Pulling Out

I used to pride myself on never missing a poetry event I was scheduled to read at or host, whether it meant driving hours in a blizzard, wearing a mask while wiped out with the flu or even going without sleep for several days.  But there are more important things than poetry events.

On April 28th I had to cancel a reading in Mount Vernon at the last minute (luckily, Dianne Borsenik was available to read in my place) and on June 12th I couldn't go to the big Crisis Chronicles Press book launch in Erie (Dianne was available again to make sure Tracie Morell's books got there in time).  On June 1st, I had to leave my monthly Mahall's event after 20 minutes (fortunately, Ray McNiece was there as guest host for the evening).  And now I've withdrawn from the Lake Effect Poetry team that is scheduled to represent northeast Ohio this weekend in Rockford, Illinois.  Team "Slaministrator" Vertigo Xavier knew this was a possibility and is prepared to step into my slot since he's making the trip anyway.

While I always hate to let my friends and fellow poets down, it is more important for me (and to me) to stay close to home for the time being while a loved one is having health issues and needs me near.  I realize that's vague, and I'm sorry, but I can't be more specific publicly and still respect that loved one's wish for privacy (which I hope you too will respect). 

So I won't be taking on any more out of state readings for the near future, though I am hopeful that I will still be able to keep my upcoming Ohio reading commitments since they don't require me to be as far from home for as long.

All this has also played a role (though it's not the only factor) in my recent decisions to hand off the reins to the Monday at Mahall's poetry series to Terry Provost this fall and to wind down the breakneck pace of Crisis Chronicles Press by the middle of next year, by which time I expect I will have fulfilled all our pending publication commitments.

More soon (maybe).  I remain grateful for your patience, support and good wishes.

Peace, love and poetry,
John

My Mid-2015 Midwestern Poetry Tour

Looking at my list of upcoming readings, I think I'm gonna start calling this my Midwestern tour:

6/6 - Barberton, OH - Lake Effect Poetry Art Auction Fundraiser
6/12 - Erie, PA - Poets and Painters at PACA (where Crisis Chronicles Press will release Tracie Morell's new book, Matilda's Battle Waltz)
6/19-20 - Rockford, IL - with the Lake Effect Poetry team at Rustbelt Competition 2015 Rockford IL
6/27 - Toledo, OH - West Toledo Branch Library
7/25 - Cleveland, OH - Mad Sing You PoetryMusic Fest at the Barking Spider Tavern
8/1 - Cleveland, OH - Expedition: SPACES!!! A Journey of Words, Sights & Sounds at SPACES
8/4 - Painesville, OH - Words and Wine at Your Vine or Mine
9/19 - Cleveland, OH - BeatStreet Cleveland 2015 - The National Beat Poetry Festival (where my new chapbook, Beat Attitude, will be released by NightBallet Press)
10/15 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Third Thursday Poetry at The Root Cafe

Plus I'm acting as host for two more installments of the Monday at Mahall's Poetry and Prose Series in Lakewood, OH:

7/6 - Monday at Mahall's feat. Genevieve Jencson, Chuck Joy & Greg "Urban Cowboy Poet" Michaels
8/3 - Monday at Mahall's feat. Mike Finley, Danny Klecko, Marisa Moks-Unger & Tracie Morell

In the Lake Effect Poetry 2014 & 2015 Team Anthology

Five poems of mine appear in the new Lake Effect Poetry 2014 & 2015 Team Anthology published by The Poet's Haven. It also features work by Jaehla Meacham, Azriel Johnson, Skylark Bruce, AkeemJamal Rollins and Vertigo Xi'an Xavier. All proceeds go to send our Lake Effect Poetry team to the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam (June 19/20 in Rockford, Illinois) and (hopefully) Lake Effect's next team to National Poetry Slam.

Only $10.  Click here to buy the book.

My five poems in it:
"Mark This,"
"In Due Season,"
"Aye, Pod,"
"LadySings,"
"De-Carton."

Yesterday's Mail: Panda Statuesque, Jury Doodie

My poem "Statuesque" was published in Green Panda Press monthly digest, and I've been called to jury duty beginning 6/15, the week I'm supposed to travel with the Lake Effect Poetry team to Rockford, Illinois to compete in the Rustbelt poetry slam.

