John Burroughs’ 2020 Poetry Events (Scheduled So Far)

I'm starting to put together my 2020 Poetry calendar and I'd love to read for/with you if we can make it happen. Still touring behind my latest book, Rattle & Numb: Selected & New Poems, 1992-2019 [Venetian Spider Press], I’ll read at your bar, festival, living room, bookstore, gallery, university or spacecraft - especially if you’re in Ohio (since I’ll still be the Beat Poet Laureate for our fair state through 2021), though I’m always open to travel for the right gig. For booking, please email jc@crisischronicles.com.

Saturday 4 January at 1 p.m. in Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Poetry reading and discussion with John Burroughs at Riddlehaven.

Monday 6 January at 8 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Bowled Over by Holbrook/Burroughs, hosted by Terry Provost at Mahall’s 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Wednesday 8 January at 7 p.m. in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown presents John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at The Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion Street, 44503.

Saturday 18 January at 7 p.m. in Wadsworth, Ohio
Poetry Night and Open Mic featuring John Burroughs & Shelley Chernin at Manic on Main, 136 Main Street, 44281. 

Sunday 19 January at 2 p.m. in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie County Poet Laureate Chuck Joy presents a staged reading of Spoon River Anthology, Selected Poems (including John Burroughs in the role of Theodore the Poet) at the Erie County Public Library 160 E Front Street, 16507.

Tuesday 21 January at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Chuck Salmons and Renay Sanders plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 13 February at 7 p.m. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Ekphrastacy: Artists Speak + Poets Respond (to the Point Line Pattern Plane exhibit) featuring Ray McNiece, John Burroughs and Carson Evans at Heights Arts, 2175 Lee Road, 44118.

Tuesday 18 February at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Bill Yarrow & Laura Grace Weldon plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Sunday 8 March at 6 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio
Uncloistered Poetry featuring John Burroughs, Sam Wright and Sandra Gill at Calvino’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, 3143 W Central Avenue, 43606.

Tuesday 17 March at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Leah Mueller and Rikki Santer plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Thursday 9 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio

Meet the Author featuring John Burroughs at the Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Avenue, 44107.

Friday 10 April at 7 p.m. in Buffalo, New York
Second Stage Writers at Grindhaus, 160 Allen Street, 14201. More info forthcoming.

Friday 17 April at 6:30 p.m. in Pomeroy, Ohio
Poetry at the Brickhouse: Kari Gunter-Seymour & John Burroughs at the Brickhouse Apothecary, 105 Butternut Avenue, 45769.

Tuesday 21 April at 7 p.m. in Lakewood, Ohio
Poetry+ featuring Terry Provost and Nick Gardner plus open mic, emceed by John Burroughs at Art on Madison, 14203 Madison Avenue, 44107.

Tuesday 19 May at 7 p.m. in Evansville, Indiana
Poetry Speaks featuring John Burroughs, hosted by Indiana Beat Poet Laureate William Sovern at the Bokeh Lounge, 1007 Parrett Street, 47713.

Saturday 13 June at 5 p.m. in Amherst, Ohio
Poetic Expressions from the Heart featuring a workshop, John Burroughs, and open mic hosted by Debra Rose at Arabica Coffee Bistro, 254 Park Avenue, 44001.

Thursday 9 July at 7 p.m. in Shaker Heights, Ohio
Broadsides & Ephemera featuring John Burroughs, plus open mic, at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Boulevard, 44120.

Saturday 25 July at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio
Annual Cleveland Inkubator festival sponsored by Literary Cleveland at the Cleveland Public Library, Superior Avenue, 44114. More info forthcoming.

4 through 6 September in New Hartford, Connecticut
2020 National Beat Poetry Festival. More info forthcoming.

25 through 26 September in Youngstown, Ohio
Lit Youngstown’s Fall Literary Festival 2020. More info forthcoming.

2 through 3 October in Frostburg, Maryland
The Western Maryland Independent Literature Festival hosted by the Frostburg State University Center for Literary Arts. More details forthcoming.

