Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Plunging into the Heart of America Poetry Tour (30 March thru 10 May 2018)

The central US part of my upcoming poetry tour (March 30th through May 10th) is now set in stone. Immediately after this I will head northeast for the New England part of my tour (Climbing up the Neck of America, which I'm still working on solidifying, so I will post about it later). Hope to see you at one or more of these special events!

30 March at 6 p.m. in Akron, Ohio 
Nervous Dog Poetry and Music featuring John Burroughs, Human Host, Jason Blakely, Su Flatt, Atomic Houdini, Synchronicity Moon, Skylark Bruce, Tony Gamblin and Michael DeBenedictis at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar, 1530 W Market Street, 44313.

5 April at 7 p.m. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio 
Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk + Poets Respond featuring Mary E. Weems, Christine Howey, Mwatabu S. Okantah and John Burroughs responding with new work to the new exhibit, Drawn Together, at Heights Arts, 2175 Lee Road, 44118.

6 April at 6 p.m. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio 
Public debut of John Burroughs’ new book, Loss and Foundering, during the NightBallet Press reception at Appletree Books, 12419 Cedar Road, 44106. Central Ohio poets Chuck Salmons, Steve Abbott, and Rikki Santer will read.

8 April at 4 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio 
John Burroughs, Shelley Chernin and Jessie Herzfeld will perform a new collaborative piece as part of Sound Poetry: A Noise Lunch Reading, curated by Margo Emm at Mahall's, 13200 Madison Avenue, 44107.

13 April at 7 p.m. in St. Louis, Missouri 


14 April at 6 p.m. in Overland Park, Kansas 
FountainVerse Poetry Reading featuring Dianne Borsenik, John Burroughs, Jason Preu and Jeanette Powers at the InterUrban ArtHouse, 8001 Newton Street, 66204.

15 April in Miami, Oklahoma 
John Burroughs and Dianne Borsenik will give an impromptu reading on the banks of the Neosho River via Facebook Live. Time to be announced an hour in advance.

16 April at 4 p.m. in Eureka Springs, Arkansas  

20-21 April in Cleveland, Mansfield and Cleveland Heights, Ohio 
Kleft Jaw Press and Crisis Chronicles Press present Kleft Crisis 2018 featuring 20+ writers from across the USA at three of northeast Ohio’s bookstores: 
*Friday 4/20 from 7 p.m. to ? at Guide To Kulchur Books (Cleveland) 
*Saturday 4/21 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Main Street Books (Mansfield)  
*Saturday 4/21 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry (Cleveland Heights)

22 April at 6 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio Tongue-in-Groove Poetry Jam featuring Steven B. Smith at the Millard Fillmore Presidential Library, 15617 Waterloo Road, 44110. Hosted by Ray McNiece. Includes open mic. Crisis Chronicles Press will celebrate the release of Smith’s new book, Where Never Was Already Is, at this event.

26 April at 7 p.m. in Athens, Ohio
Athens Poet Laureate: Kari Gunter-Seymour at Arts West, 132 W. State Street, Athens, Ohio 45701. Crisis Chronicles Press will debut Kari’s new book, Serving, at this event.

30 April at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio 
The Poetry Forum featuring John Burroughs at Bossy Grrls Pin Up Joint, 2598 N. High Street, 43202.

4/5/6 May in Kirtland, Ohio
John Burroughs, Dianne Borsenik and Elliot Nicely will represent Crisis Chronicles Press during the Haiku Society Of America Spring Meeting 2018 at the Holiday Inn Cleveland NE/Mentor, 7701 Reynolds Road, 44060.

8 May in Cleveland, Ohio
Incite: A Poetic Conversation. Ra Washington dives into the deep end with Dianne Borsenik and John Burroughs at Guide to Kulchur Books, 5222 Lorain Avenue, 44102.

10 May at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio 
Broadsides and Ephemera featuring John Burroughs at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Boulevard, 44120. Includes open mic, hosted by Paul Ryland.

