Not a poetry blog: Chaps

In the poetry world, there's these things called chapbooks. Chaps. The idea is that they're like the chapter of a book--about 20 pages of poetry.



Several years ago, I kind of thought of chaps as half-assed (Get it? Chaps? Assed?!), but over the years, I've gained respect for and realized I really like reading them. There are SO MANY poets right now that it's nice to be able to pick up a handful of chaps as sort of an introduction to new poets and to help decide who you'd like to buy full length books from. 


Contemporary poetry books are rarely available at libraries, so if you want to read them, you have to buy them. Supporting poets and poetry presses is super awesome, but spending a small fortune because every single person you know has at least one book is something else... So chaps are a good way to get around that and still get  your good reads on. 

Read me, cowboy! 

Anyway, the good news is that I've just learned that Dancing Girl Press  has accepted my chapbook manuscript for publication! (Along with my dear poet friend Kirsten Jorgenson's manuscript.) This will be my first chap so I'm especially thrilled. Hooray and thank you to DGP! 


So, look for our chaps in the future. They'll give you an idea about what our whole package is like.*  (Mine's called "Circumstances of the House & Moon." It'll be the one with fringes.) 




*1/ Package! You know, cause of the cut outs and the crotch and the whole butt window and stuff... Eh?     2/ Hint: rhymes with "the shit." 

Not a poetry blog: two favorites

It's weird to say that I "love" my poems. I worry that it sounds egotistical, and also, honestly, I don't really think of my poems that way. There aren't many that I would say I "love," but there are at least two--a
a couple in one of my manuscripts that I honestly do love dearly. Writing them taught me a lot and reading them still does.

I sent them out for publication for quite some time to a variety of magazines and man oh man did they have it rough--repeatedly rejected, and worst, ignored. (And I started having those fun writerly thoughts like: Are they any good? How come the ones that aren't as dear to me get accepted for publication but the rare poems that I actually love aren't getting any attention? What is going on? Maybe everything I know about poetry is wrong!!! I'm going to quit writing and take up boxing!)

But the good news is that TODAY THEY HAVE A HOME! AND FRIENDS! Finally! In Super Arrow, the journal with probably the best name ever. Not a bad way to close out the year. Thank you, Super Arrow!

The question is...

Why wouldn't anyone want to eat my poems? 

Not a poetry blog: Poets & Artists, with a variety of boobs

I didn't give out one piece of Halloween candy tonight, so consider this my treat to you...

The new issue of one of the sleekest, most professional-looking literary journals, Poets and Artists, is fresh off the press/ on the intertubes... with one of my poems in it!

If you want to read my piece, "Skepticism of everything," go here. As I've mentioned before, this is not a poetry blog and I don't want to post every single publication, but I think you'll especially like this issue. In addition to all the gorgeous work, there's these interviews and mini-interviews with each artist.

Each piece deals in some way with the body, so in between reading poems, you'll get to see lots of naked people. What's not to love?

I especially enjoy Franciene Krieg's naked old lady nudes, which I'm surprised to find so refreshing and comforting. Ken Scaglia's paintings of car engines will make you feel like you're peeking at something you really shouldn't be. Plus there's Deborah Poynton's "Nude Dude With Artsy Junk + A Whole Lotta Other Naked Folks Hanging Out." (Ok, ok, so the official title is "To Be Alone," but that doesn't really paint a picture for you the way I wanted.)  To see all those things and more, go here.

Not a poetry blog

It's important to me that this blog not turn into a "poetry blog." Because, even though I write and read and love poetry dearly, I think it's important to recognize that there are other things in life (like cat yodeling). Plus, there are enough poetry blogs out there, and you don't really want to hear all my blah-blahs about the po-biz. (And frankly, if I think about the current state of American poetry too much, I might sink like Artax in the Swamp of Sadness.)

But every now and then some journal slips up and publishes my work! And that's some Not Sad News I like to share!

There are so many great literary journals out there that it's at once great and mind-blowing. What I like about The Literary Bohemian is the intricate and gorgeous layout that's still easy to navigate and read. And the author travel bio is way more fascinating than the ho-hum "professional author bio." Plus, (cue ABBA), they took a chance on me!