Audio of tonight's Ketchupedia Poetry Radio show

Tonight I had the pleasure of talking with Polly Alice McCann and Richard Parrilla on Ketchupedia Poetry Radio. I may sound sleep-deprived and overcaffeinated, but I had a great time. If you missed it live, the show's already available for listening online. Thank you Flying Ketchup Press and One Kansas City Radio!

Listen at https://open.spotify.com/episode/5B1nOkcpz0tYeW14ZpdY1J.

Will be on Ketchupedia Poetry Radio this Sunday!

I'll have the honor of being on Ketchupedia Poetry Radio, broadcast on One Kansas City Radio (KONN-LP 100.1 FM) this Sunday, October 17th at 7 p.m. Eastern. Listen at www.onekcradio.org.

 

From the press release:

Sunday, listen to a live interview with Ohio Beat Poet Laureate John Burroughs with Polly Alice McCann and Richard Parrilla.

JOHN BURROUGHS serves as Ohio's Beat Poet Laureate (2019-21). A nationally touring writer, his most recent books include Rattle & Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019 [2019, Venetian Spider Press] and Loss and Foundering [2018, NightBallet Press]. John has hosted numerous reading series in the Greater Cleveland area and currently moderates the Cleveland Poetics blog and online Northeast Ohio Literary Calendar. Since 2008 he has served as the founding editor of Crisis Chronicles Press, publishing over 100 books by esteemed poets from around the world.

Flying Ketchup Press® was founded in 2018 to champion new and diverse voices in short fiction and poetry. Our dream, to share worlds of wonder and delight.

Ketchupedia is an outreach we began in 2020, a grassroots network to connect KC & regional writers podcast, live poetry radio, and events--making room poetry, personal narrative that empowers, heals, and unites diverse audiences.

Producer
RICHARD PARRILLA, is the voice of 100.1 FM Radio, sound tech, producer, and sometime poet--formerly hailing from San Antonio by way of Atlanta--now Kansas City.

Host
POLLY ALICE MCCANN, poet, artist, speaker, writing professor, founder, and managing editor of Flying Ketchup Press. Find her books at pollymccann.com.

ONE KANSAS CITY RADIO unites the multicultural voices in the Kansas City Urban Core through programming and community services that entertain, educate, inform and inspire. Our vision to provide a platform where people of all ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds feel welcomed and respected...we seek to unite all its listeners and followers through music, programming, and events that reflect the beauty of diversity. One Kansas City Radio KONN-LP 100.1 FM.

What's Up with Crisis Chronicles Press?

People keep asking me what's up with Crisis Chronicles Press. Here's the short answer:

Our 2019 titles so far

1) EVENTS: A) We'll be in Kansas City this weekend (October 11-13) for Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest. B) On November 23rd, we will team up with NightBallet Press to present readings by our Class of 2019 authors during Streetlight Imaginations with Crisis Chronicles & NightBallet at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. C) I am also hosting (at least through March 2020) the Poetry+ reading series on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Art on Madison in Lakewood, Ohio.

2) BOOKS: It's hard to believe we published 5 wonderful books (by John Dorsey, Mindi Kirchner-Greenway, Elaine Schleiffer, Cat Russell and Nicole Hennessy) in the first four months of 2019 and we haven't published a new one since (I've been too busy with a million things). But over the summer several of our recent titles did go into second printings. We still have eight books in our committed-to-publishing queue. We intend to publish three of them (So Marvelously Far by Nick Gardner, Ode to Horatio and Other Saviors by Carolyn Srygley-Moore and Alex in Movieland by Alex Gildzen) by the end of 2019. We'll space the final five out over the course of 2020.

3) SUBMISSIONS: In the past week I've written to dozens of people declining their unsolicited submissions. Technically we haven't even been open for submissions in years, though I sometimes bent that policy for a project I just couldn't pass up. For a while (years?) I flirted with (and at times seriously considered) the idea of reopening submissions after I got caught up. But I never caught up. Now I'm becoming more and more inclined just to wrap up the press for good after I complete my current commitments.

It's been an incredible ride. I've had the honor and privilege of working with some fantastic writers and people. And it's not over yet. Eight phenomenal books are coming. I hope you love them as much as I do.

