Time flies by so quickly.
I have many new things to write about. And because of the many things, little time to do it in.
Let’s see if I can try.
More soon.
It’s Happened!
My first chap book is now available!
After months years of working on the thesis, massaging those poems, and working on new writing since graduating, I have a short collection out with Blast Furnace Press out of Pittsburgh.
I guess it goes to show that perseverance pays.
I whittled down the thesis to just a few of the best poems, added a couple of new ones not in there, and sent it out to five or six different contests and publishers. This took more effort than I thought it would. Killing your darlings is hard work, and although I don’t expect it to get any easier as things move forward, it may be easier to recognize something that isn’t working the way it is.
The end result is a chap book called How to Lose Faith, 18 poems in about 30 pages. Though many of the poems reflect on a traditional judeo-christian belief system, that subject tends to be an underlying current rather than the guiding principle. It is a journey I’ve taken, and I have no apologies for it.
It is interesting taking a title like that and sharing it with people I don’t know all that well. I can never be exactly sure of the reception.
Keep an eye out on the tumblr blog for readings and more news on this front.
You can buy the book here: http://www.blastfurnacepress.com/2015/05/how-to-lose-faith-prize-winning.html
Hey You! Send Submissions to No Bullshit Review!
Yep. We’re gearing up for the second issue. I really want to find a cover piece (Black & White!) that’s not something I made in my basement–see the last issue for an example.
So far we have a continued fiction piece and a nonfiction piece accepted, and I’m reading through more stuff right now.
Submit Away: http://nobullshitreview.tumblr.com/Submissions
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Some Reflection on the Past Year
In 2012, I took a bunch of poems from my time in ODU’s MFA program and created a thesis out of them. I dropped a bunch of them, and wrote a bunch of new ones. And though the thesis is still a work in process, it’s largely complete for the project of graduation.
But there are also a lot more things I’m proud of from the last year…
What needs to happen is a good couple Weeks of unhindered new productivity. Which will begin on Tuesday. I swear. For real.
So I’ve taken a week off to relax, build Ikea stuff, and generally decompress, but look for new posts coming soon!
Using The Book of Orgasms to prop open Necessary Angels…
Last One from Addonizio Today
Maybe you’re one of those people who writes poems, but rarely reads them. Let me put this as delicately as I can: If you don’t read, your writing is going to suck… If you just want to be a poet the way some people want to be rock stars without actually learning the guitar, playing scales, and practicing–then you are free to fantasize.
– Ordinary Genius, 2009