Blog Posts

Saturday Winners

5/2/2015

It's a beautiful day here in rural Pennsylvania, and I really want to believe that spring is here to stay. I have picked the two winners of this year's Big Poetry Giveaway:

Serena Saint-Marceaux has won a copy of Stefanie Wortman's In the Permanent Collection.

Marianne Mersereau has won a copy of my chapbook, Wearing Heels in the Rust Belt.

I have contacted both winners through email. Besides their chosen books, both winners will also receive a small collection of back issues of some of my favorite literary journals.

Happy reading to all!

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Goodbye to April!

4/27/2015

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Every year, I swear that I'm gong to complete the poem-a-day challenge in April to help celebrate National Poetry Month. Every year, I fail, in spite of all my good intentions. I thought that this year I would have more success because I am on sabbatical and don't have the usual end-of-the semester obligations looming over me. Alas, I only managed to write about 5 poems. Maybe next year.

This does not mean, however, that I didn't partake in any poetry events. A few weeks ago, I traveled to Columbus, Ohio, where I attended the grand opening of the Worthington Northwest Library's poetry garden where my poem, "Yellowjackets" was featured, along with work by other poets including David Baker, Maggie Smith, David Romtvedt, and James Wright. It was a wonderful visit!

I also have had poems published in The Cumberland River Review and Busted Dharma. You can read them here and here.

Finally, if you have not entered this year's Big Poetry Giveaway, you need to do so, very, very soon. The deadline is Thursday! See my giveaway details here.

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More Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month!

4/13/2015

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As I post this, I know that many of you are recovering from your travels to AWP. Still, I couldn't resist adding a few more notes about how we should be celebrating National Poetry Month.

First, poet Diane Lockward is highlighting new poetry books at her blog. She has already talked about two of my favorite collections that have been published this year, Mendeleev's Mandala by Jessica Goodfellow and The Arranged Marriage by Jehanne Dubrow, but I'm looking forward to her introduction of other books.

Second, poet Aimee Nezhukumatahil has put together a collection of what poets are wearing and what poets are reading in Poets & Shoes. If you look hard enough, you may spot my favorite pair of red boots (along with a note that I am reading Leaving Clean by Natalie Giarratano -- a wonderful read). Take a look for some great poetry (and shoes!) recommendations.

Finally, it's not just National Poetry Month! Anyone who lives in a sports-orientated home knows that Baseball season has started! Hobart has launched its issue dedicated to baseball, and two of my baseball poems are included in this edition.

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The 2015 Big Poetry Giveaway!

4/1/2015

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This year, the first book I plan on giving away is titled In the Permanent Collection by Stefanie Wortman. Winner of the 2013 Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry, Wortman's book explores the disorder found in life. Chad Davidson, in a back cover blurb, says, "These poems seem haunted by a mostly nameless melancholia. In the Permanent Collection, however, turns its grim geography of prisons, mortuaries, and tawdry suburbs into something close to classical elegy." A great read!

The second book is a copy of my own chapbook, Wearing Heels in the Rust Belt, winner of Main Street Rag's 2011 Chapbook contest. Published in 2012, my chapbook explores the world of rural Rust Belt Pennsylvania through narrative poems. Poet Jeannine Hall Gailey says that this "chapbook captures an essential, flamboyant defiance against the landscape, women painting their nails bright colors even as their night shifts in factories cover them with cuts, bruises and grime."

Both winners will also receive an assortment of literary journals from my collection!

Please enter your name and contact information below. If you are new to my web page, please click my About link above. You have until April 30 to leave a comment. I will announce the winners sometime at the start of May.

Thanks for taking part in The 2015 Big Poetry Giveaway!

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How to Celebrate National Poetry Month

3/29/2015

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April is just around the corner -- which means we all should be celebrating National Poetry Month! Here are some ways to remember the importance that poetry should play in all of our lives.

1.   Buy a poetry book. Heck, buy two or three.

2.   Give a poetry book to a friend, especially a friend who says she or he doesn't understand poetry.

3.   Write a poetry book review. It doesn't have to be a formal review, although many, many journals would welcome more reviews. Instead, post your thoughts on your blog, Goodreads, or Amazon.

