Lightning & Water

I am happy to report I have a new publication available for your reading (and listening) pleasure. My friends at Words Dance have posted my poem "Lightning in a Bottle, Water in a Net," along with a sound file of my reading of it. Check it out and then explore the entire site. It is one of the best online publications I've been associated with (and not just because they have published me a few times). The marriage of visual art, poetry, and sound is always of the highest quality.

Readings

We had a great turnout on Thursday September 18 at the inaugural reading in this season's Third Thursday series in Takoma Park. Thanks to all who attended and kudos to my fellow three readers, Tony Mancus, Bonnie Naradzay, and Luc Phinney. If you missed it but would like to experience it, Takoma Park City TV has the entire reading posted. Click the Poetry tab and then the Third Thursday Poetry-September 18, 2014 link. The program actually begins at about 4:15. If you want to see just my portion, I put it on YouTube.

October's reading promises to be equally good. It will feature Naomi Thiers, Rocky Delaplaine, Garrett Phelan, and Jonathan Katz. Details on Takoma Park's poetry page. Hope to see you there!

September Poetry News

I am very happy to have a couple of items of poetic interest to post.

• My Lovely Friend and very talented poet Naomi Thiers has a new chapbook coming out from Finishing Line Press, publishers of her previous book In Yolo County and my own Drinking Weather. It's titled She Was a Cathedral and contains poems honoring women, some famous, some the author's friends and family, some observed with the poet's keen eye. It can be pre-ordered here: Finishing Line Press. Please order by October 10 if you can so Naomi can get sufficient pre-orders to assure the largest possible press run. The book should ship in late November.

• Naomi will no doubt be reading some of the poems from the new book, along with old favorites, when she joins me and two other poets TBA at the opening reading of the 2014-2015 Third Thursday Series in Takoma Park, MD, on Thursday September 18 at 7:30 p.m. Hit the link for details and a map. This is my second time reading in the series, her first, and our first time as featured readers on the same bill. We hope those of you in or near the DC area will join us.

UPDATE 09-04-14: Unfortunately, the Takoma Park folks have rescheduled Naomi's reading to Thursday October 16. Time and place are the same as mine and I hope those of you who can will come to both readings.

Delphic Interview

I recently had the pleasure and privilege of being interviewed about my poetry and related issues by none other than my Lovely Friend Naomi Thiers, on behalf of Delphi Quarterly, an excellent online journal that specializes in interviews with writers. (I blogged about it not long ago when Naomi was featured.) The result, deftly edited and wonderfully introduced by Delphi's editor Ramola D., is now online. Read it, then check out the rest of this fine site.

Awarded!

I am very pleased to report that on Friday May 9, 2014, I was awarded the 2014 Larry Neal Writers' Award for adult poetry. These awards, now in their 31st year, are given by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and honor the great African-American writer and activist who served as the first chairman of the Commission. It is therefore a special honor and pleasure for me to be recognized by and in the city that I have called home for almost 34 years. My thanks to the many of followers of this blog who have been my readers and supporters!

Poetry Month

It is April and that means warmer weather (I hope!) and that the flood of poetry in honor of National Poetry Month is beginning. Here's a fine poem by one of our best poets, Yusef Komunyakaa: Daytime Begins with a Line by Anna Akhmatova.

Closer to home, I am delighted to report that my poem "Poem beginning with a found line," recently published in Broadkill Review, will be on display outside the New Deal Café in Greenbelt, MD, as part of their Poetry Moment Project. In connection with this, I will be reading during a National Poetry Month reading and reception on Sunday April 6 at the Café from 2-4 p.m. If you are in the DC area, please attend. The link has information about the Café, including address, phone number, and directions.

Add some poetry to your day every day in April...and always!

New Year News

Welcome to 2014! I have two items of interest to poetry lovers.

§ The 2014 Split This Rock Festival, presenting and celebrating poems of provocation and witness, is coming soon. Running from March 27-30, this event offers workshops, panel discussions, socializing, opportunities for activism, and readings featuring a stellar lineup of writers. The organizers particularly want the public to know that readings by the festival's featured poets are free and open to all and they would love to have large numbers attend, especially residents of the Washington, DC metro area. This festival is a long-running tradition and, to my knowledge, there is nothing like anywhere else. It deserves the strong support and participation of DC-area poets, literary folks of all kinds, and activists. For more information and to register, visit the Split This Rock website.

