Video: Walt Whitman Birthplace Association's Poets Building Bridges on 12/14/24

My last reading of 2024 was for the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association with some incredible poets: Mimi German, Karlostheunhappy, Pankhuri Sinha, Bronwyn Carver, Dave Morgan, David Wigmore, Rachel Appleton, and Judith Mansour. Here's the video. [My poems begin around the 1:16:30 mark.]

 

 

I read five poems: "Electric Miasma," "Flagging," "Potential Energy," "What They Did," and Dianne Borsenik's "Serious Flannel," with my computer unexpectedly crashing and restarting along the way.

 

So many thanks to WWBA Poet-in-Residence George Wallace for putting this together and to WWBA Secretary Robert Savino for moderating.

 

Video permalink: https://youtu.be/eE_L-vj0EoM.

Books I Finished Reading in 2024

According to Goodreads, I read 120 books in 2024. I actually read more if you count a handful that are not yet published and therefore not listed on Goodreads. And then there are the largely and barely read books, the ones I'm still in the middle of.

For the full list of the books I finished reading in 2024, click here.

My poem "A Matter of Life in Death" published in Common Threads 2024

My poem "A Matter of Life in Death" appears in this lovely new issue of Common Threads, edited by Steve Abbott and published by the Ohio Poetry Association. So many good poets represented here!

Learn more and/or get yours at ohiopoetryassn.org/publications.

Become an OPA member at ohiopoetryassn.org/membership.

My poems recently published in The Long Islander, Ain't No Dead Beats Around Here, and What Is in John's Basement?

I am so pleased to have a poem in each of these recent publications:

 

"In the Wake" in the 10 October 2024 issue of The Long Islander newspaper (with gratitude to George Wallace),

 

"Answered by What It Is" in What Is in John's Basement? (with gratitude to Dane Ince & Eyepublishewe),

 

"Solar Assignation" in Ain't No Dead Beats Around Here (with gratitude to Fin Hall & Like a blot from the blue).

12/14: Walt Whitman Birthplace Association presents Poets Building Bridges on Zoom

This Saturday, 12/14, at noon Eastern on Zoom, I will be one of three Cleveland poets (the others are Judith Mansour & Dianne Borsenik) participating in a Poets Building Bridges event hosted by the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. 

Flowers of Litter poets Mimi German, Karlostheunhappy, & Pankhuri Sinha - and Bolton UK poets Dave Morgan, Linda Downs, David Wigmore & Laura Taylor - will also be sharing their work. So many thanks to WWBA Writer-in-Residence George Wallace for creating this world poetry triangulation project and for including us.

More info: https://www.waltwhitman.org/event/poets-building-bridges-december-14-2024-flower-litter-poets-bolton-uk-cleveland-poets/.

If you miss it, a recording of the event will be archived on the WWBA's YouTube channel.  

 

My poem "Potential Energy" published in New Generation Beats 2024

I'm overjoyed and grateful that New Generation Beat Publications included my poem "Potential Energy" in this year's National Beat Poetry Foundation anthology, New Generation Beats 2024.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Andy Clausen and also features poems by Kim Acrylic, Michael D. Amitin, Martin Appleby, Tohm Bakelas, Randy Barnes, Carlos Barrera, B. Elizabeth Beck, Bengt O Björklund, Chris Bodor, Patricia Carragon, Wendy Cartwright, Michael Ceraolo, Claire Conroy, Lesley Constable, Jason Conway, Chris Dean, Lee Desrosiers, William F. DeVault, John Dorsey, Michael E. Duckwall, Carlos Raúl Dufflar, Mercedes Dugger, Les Epstein, Sandra Feen, Bryan Franco, Dayna Genevieve, Mimi German, Fin Hall, Brian Hassett, Joan Hawkins, David Henri, Roxanne Hoffman, Kathleen Hulser, Amie Hyson, Dane Ince, Larry Jaffe, Alex S. Johnson, Karlostheunhappy, Eliot Katz, Joe Kidd, Debbie Tosun Kilday, Tom Lagasse, Scott Laudati, Christen Lee, Mark Lipman, Sheila Lowe-Burke, PD Lyons, Patricia Martin, Angel L. Martinez, Amy Christine Matus, Daniel McTaggart, Amanda R. Morningstar, Jared Morningstar, Jacob R. Moses, MW Murphy, Andrée Myers, Ron Myers, Ben Nardolilli, J.D. Nelson, Marc Olmsted, Carlo Parcelli, Stasha Powell, RescuePoetix, Paul Richmond, April Ridge, Jason Ryberg, Sarah Sarai, Deborah C. Segal, Virginia Shreve, Jay Simpson, Michael Sindler, Megha Sood, Belinda Subraman, Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Igor Pop Trajkov, Tammi J. Truax, J.R. Turek, Tommy Twilite, Chrios Vannoy, Jon Velleux, Chryssa Velissariou, Merritt Waldon, George Wallace, Jeff Weddle, Ron Whitehead, Linda Bratcher Wlodyka, Hiromi Yoshida, Aprilia Zank, and many more. Editing and cover design by NBPF CEO Debbie Tosun Kilday with further editing and formatting by Human Error Publishing.

