This afternoon I'll be working on a flash-fiction exercise with middle schoolers, so I thought I'd hunt for a few relevant examples to share with them. No luck. The Internet is rife with (1) sex- and profanity-filled flash fiction and (2) lousy flash fiction. I'd be better off composing my own examples, which is what I'll probably end up doing during class.

In the meantime, allow me to complain about the weather. Cold, wind, snow showers . . . what month is this supposed to be anyway? I'll be mowing grass in mittens and a down parka.

And then there are my poor dog's digestive woes. Sigh. Someday I'll get enough sleep again.

Weave Magazine has published a review of the most recent edition of The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. The author, Anthony Frame, kindly remarks that "the anthology . . . serves as a useful introduction to a number of poets who may not yet be quite as known [as "Alicia Ostriker, Rita Dove, Dean Young, and Jane Kenyon," etc.] but who certainly should be, such as Dawn Potter and Yona Harvey." This comment is both flattering and depressing. I wonder how Yona Harvey is feeling about it. Here are a couple of her poems for you to read.