May 7th in Akron: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

On May 7th, Summit Artspace will host a reading by contributors to the recently published I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and published by Sheila-Na-Gig). I'd love to see you there!

2 p.m.

Summit Artspace
140 E. Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44308

 

A Poetic Farewell to Vertigo Xi'an Xavier, Friday 8/23 in Akron

Please join us tomorrow (Friday 8/23) in Akron to celebrate the life and legacy of our dear friend Vertigo Xi'an Xavier. 

 

 

5:30 to 8:30 pm at Polymer City Records, 730 Portage Trail Extension W, Akron, OH 44313.

Publishing Poetry in Northeast Ohio: Roundtable, Readings, Book Fair

Join in a lively discussion with regionally and nationally known poetry publishers on Saturday April 13th at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

12:30-2:00 Roundtable

Representatives from Bottom Dog Press, Cleveland State University Press, Crisis Chronicles Press, NightBallet Press, Poet’s Haven, and University of Akron Press will share their thoughts and insights about publishing poetry and answer questions from the audience. Moderated by Bonné de Blas, an MFA Candidate in the Northeastern Ohio Master of Fine Arts program at Kent State University.

2:00-2:15 Break

Enjoy free refreshments while you browse the book fair, talk with local publishers, and check out their publications.

2:15-3:45 Readings

Several authors published by presses in today’s roundtable will read from their work. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Readers will include Phil Metres, Ray McNiece, Rikki Santer, Holli Rainwater, Robin Mullet, Larry Smith and more.

3:45-4:30 Book Fair

Browse the book fair, talk with local publishers, and check out their publications.

Cuyahoga County Public Library
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch
1876 South Green Road
South Euclid, Ohio  44121
Phone 216-382-4880

This event is FREE and open to the public. Please RSVP at http://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/1408538.

Cat Russell Book Launch and Review

From the Akron Beacon Journal (3/20/2019):

Everyday life is the source for the poetry in Cat Russell’s collection Soul Picked Clean. The provocative title of her opening poem “Why I Can’t Tell You About My First Time” refers to her first library visit, which Russell can’t recall but which instilled in her a lifelong love of reading, leading to visits to high school and college libraries. The delicate “Urn” depicts the poet’s mother seated in her “tastefully decorated office” selecting a cloisonné urn to contain the ashes of her husband, to keep him close by.

“Panic” ably describes the uncontrollability of a panic attack and how it feeds on itself, and “Gathering” the prosaic childhood memory of Russell’s father and his friends relaxing poolside with beer and chips.

Some of the poems were previously published.

Soul Picked Clean (89 pages, softcover) costs $12 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3431 George Ave., Parma 44134.

Cat Russell will be joined by Pittsburgh poets Jen Ashburn (The Light on the Wall) and Jason Irwin (A Blister of Stars) at 7 p.m. Saturday [3/30/2019] at Mac’s Backs, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights.

https://www.ohio.com/entertainmentlife/20190320/local-books-stories-of-world-war-ii-poetry-about-everyday-life-events-and-signings

Video: John Burroughs 9/28/2018 at Nervous Dog in Akron

Many thanks to Michael DeBenedictis for recording this video of my 28 September reading at Nervous Dog Coffee on Market Street in Akron. The poems included are "Mark This," "Odd Missive," part one of "Lit (Er, a Tour)," "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Identity Crisis."

Video permalink: https://youtu.be/Ro_vFZ82skA.

Thank You and Next Up

Sandra Feen, Jodie Summers & me in Monroe

What a great reading the other night (9/21) at Serendipitous Vintage in Monroe, Michigan. Super grateful to Leo Todd Jarret for inviting me. I loved performing with him, Dan Denton, William F. DeVault, Gary Bond, Sandra Feen, Barry Graham, Dave Caruso, Mackenzie Swanson, Bob Phillips, Jodie L Summers, Arnold Koester and more. A poetry event that lasted till nearly 2 a.m. has rarely felt so good.


My next gig is September 28th at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Akron with assorted kick-ass word artists including Kisha Nicole Foster and Raymond McNiece, hosted by Michael DeBenedictis. For more info on this event, please see: https://www.facebook.com/events/374767589725398/.

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.

Gratitude and coming up this week(end)

Thank you so much, Foam, Brett Underwood, Mic Boshans, Jim Z McGowin, Stef Russell, Thom Fletcher, Jeanette Powers, Jason Preu, Dianne Borsenik, InterUrban ArtHouse, Kevin W. Peery, the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry, Jim Holt, Brews, John Dorsey, Jason Baldinger and everyone else who's made this leg of the tour so special! Now I'm looking forward to getting back to Ohio for the following amazing events:

4/18 in Akron: Latitudes Poetry Night feat. Dianne Borsenik
4/20: Kleft Crisis 2018 - Cleveland
4/21 2pm: Kleft Crisis 2018 - Mansfield
4/21 7 pm: Kleft Crisis 2018 - Cleveland Heights
4/22 in Cleveland: Tongue-In-Groove Poetry Jam, featuring Steven Smith
.

Video: my reading 4/30/2018 at the Nervous Dog in Akron

Thanks to Michael DeBenedictis for recording my reading the other night at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Akron,Ohio. PG-13 so you can share it with your kids and pets and mother:

https://www.facebook.com/100009675966867/videos/617068495292344/

.

Nervous Dog Poetry and Music March 30th in Akron

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.