I’ll be reading for SOAP BOX POETS during the Howl!Festival on June 2, 2013. This will be happening in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village—more details soon! As an evangelist for props, I look forward to standing on a soap box and shouting at a crowd.

I donated one of the last copies of Night Errands (see totally cheesin’ photo above) to Mellow Pages, an independently-run library & reading room that focuses on providing limited-print fiction and poetry to Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy. They’ve been getting some amazing press, so if you’re NYC-based—head out there and borrow some small press titles!

I’ll be a featured reader at “The Poetry Brothel presents…The Factory”. May 4th, 9pm-2am
Forgotten Works Studio 46 Bridge Street, DUMBO. $10. There’s also a benefit BBQ for the NYC Poetry Festival in the same space, starting at 5pm. Check out their Kickstarter—it ends soon!

(Also a reminder I’ll be reading for We Three Productions, held at d.b.a. [41 1st Ave in the East Village] on May 6th @ 8pm…)

I’ll be helping to coordinate POPSICKLE again this year (June 22, 2013!) with Niina. POPSICKLE is Brooklyn’s literary arts festival. Now in its fourth year, the fest aims to unite Brooklyn’s array of reading series into one day-long megareading. Please follow POPSICKLE on Twitter and Facebook as this year’s details develop—and contact us at popsickle.festival@gmail.com if you have a literary series and would like to join in on the festivities.

Lastly, I’ll be helping to manage the table for BIRDS OF LACE for the Fifth Annual CUNY Chapfest this week—so come by and say hello!

I haven’t made many updates since AWP, but April has been fairly uncruel and mostly generous. One of my poems “The Chariot (VII)” (from part of a series based on the tarot) will be coming out in the upcoming issue of The Pinch Journal. The Pinch is a fabulous + beautifully designed print magazine, so this is very exciting for me.

Also, two of my poems, “Moirai Effect” and “Anthropology” will be appearing in Issue Five of Lyre Lyre, an equally awesome online magazine. The issue should be live in May.

I’ll be reading at We Three Productions—held at d.b.a. (41 1st Ave in the East Village) on May 6th @ 8pm with Marisa Crawford, KD Henley, and Aimee Walker.

Partially also neglected, I’ve been putting select poems I’ve been writing daily for NaPoWriMo on my Tumblr. Those creatures might disappear as I edit them, so check them out if you’re into strange poem drafts.

My favorite event was of course the Dancing Birds Brunch. Through an email chain, over the course of a little over a week, a few poets and writers who were published on Birds of Lace and Dancing Girl Press managed to receive the blessings of both editors (who sadly could not attend) and put on a mini-brunch/reading in a hotel suite. Carina, Steph and I were up at the crack of dawn, loading up a basket in Trader Joe’s, creating a table spread of cucumber sandwiches and mimosas for our attendees. It was beautiful to have 50 people all gathered in a suite, reclining on hotel beds & chairs, watching someone read their work beside a giant plasma television. This is poetry.

Although I don’t really experience any nervousness or anxiousness about reading/hosting lit events anymore, I felt very sensitive to the fact that the host-role for two feminist presses had fallen into my hands. Being the only man on the reader list, who also—to some degree—was representing presses founded by and primarily publishing women—was a fact that did not go unnoticed by me. Perhaps the most important part of being a feminist for me—is listening—and always trying to make sure that I am honoring and respecting the work of women. After the event, people kept approaching me and telling me DBB was their favorite off-site event at AWP thus-far. Although I’m sad that I couldn’t share the moment with Gina, whose press I am endlessly thankful to be coming out on, I know she would have been proud of how the event turned out. I got to be in a room with writer friends I adore—Niina & Nicole—as well as meeting people whose work I have only been recently exposed to (and enjoy greatly) like Megan Milks.

So perhaps, all there is left to say is—see you next year in Seattle. There are many hotel room readings ahead of us; endless bathtubs to fill with champagne.

Hey Y’all,

I’ll be wandering about my first AWP this week going undercover to scope things out.

(Although I will be not-so-clandestinely moseying around half the time in a Zola Books shirt, so feel free to say “hey!” & ask me about eBooks and what I do at my awesome job!)

Some writers, including myself, have received the blessings of Birds of Lace and Dancing Girl Press to have a little reading/brunch. This will be held in a hotel suite, so please follow the flyer above for the Facebook link, where updated information will be put up a little before the brunch!

Readers

JD Scott (Night Errands)
Seamus Scanlon (As Close As You’ll Ever Be)
Matthew Wimberley (NYU)
Joanna C. Valente (Sarah Lawrence)
Geoff Bendeck (Sarah Lawrence)

As always, admission is just $5, which gets you a drink. LOLITA BAR is located at 266 Broome Street in NYC, between Allen and Orchard.

[Facebook Event]

EARSHOT is a monthly reading series, dedicated to featuring new and emerging literary talent in the NYC area. Visit earshotnyc.com for more information or email us at earshotnyc@gmail.com.