Category Archives: Blog

Shows & Publications

I’m spinning too many plates right now. Some plates that should be spinning are actually still packed in the box, but I’m limited, and between the ongoing pandemic and the violence in Ukraine, it’s hard to continue on as usual.  Even so, here are some poetry highlights from the past month…

In early March, I got to be a virtual featured poet for Wednesday Night Poetry, the longest running weekly open mic in the country, and it was a joy to share some of the poems for my spouse from How to Play.

Also in March, I received my contributor’s copy of Dear Vaccine, the print anthology created from the global poetry project of the same name. It’s fun to see work by friends in here with me, and I was excited that Naomi Shihab Nye was one of the editors.

At the end of March, I got to release the new spring issue of my journal, Whale Road Review, and it’s amazing. Even when the rest of life is chaotic, I love doing this editing and publishing work.

Yesterday, John Compton hosted me on the jojo show, and it was so fun to talk with him about How to Play, all things poetry, and whatever else we stumbled upon.

To anyone reading this, I hope you’re safe and well.

How to Play: Poems Inspired by Games

I am overjoyed to announce that my new chapbook, How to Play, is officially published!

A box of copies is on the way to me from Louisiana right now, so if you’d like to be one of the first to order a signed copy from me or to order a copy from Louisiana Literature Press, we’re officially taking orders! You can find all of the order links on this page.

Readings in the Stars

The end of January found me in some amazing company! I got to participate in two release readings for A Harp in the Stars: An Anthology of Lyric Essays (U of Nebraska Press, 2021). I’m still pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming about having a piece included in this gorgeous book!

On Saturday, January 29, The Writers Place in Kansas City hosted a reading on Zoom with anthology editor Randon Billings Noble and contributors Dorothy Bendel, Heidi Czerwiec, and me. Lyric essay as labyrinth? Lyric essay as body wash instructions? I loved hearing these essays aloud and sharing my “Nevermore” in such company. The sponsor was also special to me: I helped connect us to TWP, and this organization gave me a scholarship when I was an MA student at UMKC. I’m honored to be a member now.

On Monday, January 31, San Diego Writers, Ink sponsored our reading, and my former student Madi Bucci, who is now their administrative assistant, was our Zoom host! This time I got to read with Randon Billings Noble, Laurie Easter, LaTanya McQueen, and Maya Sonenberg, and I was once again stunned by my fellow contributors. Have you ever seen a lyric essay take the form of a word search (and then have it gut you with its content)? Well, you can if you read this anthology, and you definitely should.

 

“Nevermore” & The Lascaux Review

My short prose piece “Nevermore” was reprinted online in The Lascaux Review before it was in my chapbook 28,065 Nights. Now it’s also included in this beautiful print edition of The Lascaux Review, and I’m honored to have it in such lovely company. Stephanie Vanderslice’s final essay, “Dear Madeleine,” especially wowed me.

How to Play: a new chapbook!

My chapbook of game-inspired poems will be published by Louisiana Literature Press in early 2022! 😁🎉 I’m so excited to work with Jack Bedell and staff and to be press mates with Ray Ball, Sneha Subramanian Kanta, Chloe Clark, and more!

28,065 Nights Turns 1

Happy first birthday to my chapbook! I’m grateful to have 28,065 Nights in the world. Thanks to everyone who has purchased, read, reviewed, gifted, and otherwise shared this book. Thanks also to Kimberly and Marley Stewart of River Glass Books, who have been such generous and attentive publishers and have taken good care of this collection that’s so close to my heart.

May: The Other Journal, The Canopy Review, Guilty Pleasures, & Forms!

The end of May has found me busy preparing for things that shouldn’t overlap. I always release the summer issue of Whale Road Review during the first week of June, but my university delayed our spring semester’s start, so the first week of June is also our last week of classes. On top of that, the Popular Culture Association national conference (for which I run the Poetry Studies & Creative Poetry area) also moved this year from Boston during Easter week to a virtual platform during the first week of June. It’s absurd that these major roles I play are all colliding this coming week, but I’m as ready to rock as I can be.

Before I jump into this absurd week, here’s a look back at some lovely things from May that I didn’t get a chance to share here yet:

The Other Journal was especially good to me, re-publishing my poem “The Book of Fists” in their newest print issue and also publishing this beautiful review that Tom C. Hunley wrote about my latest chapbook, 28,065 Nights.

The Canopy Review published two of my poems in their second issue, and they’ve featured “The Book of Ear” on their website. (You can find that poem and “The Book of Ash” in the print issue.)

The “Guilty Pleasures” Crystal Field Scholarship Reading was held via Zoom on May 21, and I was honored to read a brand new poem in the company of some Kansas City poetry stars. I received the Crystal Field Scholarship 15 years ago during my time at UMKC, so it’s a special joy to thank the writers who keep this scholarship funded and to give back now.

Finally, I received the contributor copies of How to Write a Form Poem, which includes my ghazal “Time Falling” and my found poem “The Book of Class.” I’m so grateful to Tania Runyan for including my work and feel overwhelmed to have my poems in such stunning company.

Now to let these lovely things fuel me through the wild week ahead!

Three Poems in Limp Wrist

I’m so honored to have three poems in the new issue of Limp Wrist! My poem “In Praise of Spouse” was a finalist for the 2021 Glitter Bomb Award.

Fun fact: I wrote this poem after listening to Pádraig O’Tuama read “Bone of My Bone and Flesh of my Flesh” by Ellen Bass on the Poetry Unbound podcast. I adore that poem, but Bass so quickly dismisses my favorite public term for my love, so I had to write this poem for my spouse. 

You can also read my poems “Con Pane” (named for my favorite bakery!) and “Temporomandibular Prayer” (named for my TMJ!) in this issue. Thanks to editor Dustin Brookshire for affirming and publishing my work.

Excellence in Teaching Award

I’m not sure that I have words to describe how near-impossible it’s been to teach this past year during a pandemic, but I love my students, and I’m grateful for the encouragement of receiving an Excellence in Teaching Award.

Guest Blog: 5 Steps to Poetry Publication

In 2014, I wrote a guest blog for Editing Addict called “How to Submit Poems for Publication.” The fantastic Trish Hopkinson has now published an updated version of this guest blog: “5 Steps to Poetry Publication.”

I found the process of submitting for publication bewildering when I first wanted to begin, so I hope I can help others feel more confident about getting their poems out there.