RAE HOFFMAN JAGER
Issue #4—Train Nigun; What Jealousy Does
Write yourself a horoscope for 2019
2019, like all other years, will be a year of indecision for this libra. To choose what to eat for breakfast, how to end a poem, when to wash your dog, you will consult the tea leaves left behind in your cup or flip a coin. 2019 will also be the Year of No Sleep. Your new baby, born at the end of 2018 (also to be an indecisive libra) will be your greatest, most tiring poem yet, leaving not an ounce of creativity left in your depleted, sorry bones.
Name a writer you discovered in the past 12 months that you think others should know about
My dear friend and fellow contributor, Sara Moore Wagner, recently introduced me to Alicia Ostriker, Maggie Nelson, and Nancy Reddy.
Name a book you read in the past 12 months that surprised you
Night Comes to the Cumberlands by Harry Caudill. I didn't realize Kentucky's history was that depressing. What an obstinate people!
If your life philosophy were a slogan for a restaurant, what would it be? (You don't need to use an existing restaurant's slogan for this)
Just try a little nibble.
What creative outlet is your "if-I-weren't-a-writer (or visual artist)" pipe dream?
I recently go into pottery, which I am SO TERRIBLE at, so I can't use that one as a dream (though I enjoy ever moment that my hands are covered in clay, so primal). My outlet would be music. I'm classically trained to sing opera.
What is a piece or project you're working on now, that will be released soon, or that was recently released that you'd like to share with our readers?
I am currently working on a collection of poems about American football, masculinity, violence, and motherhood. If you want to see updates about it, you can at http://www.raehoffmanjager.com