Winter 2020 What's Been Happening!

Hola Everyone! I hope you are all well. It has been an exciting semester. I’m stoked to recap and I also want to wish everyone a happy and successful 2020. I was super honored to have a poem of mine that originally appeared in Sugar House Review appear on Verse Daily. I want to thank the following journals for publishing my poems recently: The Southern Review, Crazyhorse, Copper Nickel, Poet Lore, The Southampton Review, South Carolina Review, Atlanta Review, Plume Poetry, Tahoma Literary Review, Potomac Review, Poetry South & summerset review. I was also fortunate enough to garner three Pushcart noms. I am also so excited to share these amazing student accomplishments:

Ellery Beck had poems accepted by Sugar House Review, Crab Creek Review, Gulf Stream, Slipstream and Broadkill Review. She also read for the Potomac Review winter issue launch!

Caroline Chavatel had poems accepted by Poetry Northwest & Smartish Pace. She also was invited to Nortwest Missouri State to read from her award-winning chapbook!

Lisa Compo had poems accepted by Santa Clara Review & New Mexico Review. She is also now a reader for Baltimore Review!

Charlotte Covey had poems accepted by Puerto del Sol, Poet Lore, Quiddity International Journal, Arkana, Ellipses & Yes, Poetry. She also was nominated for two Puschcarts! She is now a reader for River Styx!

Emma DePanise had poems accepted by Passages North, Waccamaw, Cider Press Review & summerset review. She did a guest blog post on reading monograph poetry collections for Superstition Review. She is also now an assistant poetry editor at Sycamore Review!

Lilia Dobos had poems accepted by The Shore Poetry.

Jordan Durham won the Construction Magazine poetry contest!

Molly Likovich had a story taken by Automata Review. She also is the founder & editor of Elephant Ladder!

Gillian Lynch had poems accepted by Asterism & The Shore Poetry.

Jeremy Rock had poems taken by New Mexico Review & The Shore Poetry.

Taylor Schaefer had poems accepted by Poetry South, Santa Clara Review & The Shore Poetry.

Noor Shahzad had a poem accepted by Pittsburgh Poetry Review.

Alex Thomas had poems accepted by Cherry Tree & The Common Ground Review.

Renae Tucker had an essay accepted by Permafrost.

Adam Weeks had poems accepted by Poet Lore, Slipstream, Broadkill Review & Runestone.

Terin Weinberg had poems accepted by Split Rock Review & Swamp Ape Review. She will also have poems featured in the Rewilding anthology!

Haley Winans had poems accepted by Slipstream, Red Cedar Review & The Shore Poetry.

I am so proud of all of them and so grateful to get to work and learn with such amazing talent and fine people. I hope 2020 brings the best for everyone!

High Fives,
John

Summer 2019 News and Goodness

Hola Folkarinos!

I hope you are all finding a little time to relax and enjoy yourselves this summer. Things are going well on my front. I am very grateful to the following badass lit mags for putting my poems out in the world: Poetry Northwest, Hunger Mountain, PANK, Sugar House Review, 45th Parallel, Cumberland River Review and Plume Poetry. I also am so humbled and honored to have two poems appear in Persea Books staggeringly beautiful anthology, The Eloquent Poem, with some of my favorite poets: Kevin Prufer, Kimiko Hahn, Major Jackson, Forrest Gander, Joy Harjo, Kimberly Grey, Martha Collins, Alexandra Teague, Cynthia Marie Hoffman, Susannah Nevison, Molly McCully Brown, Stephanie Wortman, Catherine Pierce and so many others! I had the pleasure of reading with many of them at the launch at AWP Portland. Thanks so much to Gabriel Fried and Elise Paschen for all the hard work they put into the anthology and the event. The poetry world really needed a modal anthology. Also, thank you to Pocomoke High School in Pocomoke, MD (with Emma DePanise) and Greyhound Books in Berlin, MD for hosting me for lovely readings and author signing. That is most of the new from my end. Here is what’s going on with my superstar students:

First, grats to the following students beginning amazing grad programs at the following rockin’ schools:

Talane Bowne: Trinity College-Dublin
Caroline Chavatel: Georgia State University
Emma DePanise: Purdue University
Lilia Dobos: Salisbury University
K.S. Keeney: George Mason University
Kateria Rodriguez: The Ohio State University
Noor Shahzad: University of Massachusetts-Boston
Erin Steiner: Northern Arizona University

Now for publications and other accomplishments:

Ellery Beck had poems accepted by Potomac Review, Portland Review, Arkana , Little Patuxent Review , Prairie Margins and Susquehanna Review. She was one of the three winners of the Portland Review AWP Flash Contest. She also read for the summer issue launch for Little Patuxent Review and did a feature interview! I am also proud to say she is now the Interview Editor for The Shore.

Caroline Chavatel had poems accepted by the DIALOGIST and successfully defended her MFA thesis at New Mexico State University. She also won the Academy of American Poets’ Ruth Scott Poetry Award! She will be pursuing her PhD in the fall. You go, Caroline!

Lisa Compo had poems accepted by Nimrod International Journal, The Shore and Furrow. She was also a semi-finalist for the 2019 Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry! Lisa is also now a reader for Baltimore Review. Excellent work, Lisa.

Charlotte Covey had poems accepted by Poet Lore, Redactions, summerset review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Steam Ticket, Rappahannock Review, The Shore, Broadkill Review and Gravel. She will have a feature in Glass. She was also interviewed by Rappahannock Review. Charlotte also accepted a faculty position at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. Grats, Charlotte!

Emma DePanise had poems accepted by Quarterly West, The National Poetry Review, Poet Lore, Portland Review, Sugar House Review and Contrary. She was one of the three winners of the Portland Review AWP Flash Contest. She won an AWP Intro Journal Award in poetry and was also an honorable mention in poetry. She was nominated for Best New Poets by two different journals and did a spectacular reading at AWP Portland for Puerto del Sol with readers such as Cole Swensen and Alicia Mountain. She also read and lead workshops at Pocomoke High School in Pocomoke, MD and was interviewed by Arkana. Emma is truly in beast mode!

Lilia Dobos had poems accepted by The Quaker and Red Flag Poetry.

Jordan Durham had poems accepted by The Shore.

Chelsea Fabian had poems accepted by Puerto del Sol. She has also accepted a faculty position at Delaware Tech! You go, Chels!

Taylor Fedorchak is the new Poetry Editor for Puerto del Sol.

Ella Flores had poems accepted by Nimrod International Journal, Radar Poetry and The Shore. She also successfully defended her MFA thesis at Northern Michigan University! Attaway to be!

Melissa Marsh had a poem taken by Asterism.

Kathryn Merwin had poems accepted by Passages North, ANMLY, Quiddity International Journal and Hobart. She was also a finalist for the Linda Hodge Bromberg Literary Award. Katie had her first poems appear on Verse Daily and Poetry Daily!!!!! And her fisrt chapbook, Womanskin, will be published by CutBank Chapbooks! She is also now a reader for Adroit Journal. Grats, Katie!

Caitlin Palmer had stories accepted by DIAGRAM and Gravel. She also successfully defended her MFA thesis at the University of Idaho. Yes!

Melinda Ruth had a poem accepted by The Shore.

Taylor Schaefer had poems accepted by Stonecoast Review and Polaris.

Aarron Sholar had an essay accepted by Polaris. It was awarded the second place Polaris Creative Nonfiction Prize.

Jamie Shrewsbury successfully defended her MFA thesis at Northern Arizona University. Heck yeah!

Kate Steagall is now a reader for Typehouse Literary Review.

Alex Thomas had a poem accepted by DMQ Review. He also has a profile of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg being published in the summer issue of Playboy.

Tara Ward had a poem accepted by The Quaker.

Adam Weeks had a poems accepted by Prairie Margins and The Shore.

Terin Weinberg had poems accepted by The Normal School, Flyway Magazine, The Shore and Beast.

Lauren Yarnall had poems accepted Yemassee and The Shore. She was a finalist for the Yemassee poetry contest. She read for Yemassee at AWP Portland. She also successfully defended her MFA thesis at the University of Idaho. Way to go, Laureny!