Stay tuned. More to be added.

[Originally published 1/1/2020. Updated 2/11/2020.]

Get Bowled Over by Sara Holbrook & John Burroughs at Mahall's, January 6th

My first reading of the new year will be alongside the fabulous Sara Holbrook at Mahall's 20 Lanes in Lakewood, Ohio, and I couldn't be more excited. A homecoming of sorts! Monday January 6th at 8 p.m.

The last time I played the role of featured poet for Monday at Mahall's was July 13th 2013 when Catherine Criswell still ran the series. JJ Haaz accompanied me on guitar. A lot has changed since then. I took over running the series in April 2014, when Catherine took a job in California, and enjoyed playing the curator for about a year and a half until my wife Geri got so sick I decided to hand off hosting duties to the wonderful Terry Provost in October 2015. Now Terry's still going strong as host and I'm thrilled to be returning as one of his first featured poets of 2020 in support of my latest book, Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019 [Venetian Spider Press]. Did I mention it's with Sara Holbrook?!?

John Burroughs & JJ Haaz, 7/13/2013 at Mahall's
photo by Michael Spear

Bowled Over by Holbrook/Burroughs
Monday January 6th 2020 at 8 pm
Open mic will follow the features.

Mahall's 20 Lanes
13200 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107

Monday at Mahall's on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mondayatmahalls/.

SpaceMonWine - first week of August

I'm still catching up from weeks (months? years?) of so much, I don't have the time I used to for blogging, but I at least want to mention this.  I'm thrilled to be a part of three very cool events in the next week. I'd love to see you at one or all of them.

8/1 at 6 pm
Expedition : SPACES!!! A Guided Journey of Words, Sights & Sounds 

Curated by Craig Chojnicki & Lisa Miralia.  Integrated media performances by Faaaaangdolph, SPACEBEACH, Rural Carrier, Glacial23, John Burroughs and Jeff Gerish.  As always, click the link for more info.

SPACES Gallery, 2220 Superior Viaduct, Cleveland, Ohio 

8/3 at 7:30 pm
Monday at Mahall's feat. Mike Finley, Danny Klecko, Marisa Moks-Unger & Tracie Morell

Two poets from St. Paul, MN. Two poets from Erie, PA.  Plus an open mic led by me (my last as regular host of Monday at Mahall's before Terry Provost takes over).  Also the Cleveland launch of Tracie Morell's new book, Matilda's Battle Waltz, from Crisis Chronicles Press.

Mahall's 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio

8/4 at 6:30 p.m.
Words and Wine featuring John Burroughs
My last solo featured reading for the foreseeable future.  Event begins with an open mic emceed by Tobin Terry.  I last read here in August 2014 and had a great time.
Your Vine or Mine, 154 Main Street, Painesville, Ohio

*

July 6th Monday at Mahall's will feature Genevieve Jencson, Chuck Joy & Greg Michaels

This Monday will be my second-to-last time hosting the Monday at Mahall's poetry series, as Terry Provost will take over in October.  On July 6th at 7:30 p.m. we will feature three wonderful and wildly different poets:

Genevieve Jencson has an MFA in Poetry from Cleveland State University and the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts Program (NEOMFA). Her work has appeared in H_NGM_N, Dressing Room Poetry Journal, and Alimentum: The Literature of Food. Her first chapbook, Lanugo, was recently published by Dancing Girl Press. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

 
Chuck Joy loves Mahall's. Look at Facebook, his photo, Mahall's. Chuck visits from Erie, Poets' Hall his home club. Erie, Poetry City. Chuck is bringing his new book, Said the Growling Dog. Chuck and Growling Dog went to New York City for a pair of featured readings. Left Bank Books and the Saturn Series. Chuck was guest poet at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry. Chuck appeared at the Erie Art Museum with the poetry and music concert show Exploring The Border (Music and Words). 