Click here to order.

I wrote this poem on 22 May 2024. I also want to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to my Renshi Sunshine group (moderated by Wayne Swanger) and to one of its participants, Jeremy Jusek. I've been participating in two email renshi groups this year. How it works is that when it's my turn to write a poem for one of these, I must use the last line of the previous poet's submission as either my title or my first line. So although they are otherwise totally independent poems, the first line of my "Potential Energy" happens to also be the last line of a Jeremy Jusek poem called "The Heat Death of the Universe."

Video of my Flywheel Brewing reading in Elizabethtown, KY

On Sunday 6 October 2024, I had the pleasure of reading for A.S. Coomer's monthly poetry series at Flywheel Brewing in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and he was kind enough to record my set.

I began and ended with older "classics" and sandwiched newer work between them.

John Cage Engaged and Uncaged
Solar Assignation
Faithwalking
Critical Condition
Cause and Effect
Cause of Death
Lens

My "Cause of Death" nominated for a Pushcart Prize

I'm grateful to learn that publisher Stasha Strange has nominated my poem "Cause of Death" for a Pushcart Prize.

I wrote this poem back in February as part of a triptych (the other two parts are "Cause and Effect" and "Cause Célèbre) that was recently published in CAW - Poetry by a Murder of Writers. 

Order the book at stashastrange.com/books/caw.

 

 

11/23 in Bedford, Ohio: Book signing/reading for CAW - Poetry by a Murder of Writers

November 23rd, 1 p.m., at Spirit Apotheosis (691 Broadway Ave.) in Bedford, Ohio, I will join Stasha Strange in a reading and signing to celebrate the newly published CAW - Poetry by a Murder of Writers. 

More event info at facebook.com/events/1303360140662421. 

Order the book at stashastrange.com/books/caw.

10/31: What Is in John's Basement? - Book and Online Halloween Event

Tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, on Halloween, I'll have the privilege of reading with a bunch of fine writers during the online book launch for What Is in John's Basement? (published by Eyepublishewe) So much gratitude to Dane Ince for spearheading this project and for including my poem, "Answered by What It Is."

 

Other contributors include Ron Whitehead, Frogg Corpse, John Angell Grant, K.R. Morrison, Dane Ince, Bryan Franco, Deborah C. Segal, Mbonisi Zikhali Zomkhonto, Mark States, Sophia Falco, Jeff Cottrill, Michael Sindler, Antoinette Vella Payne, Jonathan S. Baker, Merilee Johnson, Tyler Frederick, Gary Huskisson, Eddy Foreman, Darrell Parry, Clive Oseman, Fin Hall, Jon Wesick, Phynne~Belle,and hil hoover.

 

For more info on this event, click here.

Watch this event on Zoom.

To purchase a copy of the book, click here.

 

My poem "What They Did" featured on the Poets Against Racism and Hate website

You can read it here.

Learn more about Poets Against Racism and Hate USA at poetsagainstracism-usa.org.

Recently published in Shabdaguchha, Ohio Bards, and CAW: Poetry by a Murder of Writers

I am happy to have received copies of these three new books in which poems of mine appear!

Shabdaguchha/শব্দগুচ্ছ (26th Anniversary Issue), edited by Hassanal Abdullah [Shabdaguchha Press].

• features my poems "Where Would the Moment Be?" and "What If This Is the Last Poem I Ever Write and It's Not Finished?" alongside work by poets from seventeen countries including Bengt O Björklund, William Heyen, Hassanal Abdullah, George Wallace, and more.
  

CAW - Poetry by a Murder of Writers, edited by Stasha Strange and Hyacinthe L. Raven [Ix Studios].