I will continue to update this throughout the summer, so check back occasionally for hot news. Thanks for your continued support. I hope you all have a lovely summer!

High Fives,
John

Big Spring 2019 Updates!

Hola Folkarinos,

First, I am very happy to announce that Emma DePanise has won a 2019 AWP Intro Journal Award for her poem, “This Motion, These Whispers.” It will be published by Quarterly West. Her poem, “Elegy for a White Noise Machine” was also an honorable mention. Grats, Emma! You are a rockstar.

Second, I am very grateful to 32 Poems and Katie Schmid for this lovely article about my poem “Notes to a Prospective Runaway at Bedtime.” I was also lucky to be able to write a small piece about Hailey Leithauser’s amazing poem, “I’ve Been Busy.”

Third, I am honored to have three poems featured in Pank’s Latinx:Latinidad Folio. It is so cool to be in the conversation with so many badass Latinx writers.

Fourth, I am very happy to announce the first issue of The Shore Poetry (a new literary magazine I co-founded with Caroline Chavatel and Emma DePanise) will be go live today. Here is a link! I really hope you all dig!!

Lastly, HAPPY SPRING! I am so stoked to see many of you at AWP Portland next week.

High Fives,

John

Winter 2019 Update Excitement

Hola Friends!

Happy New Year! I hope our strange pseudowinter is treating you all well. It has been a great semester here at SU. I’m really excited to report that I have new work out in 32 Poems, The Collagist, minnesota review, Vandal Poem of the Day (reprint from Poetry Northwest), Cider Press Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, SLAB and Cigar City Poetry Journal. I am also happy to report that my manuscript, Stone Deep, was a finalist for the Autumn House Poetry Book Prize. I was also lucky enough to garner a Pushcart nomination this year. Also, shout out to the folks at Words Out Loud for having me out for a really fun reading and an excellent time at Glen Echo Park. I’m really hopeful to see what 2019 holds. Okay! on to the important part, student accomplishments:

Ellery Beck had poems accepted by Thin Air Magazine & Broadkill Review.

Charlie M. Brown had an essay accepted by Tahoma Literary Review and a poem accepted by 30N.

Caroline Chavatel won the Midwest Chapbook Prize!!! Her chapbook, White Noises will be published in 2019. She also was a feature alumni reader here at SU and had poems accepted by Sixth Finch and Plume Poetry. Big grats, Caroline!

Camryn Cohen had poems accepted by Germ Magazine.

Lisa Compo had poems accepted by Natural Bridge, Bluestem, SLAB & Asterism.

Charlotte Covey accepted a position at Lindenwood University!!! She also had poems accepted by Southampton Review, decomP, The Rumpus, Hobart, Heavy Feather Review & Maudlin House. Attawaytobe, Charlotte!

Emma DePanise had poems accepted by Puerto del Sol, Superstition Review, Plume Poetry & Arkana. She also read, lead a workshop and participated in a panel discussion at the Nimrod International Literary Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma!!! She also did an interview for WBOC Fox Delmarva. Kudos, Emma!

Lilia Dobos had poems accepted by Barely South Review & New Mexico Review.

Natalie Fitzgerald had poems accepted by Sink Hollow.

Ella Flores had poems accepted by Harpur Palate, Plume Poetry & Lindenwood Review.

Alyssa Hazel had poems accepted by Dark River Review.

Helana Lasocha had a poem accepted by Mochila Review.

Kathryn Merwin had poems accepted by Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Rumpus, Baltimore Review, Superstition Review, diode poetry journal, Radar Poetry, The Pinch, december, Whiskey Island & Rougarou.

Megan Newcomer had an essay accepted by TINGE Magazine.

Kateria Rodriguez had poems accepted by Runestone & Oakland Arts Review.

Melinda Ruth is the new poetry editor of Arkana! She was also a finalist for the Slice Magazine Bridging the Gap Contest.

Jamie Shrewsbury had an essay accepted by Nowhere.

Rachel Taylor had a story taken by Dark River Review.

