Author: <span>Carrie</span>

Changing Gears
Published January 24, 2021 by

Changing Gears

Well my lovelies, it has been a wicked ride, but it’s time to change it up. 

In August, I subscribed to some really smart, fun newsletters on Substack (starting with Jasmine Guillory), and I’ve become a newsletter fan. My website is still THE PLACE to find a list of all my current publications and how-de-do (where is she living now?) –  but this blog is dead. RIP my blog. 

HUGE thanks to all of you who’ve read and commented on my posts. Now….Let’s do something new!

Henceforth I’ll  be sending out my eclectic snarky weirdness in the form of a newsletter, straight to your email inbox. If you want to know all about what Carrie is watching, hearing, reading, hiking, biking, eating, drinking, eye-rolling, then you should head over to My Substack and SUBSCRIBE. And if you hate it, there is this built-in failsafe called unsubscribe (WTF why would you unsubscribe from my newsletter!?  Just kidding… live your life.) But first…Try me! Sign up below! My first newsletter drops January 25, 2021.

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Where did Summer go?
Published October 2, 2020 by

Where did Summer go?

I keep hearing about this new-to-me trend called bullet journaling. “Track the past, order the present, design the future.” Ummmm… over here it’s just called my calendar. I’m a writer who doesn’t journal, doesn’t keep a diary – honestly, who cares what I’m doing day to day? None of your business. Hold up….why am I blogging then? Oh WHATEVER…what’s for breakfast? Whaddid I have for breakfast yesterday? I didn’t put it on my calendar, therefore…lost. I did calendar the fact that yesterday I bought some seed garlic to plant and continued listening to episodes of the Still Processing podcast. I’m back in 2016 on episode 5 and enjoying every minute and I am excited to nostalgicize as the show catches up to 2020. And…that’s really all I wanted to say about what’s in my….okay fine…bullet journal.

Also here’s a funny thing. I was updating the links to all my poems that have been published in online literary journals, and I came across a review of my poem ‘Bodega Dunes.’ I had no idea anyone had reviewed my work. WOW. So that was cool. You can check out the review here and the poem here. Everything in the poem is true. Sorta. But it surely was a weird night of coastal Cali camping. It’s fine timing to discover this because I’ve really delved back into reading and writing poetry lately. I’m learning how much I don’t know, striving to become a better writer, and enjoying the work of recent poets. I’ll put together a post about all the poetry I’ve encountered lately – oh – huh? What, you don’t read poetry? You don’t “understand” poetry? Come ON. You’ll dig it. Just wait.

Here are some other random goodies. Because maybe you need random good right now.

Who likes food? I do. HERE is a recipe for snack mix that I have made TWICE already (no I did not put that in my bullet journal). I can’t stop eating it. It’s really good with beer. This is possibly a problem. Which I will concern myself with later. Like, next year. Also get down on this recipe for greens. I cooked these up at least ten times this summer – super tasty with pan fried fish and some jasmine rice. Don’t look at me like pan fried fish is some gourmet shit for which you have neither the time nor money. I make it with cheap frozen fish or a can of Starkist. I have a Hefty bag full of kale from my garden that I will somehow cram into my freezer, so even though it’s “Sautéed Spring Greens with Bacon,” I’m gonna make it all Winter. Because I break the rules!! And because bacon.

Speaking of bacon, have you seen Magic Mike XXL? I haven’t, but I plan to. And apparently everyone but me knows that Roxane Gay is obsessed with Channing Tatum and the Magic Mike universe. If you didn’t know that either, because you are social medially dumb (I’m just teasing, you’re not dumb), I recommend educating yourself by reading the most hilarious movie review I’ve ever encountered (and people, I may be socially medially dumbassish, but I read a heckton of movie reviews). So go enjoy Roxane Gay’s I Wanted to Hug Every Part of Him With My Mouth and laugh a lot.

