tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89540566883716271822012-02-17T22:28:09.263-05:00Writing Through QuicksandJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-67422811449225779162012-01-27T15:20:00.000-05:002012-01-30T13:12:25.911-05:00Facing ItI spent most of this week catching up on reading, sending out submissions and teaching applications and trying to hold on while the universe seemed to be spinning without me. I found myself feeling that old tug to just get a 9-5 office job again and stop the struggle. Give up the fight. Just get on with it.
I stared at the edits I needed to make on the poetry manuscript. I flipped through the Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-77575589900744872612011-12-30T16:42:00.000-05:002011-12-30T16:44:43.218-05:00Looking Into The NewOkay, so I find it really hard to look into the face of positive at the end of the year. There is always so much left unaccomplished and unrealized and then there is always the missing of those that are no longer in my life. The remembering is always a recurring rock I just cannot crawl out from under. The better to have loved idea seems like a hard stretch at times like these. Memory is Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-8125888007773637232011-12-08T10:24:00.000-05:002011-12-08T10:24:54.509-05:00So This is Christmas (JL)I think I am not alone in feeling a little melancholy around the holidays. Oh, hell, let's face it, if you read my blog you already know that I can pretty much find any reason to get melancholy. But the holidays seem to bring on another kind of reminiscence that is somehow deeper or at least more insistent. As I begin to pull out decorations and ornaments they feel more like fragments left behindJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-28818384880800055342011-10-14T11:39:00.000-04:002011-10-14T11:39:44.802-04:00Occupying Our LivesYou can't help but see stories about Occupy Wall Street and the inevitable spread into other major cities including Philadelphia. I got to wondering about the word "occupy" or, more to the point, what it means to "to occupy."
Dictionary.com lists the meanings of occupy as:
1. to take or fill up
2. to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of
3. to be resident or tenant of; dwell in
4.Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-88229165178785267802011-09-14T12:38:00.002-04:002011-09-14T12:44:15.751-04:00Post MFA Depression: Or How I Wasted The Last Four Weeks Of Summer
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font-family:"Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-32983129606147554352011-07-11T12:59:00.002-04:002011-07-11T13:03:12.516-04:00The View From HereAs I get ready to defend my poetry thesis "Phoenix" in a few weeks, I find myself thinking back over the road that has brought me here. For me, this road to even get to my MFA program was more of a series of missteps and wrong turns than it was a menopausal rebirth in which I discovered a new-found desire to pick up something from my youth.
This road of life is a hard road for everyone. No one Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-59065781934737359132011-06-07T10:30:00.001-04:002011-06-07T15:39:17.849-04:00Poster WomenI find it interesting that when there is either a domestic violence case or a cheating husband involving a public figure, we require them to become poster women. If you think back to the ill-timed release of the very private and embarrassing events between Sandra Bullock and Jesse James it's as if we are in an 18th century novel in which the heroin is punished for achieving a personal goal. The Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-64084372556391391312011-05-06T11:58:00.002-04:002011-05-06T12:28:02.599-04:00My Mother, My Self: My NervesI know I can't be the only woman out there that dreads all the gushing and foaming of Mother's day ads and commercials. These ads always make me feel as though I was in the incorrect line when mother/daughter relationships were given out. I feel like I got the Charlie Brown rock relationship instead of the creamy chocolate and caramel with peanuts relationship.
If you follow my blog, you know Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-63526515796889318632011-04-10T13:05:00.001-04:002011-04-10T13:05:15.388-04:00Denim Day 2011View the Denim Day Video Denim Day 2011 is a campaign to prevent sexual violence in our community through education and public awareness. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and The State of New Jersey has officially adopted April 28th as Denim Day and a call to action for all people to come together for the health and safety of everyone in our community.
Take part in this effort by Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-66904490513457112052011-02-14T10:52:00.000-05:002011-02-14T10:52:44.391-05:00The Wheat And The Chaff Of MemoryOn Saturday night I did a reading at The Moonstone Arts Center in Philly for The Women's Writing and Spoken Word Series hosted, originated and organized by Cassendre Xavier. You should check out her site and order some of her lovely music. If you need a jolt of positivity you're sure to find it there.
It's always hard for me to decide what to read but since this was focused on multi-genre Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-36802952237524449282011-01-31T12:29:00.000-05:002011-01-31T12:29:18.706-05:00The Women's Writing & Spoken Word SeriesThe Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series at Moonstone Arts Center presents:
Joan Hanna & Angel Hogan
Hosted with live music by Cassendre XavierAlways Includes a Mixed-Gender Open Mic!