Greg Michaels is a native of Lorain, Ohio. He lived in California for 30 years where he performed stand-up comedy and wrote sketch comedy, humorous articles, song parodies and shtick for his comedy barbershop quartet. He became enamored with the humorous story-telling style of the cowboy poets, but he couldn't write about ranch life, of which he knew nothing. A movie title, Urban Cowboy, inspired him. He said “Someday I'll write Urban Cowboy Poetry, whatever that is.” Back in Ohio, he figured it out. He takes popular urban legends and retells them cowboy-poet style. He started performing them around town, and he is now part of the Cleveland poetry scene.

I, of course, will emcee an open mic following the featured poets.

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

Diana Lueptow features Monday June 1st at Mahall's guest hosted by Ray McNiece and his Tongue-in-Groove band

Join us Monday at Mahall's for a reading by featured poet Diana Lueptow!
 

Diana Lueptow

Diana Lueptow lives in Akron, Ohio. Her poems have appeared in FIELD, Arion, Beloit Poetry Journal, RHINO, The Stinging Fly, and Verse Daily, and her chapbook Little Nest was chosen by Peter Campion for the Wick Chapbook Prize (2015, Kent State University Press). She received a 2014 Individual Excellence grant from the Ohio Arts Council. She earned an MA in English from the University of Akron and an MFA from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC.

 
Ray McNiece his Tongue-in-Groove band will host this month. Following the features, we'll open the mic and invite you to spit a poem accompanied by the band.

Ray McNiece and Tongue-in-Groove

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.  

April 13th Monday at Mahall's will feature Christine Howey and Lee Chilcote, guest hosted by Ray McNiece

Ray McNiece will be our guest host this month. Christine Howey and Lee Chilcote will be our featured poets. Open mic will follow.

Lee Chilcote is editor of Fresh Water Cleveland and a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in many publications. He has a master's in English and Creative Nonfiction from CSU, and his essays and poems have appeared in Whiskey Island, Paddlefish, Steamticket, Belt and other publications.

While studying at CSU, he won the Leonard Trawick Creative Writing Prize for nonfiction writing. He was also the second place winner in the 2014 Lakeland Community College poetry writing contest and a finalist in the 2014 Best Cleveland poem contest. He is a former board member of the late, great Poets and Writers League of Greater Cleveland and the Lit, and is interested in building community through writing and building a community of writers in Northeast Ohio.

Lee has taught writing at Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University and through the Cuyahoga County Public Library. He created and leads a local author book club called Read Local. He hosts a Facebook page, Literary Cleveland, to market readings and literary events. Lee was a finalist in the 2015 Accelerate civic pitch competition, sponsored by the Cleveland Leadership Center. Together with Amy Rosenbluth of Lake Erie Ink, he aims to create a literary unconference in downtown Cleveland this summer. Contact him to get involved.  

Christine Howey is a performance poet and her one-person show of poetry, Exact Change, had its world premiere at Cleveland Public Theatre in January, 2014. Also, it is scheduled to have a two-weekend, four-performance run at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland on June 12-13 and June 26-27, 2015. Her chapbook, If You Find Yourself Submerged in a Pond Under Ice, was published in 2011, as was an art book of her poem Inside, Out. Her poems have appeared in Pudding Magazine, Star Line and Muse, and in the anthologies What I Knew Before I Knew, Mercury Retrograde, While You Were Sleeping I Dreamt a Poem, Open Earth and multiple Hessler Street Fair poetry anthologies.

Christine is the theater critic for Cleveland Scene, in addition to posting reviews on her blog, Rave and Pan. She has been named Best Critic in Ohio by both the Press Club of Cleveland and the Society of Professional Journalists. Christine has had numerous articles published in The Plain Dealer, Northern Ohio Live magazine, Cleveland Free Times, Newsweek/Daily Beast, NBC News, Dame and many other publications. She is a former stage actor and director, primarily at Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights.

March 9th Monday at Mahall's presents Karen Schubert, Megan Erwin

March 9th 2015 at 7:30 p.m. the Monday at Mahall's Poetry and Prose Series will present readings by featured authors Karen Schubert & Megan Erwin.

