Why yes, I’m referring to the Beyoncé song, “Bow Down.” And speaking of Queen B, I visited her hometown this year, and am here to tell you it’s irreplaceable. So get in formation, ladies & gentleman–
Remember when I went to Belize and met these amazing friends, and then went to Mexico with them a couple months later, and then again to Cuba? I had yet to actually hang out with them in the States, since I live in Pennsylvania and they live in Texas. However, that changed when I visited for a weekend, for my first time at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! (I did not realize this was a thing. And it’s a HUGE thing!)
We actually had a weekend full of concerts, as well. Cardi B at the Rodeo, and then Trampled by Turtles the next night at the White Oak Music Hall.
Also- can’t forget the CRAWFISH! This was a first for me, and I was slightly terrified at first but then loved how messy and delicious this experience was! We also saw The Orange Show and Smither Park, two gorgeous installations of art.
Most of our time was spent in between the Heights and downtown, so there wasn’t a lot of actual area covered, but we really packed so much into this three day weekend and I had such an absolute blast brunchin’ with these babes after Barbarella’s!
What’s better than fried butter and friendship?!
Fried butter, frito pies, chicken and waffles, tamales, you name it! The food scene is on fire in this city! As is the weather, the nightlife, and the people. Can’t wait to visit again.
My 40th country was the ever beautiful Barbados! Home to Rihanna, amazing rum punches and sunsets, and some guy that told me he’d buy me a Toyota…unless I greatly misunderstood the Bajan dialect, which is probably a safe bet.
I met quite a few friends, including both locals and fellow travelers that became fast friends. I had flying fish for dinner, which was delicious, and chatted the night away with rum punches at some of the oceanside bars.
I mainly stayed near Bridgetown, a port city and the capital of Barbados, and spent time on the lovely Rockley Beach, Worthing Beach, and also visited Brownes Beach, Pebble Beach, and Needhams Point. Walking along the boardwalk in the morning was one of my favorite experiences. It was beautiful to watch the waves crash into the white sand and feel the warm sun on my shoulders, not yet overpowering in the heat of the day.
Like the graffiti? I had to send a photo to my mom 🙂
Barbados is such a friendly island and even though it is small in size (21 miles by 14 miles, to be exact) there was so much I wanted to do and see before my weekend there was up. I didn’t get to try pudding and souse, but I sampled Banks beer & Mount Gay rum while hanging out at the Chill Cafe.
If you get the opportunity for an island getaway, I highly recommend Barbados as a tropical escape!
I completed my third (and final) residency in my MFA program in January. To say that this program has changed my life is an understatement. In the words of my friend and former Madwomen mentor, Tess Barry, it is a “two year bath in champagne.”
I have worked with incredible mentors, had the pleasure of meeting and listening to many renowned visiting writers, and made lifelong connections in the friends I have found here.
Here’s our group at Steel Cactus: Amy, me, Jaclyn, Phillip, Cathy, Hannah, and Sam.
I met the remarkable Sandra Cisneros, award-winning author and beautiful soul.
I presented my craft talk, Writing the Wandering Home: Place and Placelessness in Poetry.
And here we all are at the final dinner, the original crew: Richard, Cathy, me, Gerry, Jaclyn.
& the three musketeers, the girls: Jaclyn, me, Cathy.
I would not have made it through this program or the past year of my life (including surviving Ireland!) without this incredible human. Thank you, Jaclyn. We did it!
I am beginning this last practicum with a full reading list, and a notebook full of goals. I’m not sure what shape my manuscript will take, but I know my voice is shifting the more I grow in this program, and I can’t wait to see how it sounds.
I was blessed to bring this beauty into the world recently. My friends, colleagues, and family helped me celebrate my second chapbook, The Shedding Before the Swell, at The Glitterbox Theater on December 8th.
Poets/friends Dan Shapiro, Ava C. Cipri, Charlie Brice, and Amy Lee Heinlen gave beautiful readings and introductions.
“Kara’s poems can take us just to the edge, teetering on the brink, through a mastery of the senses and an unapologetic voice she transforms the ordinary into unnerving and unexpected landscapes. Sometimes I feel as if she leads, but mostly I feel she asks us to walk alongside her, and look into the abyss, and name our hunger. “—Ava C. Cipri, author of Leaving The Burdened Ground
We had books for sale (of course) and a signing party after the reading with wine and sweet treats made from my best friend, Holly.
I’m so grateful for everyone that came out to help celebrate this book with me.
(And to Catherine, who captured the beautiful photo below of my parents looking on!)
Thanksgiving looked a little different this year- no turkey at the dinner table or family all around me. I spent it with another love, one I’m grateful for: traveling solo. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see yet another gorgeous place in this world.
I decided to spend some time in Curaçao for a warm getaway, and was lucky enough to have a layover in Panama City, Panama on the way. I only had a short time in Casco Viejo and tried to make the most of it.
Walking around the beautiful Plaza de Francia (evening & early morning).
The view of the city looking out over the water was spectacular, as was the contrast of old & new cities.
