Two of my game poems were re-published today at Luna Luna!
One is about playing Yahtzee and missing my Granny. The other is about not writing “crotchless panties” in a game of Scattergories.
Poetry Has Value: April
Here is my April post, in which I wonder, “What if poetry’s value is greater than money? What if I respect my poems enough not to send them to journals that don’t meet my standards for quality or human decency, regardless of how much those journals pay for poems?”
“Prayer’s End” in Drunken Boat
I’m so thrilled to have my poem “Prayer’s End” published in Issue 23 of Drunken Boat! There’s also an audio file included, so you can let me read the poem to you if you want. Thanks, Ravi Shankar!
I’m especially looking forward to reading the Glass House Shelter Project folio in this issue, which features work by writers who are homeless.
Poetry Has Value: March
My March post is up at Poetry Has Value!
Featuring 3 conferences in a month, big book award news, and my first payment of 2016 for a poem…
Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award!
I’ve been given clearance to tell the world: my first full-length poetry manuscript, Tasty Other, has won the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award!
Main Street Rag let the book award news out of the bag at AWP via a raffle entry form…
The award includes a cash prize, author copies, and publication. The book is due out in November. Tasty Other explores the transition to mother identity, and it grew out of the creative portion of my dissertation.
(I was shaking with excitement for about two hours after I got the phone call. I deleted some exclamation points above so I can at least appear cooler in print than I am in person, but I’m so thrilled and honored!)
In related good news, Main Street Rag just received the Best Small Press award from Mid-American Review at the AWP conference last week! Congrats to them!
AWP in L.A.
I had such a great time at AWP! There’s something wonderful about being surrounded by thousands of fellow writers and editors. I got to reconnect with grad school friends and meet some writer/editor friends in person for the first time.
I also got to talk with some of my rockstar poets, including Carolyn Forche and Elizabeth Alexander (pardon the blurry shot).
I participated in the off-site reading “One Poet, One Poem” on Friday night, and it was awesome. I read my poem “God in the Shower.” Thanks to Thom Caraway and Rock & Sling for inviting me!
I also presented in a panel on Saturday called “Wild Equations: A Math Poetry Reading.” I read several poems, including “Week by Week” (my poem that uses the Fibonacci sequence for its line-by-line syllable count). I was so impressed by the work of my fellow panelists and honored to present alongside these intelligent, creative women. Thanks to Carol Dorf and Talking Writing for including me!
I also sold, bought, and traded many books, of course. 🙂
Reading in Seattle: PCA/ACA & Hugo House
I had so much fun reading from my Bible word banking chapbook, A Door with a Voice, this past Thursday at the PCA/ACA conference in Seattle. It’s a pleasure to hear people laughing at these poems that I feared might be inaccessible to everyone but me! I’m so excited for them to be published with Agape Editions in May.
It was a joy to read alongside incredible poets from all over the world. I love how friendly and engaged the poets and audiences are at the PCA/ACA conference, and I have so much fun overseeing the poetry area. Poetry is clearly a living, vibrant part of pop culture and American culture.
I also had a fantastic time reading from The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman and I Awake in My Womb with Nicelle Davis and company at the Hugo House on Saturday afternoon. We even got to tour the basement and see the baby coffin before the house is demolished and they move to a new space.
Math Poetry!
I’m happy to have two of my math-related poems reprinted in the new issue of Talking Writing! “28,065 Nights” was first published in NonBinary Review. “Week by Week” was first published in Thrush Poetry Journal.
I’m also excited to present Wild Equations: A Math Poetry Reading with the other poets in the issue this coming Saturday at AWP in LA!
An Appreciation of A DOOR WITH A VOICE
I’m so honored that Karen Craigo took the time to read, review, and interview me about my new chapbook, A Door with a Voice, which will be published digitally by Agape Editions later this year. You can read this review and interview at Better View of the Moon.
I’m also incredibly thrilled to have Dave Adey‘s “Twin Bliss” as the cover image for this chapbook!
The Museum of All Things Awesome
I feel like the world must not be such a terrible place since there is an anthology called The Museum of All Things Awesome and That Go Boom. I’m pleased that my poem “Baba Yaga’s Answer” will be reprinted in it! You can check out the book launch site and buy a print or e-book copy at the link above.