September 24-26: 20th Annual Indie Lit Festival in Frostburg, Maryland

I am looking forward to being part of the Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival in beautiful Frostburg, Maryland, this week. I'll be representing Crisis Chronicles Press in the bookfair Saturday and we hope to have copies of John Dorsey's brand-new book, Trump Stamp, available, as well as our 2026 revised edition of my own The Wrest of the Worthwhile and other favorite CCP titles.

Besides the book fair, the festival also includes an SMPA/CLA Poetry Slam on Thursday, a kickoff reading featuring Stephen Haven on Friday, and an array of readings, workshops, and panels followed by an open mic and a punk show by The Downstrokes with the Subtastics on Saturday. For more details, please follow the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/174701457615.

Awash Returns Ashore!

[August UPDATE: These are now all sold out. Thank you so much to everyone who picked up a copy or two! The original post follows.]

My most recent chapbook, AWASH, was published in July 2025 in a very limited edition by Evansville's Pure Sleeze Press (alongside chaps by John Dorsey, Jason Ryberg, Scott Laudati, and Tony Brewer). AWASH has been out of print since that original run almost immediately sold out.

However.... 

I have just found (among things that I never fully unpacked from last year's road trip to the U.S. Southwest) FIFTEEN unread author copies of AWASH. I'm numbering them 1 through 15, signing them, and selling them on a first come, first serve basis to help fund my forthcoming revised and expanded edition of The Wrest of the Worthwhile.

While they last, if you want a copy (shipped to you free), send me $10 US via Venmo (@jesuscrisis), CashApp ($crisischronicles), PayPal (jc@crisischronicles.com), or cash/check to John Burroughs, 535 Parkside Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44143 USA.

Reviews of AWASH:

"John's poems make me think and stop for a second and see things in a different way. Good writers do that."

     —Scot Young, author of Brautigan Meets Bukowski, All Around Cowboy, and more

In reading (and rereading) AWASH, I have only found more to admire in Burroughs' concision, precision, dexterity, and vulnerability. These are beautiful, tenderly-rendered poems.

     —Jennifer Browne, author of American Crow, The Salt of the Geologic World, and more

Throughout AWASH (Pure Sleeze Press, 2024), John Burroughs condenses the big stuff of life into fistfuls of resonant words like the strange debris that comes awash upon the shores of everyday consciousness. 

"Each step into abyss leads to

where feet become ungrounded,

hearts astounded."

(stanza 3, "Faithwalking")

"Potential Energy" from this beautifully produced poetry chapbook will be reprinted in the second volume of Stormwash: Environmental Poems (Seaker Press, August 2025).

     —Hiromi Yoshida, author of Umami, Icarus in Crete, Icarus Superstar, and more

Poems in Awash:

Faithwalking
Darshan
Shaktipat
Bilateral Heart Moon Resolution
Aura
Beacon
Hunger
A Wait, A Final Fall
Deluge
Critical Condition
A Superior Stimulant
But for Now
Potential Energy
Selkie

ISBN: 979-8-88596-400-5. 

Finally, deepest thanks to Jonathan S Baker, K Arizona, and Antoine Ball of Pure Sleeze for seeing this work into print in the first place.

July 21: Poetry Speaks in Evansville, Indiana

Totally jazzed to be returning to Evansville, Indiana, on July 21st to read with the brilliant Jennifer Browne for Poetry Speaks at the Bokeh Lounge. Now I suppose I need to write a frog poem.

Bokeh Lounge, 1007 Parrett Street, Evansville, IN 47713

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

September 25-27 in Frostburg: Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival

I'm thrilled to be taking part in the 19th annual Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival, presented by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts this weekend in downtown Frostburg.

Thursday 9/25: Savage Mountain Punk Arts' Fall Poetry Slam featuring Lori Jakiela (7 p.m. at Clatter).

Friday 9/26: Indie Lit Kickoff Reading featuring Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh (7 p.m. at Main Street Books), followed by a punk show by the Downstrokes with Controlled Chaos (8 p.m. at The Deep End).

Saturday 9/27: Indie Lit Bookfair Panels and Workshops (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at City Place, Mountain City Traditional Arts and the Frostburg Public Library). I'll be representing Crisis Chronicles Press in the bookfair all day as well as reading at 1 p.m. at City Place (more details below). And finally, there will be an Indie Lit Open Mic hosted by Chuck Joy (6 p.m. at Clatter). 

