What I'm Reading Now...

Two Poems accepted by Eclectica

I just received word that two of my poems have been accepted for publication in the fall issue of Eclectica Magazine. The poems to be published are: "An Appearance" and "Distance." The issue will be released on October 1, 2007.

I spent much of the weekend working on new poems and preparing submissions. So much of the past year or more has been consumed by the writing and rewriting of my second novel, leaving little time for the making of poems. I'm working on my third novel, but have arranged my schedule to include more time for reading and writing poems. Participating in the 30:30 workshop at ITWS helps keep me focused on writing a poem each day.

Poets.org Audio

Along with a very strong cup of Starbucks coffee---I'm not telling how many scoops I load into the machine---I love to start my day with poetry. The fact that I can bring Anne Sexton into my bedroom to read "Her Kind" while I drink my French Roast is just one of life's glorious and surreal moments. Poets.org has an excellent collection of recorded poems. From their website: "Beginning with John Berryman’s historic first reading of The Dream Songs on Halloween night, 1963, the Academy of American Poets has presented and recorded over 700 poetry readings, lectures, and symposia, making the Poetry Audio Archive one the world's richest aural records of poetry."

The Underground Series

When Mayapple Press decided to publish Forms of Intercession, my first full-length book of poems, cover design was one of several topics to arise. I had never contacted an artist about using their work, but I definitely had the work of one artist in mind. I first came across Megan Karlen's Underground Series featured in 2River View, one of my favorite online journals of literature and art. I'm absolutely delighted that Megan has agreed to allow her work to appear on the cover of my book. I find her primitive birds and their underground worlds enchanting, quite evocative of fairytales and dreamscapes. I love Megan's masterful use of natural objects and her ability to achieve a surreal atmosphere. I'm not sure which image we'll be using, but each piece in the series is remarkable.

Megan Karlen is an abstract expressionist painter residing in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. Her work can be viewed here.

Updates

My poem, "Some Days," will be included in the upcoming anthology edited by Holly Hughes, Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease. Kent State University Press is publishing the book, with a projected release date late in 2008. "Some Days" first appeared in my chapbook, Local Girls, online at The Dead Mule.