The manuscript is off…

So the book is off, thank the lord. Have been fairly holed up for the past month, waking at 5, writing til 8 – breaking only for board games of Settlers, this great new game called Agricola, attending a rally at Crescent Harbor against GMO-modified salmon, and having Ms. Pam Houston make a visit to the Adak – which was a great honor. She did a wonderful, impromptu reading of the poem “A Continuous Life” by Mark Strand by the bookshelf, that I will never forget. I’ve had the good luck to run into someone – I forget if I mentioned this in the last post – studying for the Alaska bar – so we’ve both been egging one another on, seeing who can wake the earliest, who can make it longest without coffee or espresso chocolate bars, who can make it longest without closing their eyes…

And now novel, I cast thee on the Waters, go thy ways: And if, as I believe, thy vein be good, The World will find thee after many days. Be it with thee according to thy worth: Go, little Book; in faith I send thee forth. (Thank you to poet Robert Southey and to my father for introducing me to these lines).

In other lands – the Adak has been very aggressive about crushing buoy bags against the bullrails of the dock with the recent wind we’ve been having. It’s depressing to be lying in bed in the early hours of the morning and hear one pop. I think it’s the boat’s way of complaining of lack of attention – just like Cal whines and takes long self-chaperoned journeys when he’s not given enough walks, so the Adak crushes her buoy bags.

The first herring boats have been arriving at the docks – maybe this year there will be another epic brawl between crews – that was impressive. Salmonberry shoots begin to poke out from the dirt, the nubs of devil’s club buds push out of their spines – and all of that other beautiful spring stuff that happens around here. I tell you – the forest turns a shade of green – chartreuse maybe – that hurts the eyes. The bears begin to wake up. Soon the salmon will be appearing out at Biorka, then Vikskari, then Crow Pass … and so the world turns.

Kent in NYC will be back with the edits in eight days. My fingers are crossed. Then the editorial board, then to sale at the beginning of April.

In the meantime, the weather calls for a high-pressure system – a week of sunshine which will be – welcome.

Once again, thank you to all the folks who have read the manuscript, and who have been a huge part in bringing it its current state. I can only hope to one day have the honor of making a more formal acknowledgement, say behind a bookcover …