Important Announcement from Crisis Chronicles Press

Crisis Chronicles Press has made the difficult decision to cease considering new manuscripts and publishing new titles through at least 2024. Please forgive us for failing to make the time to respond to any unsolicited queries or submissions during this time, no matter how much we love your work.

 

As Crisis Chronicles' founding editor and publisher, I have been fortunate to work with excellent poets from around the world for the past fifteen and a half years. I plan to keep most of our in-print titles available indefinitely and to continue getting them into the hands of new readers. But now that I am mostly caught up with my publishing commitments, I want and need to redirect much of my energies and focus away from publishing to other priorities.

 

I say "mostly" because there are still two authors I revere for whom I promised years ago to publish collections, though I have so far been unable to obtain all of the desired poems for these projects. I hope to fulfill these promises if and when I can. Also, I would like to eventually publish a volume two of Cheap and Easy Magazine and a volume three of Oct Tongue. But neither of those is likely to happen in 2024.

 

Please accept my deepest gratitude for your all interest and support over the years. 

 

Peace, love and poetry,

John B. Burroughs
9 November 2023

 

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Check out our catalog here. 

Contact me at jc@crisischronicles.com for discounts on bulk orders.

Help us pay off debt with a donation and we'll send you books we believe you'll enjoy.

PayPal: jc@crisischronicles.com

CashApp: $crisischronicles
Venmo: @jesuscrisis

Video: Crafty Crows featuring John Burroughs, Karlostheunhappy and open mic on 11/1/2023

In case you missed it, here's the video of Wednesday's reading for the Gloustershire Poetry Society. I begin around the 35-minute mark, UK Beat Poet Laureate Karlostheunhappy begins around the 1-hour mark, and the rest of the time you'll find a wonderful array of other poets to hear. So many thanks to the Gloustershire Poetry Society, host Kate Jenkinson, director Jason Conway, co-feature Karlos, and all the other fine and talented people who contributed.

 

My setlist: “Odd Missive,” “Out and In Audible,” “I Hear Change,” “Bloodshot,” “Revolutionary Sentiments,” “Unwinding,” “Dog Day,” “Dog Day Too,” and “Redux Isn't Pronounced Ray Do, But That Hasn't Stopped Me." The first four poems come from Rattle and Numb and the rest come from The Wrest of the Worthwhile.

Video permalink: https://youtu.be/zRvFpE8SxwM.

Crafty Crows Open Mic featuring John Burroughs, Nick Degg & Karlostheunhappy: November 1st on Zoom

My final reading of the year is on Zoom!

I very much look forward to the Crafty Crows online poetry event on November 1st. I will have the distinct pleasure of being featured along with Nick Degg and England Beat Poet Laureate Karlostheunhappy. This event will also include an open mic. So many thanks to the The Gloucestershire Poetry Society for hosting. Broadcast on Zoom at 3 p.m. Eastern in the U.S. or 7 p.m. GMT in the UK. 

 

 

For more information, visit https://helmtickets.com/events/8739/crafty-crows-november-edition-featuring-john-burroughs-nick-degg-karlostheunhappy-plus-open-mic.

 

Meet the authors of the Poem for Cleveland Anthology, 10/28 in South Euclid

I'm thrilled to be part of this on Saturday. From our friends at the CCPL:

Meet the authors of the Poem for Cleveland Anthology

Saturday, October 28

2:00pm - 4:00pm
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
Cuyahoga County Public Library
1876 South Green Road, South Euclid, Ohio 44121

Meeting Room A+B+C (120)

Join us to celebrate the publication of Poem for Cleveland, a new anthology written by over 100 youth and elder poets. Poets will be reading their poems from this second edition of the book.

The Poem for Cleveland project was a year-long series of workshops led by Ray McNiece, former Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate and Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award winner. The project culminated in the publication of the anthology by local publisher, Red Giant Press. Poem for Cleveland was made possible by the Academy of American Poets with funds from the Mellon Foundation.

McNiece worked with youth poets to present writing workshops for elder poets at various community venues, including the William N. Skirball Writers’ Center at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch. Each workshop included poetry prompts about Cleveland, including favorite places, people, family memories, and growing up a Clevelander.

Poets reading include John Burroughs, Mary Weems, Bonnie Jacobson, Adrian Schnall, Doc Janning, Barbara Hill-Newby, Bill Newby, Bob Coughlin, Charlene Fix, David Adams, Diane Vogel Ferri, Dianne Borsenik, Jennifer Browne, John Burroughs, Sandra Johnson, Shelley Chernin, Timothy Richards, and Phil Metres.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Poetry Fusion Chicago 10/27 in Person and Online

Next up: I'll be reading with these fine folk from Chicago and all over for Poetry Fusion on October 27th. So many thanks to Mark Berriman, Mark Fishbein, and After-Words Bookstore. Attend in person or for free online. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-fusion-chicago-tickets-703771829487.