Meanwhile, there's still time to complete your collection at http://ccpress.blogspot.com/.

Gratefully yours,
John

Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest - October 11th thru 13th

This month my Rattle and Numb book tour will take me to Kansas City, Missouri, to again participate in the annual FountainVerse small press poetry festival. For three days I will man a table for my new book from Venetian Spider Press as well as for a select assortment of recent Crisis Chronicles Press titles.

Also, on Saturday October 12th from 4 to 5 pm I will participate in a publishers panel sponsored by Spartan Press' Jason Ryberg. And then sometime between 7 and 8:30 pm I will be a featured reader alongside some of the Midwest's finest writers. Both of these events (as well as the book fair and much of the rest of the festival) will take place at Capsule, 1664 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64108.


From the press release: "Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest is a three-day poetry festival featuring poets representing independent poetry publishing houses from the KC metro area and across the country. The fest features scheduled readings, a pop-up book shop, publishing panel, workshop and open mic opportunities."

For more info including a full schedule of events, please visit www.fountainverse.com.
 

"No Other" live in Kansas City with River Cow Orchestra - 10/13/2018

https://youtu.be/hGKlK-u_vdQ

Here I perform my poem "No Other" accompanied by the River Cow Orchestra during Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Festival on 13 October 2018 at La Esquina in Kansas City, Missouri. Video recorded by Jason Preu (thank you!).

I wrote "No Other" on 30 March 2018 - inspired by Tony Ingrisano's "Far Enemy" - for an Ekphrastacy program at Heights Arts in Cleveland Heights. The poem first appeared in print in The Gasconade Review Presents: Missouri Is a Ghost Shaped Thing, edited by John Dorsey and Jason Ryberg for Spartan Press.

No Other
after Far Enemy by Tony Ingrisano

A wide web of geometry and pixelation
looms over my brick suburban bungalow.

The colors warm and entice me
with creeping florescent sophistication.

I feel them drawing me up and in
while equally I am drawing them inside.

It’s a network of jasmine attraction
bringing untoward craving and resentment,

hate and cruelty from America the beautiful,
Russian bots, unacknowledged racists,

television networks, Amazon.com, nihilism
proponents, penile enhancement specialists,

trolls, moles, sexist pols and ad-mongers,
while the colors of it all bleed into pools

of need and reaction, stupefaction,
failure to listen disguised as debate,

hasty action, dystopian dissatisfaction,
snark disguised as lark and warring factions.

This poem began as an expression of appreciation
for a wide web of precious colors and pixelation

before I met the so-called far enemies
in my bathroom mirror and hardly

recognized them as something other
than other.

Neuro testing today, Fountainverse (KC Small Press Poetry Fest) this weekend & Juliet Cook book release 10/16

Before my EEG at the Cleveland Clinic today

Lodgings confirmed for Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest this weekend in Missouri! I was unsure until the last minute whether I would actually be able to go because I needed to get Juliet Cook's book done before I left and I've had a packed past few weeks. But we're on track and it's all good. I won't get results for today's neuro testing until the end of the month. Heading out of town tomorrow and coming back Monday. Hope to see you either this weekend in Kansas City or this Tuesday 10/16 at Art on Madison in Lakewood, Ohio, for Poetry Plus Featuring Juliet Cook, where Crisis Chronicles Press will release her highly-anticipated second full-length poetry collection, Malformed Confetti.

Looking Forward to the Following October Lit Events

Very much looking forward to the following October lit events! At some I'll be reading. At some I'll be manning the Crisis Chronicles Press book fair table. At some I'll just be present in support of great poets whose books I recently a hand in publishing:

10/4-5 in Frostburg, MD - Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival at Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts.

10/10 in Cleveland Heights, OH - Steve Thomas' The Strength of Flowers, Terry Provost & more! at Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry.

10/12-14 in Kansas City, MO - Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest.

10/16 in Lakewood, OH - Poetry Plus Featuring Juliet Cook (Malformed Confetti release) at Art on Madison.

10/20 in Mansfield, OH - Borderlands feat. Concrete Wink at Main Street Books.

