Dianne and I Cousins and my Top Songs in 2018

Still ill. But awoke to some very interesting news. 1) Dianne Borsenik got her DNA tested (I had mine done 2013) and we have discovered that we are 3rd cousins. 2) I also learned that one of our mutual ancestors, Guy Keith (my great great great grandfather on my father's mom's side), was a Union soldier who died as a prisoner of war at the Belle Isle Confederate prison in Richmond. 3) Finally, but less surprising, Spotify sent me my 2018 stats. The artist I listed to most was Prince (37 hours!). But the songs I listened to most (at least on Spotify) over the course of the year were: 
https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1EjgE44NdBQroU?si=x32e8zLoRj2vRRoFVzoBLQ

"Dish Work" and more live in Oakland on 7/19/2017

Reading at the Octopus, 1/19/17, photo by PCR

Last year I drove cross country to the west coast for the first (and so far only) time and it was one of the highlights of my life. So many good memories made!  One of the best was having the opportunity to read with D.R. Wagner, M.J. Arcangelini and Matt Cook at the Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland, California, on July 19th. I am grateful to Paul Corman-Roberts for making it happen—as well as emceeing, snapping pics and videoing random bits of the proceedings.
 

There are two clips of me that I meant to link to on this blog last year—but then I got behind and it hasn't happened until now. You can check them out here:

facebook.com/events/1562616010436560/permalink/1576457895719038/

One clip features "Dish Work," a poem inspired by Columbia Hills Country Club, where I worked as a dishwasher from around September 1986 to January 1987. It's also where I first met Geri, who was a waitress there at the time. The second clip catches me reading the first part of my poem "From Genesis to Exodus," a tribute to Prince.

"Dish Work" appears in my chapbook Water Works, first published in 2012 by recycled karma press and reissued in early 2017 as part of the Poets Haven Archive Series. "From Genesis to Exodus" was first published in Delirious: A Poetic Celebration of Prince (2016, NightBallet Press) and now also appears in my chapbook Loss and Foundering (2018, NightBallet Press).

Delirious: A Poetic Celebration of Prince

Many thanks to NightBallet Press for including my poem "From Genesis to Exodus" in their marvelous new anthology, Delirious: A Poetic Celebration of Prince. I'm also thrilled that they used one of my photos on the front cover. The book's official release date is June 7th, which would have been Prince's 58th birthday, but you can order now for only $10 plus shipping.