April 4th: A Gathering of Laurels IV in South Euclid

I'll be part of this reading on Saturday, April 4th at the Cuyahoga County Public Library's South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch. South Euclid Poet Laureate Doc Janning will emcee. Free event. Register at
https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/13505877. 

2026 Sun & Moon Poetry Festival: May 15–17 in Yellow Springs

The 2026 Sun & Moon Poetry Festival Invites Attendees to “Navigate with Poetry.”

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA), in partnership with Miami Valley Astronomical Society, presents the fifth Sun & Moon Poetry Festival, May 15–17, 2026, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Poets and poetry lovers are invited to explore the theme, “Navigate with Poetry,” during a weekend of writing workshops, readings, stargazing, and other activities that culminate in a celebration of poetry and the cosmos. Keynote guest Geoffrey A. Landis is an award-winning poet, science fiction writer, and scientist whose writing has appeared in more than twenty languages.

“At Glen Helen, Poetry and Nature become one in the ravine, the open sky, and our words,” said Susann Moeller, OPA First Vice President and festival chairperson.

Additional workshop leaders for the weekend are renowned poets Lauren Camp, Manuel Iris, Paula J. Lambert, and Dior J. Stephens. A special haiku hike led by Ray McNiece will offer visitors a chance to hear poems in the beautiful setting of Glen Helen Nature Preserve. The weekend also offers street poetry in downtown Yellow Springs, a haiku “death match,” native flute music, sound bathing, and an open-mic for festival attendees to share their own poetry.

"Thanks to the support of our sponsors, we have a remarkable lineup of poets and activities planned for this year's Sun & Moon Poetry Festival, which is a signature OPA event that demonstrates our commitment to expanding poetic craft and community in inclusive spaces," said Holly Brians Ragusa, OPA President.

Sponsors for the festival include the Ohio Arts Council, Full/Crescent Press, Lit Youngstown, LitCincy, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, and Crisis Chronicles Press.

Complete festival information, a program schedule, and accommodations information is available on the OPA website at ohiopoetryassn.org/sun-moon-festival

Registration is available through April 22th at eventbrite.com/e/sun-moon-poetry-festival-tickets-1892651303999.

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) is a nonprofit, educational volunteer organization with a 501(c)(3) Federal designation and a member state of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.

March 14th: North Coast Voices Launch in Erie, Pennsylvania

Join Main Street Rag for the launch of their North Coast Voices anthology (ed. by Chuck Joy and M. Scott Douglass), in which two of my poems appear, on Saturday 14 March in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Or order here.

March 5th at Greedy Reads in Baltimore

Though for a number of reasons my Crisis Chronicles Press is not tabling at this week's 2026 AWP Conference & Bookfair, I am happy to be one of 30 poets taking part in Tupelo Press' annual 30/30 alumni offsite reading on March 5th, 6 p.m., at Greedy Reads Remington in Baltimore!

Poets scheduled to read: Jacqueline Kolosov, Kelly DuMar, Gabby Gilliam, Rob Vance, Yvette Perry, John Burroughs, Raphael Dagold, Adela Sinclair, Jackie Craven, Matilda Young, Elizabeth Wolf, Jennifer Browne, Flower Conroy, Haley Bossé, Garrett Brown, Dominic Leach, Thomas Page, Joanne Brown, Linda Michel-Cassidy, Allison Creighton, Rebecca Morton, Moriah Cohen, Shannon Vare Christine, Linda Sands, Sullivan Summer, Christine Sears Etter, Karen Arnold, Joanna Lee, Zoe Berger, Victoria Korth, and Amy Marquez.

RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/950345927326943.

Greedy Reads Remington 320 W. 29th Street Baltimore, Maryland 21211

Appearing in DEPOSE: An Anthology of Working Class Solidarity

One of my photographs and two written pieces, "Home of the Enslaved" and "Don't Freeze," appear in this new anthology published by Mark Lipman's Vagabond Press. 

254 pages, paperback. 

Buy DEPOSE for $25 here.

I finished reading 122 books in 2025

Many of them short. Many more yet in progress.

View the whole list at https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2025/7975528.

Beat Writer's Block at Lit Youngstown's free Winter Writing Camp on February 28th

I look forward to participating in Lit Youngstown's FREE Winter Writing Camp on February 28th, where I will present a generative workshop, "Beat Writer's Block," about using inspiration from Beat authors to jumpstart your stalled writing.

Register at lityoungstown.org/winter-writing-camp.

November 15th: Get Sharp! 2025 Ohio Poetry Publishing Conference

Join the Ohio Poetry Association on November 15th from 10 to 4:30 at the Cuyahoga County Public Library's South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch for an absolutely free Ohio Poetry Publishing Conference. Registration and more details at https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/13881294.

Get Sharp! will include an Ohio small press book fair and fab workshop presentations by Dianne Borsenik, Geoff Anderson, Michael Salinger, and Susan Grimm.

Two poems in Main Street Rag's North Coast Voices 2025: Poems of the Great Lakes

I'm pleased that two of my poems, "Add My Tears to the Bodies of Water" and "So Much for Saving," will appear in North Coast Voices 2025: Poems of the Great Lakes, edited by Chuck Joy and M Scott Douglass for Main Street Rag Publishing. So many good poets are between these covers. And if you order now, the advance sale discount price is only $10. 

https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/north-coast-voices-2025-poetry-anthology/

Video: BeatLife's Belinda Subraman interviews John Burroughs

Thanks so much to BeatLife magazine and managing editor Belinda Subraman for the conversation! ♥️

At the end of the video, I read three father/dad-adjacent poems: "17 September 1966," "Matter Waves," and "Aim High."

Permalink: https://youtu.be/mKBKyZdnHgg