Karen Schubert’s most recent chapbooks are Black Sand Beach (Kattywompus Press, 2015) and I Left My Wings on a Chair (Kent State Press, 2014), selected by Kathleen Flenniken for the Wick Poetry Center prize. Her work appears or is forthcoming in PoetsArtists, The Louisville Review, American Literary Review, Best American Poetry Blog, and diode poetry journal. Awards include a 2013 residency at Headlands Center for the Arts and 2014 Pushcart Prize nomination. She is a founding member of Lit Youngstown, a new literary arts organization in Youngstown, Ohio.

Megan M. Erwin is a graduate of the North East Ohio Master of Fine Arts program and the former editor of Whiskey Island. A former Bisbee fellow, she is a recipient the Leonard Trawick Creative Writing Award, an Academy of American Poet’s Prize, and a scholarship to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts. Her work can be found at Everyday Genius and the Valparaiso Fiction Review.

An open mic emceed by John Burroughs will follow. Beer, bowling and balderdash optional, as always.

Crisis Chronicles Press releases #ThisIsCLE: An Anthology of the 2014 Best Cleveland Poem Competition

cover photo by Steven B. Smith

Crisis Chronicles Press is thrilled to announce the imminent publication of #ThisIsCLE: An Anthology of the 2014 Best Cleveland Poem Competition on 5 January 2015. 

The second annual Best Cleveland Poem Competition was held on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at the Willoughby Brewing Company.  #ThisIsCLE features contest highlights including poems by Geoffrey Landis, Theresa Göttl Brightman, Jeffrey Bowen, Mary Turzillo, JP Armstrong, Anita Herczog, Danya Eichhorn, Michael Murray, Steven B. Smith, Frannie Lograsso, S. Renay Sanders, two-time Best Cleveland Poem winner Dianne Borsenik and competition emcee Ray McNiece.

The book is 40 pages, perfect bound, 6x9" and a steal at only $10 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3344 W. 105th Street #4, Cleveland, Ohio 44111.

Available now by mail and online — and soon from particular independent bookstores across the country!  Please join us for the official #ThisIsCLE release party on January 5th 2015 during Mondays at Mahall's Poetry and Prose series at Mahall's 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.  Meet and hear many of the contributors there. 

Project editor for #ThisIsCLE: Dianne Borsenik 
Executive editor: John Burroughs
ISBN: 978-1-940996-13-4

For more information about the annual Best Cleveland Poetry Competition sponsored by attorney Tim Misny, please click here.

Monday at Mahall's to feature Jeffrey Bowen & the #ThisIsCLE anthology release

The Monday at Mahall's Poetry Series and Crisis Chronicles Press will kick off the new year with a special event on Monday January 5th at 7:30 p.m. at the now 90-year-old Mahall's 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, in Lakewood, Ohio.

Cleveland poet/musician Jeffrey Bowen will perform. Plus Crisis Chronicles Press will release #ThisIsCLE: An Anthology of the 2014 Best Cleveland Poem Competition. Book contributors will also read. An open mic emceed by John Burroughs will follow.

Jeffrey Bowen’s poetry has been published by ArtCrimes, Cicada, Cool Cleveland, Crisis Chronicles, CSU Poetry Center, Dimensions, Doan Brook Watershed, Excursions, Green Panda Press, Hessler Street Fair, Procrastination Press, Poet’s League of Greater Cleveland, The City, The Cleveland Reader and Whiskey Island Magazine. He is one of six poets profiled in the 1995 documentary, “Off the Page”. Four of his poems are featured on Cleveland Tumbadors, an album of Traditional Afro Cuban Music and Latin Jazz on Fame City Records. Jeffrey is the resident poet & conga player with the band, Cats On Holiday, and his poetry appears on their CD, Holiday in a Box from COHTONE Records. In addition to his poetic work, Jeffrey’s writing has appeared in Call & Post, City News, Cool Cleveland, EcoWatch, Elephant Journal, Girl Scout News, GreenCityBlueLake, Live Cleveland, Neighborhood News, Nonprofit Notes, Sun News and various Habitat for Humanity publications.

