My Own Horn

I can't seem to help cranking up the search term fun. I'm thrilled to be sneaking in to Gracey's Literary Stylings link-up at Fashion for Giants with not a book (yet?) but my series of tobacco-farming poems, BRIGHT: Tobacco Butts, Behind the Needle, and Baleful Tales of Barn and Bunkhouse, recently published online at Numéro Cinq Magazine (content notes: photo of worker wearing Confederate flag t-shirt, language). Douglas Glover generously included a snippet of his memoir, and you may also find everyone's favourite tobacco-farming song.

fish milagros necklace with orange glass beads: a gift from my mother and father, Rio Bravo Gallery (Port Isabel, TX), worn here
cropped denim jacket: Smart Set, worn here
grey t-shirt: Michael - Michael Kors, thrifted
giant grey flower pin: a gift from my mother, worn here
plaid maxi dress: BCBGeneration, Dillard's
grey leather belt: brand forgotten, Beyond the Rack, worn here
silk recycled sari skirt: Alchemy Eco-Fashions, The Circle Game (local shop), worn here
ancient grey leggings: Jacob, worn here
orange suede shoes: Fluevog Starboard, worn here

If poetry is not your thing, there are some old family photos to look at too - pop over to see if you can spot a certain surly 17-year-old wearing a Rocky Horror Picture Show t-shirt at the helm of the tobacco tying machine. These days, I take my blog photos in the well-windowed former "strip room" of my barn, which was used for sorting / grading / "stripping" the dried ("cured") tobacco.

I felt farmer-licious (happy to be not wearing actual farm gear) in this outfit with denim, plaid, and heather grey, which I wore on a celebratory afternoon outing with my mom: I was lucky enough to win a ticket to the 2012 Vintage Red Wine Release Party at the Burning Kiln Winery, which is a fantastic re-purposing of tobacco land, buildings, equipment, language, and legend. My family donated an antique "boat" (horse-drawn wooden sled used to transport loads of tobacco leaves from the field) to the winery a few years ago. Burning Kiln wines have experienced tremendous success in a short time, and my favourites at the event were the Broken Needle Rosé, Strip Room, and Kiln Hanger - The Sequel.

Back to literary matters, I'm honoured to be among very fine company at Numéro Cinq, which I'd been enjoying for a while (even more since the shuttering of Coilhouse) for its wide-ranging curiosities including art and music as well as its anthology series. Check out Childhood and Fathers for great short prose.

For more tobacco farming history, I love the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Back-breaking Leaf (30 min.). And there is another poet in our midst - visit the amazing Emalina at Kiki and the Gypsy who has made a stunningly beautiful post called Summer Story: A Mermaid's Tale. Thanks for reading!