You can link to the photo gallery, here: Japan Flickr Album.

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Books Wish List

Just throwing it out to the universe--it wouldn't suck if the following books somehow fell into my lap:

If ever a book was written just for me, this is it: Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America's First Bohemians, by Justin Martin. Great review, here:

http://artery.wbur.org/2014/09/04/bohemians-justin-martin

STFU & take my money!  Ireland's Pirate Queen: The True Story of Grace

O'Malley, by Anne Chambers.

Yes, please. Rimbaud: A Biography, by Graham Robb.

I adore Phyllis Barber. She's on the faculty at my alma mater, Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I was lucky to spend some time with her in a writing residency in Slovenia back in 2007. She's the only other person I know who's also been to Tibet (I was there in 2010). Anyway, I want to read her latest, To the Mountain: One Mormon Woman's Search for Spirit.  According to her website, this is "the story of the author's twenty-year hiatus from Mormonism and her visits with shamans in Peru and Ecuador; Tibetan Buddhist monks in North India and Tibet; a variety of Baptist congregations in Arkansas, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina; megachurches; charismatic Christian congregations, travels with godddess worshipers in the Yucatan, and much more. The book's purpose is to demonstrate how we can not only tolerate a variety of ideas in the spiritual realm, but can learn from their wisdom." Right up my alley! You can also watch the official book trailer.

This looks interesting, too: Strange Big Moon: The Japan and India Journals: 1960 - 1964, by Joanne Kyger. According to the Goodreads synopsis: "Hungry to explore Zen and make the discoveries that would shape a lifetime of poetry, Joanne Kyger left for Japan in her twenties and returned four years later ready to carve out a substantial niche in San Francisco's Beat poetry movement. Whether she is studying under Zen teacher Ruth Fuller Sakaki or meeting with the Dalai Lama (who at 27 'lounged on a velvet couch like a gawky adolescent in red robes'), her journals are witty, amusing, and intelligent, in this fascinating look at the art of poetry and portrait of the counterculture abroad." Another, right up my alley.

Finally, a couple of shout-outs to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, and Grendel, by John Gardner, two books I've been trying to read for years. I'm visiting the Foreign Language Bookstore in Shanghai later this week, so let's hope I can find even ONE of the above. If not, I'll see if I can order them online and have them shipped. Anyway, that's what's on my TBR (to-be-read) List at the moment. Cheers, Lauren

Postcard Poem Project

Now, here's a lovely idea, the Postcard Poem Project. I just joined the other day, wrote my two poems, and will mail them from China this week--one to the U.S. and one to Canada. Hopefully, they'll make it to their destinations (the Chinese postal service has a habit of losing things), and I'll receive two poems in return. How wonderful it'll be to get a handwritten poem in the mail, from someone on the other side of the globe! It'd be cool to connect, so if you're one of the people to receive a poem from me, or one of the senders, and want to stay in touch, look me up--either here or on Facebook--I'm always interested in meeting other poets and writers.

If you'd like to join the project, you can find the event page on Facebook, here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1398401707051407/

Here's the deal, according to the event page:

Every few years, we poets who love sending and receiving snail mail engage in an enormous pen pal event called the Postcard Poem Project. Last time, in 2012, we swapped poetry and postcards between over 250 poets from 16 countries on four continents. This time, we're hoping for all seven continents. Here's how it works:

Poets who wish to participate have until Friday, September 19th, 2014 to email their address to the website. On that weekend, they will receive two randomly-picked mailing addresses; they could be from the other side of the world, or just down the street. Poets will buy (or make) two postcards, write a short poem on the back of each (preferably about the pictures on the front of each postcard), and send them to their mailing addresses before the end of September. Easy, right? Come October or November, you will hopefully receive two poems in your mailbox from two complete strangers... poems written just for you!

You probably have questions. We have answers. But first: Are you in, or out? If you're in, here's what you have to do:

Send an email to postcardpoemproject@gmail.com that includes your full mailing address, the way you would write it on a postcard yourself. It should look something like this:

Your Name

Your Street Address

The Rest Of Your Address

Your Country

(People often leave out either their name or their country. Please don't leave out your name or your country. Also, WE DID NOT KEEP ADDRESSES FROM THE LAST ROUND, so please send your address in even if you have before!) 

You will receive a reply email with all the details and an FAQ section. In the meantime, help make this project grander by passing this event on to any poets you know! Spread the word, and help spread good words in the mailboxes of the world!

Poem in The Coachella Review

My poem, "Outsiders", appears in the Summer, 2014 issue of The Coachella Review (link below). I feel lucky to be included with some great writers--be sure to also check out Diane Lefer's fiction piece, "Our Lady of the Mineshaft", which takes place in Bolivia. Many thanks to the editors for the inclusion!