To see the rest of my 2018 poetry tour as it stands so far, click here.

Monday, February 26, 2018

My Amazon Marketplace Selling Privileges Have Been Restored

You may recall that at the end of last year Amazon suspended my seller account pending review.

Today they finally reactivated it after I CC-ed the big man, jeff@amazon.com, in my latest complaint this morning:

Dear Amazon,

Why has it taken two months (and counting) to review my seller account? I sent you all the information you required with a detailed explanation and I've gotten nothing but rote and or automated responses back saying my account is still under review.  Meanwhile, customers who seek the unique books I sell in the Amazon Marketplace are complaining that they wrote to Amazon well over a month ago and were assured these books would be available again in a week and they are still waiting because you haven't completed the review of my account, which to this point has had a stellar rating from customers.

Sincerely,
John


Within two hours I received this response:

"Hello,

We reviewed your account and the information you provided, and we have decided that you may sell on Amazon.com again.

In our efforts to protect our community, we sometimes err on the side of caution. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused."

So you can start buying used and new books from me there again! However, if it's Crisis Chronicles Press books you're looking for, it's still better (and less expensive for you and us) if you buy them directly from the publisher.

Thank you for your continued support!

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Melissa K. (Guthrie) Bako, 6 March 1967 to 11 February 2018

December 2005
Without meeting Melissa Guthrie when I was 14 or so, I might never have been a poet. Her obituary doesn't do her justice. But then neither can I.  Fare well, dear friend.



Saturday, February 17, 2018

My first haircut since 2015

Thanks to my longtime friend Steven Provoznik of Bay West Salon for doing the deed.


Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Loss and Foundering, my new book from NightBallet Press, available for pre-order


I am thrilled to report that NightBallet Press will publish my new poetry book, Loss and Foundering, on 2 April 2018. But if you pre-order a signed copy now, you will also receive a rare broadside of one of my poems that is not in the book.


In June 2014, 48th Street Press published broadsides of two of my poems. They only made 20 copies of each. Since I only distributed a few at the time and stashed the rest away for a special occasion, I still have 11 copies of "Words Dance" and 11 copies of my "Makes Her Mark." Since that special occasion has arrived, I will pick one broadside to send to the first 22 people who pre-order Loss and Foundering.

UPDATE: The free 48th Street Press broadsides I mentioned above have all been claimed. But fear not, we have more incentives! The next 20 people who pre-order Loss and Foundering will receive a different rare broadside, a new 2018 NightBallet Press edition of my poem "Low Kay Shun," numbered and signed. Only 22 copies of this new broadside will be printed (with me and the publisher keeping 1 each), so the only way anyone be able to procure one is by being one of the next 20 people to pre-order my new book.

Thank you for your love and support.
www.nightballet.com

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Embarking on a New England poetry tour in May

It appears I'm going to be reading in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on May 17th. I'd like to turn this into a mini New England poetry tour. If anyone can hook me up with a reading somewhere else up there (RI, ME, MA, NY, VT, CT - or on my way home to Cleveland) between May 15th and May 31st, I'll be extremely grateful.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Step Up! Poetry Open Mic & Workshop at the 2018 Lake Erie Folk Fest

Join Dianne Borsenik and me February 24th for a poetry workshop and open mic at The Lake Erie Folk Fest! We'll be on from 4 to 4:45 pm in room 258 of the Shore Cultural Centre, 291 E. 222nd Street, Euclid, Ohio 44123. See a full schedule of the day's workshops here. See all the day's musical acts here.

For more info on our part of the festivities, see
Step Up! Poetry Open Mic & Workshop.
 
John Burroughs and Dianne Borsenik have been performing their poetry and hosting events for the past ten years. Together, they produced the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza reading series, Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest series, the Punch Through the Envelope workshop, and many other poetry events. They also travel, reading their work and connecting with poets across the United States. Burroughs lives in Parma, Ohio, where he publishes Crisis Chronicles Press. Borsenik lives in Elyria, home of NightBallet Press.

Thursday, February 8, 2018