February 15th on Zoom: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing

My first appearance of 2024 will be on February 15th when the Spoken & Heard series, hosted by the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio, will present a reading by twenty contributors to the award-winning anthology I Thought I Heard A Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and published by Sheila-Na-Gig). We hope you'll tune in.

Podcast: Poetry Spotlight presents The Poet Laureate Report (7 April 2023)

I realized that I never shared here the Poetry Spotlight podcast episode where Jeremy Jusek featured several poets laureate from Ohio, including me, back in April. So here you go. I'm on for about ten minutes beginning around the 11-minute mark. The other poets who appear, in addition to Jeremy himself, are Jonie McIntire, Ray McNiece, Kari Gunter-Seymour, Doc Janning, Wendy McVicker, and Sandra Feen.

Episode permalink: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2AIA6x1mBNX3yMyKU6VMaz.

Learn more about Poetry Spotlight, sponsored by the Ohio Poetry Association, at
https://www.ohiopoetryassn.org/poetry-spotlight.

Appalachian Studies Association Conference this weekend in Athens, Ohio

This weekend, I'm heading to my alma mater, Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, for the 2023 Appalachian Studies Association Conference.

I'll perform there on the 17th at 10:30 a.m., sharing poetry & touching on my journey from being born in Richwood, WV, raised in Ohio, bullied relentlessly for my accent and heritage and learning to hide it, to finally as an adult embracing where I came from with joy and renewed pride.

Then at 2:30 p.m., also on the 17th, I'll be one of many contributors to I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour) sharing our poems from that monumental anthology.

At the end of next week I'll be sharing poetry in Dansville, NY (the 24th), and Binghamton, NY (the 25th).

In between, I hope to have copies in hand of my new c. 300-page book, The Wrest of the Worthwhile: Unselected, Uncollected and New Poems, 1982-2023 [which collects all my published work that did not appear in Rattle and Numb, as well as some stuff no one has seen before].

Then in April, I'll be part of events in Florida, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio. More on those in the near future. But click here to see my regularly updated event schedule.

March 17th: Dual Performances at AppalachiaFest: From Surviving to Thriving

I am very much looking forward to being part of this special event on March 17th at AppalachiaFest, the 2023 Appalachian Studies Association Conference, in Athens, Ohio. I'll also be doing a deep-dive one-hour solo performance ("Hampuy: The Circle Returns") there that same day at 10:30 a.m.

I remain so grateful to Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour for creating this wondrous anthology and including a couple of my poems in it.

Click here to buy I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices.

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.

June 11th online: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

On June 11th, the Cuyahoga County Public Library will host a reading by contributors to the new 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 reading will take place online and we'd love for you to tune in. 

Registered participants will also have the option of attending in-person at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch to watch the event on a large screen.

Please register here to attend.

May 14th in Toledo: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

On May 14th, Uncloistered Poetry and the Toledo Lucas County Public Library 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). We'd love to see you there!

2 p.m.

325 N. Michigan Street
Toledo, Ohio 43604

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

 

April 23rd in Youngstown: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

On April 23rd at the Soap Gallery, Lit Youngstown will present 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). We'd love to see you there!

2 p.m.

The Soap Gallery
117 S. Champion Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44503

April 14th in Marietta: I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology reading

On April 14th at Marietta College, Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour will present a reading by contributors to the recently published I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing anthology and we'd love to see you there!

7 p.m.

Marietta College
McDonough Auditorium
215 Fifth Street
Marietta, Ohio 45750

Ohio's Appalachian Voices Launch: March 16th in Cincinnati

Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour has put together a fabulous anthology of regional poetry and I'm thrilled that two of my poems appear in it. I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices will have its book launch this Wednesday, March 16th, at the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati, and we would love to see you there.

DOORS OPEN 6PM - All guests must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have received a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test within 72-hours prior to this event.

RSVP here for "in person" attendance: https://mercantilelibrary.com/calendar/i-thought-i-heard-a-cardinal-sing-book-launch-reading.

REGISTER here for "virtual" attendance: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/i-thought-i-heard-a/register.

ORDER THE BOOK: https://www.karigunterseymourpoet.com/order-cardinal-sing. 

 

What's Happening?

The past several months have been a whirlwind. Where to begin?

Several dear friends have passed away recently: Kay Easterling (November 10th), Helen Shepard (December 26th), Haymond Holcomb (January 25th), William Merricle (February 5th), and Jake Pavlica (February 12th).  Also during this same time my partner lost her aunt and my cousin lost her partner. My deepest sympathies go out to all who loved them. And then February 8th was the fifth anniversary of Geri's passing. This all on the heels of so many other losses in recent years. I would like to say more about some of these, but such words are difficult for me at the moment.

While I'm here, though, I will update you on what else has been going on in my life (some of which you may already know if you follow my social media posts).