And let’s keep laughing…. If you still need amusement, two of my favorite movies are on Netflix. You may want to watch both of these in a double feature. It’s the weekend!! Lovey love love, y’all.

Banner photo of Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park in Meridian, Idaho by Ryan Fish on Unsplash

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Still Here
Published July 20, 2020 by

Still Here

Hello, what’ve you been up to, my dudes?

Me, I’ve been keeping calm and Carrie-ing on (yes, I did just write that). Let’s just get right to the fun stuff though.

Updates to this blog!

I haven’t done a blog post since 2018! EEEK. And some pages needed a good overhaul, a tweak, a kick in the pants.

  • My Darwin Project – I’ve updated the main page and The Entangled Bibliography page with some new content and a gallery of books I’ve read in the past two years. This includes several books about viruses, because I’ve long been fascinated, not just now while we’re all…ahem…fascinated? UGH. I’ve also updated my Darwin Project Pinterest board with some cool evolution infographics I found.
  • My Writing – My list of published works is up to date, and I’ve revamped the style of the page a bit.
  • Stay Tuned – I’ve got some fun blogging coming your way, including reviews of my favorite bingeworthy shows, a catalog of new recipes, an overview of the audiobooks and podcasts I’ve listened to recently, a deep dive into my latest evolution reads, my recent music finds….aaaaand I’ll be rebooting my Documentary Watch project. If you haven’t subscribed, DO IT NOW.

I read these:

Follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading!

I watched these:

So tell me….which one should I review?

I heard these:

The Stacks is a fantastic bookworm podcast and always a delight, a challenge, a fall-down-the-rabbithole of book love. Host Traci Thomas is the ultimate reader and conversationalist, and she’s put together a great reading list at bookshop.org
Black History Bootcamp is a walk and talk hosted by T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison from @girltrek. You can get to know these fabulous hosts by watching their TED talk, too. The Bootcamp was a live daily call-in event in June/July of 2020, but now you can listen to all 21 podcast episodes celebrate powerful figures from history – Lucille Clifton, Marsha P. Johnson, Octavia Butler, and Rosetta Tharpe, to name just a few.
Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us is notable for warm dialogue and challenging discussions. Past guests include Alicia Keys, Austin Channing Brown, and Celeste Ng, and recently she interviewed Ibram X. Kendi, author of How To Be An Antiracist. Their conversation was illuminating and profound.

I growed these:

Obsessed:

Banner ~ Homestead Trail, Boise Foothills 📷: Carrie Naughton

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antiracism books garden movies music reading television

Get some kooky with yer spooky
Published April 14, 2018 by

Get some kooky with yer spooky

Hey!  Hey!  Who is it? It’s me, after a looooooong hiatus from this blog. Sorry, had to go live my life. But I have news! A spooky story of mine is out in the world. Nth Degree magazine is publishing my ghost story, “What Happens After the Funeral.” Don’t be scared, it’s a funny story! Ok, it’s a little creepy too. But for those of you who think horror is all bloodspatter and body parts, I am happy to re-educate you. I was raised on horror (no, I’m not talking about growing up in the suburbs…sort of). The paranormal is my obsession and speculative fiction is my go-to genre and I hope it can be yours too! So if you like road trips with wacky companions, unexpected spirits (of both the liquor and specter variety), and Montana honky tonks, please go to the patreon page for Nth Degree and check out “What Happens After the Funeral.” You can donate $5 to read it immediately or wait until the story goes live at the Nth Degree home page next Thursday.  A nice little post-Tax Day treat from your favorite bookkeeper/bookwriter.

Photo from Unsplash

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I’m in two anthologies published this month!
Published November 24, 2016 by

I’m in two anthologies published this month!

This Thanksgiving I’m grateful to have my work included in two wonderful books!

screen-shot-2016-11-24-at-8-02-25-amThe Montana Natural History Center has put together a collection of Field Notes from its long-running radio program on Montana Public Radio. Once upon a time when I was a grad student in Missoula, I wrote a Field Note about Sphinx Moths for this program and read it (yes, out loud!) for the radio show. I’m so pleased that my Note is now published in this collection, along with 111 other nature-lovin’ writers’ observations. You can order your copy here.

My poem ‘Moose Bell’ is included a new anthology of Wyoming writers, Blood, Water, Wind and Stone, published by Sastrugi Press and available on Amazon. As I’ve written before, I have wandered away, but always keep coming back to live in Wyoming since I first set foot inside its four straight lines back in May of 1996. It is dear to my heart for ‘Moose Bell’ to be part of this project with the work of many talented Wyomingans (Wyomingites? Wyos?). If you’re in Jackson on December 10th, stop by the Valley Bookstore for the Gala Opening at 5pm to celebrate Blood, Water, Wind and Stone. I will be there! And there will be refreshments!

Photo of Sheep Mountain by Acroterion from Wikimedia Commons

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montana poetry writing wyoming

“Noxious Weeds” published at Foliate Oak
Published September 6, 2016 by

“Noxious Weeds” published at Foliate Oak

Hey y’all, here’s another of my poems out in the world.  Foliate Oak has kindly published “Noxious Weeds.”  Go HERE to read it!!

Nope, it’s not a scientific paper on invasive species. But if you’re into that sort of thing you can go look at pretty pictures of the non-native plants taking over Wyoming. I wish I could direct you to an excellent essay, the amazing “Planet of Weeds” by my favorite science writer David Quammen, but it looks like that’s no longer easily available on the Harper’s website. Pouting.

“Noxious Weeds” was written in collaboration with my alter ego, who is perhaps a little rowdier and more pissed off than me. I wrote this poem during the Summer of 2015. There’s earthquakes and a talking grouse and more gritty surreality than you might expect from me…maybe?

 

Spotted Knapweed photo By Alan Vernon (Flickr: Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa)) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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poetry

“Moose Bell” published in Gravel
Published August 30, 2016 by

“Moose Bell” published in Gravel

Well hello! It’s been a while. Since last spring actually – whoa!

I have been busy – it is summer in Wyoming, after all, and I am enjoying myself immensely. I’m also really excited to share this poem with you, thanks to the kind folks at Gravel magazine publishing it in their September 2016 issue.

You can read “Moose Bell” HERE.

And just to tease you, get ready for another one of my poems coming out soon at Foliate Oak. Something completely different to keep you guessing about me. Stay tuned! In the meantime, I’m going outside to play.

 

Lady Moose photo By Magnus Johansson (female moose) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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nature poetry wildlife

Elegy for a Warbler
Published April 18, 2016 by

Elegy for a Warbler

Back in 2001, I left Jackson, Wyoming and a really sweet library job to get a Master’s in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana in Missoula. I’d read a lot of Terry Tempest Williams and written some sappy poetry, and I really wanted to be a Nature Writer and save the planet. Less than a year later, I ended up a defeated, depressed dropout with a student loan, working on an organic farm in Whitefish, Montana for a hundred bucks a month plus room and board. No way could I have envisioned that 15 years later I would be back in Jackson with my own freelance bookkeeping business, finishing the novel about the farm that I started so long ago.

Nor would I have thought that I’d dust off an essay I wrote for one of my grad school classes, with the initial intention of turning it into a blog post. We had to choose an extinct or endangered species and write a brief, creative nonfiction essay. I picked a tiny warbler from the coastal plains of the American South. Maybe I chose Bachman’s Warbler because I grew up in Georgia. Maybe I chose it because I wanted to go small. And not simply size-wise. Bachman’s isn’t famous. But I have never stopped thinking about this lost little bird.  I did a massive amount of research while I was a writer in residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in Shelton, Washington – and I did my damnedest to craft an essay that I hope honors one fragile strand in the great web of life. And I am overjoyed that Zoomorphic is publishing “Last Known” in its fifth issue.