Featured artists: Mark Fishbein, Gary Margolis, John Burroughs, James Dennis Casey IV, Naoko Fujimoto, Shweta Rao Garg, Eric Tinsay Valles, LKN, Fin Hall, Julian Matthews, Viola Lee, Laura Grevel, Mark Berriman, Ariana Moulton, and Jaydee.

 

At the Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Festival This Week!

The annual Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Festival happens this week, October 19th through 21st. I will attend the kickoff event on Thursday evening. Then on Friday I will man the Crisis Chronicles Press table all day at their book fair in addition to being part of a 2:30 p.m. reading by contributors to the anthology I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing (edited by Kari Gunter-Seymour) in the Ford Theater at Bliss Hall. Unfortunately, I will have to miss Saturday's events.

From our friends at Lit Youngstown:

The 7th annual Fall Literary Festival will feature Ross Gay, Jill Christman, Alison Stine, and the Craig Paulenich Endowed Lecture on Literary Community by Lit Cleveland Executive Director Matt Weinkam. This will be an incredible conference, with thanks to our sponsors the Centofanti Foundation, the Youngstown State University Center for Working-Class Studies, WYSU-FM, the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Lake Erie Golf Cars, the Thomases Family Foundation, KO Consulting, the Grace Ruth Memorial Endowment, Ohio Humanities, the Wilkes University Master of Fine Arts, the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts, Eastern Gateway Community College, the Ohio Arts Council and the Youngstown Foundation.

Registration for daytime events is now closed. Please join us for the free evening readings! For more information including a full schedule of events, please visit https://www.lityoungstown.org/fall-literary-festival-2023.

 

Wild and Precious Life Series presents Poet Baseball Cards, 10/18 on Zoom

Join the Wild and Precious Life Series via Zoom on 18 October for a celebration of Justin Hamm's Poet Baseball Cards project. Featured poets will include Mary Biddinger, Sandra Marchetti, Rick Campbell, Tony Brewer, Michael Meyerhofer, Jack Bedell, John Burroughs, Alexis Sears, Alexis Rhone Fancher, Francine Witte, Marcus Wicker, Traci Brimhall and Curtis Crisler.

Tune in at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83498613088. 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Email justinhamm2002@yahoo.com to order Poet Baseball Cards.

Crisis Chronicles Press publishes Fragile by Brandon Johnson

Crisis Chronicles Press is happy to announce the publication of Fragile, the debut collection of poetry by Ohio's own Brandon Johnson.

 

"Brandon Johnson’s poems explore emotional and physical pain—and the beauty that can be found in the midst of such pain. From bone fractures to dura mater, from grief and loneliness to love and dreams, Johnson reminds readers that hope is always within reach. Held together through clips of time, these poems move us forward and backward and forward again toward healing, toward light."
—Nicole Robinson, author of Without a Field Guide

 

Fragile is a 74-page, 5.5" x 8.5", perfect bound paperback with cover art by the author.  Shipping on 25 September 2023. ISBN 979-8-88596-997-0. Available for $10 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA. 

 

You may also order via Venmo (@jesuscrisis) or CashApp ($crisischronicles). Please add three dollars for shipping.

Brandon was born in 1995 in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of two, he was adopted by the amazing Johnson family. He has always been fascinated by the fantastical world of comic books and mythology. Growing up, he often felt alone even though he was always around a caregiver or an adult. Through reading comics and other works of fiction, he was able to escape the confines of his physical body and let his imagination liberate his soul. He had a hard time accepting his disability and his physical appearance, leading to depression and self-isolation. Over the years, through writing and the creative arts, Brandon has learned to embrace his oddities. His poem "My Soul" has been featured in the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University's Traveling Stanzas.

Work in Four New Anthologies

Voices: Dahlias, Gods & Mermaids, edited by Dave Boles [2023, Cold River Press].

Eleven of my poems—"Bearing Her," "Darshan," "Selkie," "Shaktipat," "Beat," "Beacon," "Deluge," "Crossover," "Killer," "A Wait, A Final Fall," and "Yearning to Combine"— appear in this volume, alongside work by Dave Boles, D.R. Wagner, S.A. Griffin, Charles Plymell, Karl Kempton, A.D. Winans, Belinda Subraman, Sharon Gariepy Frye, Joe Kidd, Sheila Burke, Deborah C. Segal, and many more.