After a couple of years of having a ton of poetry events canceled (or not scheduled at all) due to the pandemic, I have a lot more things on my 2022 calendar. I emceed an in-person Ekphrastacy program on February 17th at Heights Arts and I have about twenty more poetry events confirmed (so far) for the rest of this year, beginning with a March 12th reading at Visible Voice Books with visiting poets Austin Davis (from Arizona), Brooke Nicole Plummer (Michigan) and Tim Heerdink (Indiana). (Click here to see the full event list, which is still being updated.)

My eighteen-year old granddaughter moved in with us on February 1st.

Also in February, I finished writing my first chapbook since 2017, You Can't Trust It to Remain, which will be published by Between Shadows Press on April 1st.

I'm serving on Heights Arts' Heights Writes Community Team and Lit Youngstown's Fall Literary Festival planning committee. And I still help maintain the northeast Ohio literary calendar at clevelandpoetry.com (I have another list of events I plan to add to it today).

Two of my poems appear in the new anthology I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour).

Crisis Chronicles Press has gotten super busy again, working on publishing at least ten books in 2022 (after only publishing two in 2020 and one in 2021). It was a big deal to me to get William Merricle's Contempt of Gravity published in January before he passed away. When I got sick for three weeks in December and had difficulty working, I feared that it might not get done in time.

It also feels huge to have finally published Lisa Cihlar's Before the Next Ice Age. She first submitted it to me (with a different title) in December 2014. Talk about a long journey to publication. But once I finally received her perfect cover art in November, the process sped up and that became our second book of the year.

I'm currently working on our next three titles: Arroyo Chamisa by Alex Gildzen (due out in March), 47 Poems by Victor Clevenger (April 7th) and Ouroboros by Chansonette Buck with art by Jillian Mardin (April 22nd).

After that, Crisis Chronicles and I will team up with Tohm Bakelas and Between Shadows to put out a huge collection of poems by Kent Taylor.

Then later in the year (and likely into 2023), Crisis Chronicles plans to publish works by Brandon Johnson, Christopher Franke, Chris Howey, John Dorsey and Judith Mansour.

And well, I could keep going. There's always more. But I think I'd better stop writing this and get back to work.

I'm grateful for you.

11/11: Athens County (and Friends) Poets & Storytellers feat. John Burroughs

Heads up! I am very much looking forward to being the featured poet for one of the best series in Ohio, Athens County (and Friends) Poets & Storytellers, on November 11th via Zoom. Host: Stephanie Kendrick. Click here to register for the Zoom link. Then click here to sign up for the open mic.

 

Video of 10/17 SpoFest Laureate Reading feat. Bargen, Barnstone, Craigo, Burroughs, Gunter-Seymour

If you missed last night's SpoFest reading, here's the video. Hearty thanks to our host James Bryant! It was an honor for me to read with Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour, Missouri Poet Laureate Karen Craigo and former Missouri Poets Laureate Walter Bargen and Aliki Barnstone. I begin around the 1:27:00 mark.

Video permalink: https://www.facebook.com/SpoFest/videos/1077209229398979/.

Follow SpoFest Open Mic Poetry and Prose on Facebook.

SpoFest Features Five Missouri & Ohio Poets Laureate on October 17th

I will have the honor of reading with Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and three Missouri Poets Laureate - Karen Craigo (current), Aliki Barnstone (past) and Walter Bargen (past) - during a special online SpoFest event hosted by James Bryant on October 17th at 7 p.m. Eastern. I feel fortunate to be included as the current Ohio Beat Poet Laureate.

More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/658027881775262/.

Enter our email drawing to win a copy of a book from one of the five featured poets (one book per winner) at SpoFest.Drawing@gmail.com. Provide your first and last name. U.S. residences only. Your email will only be used for this email drawing. Five lucky winners will be drawn at the end of the event.

Follow SpoFest Open Mic Poetry and Prose on Facebook and Twitter.

Ohio Poetry Showcase at the Ohio State Fair, August 1st

I am honored to have the opportunity to share poetry this Thursday, August 1st, at the Ohio State Fair! From the press release: "The afternoon will begin with the Ohio Poetry Out Loud reading, emceed by Chiquita Mullins Lee of the Ohio Arts Council. Then at 3:30 some of Ohio’s finest poets will take the stage for a reading emceed by Fred Andrle. Featured poets include Geoff Anderson, John Burroughs, Cathryn Essinger, Barbara Fant, Kari Gunter-Seymour, Pauletta Hansel, Furaha Henry-Jones, Mark Sebastian Jordan, Susann Möeller, Karen Schubert, and Kerry Jensen Trautman. Finally, Ohio Poet Laureate Dave Lucas will bring the evening to a close."

Many thanks to the Ohio Poetry Association!

For more information, please visit ohiopoetry.org.

