What Makes Me Curious: Part 1.

I gave myself a prompt (which I gleaned from reading an article in Bella Grace) to fill a spread in my journal with objects of my curiosity. A lot of them turned out to be people. I'm thinking about how I can discover more about each of these curiosities. Here they are:

• Native Americans. I have a DK book called North American Indians that I want to read. When I was a little girl, I read as much as I could about Native Americans, but I've forgotten a lot of what I learned. I want to read more Native American writerrs, inclluding Natalie Diaz (I gave Postcolonial Love Poem 5 stars) and Stephen Graham Jones. I read something I'm heavily paraphrasing somewhere: Learn as much about Native American brilliance as about their tragedy. I want to do that. I'm going to search for anthologies of Native American stories or poems.
• Ancient Egypt. Egypt has always fascinated me. I got to learn some about it in AP Art History my senior year of high school. I have a DK book on Ancient Egypt. I want to read that soon. I also want to buy an audio book of Egyptian mythology.
• Interior design. I've always loved floorplans, and I enjoy decorating in my quirky, glittery way. But this year, I've become more interested in interiror design. I've read several books about it this year, and I have four more to read. Even Kindle Unlimited has a book about becoming an interior designer. It's not something I'd actually do, and I don't intend to follow any rules, but I want to learn more about it.
• Kinuko Y. Craft. She is one of my favorite artists. I've had a couple of her calendars, which I need to cut up for prints and art journal pages. I've already hung up some calendar art. I should revisit her beautifully illustrated fairy tales. I've added a couple more to my wish list. And I have one book about her drawings and paintings; I want to read that. Her work is gorgeous and fascinating. Check out her gallery!
• Tasha Tudor. She was another of my favorite artists. I collect books she's illustrated. When I was a little girl, my mom read her copy of A Is for Annabelle to me. It's an alphabet book about a very fancy doll. She gave me my own copy for my eighteenth birthday. Now, I have a story book or two, a book of love poetry, a Child's Garden of Verses, and a book of fairy tales, all of which she illustrated. I want to read each of them and absorb the art. I also have a book about her art; maybe I'll read that in 2024.
• Josephine Wall. Another favorite artist! I have some journals with her art, and I have at least one print in the study from one of her calendars. I also have a book about her and her art that I need to read.
• Amy Brown. Another favorite artist! I've loved Amy Brown since I discovered her as a teenager. One of the first Christmas gifts Josh gave me was a book of her art. I have at least three such books, but I've never read the text. I'd like to get the two other books on her art for my collection. 
• Sunset Boulevard, the musical. I saw this when I was younger than twelve. The cast album still haunts me. I've heard we may get a movie of the musical someday, which would be amazing. The sets and special effects are breathtaking. I have a big hardcover book all about the musical. I've had it for many years, but I've never read it!
• Dear Evan Hansen. I've watched a lot of videos about this show. I've read the companion novel. I've seen the movie. I've seen the show twice, once from the second row! I knew nothing about this musical the first time I saw it, but it became my second-favorite show! I almost got to see it on Broadway, but the pandemic shut it down that night. I have a big hardcover about the musical, and I need to read that. 
• The Phantom of the Opera. I think I'm due to reread this novel. It's also my favvorite musical. I've seen the show seven times, once on Broadway! I have...you guessed it, a big hardcover about the musical. So much to read! I also need to read Andrew Lloyd Weber's and Michael Crawford's memoirs (both of which I own) as they probably reveal a lot about the show.
• Ann Patchett. Ann Patchett just seems like a special person. I've read two of her novels, a memoir, and a book of essays (This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage). I own another book of essays, These Precious Days, which I'd like to read as soon as possible. It's on deck for this year! I also want to read the rest of her novels. She doesn't have a short story collection that I know of. She also has this amazing independent bookstore, Parnassus, and I want to read the bookstore's blog. The store is in Tennessee, and I'd love to go see it.
• Fountain pens and ink. I learn a lot about these from my Pen Squad group on Facebook, and a former pen pal taught me even more. I own fourteen fountain pens, and I've been learning how best to use them, clean them, and care for them. Ink fascinates me. I'm having an ink experience now because I have a Diamine Inkvent calendar with twenty-five miniature bottles of ink! I got the calendar last year too. Since draining a pen of ink takes me a couple of days, I've already started this year's calendar. I'm on number three! I'm also in the process of using each of my inks one by one. I have a desk drawer full of inks: standard, scented, sheening, shimmering, and "chameleon," which means the ink is one color and the glitter is another color. 