For more information about the Best Cleveland Poem Competition, sponsored annually by Tim "I'll make them pay" Misny, click here.  To check out last year's book, Songs in the Key of Cleveland: An Anthology of the 2013 Best Cleveland Poem Competition, click here.

Juliet Cook, Clarissa Jakobsons & Baraka Noel on December 1st at Mahall's

 

For more info, see our FB event page.

Crisis Chronicles Press releases brilliant new Elise Geither chapbook November 3rd during Monday at Mahall's featuring Writer's Root

cover photo by Steven B. Smith

Poet/playwright Elise Geither is one of my favorite Ohio writers, and has been for years. So I'm excited to announce the release of her new Crisis Chronicles Press chapbook, HOLDING STORIES in YOUR HANDS. This book is 25 pages, loving handbound with ivory cardstock cover and black endpapers.  Highlights include "The End of Once Upon," "How to Fold a Woman" and "Into the Woods We Go."

Get yours for $7 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3344 W. 105th Street #4, Cleveland, Ohio 44111 USA.

ISBN 978-1-940996-11-0.  1st edition: 100 copies. 

 
Join us for the official release and meet Elise at 7:30 pm on 3 November 2014 during Monday at Mahall's featuring Writer's Root, 13200 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.  

Elise Geither at the Lava Lounge in Cleveland, 2014 - photo by JB

Monday at Mahall's hosts Lipsmack release 10/6 with NightBallet Press

This month Monday at Mahall's Poetry & Prose Series is partnering with NightBallet Press to celebrate the book release of Lipsmack!: A Sampler Platter of Poets from NightBallet Press Year 3.  Four fine featured poets (and Lipsmack! contributors) - Jennifer Hambrick (from Columbus), Andy Roberts (Colmbus), Jason Baldinger (Pittsburgh) and Dan Smith (Cleveland) - will read, followed by our ever-interesting open mic.  Beer bowling and balderdash optional.  I'll be emceeing, joined by NightBallet editor/publisher Dianne Borsenik.  And we'd love to see you there!

It all happens Monday October 6th 2014, 7:30 p.m., at Mahall's 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio.

Event page on Facebook
NightBallet Press: www.nightballet.com 

 
Jennifer Hambrick has been published in Pudding Magazine, WestWard Quarterly, Common Threads, the anthology Everything Stops and Listens, the Columbus Creative Cooperative’s Ides of March anthology, and the Ohio Poetry Day Best of 2011 prizewinners’ collection. Her first chapbook of poetry, Unscathed, was published in 2013 by NBP. Hambrick enjoys a lively schedule of featured poetry readings around central Ohio, and is a classical musician, public radio broadcaster, producer, and blogger.

Andy Roberts lives in Columbus, Ohio where he handles finances for disabled veterans. His poems and stories have appeared in hundreds of small press journals over the last 25 years, including Atlanta Review, Coal City Review, Fulcrum, Hiram Poetry Review, Ilya’s Honey, Lake Effect, Mudfish, Plainsongs, San Jose Studies, Slipstream, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, and many others. Roberts has three Pushcart Prize nominations for his work. The Green World is his fourth chapbook, and his first from NightBallet Press. Another book from NBP is planned for 2015.

Jason Baldinger has been writing poetry for over twenty years and just recently got around to performing it publicly. His latest books are The Lower 48 (Six Gallery Press) and The Studs Terkel Blues (NightBallet Press, 2014). His work has appeared in The New Yinzer, Shatter Wig Press, and Blast Furnace, and others. Check out The Lady Pittsburgh (Speed and Briscoe Press), his first solo collection, in audio at http://jasonbaldinger.bandcamp.com/.