Alex Thomas had poems accepted by Third Coast & The Meadow. He is also now the Washington correspondent for Playboy Magazine!

Annie Warner had an essay accepted by Iron Horse Literary Review.

Adam Weeks had poems accepted by Asterism.

I am so incredibly proud and happy for all of you. I can’t even imagine what heights you will reach in 2019. I wish everyone the best new year and some real winter.

Until next time,

John

Spring/Summer Update 2018

Hola Everyone,

I hope the summer is rockin' for you all. It is a beautiful rainy day out here--a perfect day for an update. I'd love to start by thanking the incredible journals who have recently published my new poems: Mid-American Review, Potomac Review, Barrow Street, Puerto del Sol, Harpur Palate, Beloit Poetry Journal, Sycamore Review and Columbia Journal. I have had a very productive writing summer and I'm excited to test my new work on the market as journals begin to reopen. Far more importantly, my students have been en fuego! Please find detailed awesomeness below. I honestly couldn't be prouder.

First, I'm so glad these excellent students are starting their graduate careers at these fine institutions:

Taylor Fedorchak: New Mexico State University
Melinda Ruth: University of Central Arkansas
Renae Tucker: Florida Atlantic University
Terin Weinberg: Florida International University

Here is the crazy list of student publications and accomplishments:

Caroline Chavatel had poems accepted by Zone 3, Prairie Schooner, and The Journal. She also had two poems nominated for Best New Poets and is the new poetry editor for Puerto del Sol.
Charlotte Covey had poems accepted by Southampton Review, ELM, Pacifica Literary Review, Timber, Raleigh Review, Lunch Ticket's Amuse Bouche and Typehouse Literary Magazine. She also had a poem featured on the Calyx website, graduated with an MFA from UMSL and was named the managing editor of WomenArts Quarterly. She also read for the Hungry Young Poets series in St. Louis.
Samantha Curtin had poems accepted by Red Earth Review and Germ Magazine.
Emma DePanise had poems accepted by Nimrod International Journal, Potomac Review, Cigar City Poetry Journal, Polaris and 30N. She won the 2018 Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry and came in second for the 2018 Polaris Poetry Prize. She also has an audio feature forthcoming on the Mochila Review website. She also presented her poetry at NCUR 2018.
Lilia Dobos was a Killam Award recipient.
Taylor Fedorchak had poems accepted by Bluestem Magazine and Gravel Magazine.
Ella Flores had poems accepted by Barely South Review, Hawai'i Pacific Review, Bitter Oleander, Slipstream and Rhino Poetry.
Bridgette Green had poems accepted by Prairie Margins and Red Coyote. She was also a finalist in the Hollins University Literary Festival Poetry Contest.
Alyssa Hazel had poems accepted by Bluestem Magazine and Red Coyote.
Caylie Herrmann is the new web content editor for Willow Springs.
Molly Likovich had poems accepted by Boomer Lit Mag.
Melissa Marsh had a poem accepted by Sink Hollow.
Kathryn Merwin had poems accepted by CutBank, The Normal School and South Dakota Review. She also finished her MFA at WWU and began working with Poetry Northwest.
Megan Newcomer had a poem accepted by Steam Ticket.
Melinda Ruth had poems accepted by Evansville Review and Third Wednesday. She was also awarded a scholarship to the Slice Literary Conference.
Erin Traylor (Ryn Jo) had poems accepted by Waccamaw, Rust and Moth and Natural Bridge.
Renae Tucker had two poems accepted by Red Earth Review.
Danielle Walker was awarded a Fulbright to teach English in Moldova.
Annie Warner had a story accepted by Steam Ticket.
Terin Weinberg had poems accepted by Hawai'i Review and Oakland Arts Review.
Lauren Yarnall had a poem accepted by Thrush Poetry Journal. She is also the new Co-Editor-in-Chief of Fugue.

Everyday I wake up grateful to work with such humbling talent these students have. They are also such high quality people. I wish I could give them all five right now. So virtual high five to all of them, and you readers. I hope the rest of your summer is better than you could have hoped for.

Til next time,
John