2023 Resolutions

Resolution #1: Buy no new books in January.

[In 2022, I acquired hundreds of books, but barely had time to read 75 of them, and most of those were small chapbooks.]


Resolution #2: Read more.

[Nikki Giovanni said: "If there is one thing to do today, it should be to read. Everybody says, 'Oh, you need to write every day.' No. You got nothing to say every day. Nobody does. Anybody that says, 'I have to talk to somebody every day,' good Lord! Who could live with you?"]


Resolution #3: Write more.

[I was gonna say write every day, but then I read that Giovanni bit. However, let me also add: Make more TIME to write.]


Resolution #4: Get back into the diligent exercise routine I got out of when I moved from Parma to South Euclid in the summer of 2021.

[Another thing I need to make more time for. My aches and pains have increased dramatically without it. But I've already started getting myself back into it over the past week or two.]


Resolution #5: Just say no.

[This is the only way I see to make more time for the above. Get more comfortable saying no. Consume less. Stop agreeing to do more than I can get done in a reasonable amount of time or committing to too many things. I end up doing a zillion things, none of them as well as I could if I had more time and focus. Then my stress level increases and I end up doing the things that I would usually love more out of pressure than pleasure, and then my health et cetera begin to suffer. Also, saying no to some new things will help me catch up on many old things that remain almost hopelessly behind.]


Resolution #6: Place Crisis Chronicles Press on hiatus (at least as far as publishing new books) by June of 2023 (our 15th anniversary) or as close to then as I can (once I've completed my current commitments). I will keep our in-print books available indefinitely, but resist taking on any new publishing commitments (no matter how tempting) through this coming year, though I may leave the door open to resuming in a future year once I've finished writing my long-suffering memoir.

seen in a northeast Ohio brewery bathroom
(2 August 2018)

 

Profiled in South Euclid Magazine

Another holiday gift for which I am most grateful! Many thanks to Carlo Wolff and South Euclid Magazine for a lovely profile in their Winter 2022 issue.

You may read the piece online here.

Pamela Anderson reviews Rattle and Numb for Tinderbox Poetry Journal

 

I just received one heck of a holiday gift! Immense gratitude to Pamela R. Anderson and Tinderbox Poetry Journal for a lovely review of my book, Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019.

Read it at https://tinderboxpoetry.com/rattle-numb-by-john-burroughs.

 

Book publisher: Venetian Spider Press.

Cover painting by Cleveland artist Emma Anderson.

 

Charlotte Morgan interviews Judith Mansour for FreshWater Cleveland

I am so grateful to Charlotte Morgan and FreshWater Cleveland for this fine interview with Judith Mansour, the author of Kan Zaman.

Read it here: https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/street-level/MansourMemoir122122.aspx.

Buy Mansour's Kan Zaman here: http://ccpress.blogspot.com/2022/10/mansour.html.

Video: Desrosiers, Vannoy, Rescue Poetix & Burroughs read for NeuroNautic on 12/15

If you missed it (or want to relive it), here's video of last night's NeuroNautic Institute Presents - 12/15 - ONLINE EDITION. Stellar readings by co-features Lee Desrosiers, Chris Vannoy and Rescue Poetix followed by my set which consisted of all 2022 poems - a couple from You Can't Trust It to Remain [Between Shadows Press], some from Dogging Catastrophe [The Grind Stone], more from July's Tupelo Press 30/30, and a couple of newer ones. Then came a lovely open mic. Immense gratitude to Matthew Hupert for inviting me and to NeuroNautic Institute / Neuronautic Press for always being perfect hosts.

Watch: https://www.facebook.com/100060712987363/videos/510714121033286.

So Long, Twitter!

 

12/13 on Zoom: Time to Arrive Open Mic feat. John Burroughs w/ Guest Host Doc Janning

Tuesday December 13th at 9 pm Eastern, I will have the privilege of reading for the Time to Arrive Open Mic. Many thanks to California Beat Poet Laureate Dane Ince and to guest host and South Euclid Poet Laureate Doc Janning. We'd love for you to tune in and share something during the open mic. Please send one of us a private message for the Zoom link.

 

12/13 on Zoom: Yalie Saweda Kamara & John Burroughs Mingle with the Flamingos

Tuesday December 13th at 7 pm Eastern I will have the privilege of reading with Cincinnati Poet Laureate Yalie Saweda Kamara for this Flamingo Writers Guild series hosted by Parma Poet Laureate Jeremy Jusek. We'd love for you to tune in and share something during the open mic.

Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mingle-with-the-flamingos-w-john-burroughs-and-yalie-saweda-kamara-tickets-464449871067.

Follow the Flamingo Writers Guild on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FlamingoWG.

More about Yalie Saweda Kamara: www.yaylala.com/.

[Photo of Yalie and John taken 7/31/2022 in Cincinnati by Dianne Borsenik.]

12/15 on Facebook Live: NeuroNautic Institute Presents Four Beat Poets Laureate

Looking forward to reading with three fabulous Beat Laureates (Lori Desrosiers, Chris Vannoy and Rescue Poetix) on December 15th at 7p.m. Eastern! This event will be streamed live on the NeuroNautic Institute / Neuronautic Press Facebook page. DM Matthew Hupert if you wanna participate in the open mic.

NeuroNautic Institute Presents - 12/15 - ONLINE EDITION

Porcelains and Poetry in South Euclid: Rescheduled for Spring 2023

[UPDATE: due to unforeseen circumstances, this event will be be rescheduled for Spring 2023.]

On December 10th at 6:30 p.m., I'll have the privilege of being one of twelve area poets reading brand new ekphrastic work to raise funds for a very good cause. Porcelains & Poetry will be hosted by South Euclid Poet Laureate Doc Janning and One South Euclid at the Museum of American Porcelain Art.

From the press release:

"Enjoy readings by a dozen prominent local poets created in response to art at the American Museum of Porcelain Art with musical interludes by a string quartet from Charles F. Brush High School. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served. Proceeds from the fundraising event will support a One South Euclid program that helps senior residents age in place."

Buy your ticket at https://www.onesoutheuclid.org/event-details/porcelains-poetry.

Participating poets:

Doc Janning
Raja Belle Freeman
John Burroughs
Ray McNiece
Shelley Chernin
Amy Kesegich
Jeremy Jusek
Cat Russell
Russ Vidrick
Barbara Marie Minney
Mimi Plevin-Foust
Abdul Ghani

Museum of American Porcelain Art
4645 Mayfield Road
South Euclid, Ohio 44121

Poets Against Racism: December 10th in Youngstown

Saturday 10 December from 1 to 3 p.m., I will participate in a special Poets Against Racism event hosted by Debbie Allen and Quartez Harris at Common Goods Studio, 2000 Canfield Rd Top, Floor Unit C, Youngstown, OH 44511.

"A diverse array of poets will share works addressing the social injustices of racism, bigotry, intolerance, and hate. We hope you’ll attend!"

Featured poets:
Quartez Harris
Jeremy Jusek
Cherise Benton
Christine Howey
John Burroughs
Wayne Swanger
Marissa Snyder
Girard Tournesol
Patricia Thrushart
Raja Belle Freeman

 

https://poetsagainstracism-usa.org
https://www.facebook.com/PoetsARUSA

Video: My 11/1/2023 SpoFest reading, with Gregory Seth Harris & Shelli Jankowski-Smith

I had the privilege of being SpoFest's guest author on November 1st, and here is the video. Many thanks to James Bryant, Rick C. Christiansen and Judy Turek, as well as the featured poets and everyone who attended and shared in the open mic. And congratulations to Freddy Fonseca, who won a copy of my book, Rattle and Numb.

Follow SpoFest Poetry and Prose on Facebook for more events.

Join us November 12th at the Avon Lake Public Library!

This Saturday, November 12th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Avon Lake Public Library, Crisis Chronicles Press and I will be sharing a table with Parma Poet Laureate Jeremy Jusek and the Ohio Poetry Association to promote Ohio poets at Read Write Local: Local and Regional Author Event. Hope to see you there!

Avon Lake Public Library
32649 Electric Boulevard
Avon Lake, Ohio 44012

See you 11/10 at Loganberry Books!

This Thursday, November 10th at 7pm, I'll have the honor of returning to Loganberry Books to be the featured poet for their monthly Broadsides and Ephemera reading series. Hope you'll come and bring something for the open mic.

Many thanks to Julie Beckers, who originally invited me, and to Elijah Perseus Blumov, the current host.

 

Loganberry Books
13015 Larchmere Blvd
Cleveland, Ohio 44120

www.loganberrybooks.com 

 

 

Join us November 5th for the release of Kan Zaman by Judith Mansour

Crisis Chronicles Press is thrilled to announce the imminent publication of Kan Zaman, a memoir in poetry and prose by Judith Mansour. ISBN: 979-8-88596-994-9. Pre-order now for $15 and receive free shipping. Or meet the author at our book release event on November 5th at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights.