The Coachella Review, Summer 2014:

http://thecoachellareview.com/wordpress/?page_id=162

Update, Rome Photo Album

Wow, am I behind in my blogging, or what?!? I've been so busy with end-of-semester stuff, that everything else has taken a backseat. With final exams, grading research papers, attending meetings, upgrading syllabi, helping students prep for university interviews, filing reports, etc., there's been a lot of stress to finish everything before I leave on June 30th! But, damn...I mean, I even missed a memorial post in honor of Maya Angelou's passing on May 28th, and she was one of my favorite poets (R.I.P. Maya Angelou).

Well, another week, and I'm off again--back to Turkey, then on to Morocco, and finally, Japan, before heading back to China at the end of August. An epic summer in the works, for sure! Hopefully, I can get some more writing done over the summer, and when I get back. Which reminds me...where is The Coachella Review's latest issue, I wonder? They accepted one of my pieces to appear in the Spring, 2014 issue, but that issue never materialized. They're still active, so perhaps its been postponed to a summer issue? At any rate, I've no time to worry about it now--just keeping fingers crossed it comes out soon.

One more thing: here's the latest photo album I managed to finish, from the Rome trip last year. Yes, I FINALLY finished organizing and uploading pictures! If you're interested, you can view the public photo set on Flickr, at the link below:

Rome Photo Set on Flickr

That's it for now. Maybe I'll get a chance to update from the road--we'll see. Have a GREAT summer, and I'll see you on the other side!

Cheers, Lauren

Unleashed Imagination

Unleashed Imagination, by Enkel Dika.

More artwork, here.

Mobli Feature of My Photostream

Awesome sauce--Mobli, a social photo and video sharing website, featured my photostream on their blog today, as part of their #WhoIFollow series. Each week, they choose a different user, then feature ten photos from the account.

I really like using Mobli, way more so than Instagram. Users are quite active on Mobli, so it's nice to get some activity on all these travel photos I shoot. Anyway, thanks, Mobli! You can check out the feature at the link below, and follow the links there to get to my full photostream, if you're interested:

#WhoIFollow Mobli Blog Feature--pyrategurrll

Umbrella ceiling display, Nanjing, China

Teaching Award

Here's my English/Chinese interview upon receiving a teaching award for 2013. My organization, Ameson Education & Cultural Exchange Foundation, which places English teachers in Chinese schools, recognized my efforts last year, and honored me with an Ameson Advanced Educator award. This interview was given as part of the company's Outstanding Teacher Series. Originally only available in Chinese, I have uploaded the English translation of the interview to Scribd, which you can read at the link below.

Outstanding Teacher Series--Interview with Lauren Tivey:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/220500068/Outstanding-Teacher-Interview-Lauren-Tivey

Lauren Tivey (center), with her AP English Language & Comp. class,

Nanjing Senior High School, Jiangyin, China

I'm grateful to the organization for the award, and pleased about the interview. I've a wonderful group of students here, who make teaching a real joy for me, and I consider myself lucky to be able to do what I love for work!

Nepal Photo Set

Here's another photo set I just finished for Nepal, which I visited back in February. This was an incredible journey, one filled with new insights, new friendships, and new adventures. Kathmandu was bustling, poor, dusty, and exciting, and one of my favorite places. There, we visited the great stupa at Boudhanath, the stunning Monkey Temple at Swayambhunath, the temple and burning ghats at Pashupatinath (where I met some cool sadhus!), wandered around Thamel and Patan, got a new Green Tara tattoo, and had a kurta custom made for myself. It was fantastic. From there, we traveled by bus up to Pokhara, at the base of the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas, which was equally fantastic, in a whole other way, and where we hiked up to the World Peace Pagoda, overlooking Phewa Lake and the mountains, and I even went on an ultra light flight. You can view the complete set of my public photos at the link below:

Nepal Album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentivey/sets/72157642881726074/

Here are some highlights:

Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu

Boudhanath Area, Kathmandu

Prayer Flags at Boudhanath

Main Square at Patan

With the sadhus at Pashupatinath, Kathmandu

Cow at Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu

Monkey Temple, Kathmandu

Prayer Wheels, Monkey Temple, Kathmandu

At the World Peace Pagoda, Pokhara

Boats at Dusk, Phewa Lake, Pokhara

That's me in the back! Ultra light flight, Annapurna Range

In short, Nepal was fascinating. Interestingly, though millions of dollars pour in via tourism every year, the country is quite poor, with alternating six hour electric grid load shedding, deplorable roads, abundant litter, much begging, and lack of basic sanitation in many places. In contrast, the people we met were happy and friendly, and always ready with a "Namaste" and a smile. I met up with Nepalese friends I'd made over the internet, and had a great time with them at cafes and bars and temples. It was an experience I'll never forget, one which opened my eyes a little more to the conditions in which so many people live outside of the Western "comfort ideal". I hope to go back sometime.

