A Wild Year: My Top Songs on Spotify, Currently Reading List and Reflecting on 2018

December 21, 2018April 3, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

This year has gone by too fast and I feel like I am still trying to catch up. I have gotten a lot done this year from my graduation at the University of Utah with my BA (finally) to a PAID poetry reading at the Utah Arts Festival in June, to finishing the first rough draft of my book Ghost in the Woods for NaNoWriMo.

Since it’s the end of the year, I thought I would give a quick update on what I’m listening to and reading.

Spotify “Alina’s Top Songs of 2018”

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Goodreads “Currently Reading” List

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There are A LOT of books on my “Currently Reading” list and I am trying to widdle it down a bit before the New Year but I guess I’ll see how successful I am with that. One book that isn’t on this list that I’ve been reading every day now is Collected Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay, my copy is really old and falling apart. I had to spend a good hour last week taping pages back together into the seam of the book. I’m about halfway through it and I love it, Millay is amazing with Sonnets and she makes it look so easy.

Highlight of my 2018:

Going to “An Evening with Neil Gaiman” last month was amazing. Gaiman had some great advice to give and thankfully many questions from the audience were geared towards writing and publishing. It was also so much fun to hear Gaiman read a little from some of his books.

Last Adventures: Discovering “Found Poetry”

Last week I sort of stumbled on “Found” poetry. It’s a form that I am sure I’ve come across before but up until now haven’t given a second thought too. Found Poetry is a form where people can find poetry in everyday life, like text, billboards, magazines etc. For instance, I was inspired to mess around and try “finding” some poetry in a local newspaper at work this week.

FOUND POETRY on my Instagram story highlights

I was pretty surprised at what I found and now I am hooked. My hands are stained from newspaper ink, markers, pens, and I have already begun putting my found poems together in one notebook making a sort of hand-made chapbook. (I will make an official post about my Found Poetry soon)

Conclusion:

I am stoked for the New Year and I am working hard to set up my work and myself for an even more successful year. What am I working on right now? Submitting my best-polished work to literary journals and magazines, putting together a small chapbook of my poems to self-publish (maybe) on Kindle, and finishing my book Ghost in the Woods so that I can start submitting it to literary agents/publishers.

What do I want to accomplish in 2019?

Honing this blog into a more coherent and substantial literary blog, maybe even monetizing it, providing more content to my followers/readers that can actually help them.

Sidenote:

A couple months ago I finally set up a Patreon Creator Page. My Patreon is different from this blog in that it provides “behind-the-scenes” access to my creative process, work (including rough drafts), and special updates. This is a more personal online venue where my followers can show their appreciation for my work by becoming Patrons and giving a little bit of $ to contribute to my writing.

Right now I am offering Help/Tutoring to those that donate $20/month to my Patreon.

Be a PATRON! Subscribe to my Patreon for one month ($20) and receive one on one help with your writing for an entire month!

It’s been a great year and I can’t wait for 2019!

I want to say Thank you to all of my Followers, subscribers, and to any readers that stumble on this post. Thank you for reading!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Alina Happy Hansen October 2018

-Alina

“An Evening with Neil Gaiman” in SLC, UT

November 18, 2018April 3, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Last night I had a great time at “An Evening with Neil Gaiman“. Gaiman came to the Eccles Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City and spent a couple hours with a jam-packed crowd answering questions and reading some of his work.

I bought my ticket about a month ago and I was so excited I was able to go see him. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. He is well-known and critically acclaimed, some of his popular works include Coraline, Good Omens, The Sandman (graphic novels), and American Gods just to name a few.

Neil Gaiman, “An Evening with Neil Gaiman”, Salt Lake City, Utah 2018

I arrived at the venue about an hour early and there was already quite a crowd ready and just as excited as I was. I stood in line for about half an hour to buy a couple signed copies of his books, Norse Mythology and Art Matters. I went and took my seat and waited for the show to start.

Gaiman was funny, witty and extremely fascinating. He had the audience laughing most of the time and when he read excerpts from some of his books, his voice was hypnotizing. There were a few questions about his work, a couple really good questions about being a writer as well as the strangest question, “What advice do you have for newlyweds?”.

Overall, it was a great experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to go and see him.

Review of HAUNTED NIGHTS (A Horror Writers Association Anthology)

November 2, 2018April 2, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

On Halloween, I finished Haunted Nights an anthology of short horror stories put together by the Horror Writers Association. It is full of all kinds of spooky stories that revolve around Halloween. There are sixteen short stories total, all of which range from an Irish Halloween with the good folk to grisly psychological thrillers of man and monsters.