"Judith Mansour’s Kan Zaman is an irresistible evocation of the Lebanese household she grew up in. This magical book is both a love poem to her family and an invitation for all of us to revisit our childhood, that paradise to which we can only return through memory. Mansour’s writing, by turns both sensual and hauntingly lyrical, is as welcoming as a warm kitchen on a winter night."
— George Bilgere

You may also pre-order Kan Zaman from our friends at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry in Cleveland Heights.

Video of my Covid interview and 11/1 I'll be the guest author for SpoFest on Zoom

From their press release:

November 1st, 6pm CST [7pm Eastern], the next must-watch SpoFest!

It features Martina McGowan, Gregory Seth Harris and Shelli Jankowski-Smith. Our guest author is US National Beat Poet Laureate, John Burroughs.

 

Sign up to read in our open mic, and enter your name in our book raffle for a chance to win a signed copy of John's book [Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019]!

More info on the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/6516327535060416/.

Click here to watch our exclusive interview with John Burroughs [I was still sick and a little brain-foggy when it was recorded]:

https://www.facebook.com/100000344932418/videos/455607636641040/.

 

 

A Wreath of Golden Laurels: An Anthology of Poetry by 100 Poets Laureate

I feel greatly honored that my poem "I Am Not Ready to Die," written not long after the murder of George Floyd, appears in this new anthology published by Local Gems Press, alongside the work of so many fine poets.

A Wreath of Golden Laurels: An Anthology of Poetry by 100 Poets Laureate

Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Festival: October 20th through 22nd

Lit Youngstown's 6th annual Fall Literary Festival will be centered around the theme “The Places That Make Us,” a conversation about writing, publishing, teaching, community outreach, and inclusion.

Supported by Ohio Humanities, the conference aims to sustain and enhance discussion on real and imagined literary places that shape our memory, experience and identity.

This year’s featured presenters are film scholar & screenwriter Laura Beadling, fiction writer Kelly Fordon, filmmaker Karla Murthy, children’s author Candace Fleming & poet Joy Priest.

My Crisis Chronicles Press will be part of the festival's book fair.

For more information, to register, and to view the full schedule, click here.

Tested positive for COVID-19 around noon on October 7th

 

October 6th in Hamilton, Ohio: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

October 6th at 7 p.m., the Hamilton campus of Miami University will host a reading by contributors to the recently published I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices anthology (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and published by Sheila-Na-Gig). This event will take place at the Harr.y T. Wilks Conference Center, 1601 University Blvd. Hamilton, Ohio 45011

If you're in the area, we would love to see you there.

You may also order the book at:

https://www.karigunterseymourpoet.com/order-cardinal-sing.

Six-Pack of Events Coming Up [Edit: Make that Seven]

Paying bills and tying up as many loose ends as possible today, then hitting the road tomorrow. Looking forward to a lot of great events in the next couple of weeks:

 

10/1-2: Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival in Frostburg, MD,

10/4: Poetry Night at Sitwell's in Cincinnati, OH,

10/6: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing, Appalachian anthology reading in Hamilton, OH,

10/8: Uncloistered Poetry Live - October (John Dorsey book launch) in Toledo, OH,

10/8: Oktoberfest at Serendipitous Sound in Monroe, Michigan,

10/9: Dorsey, Clevenger and Borsenik at Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights, OH,

10/15: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing, Appalachian anthology reading in Coshocton, OH.

Crisis Chronicles Press publishes Maple Leaf Zen by John Dorsey

Crisis Chronicles Press is thrilled to announce the publication of our sixth title of the year, Maple Leaf Zen by John Dorsey, on 3 October 2022. Maple Leaf Zen is a brilliant sequence of 124 original poems created by Dorsey through a process of erasure using selected works of the late New Orleans poet Everette Maddox as his source material.

Maple Leaf Zen is c. 140 pages, 6"x6", available in perfect bound paperback as well as a special limited edition (only 10 copies!) signed & numbered case bound hardcover. Cover image courtesy of @MapleLeafNOLA on Instagram.

The paperback (979-8-88596-996-3) is available for $12 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 535 Parkside Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA. 

Paperback: US or Elsewhere?

In the U.S. $12.00 USD International $17.00 USD

The special limited edition signed & numbered case bound hardcover (979-8-88596-995-6) is available for $40 directly from John Dorsey. Email him at archerevens@yahoo.com to get yours while supplies last.