Saturday, February 12, 20117pm – 8:30pm$5 Admission Moonstone Arts Center110A S. 13th Street (at Sansom St)
Philadelphia, PA 19107215-735-9598Streaming LIVE at http://www.MoonstoneLIVE.com !
ABOUT JOAN HANNA
Joan Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-34118077825480363422011-01-11T11:42:00.001-05:002011-01-11T13:28:37.589-05:00The Birthday Jabberwocky Descends 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.Lewis Caroll (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)
I don't know why it surprises me every year. As if once I got over the big 50 my birthdays would suddenly disappear and I could just eternally say, "Oh, Me? I'm 50" and I could freeze Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-72802347760104739552010-12-28T10:55:00.000-05:002010-12-28T10:55:21.916-05:00Another Year To ReflectEvery year, heading into New Year's Eve, my holiday trifecta of emotional roller coasters reaches it zenith. I begin feeling sad around Thanksgiving when I realize, as I get older, more and more people have left my life. Christmas seems rigged against me as I pull out decorations that are attached to memory after memory recalling both those I wish were still around and those I wish I could forgetJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-34610099670147470322010-10-16T15:30:00.001-04:002010-10-17T10:04:49.447-04:00SurvivorI didn't realize the significance of my story "Breathing" being published in the October issue of r.kv.r.y. when I got the news from Editor-in-Chief Mary Akers in August. I was, instead, straddling a vast chasm of emotions from excitement about the story being accepted and realizing that this particular story--the story of my first marriage--was the story that would be out there in cyberspace. I Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-82090818890619828842010-09-23T11:20:00.007-04:002010-09-23T11:39:04.257-04:00October issue of r.kv.r.y.The October issue of r.kv.r.y. is now live! New Editor-in-chief Mary Akers has chosen sixteen hard-hitting poetry, fiction and nonfiction pieces for the October issue.
Congratulations to Mary, the members of her editorial board and everyone involved for a great issue!
I am very proud to have my nonfiction story "Breathing" included with the talented writers and artist Dawn Estrin's amazing Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-39647725613134385452010-09-16T11:40:00.000-04:002010-09-16T11:40:19.423-04:00Boys Acting OutLate Sunday morning, my husband and I were standing in the long deli line, ticket in hand, waiting for our number to pop up on the counter. I was checking messages on my iPhone when I heard a young boy call his mother a "stupid jerk-off" and saw the cart slamming into her thigh as he pushed it toward her.
As a survivor of domestic violence, I always hear these kinds of things in stores. I seemJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-41633716231432051162010-08-26T09:56:00.000-04:002010-08-26T09:56:08.768-04:00Putting It All Out ThereI used to think that talent and technical ability were the most important thing in writing. That was when I was writing primarily science fiction and hiding behind abstract ethereal poetry. Now that I have plunged headlong into the creative non-fiction deep end, I am finding that I can't fall back on technical tricks anymore. Because the stories I am writing are taken from my own experiences, Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-52425264098107604102010-08-13T10:27:00.000-04:002010-08-13T10:27:18.780-04:00How Do We Portray Violence When We Are Writing About Violence?There has been such an outcry about Eminem's new video. I Love The Way You Lie. People are concerned that this glorifies domestic violence or is going to tell young kids that beating each other up is "cool" or "okay." People are also upset because Rihanna, after her experiences, is singing lyrics like "I like the way it hurts" but, much to my own surprise, I see this video in a much different Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-54921463095968267262010-08-11T10:28:00.003-04:002010-08-11T14:00:43.997-04:00Post MFA Session QuandariesAfter spending 14 days going to workshops, listening to readings, doing my first reading of a creative non-fiction piece, meeting writers like Natasha Tretheway and Tobias Wolf (just to name two of the amazing guest writers) not to mention the tirelessly available MFA instructors for Ashland University, I find myself slightly off kilter.
I am strangely drawn, at 11:45, to walk over for lunch andJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-71252418871127306292010-08-08T10:11:00.000-04:002010-08-08T10:11:13.677-04:00Updated WebsiteThanks to all of you that have commented and responded to poems and various postings that I have been putting up for the past year. They have helped me so much to redefine and reorganize my thoughts as to where my poetry is, where I want it to go and how to get it there.