On my first slam team

Following Monday's open mic at Mahall's, Lake Effect Poetry hosted a slam to determine the 4th member of their Rustbelt Competition 2015 Rockford IL team. I jumped in for fun and somehow won. If I were a judge, my vote would've gone to Julie Ursem Marchand or Mr. Urban Cowboy Poetry, both of whom gave stellar performances. I'm not as competitive as I used to be, and I've never traveled for a slam before, but this'll be a fun adventure if nothing comes up to keep me from going (one never knows lately). Fingers crossed!

For the latest, follow www.lakeeffectpoetry.com.

May 4th Monday at Mahall's will feature Stephen Haven & Kathleen Cerveny, plus the final 2015 Lake Effect Poetry team selection slam

On 5/4/2015 at 7:30 pm, the Monday at Mahall's poetry series will present readings by featured authors Stephen Haven and Kathleen Cerveny.

Stephen Haven [photo by Celia Olsen]

Stephen Haven is the author of The Last Sacred Place in North America, selected by T.R. Hummer as winner of the 2010 New American Press Poetry Prize. He has published two previous collections of poetry, Dust and Bread (Turning Point, 2008), for which he was named 2009 Ohio Poet of the Year, and The Long Silence of the Mohawk Carpet Smokestacks (University of New Mexico/West End Press, 2004). He is also the author of the memoir, The River Lock: One Boy’s Life along the Mohawk (Syracuse University Press, 2008). He spent two years as a Fulbright Professor of American literature at universities in Beijing and has published many collaborative translations of contemporary Chinese poetry. Haven's poems have appeared in Salmagundi, Parnassus, American Poetry Review, Guernica, The Southern Review, The Common, Poetry New Zealand, Literary Imagination, World Literature (Beijing), Image, Crazyhorse and in many other journals. He has a Ph.D. in American civilization (literature, intellectual history and American painting) from New York University, where he wrote his dissertation under the direction of Harold Bloom, and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Iowa. He is Professor of English and director of the Ashland University MFA Program, where he also directs the Ashland Poetry Press.

Kathleen Cerveny [photo by John Burroughs]

Kathleen Cerveny is a poet and visual artist, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (BFA) and of the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast Creative Writing Program (MFA). During the 1970s and ‘80s Kathleen exhibited her ceramics locally and nationally. From 1987-90 she was Cleveland Public Radio’s first producer and broadcast journalist for the arts, winning more than 15 top awards and producing many features for National Public Radio. Since 1991 Kathleen has been the Director of Arts Initiatives for the Cleveland Foundation, the country’s first community foundation. Her poems have appeared in the Southern New Hampshire University journal Amoskeag, the e-journal Shaking Like a Mountain, and in journals published by Pudding House Press, among others. A poem of Kathleen’s was selected for inclusion in an anthology published by Future Cycle Press, Poems for Malala Yousafzai, and NightBallet Press published a chapbook of her poems, Coming to Terms. in April 2015. Kathleen is the 2014 recipient of the Robert Bergman Award from the Cleveland Arts Prize and served as the 2013-15 Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights.

After the features, there will be an open mic emceed by John Burroughs. Beer, bowling, and balderdash optional, as always.

Concluding the show, a slam will be held in which the winner will claim a spot on Lake Effect Poetry's 2015 team and compete at the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam in Rockford, Illinois, over Summer Solstice weekend. Vertigo Xavier will emcee this portion of the evening. This is the FINAL of four slams scheduled to determine LEP's 2015 team roster. Poets may compete in as many of these slams as they wish, however a NO REPEAT rule will be in effect. Repeating a poem used in a previous slam will result in an automatic score of 0. Once a poet has won a slam, they can still compete at later events but will not be in contention for a second spot on the team. (There's only one of you and we need four poets to fill the team roster.) Each slam will have a 3 minute rule, with a 10 second grace period and then one-half point deducted from the score every 10 seconds. No props, no costumes, no musical instruments, and must be your own material. All the regular rules. Every effort will be made to have five judges for each slam, but if unbiased judges are in short supply we will make due with just three. For more details on Lake Effect Poetry and information about the other three Team Selection Slams, visit www.lakeeffectpoetry.com.