• features my poems "Cause and Effect," "Cause Célèbre," and "Cause of Death" alongside work by S.A. Quinox, Christiane Knight, Stasha Strange, Michael Cunliffe, Tara Vanflower, Kaytee Thrun, Rachel M. Croce, Tara Shannon, D.L. White, Emma Lee, Lisa Taner, Rachael Ikins, and Hyacinthe L. Raven.
  

Ohio Bards: Poetry Anthology 2024, edited by James Paul Wagner [Local Gems Press].

• features a revised version of my poem "Two Against Nature" alongside work by Jessica Weyer Bentley, Jeffrey Bowen, Rachel M. Croce, Christen Lee, A.M. Hayden, David Lee Garrison, Les Epstein, Sandra Feen, Joey Polisena, Stasha Strange, Cora McCann Liderbach, Diane Kendig, Carmel L. Morse, Bill Reyer, K. Weber, Georgia Reash, Cat Russell, Mary A. Turzillo, Geoffrey A. Landis, and more.
  

October 2, 3 and 6: Readings in Lexington and Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Next week, after Maryland, I look forward to heading to Kentucky for these three fab events.

 

10/2: Poetry at the /'tā-bəl/ at Kenwick Table in Lexington with co-feature Matt Hart.

 

10/3: Teen Howl 2.0 at Third Street Stuff & Coffee in Lexington with Howler of the Month Ryker Chadwick.

 

10/6: A Live Reading from Recent US National Beat Poet Laureate John Burroughs + POETRY Open Mic at Flywheel Brewing in Elizabethtown.

 

 

September 26 thru 28: Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival

I look forward to being in Maryland from Thursday through Saturday for the annual Indie Lit Festival hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts. I'll be tabling with Crisis Chronicles Press on 9/28 at City Place. 

 

9/26: SMPA Poetry Slam feat. Nicole Yurcaba

9/27: Indie Lit Kickoff Reading: George Guida & The Downstrokes with Who Me?

9/28: Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival

 

 

I'm joining the Ohio Poetry Association as their new second Vice President

So this happened while I was out of town. I've been a huge fan of the Ohio Poetry Association for many years and consider it an honor to join their team in continuing to serve Ohio poets.

I must give a shout out to my predecessor as 2nd Vice President, Rikki Santer, who has done amazing work in expanding and enhancing the good work of the OPA. We owe her the deepest of gratitude.

 

Learn more about (and join) the Ohio Poetry Association at ohiopoetry.org.

To the National Beat Poetry Festival this weekend - plus more travel and coming events

We just got back from the vet (sweet boy Bart has an ear infection) and I'm still working on feverishly on catching up on myriad tasks after four out-of-town trips and two power outages in the past month and a half. Thursday, I hit the road again and am very much looking forward to these fab events:

30 August thru 1 September 2024 in Collinsville and Barkhamsted, Connecticut
The National Beat Poetry Foundation's annual National and International Beat Poetry Festival will feature poets from across the United States and as far away as Europe and India. Friday's events will be held at Canton Town Hall, 4 Market Street, 06022; Saturday's and Sunday's events will be held at 22 River Road, 06063. Click here for more details.

3 September 2024 in Lowell, Massachusetts
Beat Night at the Worthern House Cafe will feature PW Covington, John Burroughs, Joe Kidd and Sheila Burke, plus Paul Richmond, hosted by new U.S. Beat Poet Laureate Mark Lipman at 141 Worthen Street, 01852.

10 September 2024 in Corning, New York (and ONLINE)
Poets in Play presents a featured reading by John Burroughs and open mic, co-curated by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and Foothills Publishing at 79 West Market Street, 14830 (and on Zoom).

19 thru 21 September in Kent, Ohio
The Wick Poetry Center celebrates 40 years with keynote speakers Padraig Ó Tuama, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jane Hirshfield, and Adrian Matejka, plus much more.

27 & 28 September in Frostburg, Maryland
The Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts presents their 19th annual Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival. Crisis Chronicles Press will have a table in the book fair.

3 October 2024 at 6 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky
Poetry at the /'tāb-əl/ presents Matt Hart and John Burroughs, plus open mic, at Kenwick Table, 201 Owsley Avenue, 40502. More details forthcoming.

4 October 2024 at 6 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky
Teen Howl Poetry Series presents John Burroughs and more, plus open mic, at Third Street Stuff & Coffee, 257 N Limestone #1, 40507. More details forthcoming.