10/26 in Bexley, OH - Poetry Night with John Burroughs and Anna Soter at Gramercy Books Bexley.

Lakewood, Michigan, Akron, Maryland, Kansas City, Bexley & New York Coming

For those who've asked: upcoming events where I'll be reading, performing and book fairing include

9/18 - Poetry Plus Featuring John Burroughs at Art on Madison in Lakewood, Ohio

9/21 - Madhouse & Firefly present: International Beat Poetry Festival (feat. John Burroughs, Gary Bond, Leo Jarret, Barry Graham, Mackenzie Swanson, Angel Reyes, William F. DeVault, Dan Denton, Bob Phillips and musical guest Dave Caruso) at Serendipitous Vintage in Monroe, Michigan

9/28 - Poetry & Spoken Word (feat. Ray McNiece, Kisha Nicole Foster, Tony Gamblin, Maggie Duff, Jamie Keaton, Ebanee Bond and John Burroughs) at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Akron, Ohio 

10/5-6 - Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival at Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts in Frostburg, Maryland

10/12-14 - Fountainverse KC Small Press Poetry Fest in Kansas City, Missouri

10/26 - Poetry feat. Anna Soter and John Burroughs at Gramercy Books in Bexley, Ohio

11/29 - NeuroNautic Institute Presents feat. Gerd Stern, John Burroughs and more hosted by Matthew Hupert at the Red Room (KGB) in New York, New York.

And this doesn't count a handful of Crisis Chronicles Press book release readings/events that will be announced soon.

I plan to do decidedly fewer events in 2019, so hopefully I'll see you at one or more of the above.

Inkubator, Amherst, Athens, Chicago, Buffalo, Erie, Lakewood, Michigan, Akron, Maryland, Kansas City, Columbus and more coming up

Dianne Borsenik and I will have the pleasure of performing at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival the afternoon of August 18th. And that's just one of the many great events I'm looking for forward to participating in during the next few months. Just my featured readings and book fairs include:

8/4 - 2018 Cleveland Inkubator Festival at Cleveland Public Library
8/11 - Arabica Coffee Bistro in Amherst, OH
8/18 - with Dianne at the Athens Community Arts & Music Festival
8/20 - W4TB at Uncharted Books in Chicago, IL
8/24 - Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe in Buffalo, NY
8/28 - Calamari's Squid Row in Erie, PA
9/18 - Poetry+ at Art on Madison in Lakewood, OH
9/21 - International Beat Poetry Festival in Monroe, MI
9/28 - with Raymond McNiece at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Akron, OH
10/5-6 - 2018 Western Maryland Indie Lit Festival in Frostburg, MD
10/12-14 - Fountainverse: KC Small Press Poetry Fest in Kansas City
10/26 - with Anna Soter at Gramercy Books Bexley near Columbus, OH

...and more to be announced when either the events or my arrangements are nailed down.

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 

Burroughs and Borsenik Foaming at the Mouth in St. Louis at Foam, 3359 S. Jefferson Avenue, 63118.

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  

Brews-Zing II - Thirst Quenching Poetry by Burroughs & Borsenik at Brews, 2 Pine Street, 72632.

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.

My July and August Poetry Tour Schedule

In my first 49 years of life I had never been west of Auburn, Indiana. That changed in April 2016 when I finally crossed the Mississippi River to participate in a poetry festival in Kansas City. Fast forward to July 2017 and I'm about to embark on my first ever trek to the west coast of the United States. Many thanks to all the friends and strangers who've offered me a place to read or sleep on my way or are otherwise supporting the effort. I don't expect I'll have much time to blog until I get home. But I plan to post periodic updates on my Facebook page.

7 July at 8 pm in Madison, Wisconsin 

Madtown Poetry Open Mic featuring John Burroughs at Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, 1101 Williamson Street in Madison.

14/15/16 July in Portland, Oregon  

Kleft Jaw & TRUST Art Collective present: Contronym (A Fugue in E Minor) featuring poets from across the country. 

*Friday: at the TRUST Art Collective.  

*Saturday: at Backyard Social (John Burroughs will be one of the features). 

*Sunday: at the Water Trough Saloon (Crisis Chronicles Press author Leah Mueller will be one of the features).