Meet the author:

10/3/2022 at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO

10/8/2022 at Uncloistered Poetry Live - October, Toledo, OH

10/9/2022 at Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry, Cleveland Heights, OH

John Dorsey lived for several years in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Teaching the Dead to Sing: The Outlaw's Prayer (Rose of Sharon Press, 2006), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory, (Epic Rites Press, 2013), Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015), Being the Fire (Tangerine Press, 2016), Shoot the Messenger (Red Flag Poetry, 2017), Your Daughter's Country (Blue Horse Press, 2019), Which Way to the River: Selected Poems 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), Afterlife Karaoke (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2021) and Sundown at the Redneck Carnival, (Spartan Press, 2022). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize. He was the winner of the 2019 Terri Award given out at the Poetry Rendezvous. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com. 

[Photo of John Dorsey by Jeremy Proehl.]

Dogging Catastrophe Ships Today

Many thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered my new chapbook, Dogging Catastrophe, which is shipping today from The Grind Stone. I love the cover art Snow Mathews created for it. What a fine series of chaps they and Jonathan S Baker are creating.

Limited edition. https://checkout.square.site/buy/SYSV6CJZIBH7QZEFVP7HOUNU.

On the Road Again: Frostburg MD and Cincinnati OH!

I just (finally!) booked my lodging for this year's Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts in downtown Frostburg, happening September 30th and October 1st. I'll be representing Crisis Chronicles Press at the book fair. Before the pandemic, I tried to attend every year. Always a good time!

 

After that, I'll be in West Virginia for a night before heading to Cincinnati to read for Poetry Night at Sitwell's on October 4th. So many good poets I'm looking forward to seeing there. If you can't attend in person, this event will also be broadcast via Zoom.

 

Between now and these two events, Crisis Chronicles Press is publishing new books by Brandon Johnson and John Dorsey. Plus I'm still catching up on email and commitments from before my last trip. So if I'm not on social media much in the next two weeks or fail to get back to you right away, please be patient.

 

Peace, love and poetry,

John

 

 

 

Dogging Catastrophe by John Burroughs - coming soon from The Grind Stone

I was on the road when this announcement was made, so I'm late to the sharing party. But I'm ecstatic that The Grind Stone will be publishing my chapbook, Dogging Catastrophe, in the very near future. They have a fine lineup of poets on tap and I feel honored to be among them. Many thanks to Jonathan S Baker and Snow Mathews for the vital work they do.

This will be a limited edition. You can pre-order here.

Please follow The Grind Stone on Facebook for updates.

Peace, love and poetry,
John 

Featured in WestVirginiaVille's Poetry Edition

I'm on the road and don't have a lot of time to Facebook (can that be a verb?) or blog, but I must say it means so much to me, on the eve of my induction as U.S. Beat Poet Laureate, to have some of my work and this interview featured alongside so many fine poets from West Virginia (where I was born and where so many of my family still live) in this fabulous magazine, WestVirginiaville. Many thanks to Douglas John Imbrogno who does such important work on so many fronts for taking the time and caring so much. Read here.

National Beat Poetry Festival and more in September!

I've been trying hard to catch up, friends. So many things to do, emails to answer, commitments to fulfill before I hit the road on the 1st. I feel like I need 30 hours per day - but I'll get there. So tired, but so grateful. I very much look forward to traveling again, seeing friends and hearing a mix of favorite and new (to me) voices at these upcoming events.

9/2 thru 9/4 in New Hartford, CT:
Nat’l & Int’l Beat Poetry Festival 2022
Where Jami Cassady, Ron Whitehead, Carl Spiby, Paul Richmond, Chris Vannoy, Annie Petrie Sauter, Pamela Twining, RescuePoetix, Sandra Feen, Dane Ince, Johnny Depp, Joe Kidd and I will be honored by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. and poets from all over will be reading. Congratulations to the other award recipients and many thanks to Debbie Tosun Kilday and the NBPF!

9/7 in Portsmouth, NH:
The Hoot Poetry Reading at Portsmouth Book and Bar
Where Maggie Dietz and I will be the featured poets. Many thanks to Claire Conroy and the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Project!

9/9 in Cleveland, OH:
Inkubator Conference at the Cleveland Public Library. Many thanks to Literary Cleveland!

9/10 in Toledo, OH:
Uncloistered Poetry Live! at The Attic On Adams
Where Pauletta Hansel, Miles Budimir, Jennifer Pullen and I will be the featured poets. Many thanks to Jonie McIntire!

And more to be announced soon!