§ On a more personal note, I want to point my readers a newly posted interview with my dear friend, companion, and comrade-in-poetry Naomi, whose wonderful book, In Yolo County, I have written about before, has an excellent interview at Delphi Quarterly, an online journal featuring interviews with writers of all kind, in which she discusses the genesis of the book and gives some fascinating insights into her process of writing it. It's touching and informative and a good reminder that if you haven't bought the book, now is a good time to do so. Links to ordering it are in the article.

Happy New Year and may it be productive and poetic!

Uncommon Happiness

I continue to be pleased and honored by a number of publications. The 2013 issue of Commonthought Magazine, a fine journal published by Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, contains three of my poems. Follow the link to get a copy; buy one if you can and support the publisher. I have other poems forthcoming in Broadkill Review and Northern Virginia Review. I will post details when they have appeared.

Music, Dance, Poetry

As always, I'm happy to announce three recent publications. The Summer, music-themed issue of Little Patuxent Review is now available, including my poem "Aspirins and Coffee." You'll have to buy a copy (which you can do from their web site) if you want to read it (and many other excellent poems, stories, and essays), but you can view a video of my reading at the recent launch party. The video and others from the launch can also be accessed at LPR's site.

I was also pleased to be published in the latest edition of Words Dance, which you can order as a downloadable PDF at the link. And finally, you can read my poem "Memory and Desire" in Almost 5/Q, the blog associated with the very fine journal Almost 5 [quarterly].

I'd also like to give a shout-out to my friend, fellow DC poet, and workshop coordinator Jon Barrows, who has a poem in the latest issue of Stepaway, who, you may recall, published me in their previous issue. Congrats, Jon!

Poetic Tourism

The editor of Little Patuxent Review (where I have now had the honor of being published twice), Laura Shovan, recently invited me to be one of her guest bloggers for National Poetry Month. Her theme this year is the Technoverse, so my experience with a podcast poetry tour was a perfect fit. Read it and a supplemental poem and enjoy Laura's wonderful illustrations, in today's edition of Author Amok.

As it happens, today is also Poem in Your Pocket Day, sponsored by The Academy of American Poets. Mine is "The Rain" by Robert Creeley. What's yours?

Stepping Away

I am very pleased to announce that Issue 9 of Stepaway Magazine, containing my poem "On the Green Line," is now available for your reading pleasure. This very fine UK-based journal celebrates the experience of walking around (or, in some cases such as with my poem, being conveyed) around and exploring the urban environment. As the editor puts it, "This is flânerie for the twenty-first century." Having greatly aspired to be a flâneur ever since my first reading of Walter Benjamin, I am naturally thrilled.

Publication Roundup

Not to brag (well, maybe a little), but I've had a pretty good string of publications over the last few months, with two recent ones that I haven't yet documented here yet. So to bring everyone up to date, besides my latest book, I have a poem in the latest issue (#3) of Cactus Heart and one in the Winter issue of Rising Tide Review (which also contains a poem by the lovely Naomi). The latter is an interesting journal that is especially interested in publishing the work of writers over 40 and is published in Atlantic, VA, not far from my beloved Chincoteague. Check out these fine magazines!

It's Out!

In record time from acceptance to publication, my new book is now available on Amazon. If you are in or near D.C., you will be able to purchase a copy from me soon, should you prefer to get it that way. I will of course happily sign and personalize your copy if at all possible.

I am hoping to start arranging readings soon, some I hope in conjunction with my lovely friend, Naomi, as she promotes her own collection (which you should also order if you haven't already: In Yolo County. (Use the pull down and find Naomi Thiers.) It promises to be an exciting Spring!

Publication News

My first pub of the new year (and the first of several pending) is up at the very fine online journal Faircloth Review. Be sure to browse the site for some excellent poems, stories, and other items of interest.