6 October 2024 at 4 p.m. in Elizabethtown, Kentucky
A live reading and poetry open mic featuring John Burroughs, hosted by A.S. Coomer at Flywheel Brewing, 218 S Mulberry Street, 42701

14 December 2024 at noon - ONLINE
Poets Building Bridges, hosted by George Wallace, will feature poets from Cleveland, Ohio (John Burroughs, Judith Mansour and Dianne Borsenik); Bolton, UK (Linda Downs, David Wigmore and Laura Taylor); and Flower Litter Poets (Mimi German, Karlostheunhappy and Pankhuri Sinha). Event will be broadcast on Zoom.

 

National and International Beat Poetry Festival: August 30th through September 1st

I'll have the joy of joining stellar poets from across the United States and as far away as Sweden at this year's National and International Beat Poetry Festival, August 30th through September 1st in Connecticut.

The National Beat Poetry Foundation has just posted their program on Facebook and I've copied it here. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Back in the Saddle in July: Evansville, Insomniacathon & WV Writers

Though I've been super busy off the radar, it's hard to believe it's been nine months since I've been on tour. But I'm about to get back at it this month:

 

7/16 in Evansville, Indiana, I'll have the privilege of reading with Dan Sullivan and Jennifer Browne at the Bokeh Lounge (one of my favorite places to return) for Poetry Speaks: Tonight We Sail.

 

7/20 online, I'll present "Risking Absurdity for the Sake of the Poem," a poetry workshop sponsored by West Virginia Writers, Inc. Free for all members.

 

7/26-28 in Louisville, Kentucky: The final Insomniacathon (tickets and schedule available at https://stphilipcampus.org/insomniacathon-2024). I'll be reading around 5 p.m. on Saturday the 27th.

 

 

And then after that:

 

8/30-9/1 in Barkhamsted, CT: the Nat’l & Int’l Beat Poetry Festival 2024.

 

9/10 in Corning, New York (details forthcoming).

 

9/27-28 in Frostburg, MD: the Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival.

 

10/3 in Lexington, KY: Poetry at the /'tāb-əl/ (reading with Matt Hart).

 

10/4 in Lexington, KY: Teen Howl Poetry Series.

 

10/6 in Elizabethtown, KY at Flywheel Brewing.

 

For more, please visit http://jesuscrisis.blogspot.com/p/featured-readings.html.

June 29th: M.J. Arcangelini & Friends and Ground & Sky Poetry

I'll have the pleasure of being a small part of this very special event on Saturday, June 29th, 2024 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry. Joe Arcangelini is a fine poet and friend.

From the press release:

Mac's will host a gathering of poets with readings by MJ Arcangelini and Joel Lesses on Saturday, June 29th at 5 p.m. The event is also a book release celebration for Journeys of Sacred Community: A Collection Anthology of Ground and Sky Poetry

MJ Arcangelini, born in Pennsylvania in 1952, has resided in northern California since 1979. He has published in many magazines, online journals & over a dozen anthologies.  He is the author of six published collections, including  Pawning My Sins publlished in 2022 by Luchador Press.

Ground and Sky Poetry is a reading series in Buffalo and Rochester, NY and was inspired by the late poet Maj Ragain from Kent. 

Joel David Lesses is a counselor and the founder of Education Training Center in Buffalo, dedicated to reframing mental health distress as a potential spiritual marker and existential opportunity. He also does the Unraveling Religion podcast which focuses on spirituality, world religion, meditation and poetry.

Other poets scheduled to read include Dianne Borsenik, Chris Franke, Russ Vidrick, Steven Smith, Kathy “Lady” Smith, John Burroughs, Shelley Chernin, Ben Gulyas, Adam Brodsky, Steve Goldberg, Steve Thomas, Scott Silsbe and  Chandra "Peggy Honeydew" Alderman.

Mac's Backs
1820 Coventry Rd.
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
https://www.macsbacks.com

New work in VOICES 2024: D.R. Wagner Memorial Issue

Grateful for the opportunity to be a contributor to this wondrous volume celebrating our friend D.R. Wagner. Thank you, Dave Boles and Cold River Press!

From the editor:

VOICES 2024 - A Memorial Issue for D.R. Wagner is ready for printing! The books should be arriving in late June. I am offering a special pre-sale through June 16th for this incredible issue. 260pp + Cover (two cover choices soft and a limited run of casebound). An added bonus of 14 never-before-published poems from D.R. 

 

You can order them at www.coldriverpress.com.