Congratulations Padrino!

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#1
Buried in another thread was the news that you have been selected to be a keynote speaker at the California State University Chico commencement in May.

You've been a member of this forum for a long time. This selection is, IMHO, well made. I wish you all the luck in the world in your future endeavors.
 

Warhawk

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#2
Agreed. And I'll slip you a Lincoln if you ask everyone to "Burkle Up" on the way home from the ceremony after having a Mastrov cocktail at the bar. :p
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#5
Agreed. And I'll slip you a Lincoln if you ask everyone to "Burkle Up" on the way home from the ceremony after having a Mastrov cocktail at the bar. :p
I'll add a few cool Washingtons into the pile as well.
Congrats!
 
#6
Padrino, you've always struck me as a particularly eloquent, intelligent, and rational person. Not surprised to hear of your selection. Congrats.

What's your field anyway?
 
#7
well thank you very much, VF and company!! that's a very sweet gesture!!

:D

Padrino, you've always struck me as a particularly eloquent, intelligent, and rational person. Not surprised to hear of your selection. Congrats.

What's your field anyway?
i mastered in english with an option in creative writing (specific focus on poetry). i actually completed my thesis in early november and graduated in december, but chico state only hosts a single commencement in the spring for graduate studies, so i'll be participating in the commencement even though my mind's been off school for a bit, as i'm now attempting to get by in "the real world." my creative thesis is online at chico state's digital repository, if anybody's interested in perusing parts of it:

http://csuchico-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.4/507

note: the poems begin on page 34, in case you don't want to read the lengthy critical introduction in which i discuss my work...

;)
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#8
Well, I'm definitely going to be checking out the poetry. I still have some of your really old stuff on an old hard drive. I'm very interested in seeing how your style has evolved.

:)
 
#9
Well, I'm definitely going to be checking out the poetry. I still have some of your really old stuff on an old hard drive. I'm very interested in seeing how your style has evolved.

:)
haha oh dear lord, i've had to learn a lotta tough lessons thus far as a poet, both about taking it on the chin when you're a young writer, and about sharing those early works in an open forum...

;)

that said, i am overwhelmingly satisfied with the direction my poetry has been moving across the last three years or so. i feel like i've established a strong, malleable voice that's also very approachable...
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#10
With each tick of the blinking cursor functioning like a visual metronome -- or perhaps more like a countdown, a meltdown of sorts, a persistently wayward time bomb -- I’ve often considered what it took to summon enough creative worth in me to regurgitate something that resembles poetry.
Note to felloiw readers of poetry and prose. That excerpt is from the first page. Reading his paper has now become an intriguing adventure for me, and I hope some of you will join me.
 

Warhawk

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Staff member
#11
Note to felloiw readers of poetry and prose. That excerpt is from the first page. Reading his paper has now become an intriguing adventure for me, and I hope some of you will join me.
Try as I might, I could never get "into" most poetry. It just doesn't "speak" to me. I must be deficient in the "poetry" gene. :p
 
#12
Congrats, Padrino. One of my favourite posters and pretty much always agree with you. I was shocked to see what you studied, as I'm on a similar path. In my final year of an English degree and was considering doing a masters in Creative Writing, so I may just be giving you a future PM to ask some questions if that's OK with you! I'll definitely be having a read of your thesis, although poetry is not something I'd generally be too interested in.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#13
Try as I might, I could never get "into" most poetry. It just doesn't "speak" to me. I must be deficient in the "poetry" gene. :p
You just might be surprised. Give it a try. I especially recommend "Man About to Die" on page 60 and "Plague" on page 65.
 
#14
You just might be surprised. Give it a try. I especially recommend "Man About to Die" on page 60 and "Plague" on page 65.
i'm quite proud of that poem. i wrote the majority of it in a late night, three-hour-long whiskey-addled haze, revised it once a week later, and called it a day. i rather enjoy writing poetry, but "Man About to Die" in particular was the most fun i've ever had with a pen in my hand. i've only just recently started writing in persona, and it's my new favorite past time. Doc Holliday was a blast to play. i'm currently working on a piece titled "Death Valley" from the perspective of Charles Manson, and it's quite a challenge to toe the line between tasteful disquiet and utterly ****ed...