Writer’s featured in this anthology include Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Garth Nix, Jeffrey Ford, Kelley Armstrong, Brian Evenson, Eric J. Guignard, Pat Cadigan, and John R. Litte. My favorite stories in this anthology were “With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds”, “A Small Taste of the Old Country”, “The Seventeen-Year Itch”, “Nos Galan Gaeaf”, “Sisters”, “The Turn”, “Jack” and “Lost in the Dark”.

A Brief Synopsis of My Favorites

“With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds” by Seanan McGuire – a haunted house full of ghosts and a group of troublemaker teenagers bent on vandalism and fun, the night is Halloween and there will be plenty of fun and death for all.

“A Small Taste of the Old Country” by Jonathan Maberry – In Argentina after the end of World War Two, the dead return with vengeance on one fateful night with the aid of a man and some delicious food.

“The Seventeen-Year Itch” by Garth Nix – Locked up in an institution for the criminally insane an inmate with a secret will make Halloween a bloody special one.

“Nos Galan Gaeaf” by Kelley Armstrong – A town that still celebrates Halloween the old ways, two kids play with each others fates with hellish consequences.

“Sisters” by Brian Evenson – A family trying to blend in? A family of what? Curious about Halloween two mischievous sisters set out for some fun but return home with an extra treat.

“The Turn” by Paul Kane – Listen to your grandparents, is it just superstitions or something more? A man walks alone on Halloween night and encounters something terrifyingly familiar, man or monster?

“Jack” by Pat Cadigan – The dead, a cemetery, and good ol’ Jack, a trickster with something fresh up his sleeve.

“Lost in the Dark” by John Langan – Spinning horror films, documentaries and folklore all together in a modern tale. A writer researches the origins of a horror film with the help of a key interview leaving him disturbed and curious.

I would recommend this anthology for horror lovers that want a little slice of this and that, a box of chocolates with unknown fillings full of surprise, each different from the last. A few of these stories do contain gore, disturbing imagery, violence, and peril so be warned.

Alina’s Rating: 4.5 coffins out of 5 coffins

Thank you for reading!

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Gertrude Stein’s “Autobiography” of Alice

August 17, 2018April 2, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

I read The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas in only a few weeks. To be honest, I read a few pages and put it down then picked up other books I have been reading and kind of forgot about it. Then I picked it up again a few days later and couldn’t put it down. I got sucked in and read page after page. I think what hooked me was the style, the echo that the writing has (or is supposed to be) of Alice’s speech. This made the content feel as if it was part of a casual discussion with Alice, who ‘remembers’ the tiniest details when it comes to Gertrude.

This book is one of Gertrude Stein’s most popular works even when it was first published in 1933. What I thought was fascinating about this ‘Autobiography’ is that Stein wrote in Alice’s voice from Alice’s perspective entirely on the subject of Gertrude. Stein uses her partner Alice as a literary device to discuss her writing, social life, and their relationship (barely).

I felt that Stein had taken the purpose of ‘autobiography’ to gain perspective on herself but the issue of this is that the perspective she writes from (Alice) is Stein’s own creation. This is evident from the beginning of the autobiography which is vague and contains muddled details about Alice’s life before meeting Stein. Then when she finally comes to Paris and meets Stein, there is more focus and clarity not only in the content and story-telling but in the writing.

The only other work by Stein I’ve read is Tender Buttons which is a million miles from the ‘autobiography’ in terms of content and style. I have conflicting feelings when it comes to both books but I think what I need to do is read more of her work. As for Alice, I am fascinated by her and feel like Stein’s ‘autobiography’ of her fails to really give the audience the true Alice. I plan on reading Alice’s real autobiography soon to get a real perspective on Stein’s.

After finishing the ‘autobiography’ I was unsettled, honestly disturbed. To me, Stein uses Alice as a mask and magnifying glass on herself which makes it seem like she doesn’t really care about Alice but only cares about the attention she gets.

What disturbs me specifically, the three pages that make up the first chapter “Before I came to Paris” which is Alice’s life before Stein, and the repetition in the first half of the book that talks about Alice sitting and talking with “other wives of geniuses”. This naturally assumes that Alice is also the wife of a genius, and because she is being used as literary-cover (mask) by Stein, Stein is really saying she is a genius. I’d rather have her come out and say it plainly than go about doing it this way.

Overall, I love the style and writing itself. It’s the content and intent of Stein that perplex me. I want to read Alice’s real words and might pick up some of their letters to each other and compare her writing to Stein’s “Alice’s” voice. I think this work is an interesting experiment in style but I question the real motives behind its creation but of course, there is the death of the author, does Stein’s intent even matter?