I have more poems appearing soon in print and/or online in Cactus Heart,Rising Tide Review, and The Rusty Nail. Watch this space for details.

Finally, I want to congratulate my dear friend and muse Naomi Thiers for attaining 70 pre-orders for her upcoming book In Yolo County. There's still time to order, so if you haven't, please visit Finishing Line Press and do so.

2013 is shaping us a very good year for Naomi and me as regards our writing and publishing endeavors. Wishing everyone a happy Martin Luther King/Inauguration Day!

Back in Print!

When my first book Signs of Small Grace was published in 2010, it was the culmination of many years' effort and the fulfillment of a long-time dream. The quick follow-up of my second, Drinking Weather, only added to the thrill of book publication at last. So I was deeply disappointed and sad when Pudding House, the publisher of Signs, abruptly and mysteriously disappeared late last year. I had given away or sold all the copies I had received and was down to my one personal copy.

It now gives me great pleasure to announce my book's resurrection, thanks to the great generosity and practical help from several of my colleagues at National Geographic. If you never acquired a copy or need another, please contact me (click on my profile pic to the right and find my e-mail if you need it).

Thanks again to all of you who have been so generous and warm in supporting me and my writing over the years. It is a bit of a cliche but true and heartfelt that you help me keep going and growing as a poet.

A Mad Air

Along with the many usual things I am thankful for (health, family, a lovely trip to Texas for the holiday), I am delighted to report a new publication, my second appearance in Mad Rush. I also have a poem appearing soon in a fine journal located in the Eastern Shore of Virginia (very near my beloved Chincoteague) called Rising Tide Review. As always, watch this space for details.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

More News

First, I am very pleased to announce that the collection A Blackbird Sings is now available for pre-order on amazon; apparently it will start shipping about a week from now. I am very proud to have a "small stone" in this lovely collection of very short poems and other meditations. It will make a fine addition to anyone's collection and also an excellent gift. Order here.

I am also delighted to let you know that I will be reading in one of my favorite places on the planet, Chincoteague, VA, this coming Sunday, at the wonderful Sundial Books. My co-reader, Matt Spireng, is a fine poet from upstate New York, and well worth hearing as well. We'll both have books to sell and sign. I know it's a bit of a trip for my DC-area friends, but if you feel like an Autumn weekend at the beach, come on out! The reading begins at 2:00 p.m. Directions from their website: Sundial Books is located at 4065 Main St. in historic downtown Chincoteague. From the Rt. 175 Bridge, turn right onto Main St. and continue through Downtown Chincoteague. Sundial Books is on the corner of Main and Bridge Sts. Parking is available in the large lot behind the store.

Publishing and Reading News

Before I get to my own news, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my dear friend, Naomi Thiers, on the acceptance of her chapbook, In Yolo County, by Finishing Line Press (publishers of my Drinking Weather). The book relates the story of her maternal grandfather's adventures during the depression and his courtship of her grandmother, told in the voices of the protagonists and others. I have read the poems in their various stages of creation and revision and I can guarantee that it will be a lovely and fascinating book. Watch this space for ordering information; it should be available sometime early next year.

Regarding my own work, I am happy to report that the September print edition of The Rusty Nail is now available. It contains the two poems previously published online (as announced in my post of June 18). A copy can be had for a quite reasonable $8 or for a digital copy, the even more reasonable $2.

And finally, I am pleased to announce that I will again be reading at IOTA at 6 pm on Sunday September 9 as part of the 18th Anniversary celebration of the series. It is an honor to be invited back and I hope many of you will come and hear me along with other fine local poets. Visit IOTA online for directions.

Ode to Watermelon

My poem "Melon" has just been posted on Deep South. It's my second childhood reminiscence to appear in that excellent journal. Have a look and then browse the site for more poems, stories, recipes, and all good things Southern.

Update 08-08-12: The poem now also resides on its own page: "Melon."

Snapshot

I am pleased to announce a new publication, my poem "Saturday Snapshot" in the fine online journal Zouch. I am particularly delighted about this one in that it documents a visit to one of my favorite neighborhood hangouts.

I also have a poem forthcoming in Deep South magazine; I'll post the news and link when it is posted.