;)
 
#15
Well done! I may have to get you a flame proof jacket as a congratulations after reading about this though. I am fully expecting comments from a couple of the people I have seen chastize you for your capitalization/paragraphs :p
 
#16
Well done! I may have to get you a flame proof jacket as a congratulations after reading about this though. I am fully expecting comments from a couple of the people I have seen chastize you for your capitalization/paragraphs :p
hahaha, indeed!!

well, i've said it before, i am quite secure with myself as a writer. i don't have anything to prove to anyone. a message board is an informal setting, and i've developed a style of writing online that i'm comfortable with. if i felt like i truly needed to make adjustments, i would, but i don't make it my business to satisfy the flamers. it seems mighty convenient, in fact, that only those who find themselves in disagreement with me are also the ones who feel the need to criticize the typed representation of my assertions, rather than the assertions themselves!!

;)
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#17
You just might be surprised. Give it a try. I especially recommend "Man About to Die" on page 60 and "Plague" on page 65.
Sorry, nothing. I can appreciate the wordplay but I don't get anything out of it when I read it. I always try to read it like a novel and it doesn't "work".

I'm an engineer. Sue me. :p

And Padrino - the fault is mine. I'm sure it is good stuff if I could appreciate it.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#19
Sorry, nothing. I can appreciate the wordplay but I don't get anything out of it when I read it. I always try to read it like a novel and it doesn't "work".

I'm an engineer. Sue me. :p

And Padrino - the fault is mine. I'm sure it is good stuff if I could appreciate it.
Fair enough. :)
 
#20
Congratulations Padrino. I've always thought you were one of the old timers on this site because of the maturity your post usually carry.
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#21
But, for what it is worth, I don't know that I have ever disagreed with Padrino on a post about the Kings. Always eloquent and spot on, intelligent and thought out.

So, Padrino, if you ever choose to write something non-poetic, I'll be the first to devour it cover to cover!
 
#22
i appreciate the love, friends...

:)

and i certainly understand that poetry isn't for everybody, though i do believe the world could use much more of it (and much less of things like, say, reality tv)...
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#23
i appreciate the love, friends...

:)

and i certainly understand that poetry isn't for everybody, though i do believe the world could use much more of it (and much less of things like, say, reality tv)...
What about a reality show that visits places like "City Lights" and has the participants stand up and read poetry? ;) :p
 
#24
What about a reality show that visits places like "City Lights" and has the participants stand up and read poetry? ;) :p
hahaha, i'd watch that. so would a handful of other people across the country. the show would hit cancellation before it was a third of the way through it's first season...

;)
 
#27
holy ****. i submitted three poems to Write Bloody Publishing's 2013 Book Contest, and I was selected as a finalist (you'll see my name second on the list below)!!

http://writebloody.com/2013/04/congratulations-3/

the task before me now in the second round of the contest is to submit a 40-poem manuscript and accompanying video of myself reading one of my poems. should my manuscript and video be chosen, i will be awarded with a publishing contract and book release for spring 2014. i'm kinda excited at the prospect...

here's the deal: i will soon be posting a video of myself performing a poem to youtube. as part of the selection process for round two, Write Bloody is interested in seeing how well one can promote oneself. that said, when the video goes online, i would ask that my gracious friends of KF.com "like" the video on youtube, and i would also ask that my gracious friends of KF.com re-post it on their facebooks, twitters, tumblrs, etc., with instruction that the viewer must "like" the video. these "likes" only account for a small portion of the final selection process, but i believe in being thorough, and i appreciate any help you all are willing to provide!! i'll update this thread when the video goes live...

:)