My "Allen Ginsberg Wants You" appears in Cum Punk

Happy that my poem "Allen Ginsberg Wants You" (which I began writing in 1997 and finished, first published in 2008) is finding a new audience. Fair warning: this publication, as you might have guessed from its title, is "not safe for work" and not to everyone's taste, but I'm grateful to Kum V. for including my work alongside that of such luminaries as Jennifer Browne, Dylan Krieger, and Gina Tron. Dig into it at cumpunk.me.

Word on the streets is that a launch reading will be scheduled soon. Stay tuned.

My "Prayer" featured by Poets Against Racism and Hate USA

"Prayer," a short poem I wrote on the back of a Catherine Joslyn art postcard during the April “Fighting Firehose with Fire” workshop presented by Pauletta Hansel and Tabassam Shah (and sponsored by Poets Against Racism & Hate USA) appears here: https://poetsagainstracism-usa.org/featured-poem.

Poems by Jennifer Browne, Pauletta Hansel, Pam Campbell, Donna Wojnar Dzurilla, Janet E. Irvin, and Dory Macguire are also featured.

July 15th Poetry Speaks in Evansville; July 23-28 NFSPS Conference in Albuquerque

It's been a busy and beautiful past 24 hours between the Ohio Poetry Association's annual picnic and our OPA board retreat. Now I'm back home to take a couple of breaths before hitting the road again tomorrow.

Very much looking forward to sharing the stage with Jennifer Browne on Tuesday 7/15 during Poetry Speaks Dog Days at the Bokeh Lounge in Evansville, Indiana, before heading south to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and then west to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' annual conference.

A Confluence of Poems: 2025 Edith Chase Reading, May 16th at Kent State

Grateful to be part of this reading and have two poems ("Tenacity" and a revised version of "Falls") in this anthology.

So many thanks to RC Wilson and the Edith Chase Symposium Association!

Friday 16 May 2025 at 4 p.m., poets from all over Ohio will gather for a dramatic reading on the theme of tributaries. There will be music, and an anthology of the poems performed will be available at the reading.

Kent State College of Architecture + Environmental Design
132 S. Lincoln Street
Kent, Ohio 44240

More info at https://www.facebook.com/events/1007338138041745.

To procure a copy of A Confluence of Poems, contact RC Wilson at rcwilsonii@gmail.com.

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.

Two poems published in Steel Jackdaw

So happy to have two of my poems ("If You Need a God, Make It Earth" and "Faithwalking") published in the beautiful January issue of the U.K.-based magazine Steel Jackdaw. So many thanks to Editor-in-Chief Jason Conway!

A e-book is available for £4.95 at https://www.steeljackdaw.com/edition-13.

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.

Landing in Portsmouth (7/13), GonzoFest in Louisville (7/15), OddMonth in Pittsburgh (7/29)

It's been a rough past month, but I'm shaking the dust off and girding my loins to hit the road again. Couldn't be more happy to be sharing poetry in three amazing places with some of the best folks I know.

13 July at 7 p.m. in Portsmouth, Ohio
Poets John Burroughs, Jennifer Browne, Ezhno Martín, Nova Pax Thrasher, and W.J. Allard, as well as musician Kris River, will perform, followed by open mic. Hosted by J.I.B. at The Landing, 217b Market Street, 45662.

14-15 July 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky

GonzoFest: a tribute to the late Hunter S. Thompson will feature myriad bands and poets including Ron Whitehead, Frank Messina, John Burroughs, Tommy Twilite, Jean Kizer, Joe Kidd & Sheila Burke and so many more at the High Horse Bar, 1032 Story Avenue, 40206.

29 July 2023 at 7 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
OddMonth Poetry will feature readings by John Burroughs, Shelley Chernin and Chandra Alderman at the Bantha Tea Bar, 5002 Penn Avenue, 15224.

1 August 2023 at 6 p.m. in South Euclid, Ohio
The Bexley Bash presents a reading by South Euclid poets John Burroughs, Shelley Chernin, Michael Ceraolo, Raja Belle Freeman, Amy Kesegich, Adrian Schnall, Amanda Terman, Abdul Ghani, Akaiya Abdullah and Doc Janning at Bexley Park, 1630 Wrenford Road, 44121.

3 August 2023 from 1 to 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
The Ohio Poetry Association presents an all-day Ohio Poetry Showcase featuring poets laureate from around the state during the Ohio State Fair. John Burroughs' keynote performance will take place at 6 p.m. Happening at the Ohio Expo Center & State Fair - Cox Fine Arts Building, 717 East 17th Avenue 43211.