Available from https://www.coldriverpress.com/HTML/VOICES/voices.htm.

 

Spoken Word in the Woods: an anthology celebrating the Word Stage at the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival, edited by Paul Richmond [2023, Human Error Publishing].

Four of my poems—"Sprouting Onion," "Pedigree," "Dog Day," and "Dog Day Too"— appear in this volume, alongside work by Paul Richmond, Abiodun Oyewole, Doug Anderson, Deborah Tosun Kilday, Amy Laprade, Angel Martinez, Carlos Raul Dufflar, Lee Desrosiers, Karen Warinsky, Richard Wayne Horton, Robert Eugene Perry, Sharon Harmon, Tommy Twilite, Tony Vacca, Ernest Brute + Object Echo, and many more.

Available from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143996106.

 

Hope Springs Eternal: An Anthology of Hopeful Poetry, edited by JR Simons [2023, Simple Simons Press].

Three of my poems—"Snoetry Invocation," "Gatha," and "In the Wake"— appear in this volume, alongside work by J.R. Simons, Amanda Hayden, Joseph Balaz, Jessica Weyer-Bentley, Christen Lee, Ashley Pacholewski, Barbara Sabol, A. Garnet Weiss, Sandra Gill, Joel Lipman, Tom Barden, LaVern Spencer McCarthy, Emily Jane Vandenbos Style, J.V. Sadler, and Julie Marie Hoey.

Available from https://www.simple-simons-press.com/simple-simons-press-poetry.

 

Poem for Cleveland anthology, edited by Ray McNiece, design by Tim Lachina [2023, Red Giant Books]

My poem "Divided We Fall Together" appears in this volume, alongside work by Ray McNiece, Terry Provost, Maj Ragain, Daniel Thompson, Dianne Borsenik, Siaara Freeman, Shelley Chernin, Kisha Nicole Foster, Michael Salinger, Phil Terman, Larry Smith, Christine Howey, Michael Gill, Diane Vogel Ferri, Diana Lueptow, Toni Thayer, Byron Hoot, Jennifer Browne, Miles Budimir, Geoffrey Landis, Gillian Johns, Steven B. Smith, Lee Chilcote, Elana Pitts, Mary Weems, Russ Vidrick, Mimi Plevin-Foust, Geoff Polk, Michael Loderstadt, Jill Lange, Conor Bracken, Raja Belle Freeman, Bob Coughlin, Tim Richards, Doc Janning, Cora McCann Liderbach, Bonnie Jacobson, Charlene Fix, Alex Gildzen, Gail Bellamy, Stephen Bellamy, Nicole Hennessy, Tim Joyce, Linda Goodman Robiner, Leonard Trawick, Vladimir Swirynsky, Adrian Schnall, Nina Freedlander Gibans, Haley Schwenk, Cathy Barber, Robert Miltner, Amy Sparks, Laurie Kincer, Mary A. Turzillo, Elijah Perseus Blumov, Diane Kendig, John Donoghue, Steve Thomas, Mark Kuhar, Karen Schubert, Sara Holbrook, Philip Metres, Vince Robinson, Katie Daley, John Stickney, Joe Gizmo, Jim Szudy, Russell Atkins, Michelle R. Smith, RC Wilson, Darlene Montonaro, Steve Goldberg, Claire McMahon, Kathy Smith, Ben Gulyas, S. Renay Sanders, Bill Newby, Marilyn Oliveras de Ortiz, Laura Grace Weldon, George Bilgere, and many more.

Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival: Sept. 28-30 in Frostburg, MD

 

28 thru 30 September 2023 in Frostburg, Maryland
The Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts presents their 18th annual Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival.

• 9/28: Savage Mountain Punk Arts poetry slam featuring John Burroughs, 7:30 pm, at Clatter, 15 S. Broadway, 21532.
  
  
• 9/29: Featured reading by Joseph Bathanti at Clatter, 15 S. Broadway, 21532.
  
  
• 9/29: This Close to Vertigo Release Party at the Deep End, 16 W. Main Street, 21532.
  
  
• 9/30: Indie Lit book fair (including Crisis Chronicles Press, Venetian Spider Press and many more), 11 am to 4 pm at City Place, 14 S. Water Street, 21532.
  
  
• 9/30: Readings/workshops/panels from 11 am to 4 pm, including a 3 pm reading by Rolling Stock poets William F. DeVault, John Burroughs, Carlo Parcelli and Daniel McTaggart at City Place, 14 S. Water Street, 21532.
  
  

Special thanks to Jennifer Browne, Savage Mountain Punk Arts, Gerry LaFemina, Mercedes Hettich, and the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts.