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I don’t know if it’s because I have so much to do (that’s never stopped me before) or because I take the term “break” literary, but I haven’t worked on any poetry since the the fall semester ended. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did prep some poems for submission, but that’s it. I’ve been spending most of my time with Elliot (in the picture above, he’s wearing a bowl on his head, which means that makes him Robin Hood), Em, and Indie. I’ve also been working on job applications for next fall and my Syllabus for this coming semester. I’ve watched a bunch of TV and movies, read a bunch more (Dad Says He Saw You At The Mall by Ken Sparling, Predatory by Gleen Shaheen, Ordinary Mornings of the Coliseum).

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I always tell my friends, students, and fellow writers: YOU HAVE TO WRITE OVER BREAK! So, what have I written? I’ve written two cover letters for tenure-track teaching positions, I’ve edited my teaching materials, I’ve written a query letter for a book, and I’ve been working on my next screenplay.

Oh, and I’ve also been working on new syllabi for classes I want to teach. That’s fun: imagining classes I want to teach, thinking about ways to approach teaching a book I like (or dislike), thinking about the canon of that genre or sub-genre, etc.

This break has been extremely productive, and usually, I’d be itching to get back to school, but I’ve had such a good time with my family. I feel like…hmmm…if break could just extend a bit longer than planned, that’d be great. Though, I’m sure by Jan 28th, I’ll be dying to get back into the classroom. Probably. We’ll see.

What about you guys? Are you enjoying your break? What have you been up to?