Alina’s Rating: 4 Picasso’s out of 5 Picasso’s

Currently Reading: Gertrude Stein, Hunter S. Thompson, William Carlos Williams and more

July 24, 2018April 2, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet3 Comments

I have so much time to read this summer and I am loving it! Here is a list of what I am currently reading and for what I am currently listening to here is my Spotify Summer Playlist

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

I’ve wanted to read this book for a couple years now. I finally picked up a copy and have been slowly reading it for the last couple weeks. The writing is refreshing and strange since it’s Stein who is writing the “autobiography” of her life partner Alice. There is something rhythmic in the writing and I suspect there is more than meets the eye with this book.

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Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson

I just finished reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas only a couple weeks ago. I devoured it pretty quickly and found myself disturbed and entranced by Thompson’s style. I started reading Hell’s Angels right after and have not been let down. I am about half way finished with it already.

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In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams

Starting slow, I read a little bit here and there of WCWilliams. I spent my time and slowly devoured his Imaginations over the span of two years. I love every word of Williams writing and his style is all his own. I plan on reading In the American Grain at the same snail pace so that I can fully digest his work.

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Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

After watching the movie almost six years ago, I am still slightly disturbed by the images that have been seared into my brain which is weird and not to be taken lightly since I have a deep love for all things strange and disturbing. I have gotten the guts finally to trek the dangerous waters of reading the actual text. It is disorienting and complex but there is something in Burroughs writing that resonates with me and I am slowly becoming climatized to this curious novel.

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The Philosophy of Andy Warhol by Andy Warhol

I’ve been interested in Andy for a while now. There is something about him that has left a remarkable trace of most of the writers, poets, and musicians that I love and I want to know why. I figured I would start with this book and work my way into Andy’s world slowly. So far (I’m about a third in) it has been an intriguing journey and I think there is something spectacular about Andy’s little thoughts and vivid observations.

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The Portable Beat Reader Edited by Ann Charters

I am very picky when it comes to anthologies, collections, or selected works that attempt to have “all” the works that are “important” for a particular movement, style, or form of writing but I think I struck gold with this one. I love introductions and this one was amazing and pulled me in instantly. So far I’m working my way through the Jack Kerouac section and I am realizing how much I can learn from his writing.

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On Writing Well (fourth edition) by William Zinsser

My copy is a little outdated and makes funny references to “archaic” forms of technology, this edition was printed in 1991. I like Zinsser’s comments and attention that he gives towards changes in writing and his respect towards the variety of writers out there and readers alike (such as women writers and use of pronouns). Zinsser has a recognizable voice and comfortable yet concise writing style that I love to read. I would highly recommend this book (maybe a more recent edition too) to any writers out there. Also this book is on writing NONFICTION, I am trying to dabble in nonfiction but it is extremely painful for me.

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The Letters of Ezra Pound to James Joyce with Pound’s Essay on Joyce Edited by Forrest Read (published by Faber & Faber)

I love Joyce, he is a writer with talents beyond so many many writers. I am also an admirer of Pound and his work. I have been slowly reading bit by bit, a letter here and there which makes for a good break while I’m reading all my others books. I also love to read the day to day casual letters between writers and artists.

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The Diary of Virginia Woolf (vol.2) Edited by Anne Olivier Bell

I’ve read the complete diary of Virginia Woolf before but wanted to start collecting the volumes for myself. Woolf is a huge influence on my writing and her criticisms of writers and their works are extremely insightful and entertaining (even when it is brutal). She has a knack for making me laugh and also making me sympathize with her hardships. She is honest to the bone in her diary entries and leaves little out.

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Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I cannot count how many times I have read Fight Club. I always find myself coming back to it as well as the works by Bret Easton Ellis when I need some stylistic guidance. I like to tear apart the chapters, over analyze them and admire Palahniuk’s unique writing style. There is plenty to dissect and learn from when it comes to writing fiction (and blending nonfiction into fiction I think).

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Blood, Bread, and Poetry by Adrienne Rich

I ate up the first half of this book the day I got it and fell into a whirlwind of decades-old feminist criticism and women’s rights which disturbingly sounds exactly the same as today’s. I love and admire Rich’s work and this selection of writing does not let down.

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A lot to read and get through but I’ve been finishing a book every one-two weeks (which is pretty slow for me). I would love any reading suggestions! Please feel free to leave any book titles in the comments below.

-Alina