I’m in a “hinge moment” right now, a phrase I learned today during a writer interview podcast I was watching. The host asked the writer about a transition point in his personal story, and she used the expression, so I had an idea of what it meant. Still, I Googled it after the interview ended. Poet Catherine Barnett’s curiosity of hinge moments in writing is piqued as she explores the central idea of a hinge as a point of connection between two physical objects, two words that bump up against each other, two moments in time. And like a physical hinge, a hinge moment suggests movement is possible at the connection point(s) between the object, the words, the moment. I’d say I’m in the waiting room of my internship, a hinge moment with The Maine Review, and I rely on patience in this liminal space between now and then, what is and what will be. Hope grounds me and keeps me tethered to my future learning experience at The Maine Review. Hope is now my hinge. Meditative practice also reminds me that each moment is a new beginning, and that paying attention to the breath is what guides me into this exact moment and then to the next. This moment is all I really have. In this practice, I often become distracted by what has past and what is yet to come. I can do nothing about either, I remind myself, so breathing into the moment is what makes sense to me. What I understand now in my life is that beginnings are exciting, filled with possibilities as I breathe into the moment, including the start of my internship with the Maine Review. I feel a sense of anticipation and hope in beginning something new. At sixty-two, I consider myself a life-long learner, and throughout my life, have taken on new adventures – driving across the country and relocating to a new city in my 30’s, taking formal classes in learning how to draw and paint in my 40’s, ending a twenty-five year career in work that I loved but knew I needed to leave in my 50’s, enrolling in graduate school to become a (better) writer in my 60’s. I’ve gained confidence in my ability to navigate new beginnings as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger, however, new beginnings were often challenging. Looking back, leaving home for college in another state was one of the most difficult transitions I’ve ever made, a metamorphosis of sorts, from adolescence into young adulthood, leaving the known and familiar to the unknown of college life (and a first general college student to boot). I hadn’t yet learned ways of successfully navigating change, which seems inherent in starting something new – how to care for myself through the initial hours and days of beginnings, welcoming and seeing the unexpected that comes with anything new as opportunity, understanding that adjustments during any beginning are necessary, and are indeed a series of thresholds leading to new learning, discovery, and growth. https://www.poetry.arizona.edu/blog/brief-poetics-hinge
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My internship will take place at The Maine Review (MeR), https://mainereview.com/, a literary journal. My supervisor, AJ Bermudez, is the Co-Editor of the journal. I will be working remotely. I don’t believe that MeR has a physical office location.
Having been born and raised in Maine, I became interested in interning here after reading this mission statement excerpt: “We cherish our Maine heritage, which values sustainability and stewardship of vital resources. We’ve modeled MeR after the local farmers who respect the land and feed our communities, and the fishers, lobsterers, wormers, clammers, hunters, conservancies, and environmental non-profits who advocate for and protect our wilderness and wildlife.” What would you like to learn during your internship? I’m interested in learning about and hope to be involved in every aspect of the processes and practices that lead to publication. The journal has recently moved from a triannual to a biannual publication schedule, and I will be curious to see how this shift impacts the timeframe and workload for the staff and my internship experience. What expectations do you have about your work? I’m expecting, based on my initial conversation with AJ, that this internship will be dynamic, thought-provoking, and fun, and that my voice and ideas will be fully welcomed by the MeR staff. Do you have any concerns, worries or nervousness as you contemplate the coming weeks of work and study? Not at this time. |
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March 2023
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