Dan Smith, author of the epic poem "i am down with you crooked river," is widely published. His speculative poetry has been nominated for the SFPA Rhysling Award, and his NBP November, 2013 speculative poetry book The Liquid of Her Skin, the Suns of Her Eyes, was nominated for the SFPA’s Elgin Award. His spoken word cd, Matinee Motel (2012) is described as "surreal urban poetry...paired with the music of the Deep Cleveland Trio, from jazz to rock to noise." Smith's previous chapbook, Crooked River, was published by Deep Cleveland Press in 2005.

Remaining August in August

This has been an extremely busy month for me - but I guess that's par for the course.  I've had to run my grandson to appointments with his pediatrician, neurologist, neurosurgeon, occupational therapy, GI specialist and ENT specialist (I may be leaving something out) on top of his having to spend 24 hours in the hospital for multiple procedures at one point.  The good news is we now have a clearer idea what's causing his issues, and it seems these can be treated non-invasively.  I've also had several readings: 8/4 I hosted Monday at Mahall's in Lakewood. 8/5 I featured at Your Vine or Mine in Painesville.  8/15 I read at Voices from the Viaduct in Erie.  8/25 I attended Crisis Chronicles Press author Leah Mueller's reading in Canton.  And 8/27 we had our Oct Tongue -1 book launch at Mac's Backs in Cleveland Heights.  It's Crisis Chronicles' biggest book to date (by seven authors: Mary Weems, John Swain, Steven Smith, Lady, Shelley Chernin, Steve Brightman and myself), and getting it published in time for the event took up a lot of the first half of the month for me.  I've also been preparing for future events, including 9/1's Monday at Mahall's featuring Ray McNiece and Mary Weems.  I finally have the Mahall's lineup finalized through the end of December, and I'm really excited about it (more on that in a later post).

August also saw the official release of another big Crisis Chronicles Press book: The Night Market (poetry by D.R. Wagner with art by ReBecca Gozion).  I'm really proud of both of these books.  The Night Market took about a year and a half to publish. Oct Tongue -1 took nearly a year.  But both are well worth the wait.  I'm currently working on half a dozen other great books that are behind schedule (more on those in a future post).  And then I've had some minor car trouble.  I took my car in for an oil change and found out I had a nail in my tire and needed some kind of air filter replaced.  Then somebody walking down the street bashed my windshield with a hunk of black top.  Altogether, there went another $300.  I've only had the car slightly over a year and I've already had to invest nearly $2000 in repairs - something I had hoped to avoid when I got rid of my 1993 Buick for a 2013 Mustang.  And then, back to August, there's my on again off again job search, assorted other family needs, and I could go on and on.

The good news is I keep plugging away.  I owe you work or an email I will get to it as soon as I can.  Don't give up on me.

Much love....

Monday at Mahall's to feature Sean Thomas Dougherty, John Dorsey & John Swain

August 4th 2014 at 7:30 p.m., join us for a fabulous night of live poetry, featuring literary treasures Sean Thomas Dougherty, John Dorsey and John Swain - plus, for any who dare, brews, bowling and a bowl-you-over open mic. It  happens at Mahall's 20 Lanes, 13200 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.

Photo of Dougherty by John-Henry Doucette. Photo of Dorsey by Casey Rearick. Photo of Swain by John Swain

John Swain of Louisville, Kentucky, is the author of several acclaimed books including Ring the Sycamore Sky (2014, Red Paint Hill), Rain and Gravestones (2013, Crisis Chronicles), White Vases (2012, Crisis Chronicles). Oct Tongue -1 (a collaborative book by John Swain, Mary Weems, John Burroughs, Steve Brightman, Shelley Chernin and Smith and Lady) is forthcoming and may be available in time for this event.

Sean Thomas Dougherty was born in 1965 in New York City, and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and Manchester New Hampshire. As an adult he has lived significant years in Syracuse, New York, Cleveland Ohio and for more than a decade on and off in Erie, PA. He is the author or editor of thirteen books , They include All I Ask for Is Longing: Poems 1994- 2014 (2014 BOA Editions), Scything Grace (2013 Etruscan Press), Sasha Sings the Laundry on the Line (2010 BOA Editions) which was a finalist for Binghamton University’s Milton Kessler literary prize for the best book by a poet over 40, the novella The Blue City (2008 Marick Press/Wayne State University), and Broken Hallelujahs (2007 BOA Editions). His awards include two Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Fellowships in Poetry and a Fulbright Lectureship to the Balkans. Known for his dynamic performances. he currently works at a pool hall, teaches private students and travels widely for readings.