18 July at 7 pm in Oakland, California 

Get Lit #26 at Ale Industries featuring John Burroughs and others.

19 July in Oakland, California  

The Octopus Literary Salon featuring D.R. Wagner, M.J. Arcangelini, John Burroughs and Matt Cook.

25 July in Denver, Colorado  

Frankie Metro and John Burroughs attack. More details forthcoming.

26 July at 9 pm in Kansas City, Missouri 

Poetic Underground presents Bill Moran with guest appearance by John Burroughs at the Uptown Arts Bar, 3611 Broadway, Kansas City 64111.

28 July at 6 pm in Eureka Springs, Arkansas 

Thirst-quenching poetry featuring John Burroughs and friends at Brews, 2 Pine, Eureka Springs 72632.

4/5/6 August in Michigan City, Indiana 

Underground Lit Fest at the Uptown Artist Lofts, 717 Franklin Street, Michigan City 46360. 

*Friday 11am-5pm: Crisis Chronicles Press will be part of the Small Press Book and Zine Fair.
*Friday 7-10pm: Crisis Chronicles Press authors Dianne Borsenik, Juliet Cook and John Burroughs will be among the featured poets during the evening Speakeasy.

11 August at 7 pm in Canton, Ohio 

Take the Knight Off - Inspiration Showcase featuring John Burroughs, Alicia Young, The Derrick Terrill Project and more at The Local, 135 N. 6th Street in Canton.

13 August at 6 pm in Toledo, Ohio
Punch Through the Envelope: How to Make Editors Notice Your Work, a workshop with editors Dianne Borsenik (NightBallet Press) and John Burroughs (Crisis Chronicles Press) at the Art and Performance Center of West Toledo, 2702 W. Sylvania Avenue.

13 August in Toledo, Ohio 

Poetry Uncloistered featuring John Burroughs, Dianne Borsenik and Andy Roberts at Calvino's Restaurant and Wine Bar. More details forthcoming.

26 August at 7 pm in Cleveland, Ohio 

Poetry for the People 3 hosted by Twelve featuring Christine Howey, John Burroughs, Akeem Jamal Rollins, Eva Barrett, Ephraim Nehemiah and Dominicque Smith in Public Square downtown.

Click here to see my full 2017 poetry tour schedule.

Crisis Chronicles publishes Sandpaper Lovin' by Victor Clevenger

Crisis Chronicles Press is ecstatic to announce the long awaited publication of Sandpaper Lovin' by Victor Clevenger.  This fine chapbook is now available for $6 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3431 George Avenue, Parma, Ohio 44134 USA.

"If you like your pleasure spiked with pain you'll wanna rub up against Victor Clevenger's Sandpaper Lovin'.  Even if you don't, you'll still wanna. Call him what you like, but I wager he's got the most endearing scratch and bite of any sonofabitch writing today."
     — Hon. Jugborn Airbrush, editor of Cheap and Easy Magazine

Where Do You Want It?

United States $6.00 USD Elsewhere $8.00 USD

Sandpaper Lovin' is hand assembled and saddle stapled. It features a white card stock cover, pastel green end papers and eggshell parchmentesque pages. Cover image by Steven B. Smith. 8.5 x 5.5". 16 pp. Laser printed. Poems include "the first words of the morning," "it came easy for us," "feeding my demons," "love letters," "quill pen," "phallic & forgotten," "he'd even take one with warts like a toad," "a garden plot" and "november 10th." ISBN: 978-1-940996-42-4. Limited 1st edition of 100 copies.

Victor Clevenger’s most recent full-length poetry collection is titled Congenital Pipe Dreams (Spartan Press, 2017).  Selected pieces of his work have appeared in a variety of places online and in print.  He spends his days in a Madhouse and his nights with his second ex-wife. Together they raise six children in a small town northeast of Kansas City, Missouri. 

Meet the author on Friday 5 May 2017 at 8 pm during the Jawbone poetry festival at Last Exit Books and Coffeehouse in Kent, Ohio, and on Saturday 6 May 2017 at 7 pm during the Kansas City Pittsburgh Connection at White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.