Appalachian Studies Association Conference this weekend in Athens, Ohio

This weekend, I'm heading to my alma mater, Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, for the 2023 Appalachian Studies Association Conference.

I'll perform there on the 17th at 10:30 a.m., sharing poetry & touching on my journey from being born in Richwood, WV, raised in Ohio, bullied relentlessly for my accent and heritage and learning to hide it, to finally as an adult embracing where I came from with joy and renewed pride.

Then at 2:30 p.m., also on the 17th, I'll be one of many contributors to I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour) sharing our poems from that monumental anthology.

At the end of next week I'll be sharing poetry in Dansville, NY (the 24th), and Binghamton, NY (the 25th).

In between, I hope to have copies in hand of my new c. 300-page book, The Wrest of the Worthwhile: Unselected, Uncollected and New Poems, 1982-2023 [which collects all my published work that did not appear in Rattle and Numb, as well as some stuff no one has seen before].

Then in April, I'll be part of events in Florida, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio. More on those in the near future. But click here to see my regularly updated event schedule.