My New Gig & Props to Some Past Students

Sorry for not posting for so long, but I was in transition. The good news is that Salisbury University rocks. I am really enjoying my new position. I am having my intro reading Wednesday the 16th of October in the Worcester Room of the Salisbury University Commons at 8pm. Come on by if you are in the area! I have also really loved the community here in Salisbury. I have met some really interesting local artists. Also, we have a killer Vietnamese restaurant here. And Salisbury roughly translates to Cunning Fort--how cool is that?

I am also lucky to be featured on Beloit Poetry Journal's blog this month. Please pop by and read & listen to the poem and comment on the essay. I'd love for us to have a lively conversation. I will also have the privileged of being part of Superstition Review's pod cast on the 24th of December. Check it out if you get a chance. I read three poems. Also, my book is still on track to be out in early 2014 with Elixir Press--so that is still rocking right along.

I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my former students who are rocking things right now. Jordan Durham has a poem in the forthcoming issue of OVS and is the new managing editor of Fugue! Melanie Tague has a poem in the forthcoming issue of Weave Magazine and is now on the editorial staff at River Styx! Kathleen Caplis has poems in the fothcoming issue of Louisville Review and is an intern with Burntdistrict and Spark Wheel Press! And Gerardo "Tony" Mena's first book is due out from Southeast Missouri State University Press in 2014! I am honored to have blurbed it. Pick it up when it is released--it is amazing. I am lucky to have worked with such incredible writers. I am excited to watch my students accomplish even more in the next year.

Anyhow, if you haven't been to Maryland's eastern shore, come visit. It is a strange place with a strange history that is full of interesting things to do. Until next time, have a rockin' autumn.

A Few of My Favorite Things

As spring begins its long crawl out from the snow, I find myself thinking a lot about what is under there. What are the things that pop up first? How do they shape the landscape as it grows and changes. Full disclosure: I love winter and snow. But this thought had been intriguing me as of late, so I started to think of my writing in terms of some of the things that are under there. And while I will always chalk up life and curiosity as stronger forces than direct creative influence, I wanted to give a shout out to some works I feel have inhabited my "beneath the snow" in meaningful ways.

​Books of Poetry​

Simko, Daniel. The Arrival.​

York, Jake Adam. Murder Ballads.​

Teague, Alexandra. Mortal Geography.​

Levis, Larry. Elegy.​

Anonymous Old English. The Exeter Book.​

Calvocoressi, Gabrielle. The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhardt​.​

Komunyakaa, Yusef. Neon Vernacular​.​

Wright, Franz. Ill Lit.​

Rosko, Emily. Proprockery​.​

Neurnberger, Kathryn. Rag & Bone​.​

Olds, Sharon. Satan Says​.​

McQuerry, Claire. Lacemakers​.​

Range, Melissa. Horse & Rider​.​

McKee, Marc. What Apocalypse?​

Lately, in journals, I have also been digging the work of Kimberly Grey and Gerardo Mena.​

​Books of Prose​

Vonnegut, Kurt. Bluebeard​ and Mother Night​ and Timequake​.

DeLillo, Don. Americana​.​

Krauss, Nicole. History of Love​.​

O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods​.​

Robbins, Tom. Skinny Legs and All​.​

Diaz, Junot. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.​

Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio.​

Gaiman, Neil. American Gods​.​

Walter, Jess. The Zero.​

Cooper, Susan. The Grey King.​

Coover, Robert. The Public Burning​.​

Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles.​

Brown, Karen. Pins & Needles.​

Albums​

Crooked Fingers. Breaks​ in the Armor​.

Weakerthans. Left & Leaving​.​

Hot Water Music. ​​Forever and Counting​.

Jets to Brazil. Orange Rhyming Dictionary​.​

Guided by Voices. Under the Bushes, Under the Stars​.​

Tom Waits. Heartattack and Vine.​

Tori Amos. From the Choirgirl Hotel​.

Ugly Casanova. Sharpen Your Teeth.​

So I think these works will be, in some ways, helping to sculpt the landscape of my new collection as it grows. I never can tell which ways, but I can sense many of these things underneath.

The Next Big Thing Q&A

Lee Sharkey, esteemed poet and co-editor of Beloit Poetry Journal, tagged me for this interview. Her amazing book, Calendars of Fire​, is now available from Tupelo Press. You can read her ​Next Big Thing Q&A here. My Q&A follows below.

​What is the title of your book​?​

Curio.​

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Curio​ is an exploration of things we collect and hold close, from relationships to artifacts to folk tales.

Where did the idea for the book come from?

I have always had a fascination with the way people define themselves. I often listen to people describe favorite knickknacks, tell folk tales, or share family stories. Sw. Anand Prahlad once said to me that the slim volume of contemporary American poetry is much like a fetish cabinet. From the marriage of my interests and this idea and my partner's love of antiques, the book was born.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the book?

Parts of this manuscript had been in progress for eight years. The organization and poems kept changing. The final version took a few months thanks to the incredible feedback and generosity of talented writers Christine Spillson and Claire McQuerry.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I found inspiration in volumes of lore and odd happenings, in late night diner conversations, in my past, in old maps, in roadside attractions, in antique shops and strange museums. I also found inspiration from fine writers such as, Nicholas Samaras, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, ​Daniel Simko, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Alexandra Teague, Kimberly Johnson, Claire McQuerry and Karen Brown. Really, at the heart of it was the love of what people carry with them from day to day to remind them who they are. I think I get that fascination from my mother.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be published by Elixir Press in 2014. It won their 13th Annual Poetry Award's Judge's Prize judged by Jane Satterfield.​

What other works would you compare this book to within your genre?​

I don't think I would. I have a hard time with questions like that. I can say it shares spirit with books like Kathryn Neurnberger's Rag & Bone​ and Teague's Mortal Geography​, but I would not necessarily compare my work to theirs.​

What actors would you choose to play the characters in your book?

You, the reader & whoever the cast of characters are in your life.​

What else about your book might pique a reader’s interest?

​It is wide-ranging in its interests. It is in four sections, each named after something that could be found in a curio cabinet. The first section, Specimens, deals with the pieces of my own life and beliefs I have picked up along the way. The second, Talismans, is a collection of tales people tell from the Mad Gasser of Mattoon to the tale of a lake in northern India filled with human skeletons. The third section is Grave Goods. It consists of many different forms of elegy. The final section is Correspondences. This section chronicles the way people define themselves against others--mainly in very personal ways. I am also lucky to have an amazing painting by Madeline von Foerster for the cover.

​I am tagging the shockingly talented novelist Joanna Luloff for her forthcoming book from Algonquin Books, tentatively titled, Remind Me Again What Happened. Here is Joanna's one sentence description: "Claire, her estranged husband Charlie, and their mutual friend Rachel take turns offering up their version of the past after Claire suffers memory loss from a pesky mosquito bite." Here is her awesome interview.

I am also tagging Nicholas Samaras, for his forthcoming book of poetry from Ashland Poetry Press, American Psalm, World Psalm. Nick describes the book as "a rendering of contemporary psalms formatted to evoke modern music:  American blues, jazz, folk, and world music, all mirrored after the 150 Biblical psalms." I will put up links to his interview as soon as they are available!