I’d really like to thank the field biologists and Bachman’s experts who took time out of their busy lives to respond to my emails and phone calls. Paul Hamel, Sidney Gauthreaux, Chuck Hunter, Robert Norton, Bob Ford, Kenneth Rosenberg, thank you all.  Isabella Kirkland’s hauntingly gorgeous oil painting deserves contemplation.  And mostly especially, a big thank you to Craig Watson of the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture, who read my drafts, sent me his own personal copy of Paul Hamel’s book Bachman’s Warbler: A Species in Peril as well as a precious dvd film of the warbler, and provided invaluable feedback.

You can read “Last Known” here on the Zoomorphic website.

 

Painting of Vermivora bachmanii by Louis Agassiz Fuertes [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Absolutely bananas about this now
Published February 23, 2016 by

Absolutely bananas about this now

I love listicles and they’re easy to post. Enjoy!

Right now here’s what I’m into:

HalfBaked Harvest  I have to admit, this website inspired me to start this weekly (lofty goal…weekly…we’ll see) post of “oh how I love thee’s” – but seriously y’all I adore this cooking site, so many luscious recipes to try. Next up for me is the Crockpot Creamy Cashew Chicken. Ummmmm.

Vieux Farka Toure Live Sometimes I can’t handle the overload of my giant itunes library, so I throw on the iHeartRADIO website. No ads, and plenty of free music. My favorite station right now is inspired by Ayub Ogada, a genius in his own right, but recently a track from Toure’s mindblowing live album got tossed into the mix and I am in love. Which reminds me…I love this song too by Baaba Maal.

River  Netflix, you just keep comin’ at me with some amazing original shows, and this is one of your finest. Yes, I love a British police procedural, but this is….well…River is phenomenal.

Bone Tomahawk  Richard Jenkins, that’s what I have to say. Richard Jenkins, people.

2 Poems by Maggie Woodward at The Fem  Woooosh – these knocked me sideways.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown  Last week I got together with a bunch of friends for our semi-irregular Insane-in-the-Bourdain viewing nights, and we watched the Ethiopia episode. There is so much here to sink into deliciously, whether you’re new to the Bourdainverse or a veteran foodie. The foooood. Marcus Samuelsson, whose book Yes, Chef I’m now listening to on audiobook (Samuelsson himself reads it…so wonderful). And the music of Mahmoud Ahmed, perfect.

My Taxes  Okay so no, I’m not bananas about this at all; doing my taxes this year sure made me go nuts. High five if you’re on my wavelength.

Two banana recipes Well of course, this post is about going bananas. Cookies and cake, oh yeahhhh. I am always looking for recipes to deal with overripe brown-spotted oogey bananas that I refuse to peel-n-eat but won’t throw out. Here’s one for cookies and here’s one for double chocolate banana bread (let’s just say it, this is cake, not banana bread – no complaints).

Featured Photo By Matt Reinbold from Bismarck, ND, USA – Monkeys on a Banana, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11293688

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listicle

Crux
Published February 15, 2016 by

Crux

I wrote a poem last summer called “Crux” – and it’s published today at Atlas and Alice!

One of these days I hope to perform “Crux.” I wrote it mainly in my head over several weeks, while out running the bike path near where I live. I can imagine belting out “Crux” while standing on a table in the back of a dark roadhouse. Everybody might ignore me, and that’d be okay. This is a poem about being lonely in a social place. Or maybe it’s about art. Or Jesus. Or Jesus art. Or maybe it’s about tears in your beer and divine drunken revelations. Or maybe it’s about Yacht Rock, because I was doing way more Easy Listening last summer than any human being should. If you listen close you can hear a Judee Sill song in there, too – though I came by it through the great Warren Zevon version. No really, it’s about all of the above.

You can read “Crux” here – and I hope you’ll tell me what you think in the comments.

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Ludolf Bakhuizen – 1. Google Cultural Institute2. Indianapolis Museum of Art, Public Domain

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