John Dorsey was born in a military hospital in Hawaii in 1976. Raised in Western Pennsylvania, he has traveled extensively reading his poetry and speaking all over the world for the past 20 years in esteemed venues such as Assumption College in Worcester, MA, Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, The University of Toledo in Toledo, OH, and The Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, CA. Full length collections include Holy Toledo: The Sonnet River Volume (Sleepy Brooklyn, 2008), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books/Grievous Jones Press, 2010), Tombstone Factory (Epic Rites Press, 2013) and Natural Selection: Early Poems (Kilmog Press, 2014). He is also the Co-Editor of Numbskull Sutra, the Selected, Collected, and Rejected Poems of S.A. Griffin (Rank Stranger Press, 2007). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has appeared in magazines and anthologies in at least 20 different counties. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com

July 7th Installlment of Monday at Mahall's will feature Jack McGuane, Chuck Joy, Eva Xanthopoulos, and be guest hosted by Terry Provost

This month's installment of the Monday at Mahall's Poetry and Prose Series is a triple knock out featuring poets Jack McGuane, Ēva Xanthópoulos and Chuck Joy - plus, for any who dare, brews, bowling and a bowl-you-over open mic. Our guest host for the event will be Terry Provost! You won't want to miss this! July 7th at Mahall's in Lakewood.

Jack's and Eva's photos lifted from their Facebook pages. Chuck's photo by Chandra Alderman.

Jack McGuane age 86, has been a resident of Lakewood, Ohio, since 1974, when he moved there from New York’s Long Island. Jack has been married to Kathleen (Moriarty) for fifty-seven years and is the father of five, grandfather of six. He retired in 1997 from his position as Regional Manager for Fireye, Inc., and has been a poet ever since. He served for three years as poetry editor of Whiskey Island Magazine, won the Haiku Death Match (sponsored by Heights Arts), and was named Poet Laureate of Lakewood 2006-2007 by a board of judges and by proclamation of the Mayor. His poems have been published in the anthologies Family Matters (Bottom Dog Press), Come Together, Imagine Peace (BDP), and Lipsmack! A Sampler Platter Year One 2012 (NightBallet Press), and in Whiskey Island Magazine, Moonlit Magazine, ArtCrimes, the November 3rd Club, The City Poetry, and other print and online journals. His chapbook Sleeping With My Socks was published in 2008 by Deep Cleveland Press, and his collections Chickenhawk (2011) and Unfinished (2013) were published by NightBallet Press.

Eva X. is a Greco-American writer, mystic, and multimedia artist. She received her BA in Creative Writing from Cleveland State University. Many of her works are published both in print and online (The Golden Lantern, Mystic Living Today, The Journey Magazine, etc.) and she's the author of several poetry books (Sacred Shapes, Water Walker, and Cumulus). Eva is the founder of Poehemian Press and is the co-founder of Etheric Archives. Find her at www.theartisticmuse.com

Chuck Joy is from Erie, PA. His poems have appeared in Great Lakes Review, Ampersand Review, intentionalwalkreview.com, Medicinal Purposes, Lilliput Review, and Bogg, as well as anthologies edited by Sean Thomas Daugherty, Berwyn Moore, and Jack Coulehan. His publications include All Smooth (Destitute Press) and Every Tiger Wants To Sing (Poets' Hall Press). A poet impressed with the music and drama of lines, Chuck has brought poetry to the stage at The Orange Bear, Blue Planet Cafe, Confluence, every Snoetry, the Erie Book Store, Authors Books, Woodlawn Diner, and Mac's Backs. Chuck is excited to return to Mahall's!