4.   Reread some of your old favorites. (For me, that would be The Palace of Ashes by Sherry Fairchok and Incident at the Edge of Bayonet Woods by Paula Bohince. However, I am also planning on revisiting work by poets Jane Springer, Todd Davis, Carrie Fountain and Keith Ekiss)

5.   Take part in the Big Poetry Giveway where poets across the blogging world post free copies of poetry books. I have had fun with this for years and have discovered many new poets! Poet Kelli Russell Agodon coordinates this event every year and you can check out the guidelines here. Stay tuned for my Giveaway which I will post sometime at the start of April.

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A Little Bit of Spring, a Little Bit of Whiskey

3/17/2015

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After weeks upon weeks of freezing weather, we are finally melting. I am seeing patches of grass after months (no kidding, months) of snow. The local creek is rising, with spring melt and rain and ice jams, but luckily the cold water is staying within its banks. This morning, I saw my first robin.

The official first day of spring is a few days away, but I want spring now. It's been such a long winter.

In the meantime, I am reading the latest issue of Whiskey Island which features two of my poems, "To the Girl Who Wanted to Be a Roadside Weed" and "The Girl Who Parted Mill Creek With Her Toes." This issue also has great work by Melissa Broder, Adam Day, Kristina Marie Darling, and John Gallaher.

I just finished reading the latest issue of The Naugatuck River Review which contains all the winning poems from the journal's annual contest. This year's contest was judged by Monica Hand. I'm thrilled that my poem, "The Girl on the Fire Escape" was a finalist!

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American Life in Poetry

3/9/2015

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I'm excited to announce that my poem, "Yellowjackets" is the featured poem in this week's American Life in Poetry column.

American Life in Poetry is a weekly column for newspapers and online publications featuring a poem by a contemporary American poet. Poems are chosen by former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, who also writes a brief introduction for each work. My poem joins other archived work by some of my favorite poets including Todd Davis, Gabriel Welsch, Jim Daniels, Peggy Shumaker, and Amy Fleury.

"Yellowjackets" was born at Chautauqua Lake a few years ago when I was trying to find a more lyrical voice in my writing. I introduced this poem during a poetry workshop and was surprised (but pleased) by the feedback I got from my peers. It was originally published in Poetry East.

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Blue Lyra and Two Reviews

3/4/2015

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The latest issue of Blue Lyra Review features my review of Justin Hamm's Lessons in Ruin. Stop by and read my review. Then, take a look at the rest of the great work found in the issue! (There is a review of Jamaal May's Hum, a book that I just have to read!)

Here, on the home front, I have posted a review of The Arranged Marriage, the latest collection by Jehanne Dubrow. I have been a great fan of Dubrow's work for years now, and do I dare say it? This latest collection may be my favorite yet! You can read what I have to say under my Book Picks link.

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What To Do When It's Below Zero

2/23/2015

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We have spent the last week or so breaking record low temperatures in my part of the world. A record, I might add, that I really don't want to break. Last week, I woke up to temperatures that were minus twenty degrees below zero. Today, the high is only supposed to be three degrees. You know it's been cold when you look at the extended forecast and you believe that a high of twenty degrees is a heat wave!

If anything, this is good reading weather, and I have spent the last month catching up on my reading. Take a look at my Book Picks section for reviews on Cinderland by Amy Jo Burns, Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman, The Robot Scientist's Daughter by Jeannine Hall Gailey, and St. Peter's B-List edited by Mary Ann B. Miller.

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New Work at Autumn Sky Poetry Daily

2/13/2015

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It doesn't feel much like Autumn here, with temperatures dipping far below zero and two feet of snow on the ground (and a promise of more snow this weekend!) Still, I'm excited to see my poem, "The Girl Who Collected Fishbones" featured on Autumn Sky Poetry Daily today! Take a look -- maybe the beautiful seasonal banner that decorates the journal is a sign of better weather soon...

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