Election Week Poetry Events

It would be an understatement to say that the past week has been rough, but I realized today that the week has also brought some really lovely moments of connecting with people over poetry, and I want to hold on to those experiences.

On Monday evening, I went straight from the airport to the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park for a fair of women-run organizations and the book launch of Jane Muschenetz’s Power Point. It was life giving to celebrate Jane’s book and to be in the company of so many incredible women.

On Wednesday afternoon, I hosted our annual Poetry on Point reading at PLNU. I started this event 9 years ago so that all of the faculty and staff who write poetry could gather to read our poems for an audience, and it’s so lovely and joyful to hear my colleagues across disciplines sharing their poems.

On Thursday, I was a guest poet in the University of North Dakota’s Virtual Speaker Series. I read a variety of my poems and talked about my process of learning (over and over again) to let myself write what I need to write without letting my worries or anything else hold me back. Even via Zoom, they were such a lovely audience and had great questions. I’m grateful to Patrick Henry for inviting me and teaching my work in his class!

Yesterday afternoon, I got to be a guest speaker at the International Memoir Writers Association monthly gathering. I talked about and read from my chapbook 28,065 Nights, answered questions about chapbooks and about how poetry and memoir intersect, and ended with a writing exercise (that got me writing too!). I was honored to be invited to share with this group of kind writers.

Another thing that lifted me away from post-election despair was this: I filled in for a friend’s American Literature class on Friday, and he had assigned readings from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Margaret Fuller. Re-reading these texts and discussing 19th century women’s rights with a room of college students (all brilliant women) felt so important, and I think it fired me up to face whatever comes next.

Mothman & Little Free Lit Mag

I have a couple new publications to share! First, Mothman Was Here: Tales of the Uncanny is a fantastic cryptid-themed anthology edited by William Woolfitt and published by Tenpenny Books. I would love this anthology even if my poem weren’t included, but I’m extra delighted that a reprint of my poem “Baba Yaga’s Answer” is in such excellent company.

Last week, my poem “When My Spouse Was Hot” was published in the first issue of Little Free Lit Mag, and I’m so happy to be part of this new journal’s launch! The idea is that you can read (and listen to) the issues online and also print out copies to leave in little free libraries near you. So clever! I’m especially honored that they wanted to share this poem, which blends some playfulness with some flashbacks to cancer/chemo.

Poetry in Ocean & Con Pane!

I’ve gotten to do a couple of readings recently that were both very special to me.

The first was the Poetry in Ocean event held at the San Diego Public Library. I read poetry alongside a photographer, a surf podcaster, and fellow poets, and we all shared about the importance of the ocean in our work. There was an open mic, a raffle, music, pizza… it was a very lively and fun event! Thanks to Michael Klam and the SDPL for having me!

This week, I also had the honor of reading my poem “Con Pane” at the 25th anniversary event for Con Pane, my favorite bakery (and favorite place). Some of the employees came over one-by-one to tell me how much my poem meant to them, and it felt so beautiful that we could affirm the importance of each other’s work. It was also special to get to share the celebration with my son, who might love Con Pane as much as I do.

Next up: publication news!

Lascaux & Desert Rat Prizes

These past few months have been busy with travel and new class preps, but I’m finally taking a moment to share good poetry news here!

My poem “On the Night We Met, My Father Gave Me Icarus” was chosen as a finalist for The Lascaux Review Poetry Prize! The finalist award also included a monetary prize and publication. I’m thrilled that this poem found a home in such good company. Congrats to Nafisa Iqbal and my fellow finalists!

I also learned that my poem “At the Bird Rehab Facility in Vermont” was chosen by Kelli Russell Agodon as a runner-up for the Desert Rat Poetry Prize! Again, my work keeps some great company.

 

Coming soon… an update about the readings I’ve done recently!

Interview in The Brooklyn Rail

I’m having trouble finding the words to share this interview that Tony Leuzzi did with me for The Brooklyn Rail. Whatever I say about it won’t quite capture how meaningful it is to me that he took such time and care with my work. His interview questions were thoughtful and generous, and his intro—with language like “What a relief and joy then it has been to encounter Katie Manning’s Hereverent,” and “Time and again, the poems in Hereverent left me astonished”—is incredibly affirming. He even had his students read Hereverent and write poems in the style of my project! What a gift.

You can read the full interview here.