I quickly stumbled upon the Cathedral of Panama, as it was right near my hotel and hard to miss. One of the oldest structures in the city.
Sunrise the next morning as I slowly made my way to the airport:
If you wander around Plaza Tomás Herrera & Plaza de la Independencia, you’ll be sure to stumble upon beautiful streets lined with lush greenery and surprising architecture.
Aren’t these streets so colorful and charming?
Outside Iglesia La Merced
Next: Curaçao
This was the weekend of the marathon, and also a busy time around the holidays, but this town was a breath of fresh air. Here I am posing on the Queen Emma Bridge. Also, speaking of posing- check out that bird in the photo above. I mean, come on…
Cool drinks, cooler town.
La Bohème was the spot!
Sights around Pietermaai District:
Taking some time to relax on my last day.
This waterrrrrrr though.
Fresh fruit “pizza,” holiday decor, and crystal blue waters. Name a better trio.
As quick as the leaves changed in the fall, my season of readings for the last part of 2018 has come to a close.
I’ve kept busy the past couple months:
Carlow University
Red Dog Reading Series
Black Cat Market
Honey Bee Review Reading
Full Pint Wild Side Pub
Hell’s Lid Reading Series
And one more upcoming reading at the Millvale Community Library
Girls Write Pittsburgh Winter Reading Party
Here’s wishing you the happiest of holidays with your loved ones!
My poem “Road Maps” was reprinted recently with Pittsburgh Poetry Houses. It was also featured both online and at Randyland, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever.
Looking back, 2018 was one of my craziest travel years to date. I’d just ended the last day of 2017 in Belize, spent a whirlwind long weekend in between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden, a month later jetted off to Mexico with friends I’d met in Belize, spent two perfect weeks in June studying poetry in the heart of Dublin, Ireland, welcomed July in Colorado and ended it in Maine, spent my birthday in Puerto Rico, stepped back in time in Havana, Cuba in August, and that’s what brings me here: a slice of time from September to October when I was so lucky to visit two AMAZING countries: Liechtenstein and Portugal. (I ended the year by dipping into Panama City, Panama & then dipping my toes into the beaches of Curaçao, but that’s for another post.)
My friend Sarah, who I met through my friend & coworker Debra, was also a passionate traveler and was working and living in Europe at the time. We had talked about meeting up somewhere in the world, but it just felt like a far-off venture that probably wouldn’t work out. Until, it did. We both had been wanting to go to Portugal, and miraculously our schedules aligned! I took a couple days before arriving in Portugal to meet up with my friend Cathy, who I had met in my MFA program. Cathy lives in Liechtenstein with her family and had often told me of the gorgeous mountain views she saw on her early morning hikes, but experiencing it with her was another thing. Putting on our sweatshirts and shoes in the dark, we climbed up the hills, past farms and pastures, and watched the sun come over the town below.
While I was there, Cathy brought me to her son’s school to speak to the kids about poetry. I didn’t realize how nervous I would be- I have no clue how to be in front of middle schoolers, y’all. I know how important poetry is, and what it means to me, but how could I ever relate that to a group of eleven year olds? Regardless, I was so honored she had invited me.
Cathy took me to the Werdenberg Castle, showed me Vaduz and the art in Städtle, but my favorite place was her kitchen, right in the heart of her home with the big picture windows, sitting with a glass of white wine and laughing.
After our short time together, I caught a flight to meet up with Sarah, and we set out to see as much as possible in two of Portugal’s most beautiful cities, Lisbon and Porto.
We started out in Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in Europe, and it did not disappoint!
Lisbon highlights:
Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge Jerónimos monastery Torre de Belém pastéis de nata Tram 28/funiculars Mercado da Ribeira (market) Alfama District (hill, old town) Rossio Square/Pedro IV Square (peoplewatching, eating/drinking) the Bairro Alto (nightlife) the Padrão dos Descobrimentos LX Factory Check out all of the amazing street art, too!
OOH, we also took a day trip to Sintra/Pena Palace/Cascais, which is gorgeous and I would definitely recommend:
We packed a lot of fun into Lisbon, but nothing could prepare us for what the cobblestone streets of Portugal’s second largest city, (known for its port wine production) would lead us down…
We drank as much of the city in as we could ❤
Porto highlights:
The Cais da Ribeira/ Luís I Bridge Clérigos Tower Avenida dos Aliados Graham’s Port Lodge Teleférico de Gaia – Estação Cais de Gaia Funicular dos Guindais Croft Port Muralha Primitiva Pillory of Porto Igreja dos Clérigos Igreja do Carmo Praça de Lisboa São Bento Station (beautiful station from the 1800s) Câmara Municipal do Porto (city hall)
Full transparency, there aren’t a ton of photos from Porto due to the many glasses of wine you see pictured above.
Some memories you can’t capture 🙂 I had the time of my life with Sarah and I’m SO glad it worked out for us to cross off a bucketlist destination together.
Portugal, you’re more beautiful than I could’ve imagined. Your landscape, architecture, seafood, and of course, wine, are still spinning in my head.
from this side of the sun 