From Here (to Denver to Long Island) to Eternity

My Maine reading this month is being rescheduled. But there are still lots of events featuring Crisis Chronicles Press authors and friends coming up this month. Just off the top of my head:

5/10 in Toledo, OH - Naked Toes Couch Concert at Glass City Roasters.

5/11 in Norwalk, OH - Grey Skies & Blue Hearts: A Poetry Workshop (with Nicole Hennessy, Dianne Borsenik, Claire McMahon & more).

5/12 in South Euclid, OH - Second Sunday Poets at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

5/14 in Cleveland Heights, OH - CLE Uncorked: Voices and Vines on Lee featuring Sara Minges and more.

5/18 in Kent, OH - Concrete Wink Poetry Reading (Rikki Santer, Sandra Feen & Chuck Salmons)

5/19 in Cleveland, OH - Tongue in Groove Poetry Jam featuring Nicole Hennessy at The Millard Fillmore Presidential Library.

5/21 in Lakewood, OH - Poetry Plus Featuring Kari Gunter-Seymour at Art on Madison.

5/24 in Denver, CO - A very burger weekend: night one hosted by Cheeseburger Nebula Galactic Press at BookBar.

5/25 in Denver, CO - A very burger weekend: night two at Hooked on Colfax.

5/31 thru 6/2 in Long Island, NY - the Walt Whitman Bicentennial Convention (http://www.waltwhitman200.com/).

So Much to See and Hear in the Next Few Weeks

Some upcoming events featuring Crisis Chronicles Press and/or our authors:

4/22 in Barberton, OH - Cat Russell author talk with music by Ed Amann at the Barberton Public Library.

4/23 in Cleveland Heights, OH - CLE Uncorked Performers Showcase featuring John Burroughs and more at CLE Urban Winery.

4/24 in Palm Springs, CA - A Night of Poetry and Art with Alex Gildzen.

4/25 in Marietta, OH - David Dodd Lee & Athens Poet Laureate: Kari Gunter-Seymour at WSCC (https://www.wscc.edu/event/poetry-reading/)

4/27 in Columbus, OH - 2019 Ohioana Book Festival

4/28 in Old Brooklyn, OH - National Poetry Month Book Fair

4/30 in Worthington, OH - Rikki Santer & Jennifer Hambrick at The Light of Seven Matchsticks.

5/4 in Lakewood, OH - Vision of the Gypsy Queen featuring Nicole Hennessy's book launch.

Crisis Chronicles at the 2019 Annual Poets House​ Showcase in NYC

11/30/2018 selfie at Poets House

All of our recent (2018-2019) Crisis Chronicles Press​ titles will be featured in the 27th Annual Poets House​ Showcase in New York City from June 27th through August 17th!

Crisis Chronicles Press titles they will feature this year include:

Serving by Kari Gunter-Seymour
Where Never Was Already Is by Steven B. Smith
Citizen of Metropolis by Christine Howey
The Strength of Flowers by Steve Thomas
Dodge, Tuck, Roll by Rikki Santer
Malformed Confetti by Juliet Cook
Drinking From What I Once Wore by Chris Stroffolino
Awaiting Time by Helen Shepard
Triple Threat by John Dorsey
The Law of Almosts by Mindi Kirchner
Our house on the sand by Elaine Schleiffer
Soul Picked Clean by Cat Russell
Gypsy Queen by Nicole Hennessy
and whatever else I might get done in time.

Most of our earlier titles are also in their permanent collection.

https://poetshouse.org/event/27th-annual-poets-house-showcase/

Reviews of recent Crisis Chronicles books in Pudding

Many thanks to Pudding Magazine: The Journal of Applied Poetry and editor Connie Everett for recommending two recent Crisis Chronicles Press books in their latest issue. Subscribe to Pudding at puddingmagazine.com.

About Rikki Santer's Dodge, Tuck, Roll, they say:

"There is plenty of heft and whimsy in the poems of Rikki Santer. Besides her obvious love of language and its play, she ruminates over failed relationships, environmental peril, internet addiction, health scares, and death. But there is also a well-balanced celebration of music, art, and nature to appreciate. Betty Boop is reconsidered as only a feminist might. A food and art mashup with appearances by Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Stephen Hawking and abstractions of culinary possibilities leave the reader dizzy. Reading Santer's poems is an experience of synesthesia as she navigates the 'thin membrane between apocalypse & carnival.' Dodge, Tuck, Roll is a book to be savored."

About Kari Gunter-Seymour's Serving, they say: 

"After decades of war, many of us don't know any who have served or their families. Gunter-Seymour gives an emotionally honest portrayal of what service and sacrifice look like for military families. A sense of home, of place, offer context for what we protect and why. A book of heartbreak, but most of all, love."

Order Rikki's and Kari's books together and save!