Turkey Photo Set

Finally, I've completed another public photo set on Flickr. Turkey was really amazing, one of the coolest places to visit. So much so that we're going back this summer, to see some things we had to miss the first time. Anyway, in this Turkey album, you'll see both Istanbul (Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, Galata Bridge and Tower, Istiklal Street, Taksim Square, the Art Nouveau district, the Orient Express, and more), and the Seussian landscape of Cappadocia, where we stayed in a cave hotel, and explored around (fairy chimneys, Goreme Open Air Museum, Kaymakli Underground City, Rose Valley, Pigeon Valley, and the quaint villages of Goreme, Cavusin, Urgup, and Uchisar). You can view the complete set of my public photos at:

Turkey Album

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentivey/sets/72157643916313313/

Here are few highlights:

Hagia Sophia

The Blue Mosque

Ceiling of the Blue Mosque

Whirling Dervishes of the Dede Efendi Ensemble

Inside the Grand Bazaar

Overview of Istanbul from Galata Tower

Cavusin, Cappadocia

Troglodyte Dwellings, Goreme, Cappadocia

Fairy Chimneys, Goreme, Cappadocia

Amazing striations of the salt flats, Tuz Golu, Cappadocia

Turkey's just wonderful: there's so much to see and do, people are friendly, and costs are reasonable. I can't wait to go back this summer--we'll visit Izmir, Ephesus, and Sirince, and then go back to Cappadocia to fly in the hot air balloons, and do some hiking, before heading back to Istanbul for a couple of days. C'mon, summer!

New Poem at Lowestoft Chronicle

One of my poems, "Monkeys of Emei Shan", just went up in the autumn issue of Lowestoft Chronicle today, and is available to read at the link below. I think this satirical piece of mine fits in quite well at this great little magazine, which is full of humorous travel pieces. Check 'em out, if you have a chance, for fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. A big thank you to editor, Nicholas Litchfield.

Lowestoft Chronicle

RIP Seamus Heaney

Sad news, as Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney has passed away at the age of 74. Heaney, once described by poet Robert Lowell as "the most important Irish poet since Yeats", died this morning after a brief illness. You can read his obituary here. The world lost a great one today, a "once-in-a-lifetime portent, the comet's pulsing rose" (to quote from his poem, "Exposure"). I'm leaving off here with a video of one of my favorite poems of his, "Death of a Naturalist". RIP, Seamus Heaney. You will be missed.

New Poem at The Verse

Ah, here's a nice welcome back from summer holiday--one of my poems, "Neverland", appears in the debut issue of The Verse (mine is the third poem, if you scroll down). I like what the editor, Dan Navarrete, wrote about my poem: "A call to take action, excellent depiction of the reality surrounding impoverished youth in China. Truly a piece that sinks into our hearts and refuses to let go, just like the imagery." Cool! I think I'm also to be their poet of the month for September, as well. Wishing The Verse the best, and I hope the new journal is a success! Check 'em out at the link below:

The Verse

UPDATE: The Verse no longer exists. That's a dead link above. I just went to check, and it's gone. They never came out with a second issue, so I was never featured as their poet of the month, either. What a shame.

Acceptance at The Verse

Coming soon, in the debut issue of The Verse, a monthly online poetry journal set to begin publication in August, will be my poem, "Neverland". I'm also honored to have been asked to be their Poet of the Month for September, which will include a bio and photo, and showcase three of my poems. The Verse will also begin offering a print version in October. I love debut issues! Wishing editor Dan Navarrete the best with this new venture. You can visit the magazine (first issue isn't up yet, though) at the link below, and I'll post more information once it goes live. 

http://www.theversepoetryjournal.org

Poem at Drunk Monkeys

There are some kick-ass online magazines out there, and Drunk Monkeys is one of them; a hip, slick blend of literature--including short stories, poetry, flash fiction, and book reviews--television recaps, short films and film reviews, culture (art, politics, and religion), music, and all sorts of commentary (be sure to check out the piece on James Gandolfini posted yesterday by editor-in-chief, Matthew Guerruckey). Happy to have a poem picked up by them. "Bigfoot on Main Street" appeared yesterday, at the link below. Check them out--it's a great place to wander around:

http://www.drunkmonkeys.onimpression.com/literature/poetry/bigfoot-on-main-street/

Tibet Photo Set

Just finished the public photo set for my Tibet trek. It brought back so many memories! This 2010 trip was truly one of the high points of my life, and affected me deeply, on so many different levels. I hope to return one day, to those incredible heights, jaw-dropping vistas, and beautiful, friendly people. I really feel like Tibet is the "home of my soul". As for my political views on the situation there, I'll have to save those for another blog post, after I leave China. You're welcome to view the pictures on Flickr if you wish, available at the link below:

Tibet Photo Set