I won't be posting poetry on my blog as I begin the looming task of rewrites, reorganization and writing new poems for my Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-70958560047121805412010-05-22T11:54:00.006-04:002010-05-22T12:19:49.444-04:00InvisibleI disappear a little every day. I fade into the background as if my importance has diminished. My face begins to tell my history through crow’s feet and sagging eyelids. I am now a woman with curves, ridges and my grandmother’s breasts. I am no longer twiggy-like with bones protruding and progesterone filled skin that rebounds and presents itself wrinkle-less and porcelain smooth. I feel thatJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-59942250843784731962010-01-07T11:17:00.000-05:002010-01-07T11:17:11.710-05:00This Year's ResolutionI always seem to get the blues after the holidays; not to be confused with the melancholy I get right before the holidays; or the stress I feel during the holidays. Let's face it, as magical and great as they can be, the holidays really take an emotional toll on everyone. I start the decline at Thanksgiving when I begin to miss my mom. Then I remember all the people I have lost, both living and Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-63607939107065632562009-11-23T11:49:00.004-05:002009-11-24T11:11:38.028-05:00Season's MemoriesThe first signs of Christmas were the decorations that appeared along the streets in Center City. Those green, red and gold wreathed and ribboned lamp posts that quietly announced the season as they sparkled through falling snow. The tiny square on the front page of the Bulletin counting down the shopping days from Black Friday building more excitement at it shouted that there were only 15, 10, 5Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-16309010249143415062009-09-28T12:21:00.003-04:002009-09-28T12:27:44.143-04:00BeginningsI was watching a PBS (remember PBS?) program yesterday about the Philly hosts of kid shows. You know those oldies like Sally Starr, Chief Halftown, Wee Willy Weber and, my personal favorite, Gene London who did Cartoon Corners General Store.
What I realized all of these hosts had in common, especially Gene London was the permission to use imagination to change your perspective of the world. It Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-10629363104662075722009-08-19T08:03:00.005-04:002009-08-19T10:43:08.358-04:00Little WhispersI've been thinking a lot lately about how being a woman created a unique experience for me. I always felt that I had to work harder, smarter, and always seemed to have more to prove on the job. I had to prove that I could not only do the job as well as a man, but could be a single parent, go home after working all day and cook, clean, launder, food shop, do homework with my daughter, raise her Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-11873622900100552612009-07-14T08:42:00.004-04:002009-07-14T10:43:55.548-04:00Our Genres Our SelvesI have recurring conversations with people about the difference between poetry and prose (used to simplify the many genres such as short story, short short story, flash fiction, novella, novel, etc). Is something a poem or not? Is poetry a dead form? Why do people even waste their time writing poetry? If someone cannot understand a poem, is it a poem at all? And equally, on the other side, the Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-48145909624896085382009-06-29T12:15:00.003-04:002009-06-29T14:30:56.275-04:00Time EnoughAs women we often talk about having time enough to do it all. We usually mean time enough to fit in jobs, families, writing (or painting, or photography, or whatever creative endeavor you espouse to); not to mention cleaning, yard work, watering house plants, errands, etc. And, don't forget trying to find leisure time with your spouse and time for yourself for catching up on simple everyday Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-50623132652086140592009-06-17T09:53:00.010-04:002009-06-17T11:42:03.037-04:00My Road TakenAbout a year and a half ago I quit my job as an Executive Assistant and returned full time to Rowan University to finish my degree. After 22 classes (that should have been spread over five semesters) three Dean's list certificates, countless numbers of fiction stories and poems, all either read, written, academically analyzed or all of the above, I finally graduated with my BA in Writing Arts.Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-10541938678423082862009-06-05T09:35:00.010-04:002009-06-17T11:40:59.014-04:00Tell all the truth but tell it slant (Emily Dickinson)Even as a small child, I saw the world with a very different slant than people around me. I use the word "slant" specifically because I always saw something that was askew. I never trusted the outward or seeming appearance of things. I always felt that there was more going on; something deeper, hidden and more profound. It was like a kinetic sensation on my skin that warned me that something Joan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954056688371627182.post-40905924443620852882009-06-03T09:26:00.007-04:002009-06-17T11:40:02.693-04:00Welcome to my new blog!I want to welcome everyone to my new blog! I decided a little over a year ago to change my life into what I thought it would be when I was in my early '20's and sat in my kitchen hammering the keys of my electric typewriter penning what I thought was a progressive and feminist science fiction book entitled The final Savior. It was pretty radical for the time. My lead was a really tough take noJoan Hannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00395437402712036622noreply@blogger.com2