• Anais Nin. I've been interested in her since I found a volume of her journal, Nearer the Moon, at the library when I was a teenager. I read it, and in college, I read most of another volume called Fire. Now, I've collected almost all the volumes of her diaries, mostly Kindle books that I got for $2.99 each! I still have a couple to find, including one that's out of print. My goal for next year is to read at least twenty-five published diaries and books about jorunals, and I'll be reading Nin's diaries from the beginning. I have the first three volumes, a gap, a few more volumes...I'm missing the last three volumes. I'll get them all, hopefully prior to next year. I also have a couple of her short story (erotica) collections and other books, novels and nonfiction. I'm fascinated with her as a wildly prolific diarist. I don't think many people besides her have filled as many journals as I have!
• Anne Lamott. I love Annie Lamott. This year, I got to see her speak during a virtual writing conference. I've read some of her books visually, and I've listened to others. I like her voice. She's so irreverant, yet she's a person of great faith. I admire her as a fierce artist and thinker who is a believer. I want to read or listen to the rest of her memoirs and essays. I also need a reread Bird by Bird with a highlighter in hand. My dad gave me the book when I was a teenager, and it helped shape me as a writer.
• Sylvia Plath. So, I've read her journals (back in grad school), but I've only read a scattering of her poems. I have her collected poems, which I want to read soon. It won the Pulitzer, and one of my decade goals is to read at least ten Pulitzer Prize winners, so there you go. I've read one biography, but I'd like to read more. I'd also like to read more of Ted Hughes's poetry; I read Birthday Letters during my MFA. 
• Kim Addonizio. I've really just started reading her. Josh bought me two of her poetry collections this year, and I read both last month. I want to own and read the rest of her poetry. I especially want to read her memoir of writer's life, Budowski in a Sundress. I don't own that yet. I do own her Ordinary Genius, which I'd like to read next year. I also want her The Poet's Companion, which she wrote with Dorianne Laux. I read parts of it in the ASU library as a senior.
• Jill Bialosky. Another poet who happened to be KA's editor! Connections in the poetry world are so interesting. I've read two of her poetry collections, one of them so long ago that I need to read it again. I'm in the middle of her memoir Poetry Will Save Your Life. I need to finish it! I have more books of her poetry on my wish list, and I've checked out one of her novels on Libby. 
• David Lehman. Another poet. I read his The Daily Mirror many years ago. Now, I have his Evening Sun: A Journal in Poetry. He is also the standing editor of the wondrous Best American Poetry series. He gathers the poems and then gives them to a guest editor, who selects seventy-five poems from the year's journals and magazines. So he is kind of the king of poetry. I want to read more of her poems, and I want to read his forewards to as many BAPs as possible.
• Donald Hall. I've read his Selected Poems, which wasn't really my taste. But I love his nonfiction. I've read Unpacking the Boxes and The Best Day, the Worst Day; the latter is about his life with the poet Jane Kenyon. I own his newest book, Essays at Eighty, and it's on my reading list for next year.
• Amy Gerstler. My favorite poet! I've read all of her easily-accessed books and the BAP for which she was guest editor. Her poems appear regularly in years of BAP as well, including the 2023 volume I'm starting to read! I want to get a hold of her books that are out of print. Once I do that, I want to reread all her poetry in order of publication.
• Best American anthologies. As you may have read, one of my major goals is to read some of the Best American anthologies for every year. I'm going back to 2000 with Poetry (maybe eventually all the way back to the '80s) and back to 2020 with Short Stories, Essays, Food Writing, Travel Writing (which unfortunately folded after 2021), and Science Fiction and Fantasy. I have a lot of catching up to do! I have read several of the Poetry volumes, but I want to own and read all of them, or at least twenty-three years of them. Each anthology has a series editor and an annual guest editor. Ann Patchett edited one of the Best American Short Stories! These anthologies are the best way to learn about contemporary poetry and discover new poets. That's how I discovered Amy Gerstler!
• Contemporary poetry. I want to learn more about contemporary poetry by reading as much of it as I can. Reading BAP will help. I also want to read as many Pitt Poetry Series books as I can. I recently discovered the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets, little anthologies of poems, sometimes by single poets but often by a variety of poets across time writing on a particualr subject. Josh has given me three of these. I'm almost done with Fairy Poems, and I'm eager to read Art and Artists poems and Books and Libraries poems. I have a lot more of the books on my wish list. I plan to read a book of poetry for every day of April and October each year. I did that this October and managed to whittle down my stacks of poetry.
• Libraries. Libraries are remarkable. I'm using Libby now to read as many E-books and audio books as I can. I currently have overdue books from the physical library, but once I finish and return those, I'm going to get back to reading all the poetry at my local branch and to borrowing books from all over the state thrioug the inter-library loan program! I'm also just curiosu about libraries in general, public, private, and personal. I'm currently reading a book called At Home with Books, which is about notable personal libraries. I love reading books like that; I've read others, and I plan to read more!