Pushcart Nomination, New Issue of Dressing Room, Etc.

I haven't blogged in over a month. The aftermath of the election has really been on my mind. I try to keep this blog mostly focused on the arts, so I'll put it this way... The first time I saw this piece I was 13 years old. I think it is always relevant, but it feels especially fitting right now. I also recommend watching this and this. 

On November 20th I read with Jennifer L. Knox and Kyle McCord and we read some of our work as a reaction to the election. 

On November 29 the new issue of Dressing Room Poetry Journal came out. The issue features poetry by Geoff Anderson, Roy Bentley, Ace Boggess, Robert Lee Brewer, Anne Champion & Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Jim Daniels, Holly Day, Riley Gable, Howie Good, Samantha Guss, Katie Irish, Robert Karaszi, Gabrielle Lessans, Marie Marandola, Ken Meisel, Robert Miltner, Hannah Nahar, Rachelle Pinnow, Jackson Sabbagh, John Walser, Laura Grace Weldon, and Francesca Wilkin. You can read Issue Eleven here. Over three thousand poems were submitted for Issue Eleven. Thanks to everyone who sent poems. Also, check out this article about Dressing Room contributor Brian Beatty. 

Earlier this fall, I worked as an external reviewer for University of Akron Press for one of their forthcoming books. I'm excited about their forthcoming titles.

Thank you so much to The East Bay Review! On November 30th I found out The East Bay Review nominated my work for a Pushcart Prize!

My second book, The Crimes of Clara Turlington, will be one year old tomorrow! (Released December 11th, 2015.) 

I hope I'm not forgetting any updates. 2016 has been a strange year so please bear with me.

Happy Holidays!

Vote! (Plus a Poem)

I have a poem in the new issue of The East Bay Review which you can read here.

Please vote if you haven't already. I voted a couple weeks ago.

Nonfiction Forthcoming in Bustle (& Other Projects)

I have new nonfiction forthcoming in Bustle. I'll let you know when it comes out! Writing nonfiction is sort of addicting.

Last week I read at the launch party for a new project headed by Jennifer L. Knox. You can read one of the poems I wrote for the launch party here.

On August third I became an aunt. My nephew's name is Elliott. He is extremely cute and cuddly! (I'm not going to post photos of him on this blog though because I believe children should have privacy, especially online. If I wasn't a performer turned writer I wouldn't post very much about myself on the internet. I'm an introvert.)

New Nonfiction in The Good Men Project

I have new nonfiction in The Good Men Project. You can read it here.

I really appreciate the response to the essay so far. Thanks so much!

Poetry on Verse Daily

Hey, hey! I was recently on Verse Daily. Thank you to the editors for selecting my poem "Sasha Grey and Megan Fox" from The Crimes of Clara Turlington.

I'm honored to be on Verse Daily a second time. The first time was in 2014 for my poem "44306" from Inappropriate Sleepover.

New Poem, New Review, Etc.

A new (and very thoughtful and fun) review of The Crimes of Clara Turlington was recently published in Queen Mob's Tea House. You can check it out here.

I have a new poem published in Maudlin House. You can read it here.

There are currently book giveaways happening on Goodreads. To enter to win a copy of Inappropriate Sleepover go here. To enter to win a copy of The Crimes of Clara Turlington go here.

I have a poem forthcoming in The East Bay Review. It will be out this fall.

More of my poetry was translated into Turkish. (Photos of the Turkish literary magazine at the bottom of this post.)

I recently joined Instagram. (A couple of my Instagram photos at the bottom of this post as well.)

In terms of my Guillain-Barré recovery, things are going well. I recently was able to work out for an hour and today I had my last physical therapy appointment. I still have some pain and some days I am still really tired. The fatigue is worse than the pain at this point. Overall, lots of improvement. It's a slow process though.

4/5/2016

Updates (Where Do I Start?)

I am currently recovering from Guillain-Barré. I was admitted to the hospital on February 29 and had IVIG treatments. I was discharged from the hospital in March and recovery is going well. I have been able to walk up stairs at a regular speed without holding onto a railing for a couple weeks. I can do short workouts. I am not back to 100% yet. I am still experiencing some pain and my full range of motion isn't quite back to normal. I am still on some medications and have several doctors appointments a week. Overall, I am so grateful for my recovery so far. I am currently writing about my experience with Guillain-Barré so I won't go into too much detail here on the blog. Thank you for all of your love and support and wonderful presents (thank you notes coming soon) and lovely cards!

I hope to reschedule the readings I was supposed to do in New York in March. It was the first time I ever had to miss a performance or reading in my entire life. It was really hard for me not to be able to go. Pretty soon I should be able to travel out of state again for readings. This Tuesday I am reading at DMACC's Celebration of Literary Arts with Jennifer L. Knox. Here is the schedule.

During all of this craziness, I had nonfiction come out in BUST and Ms. Magazine. You can read the essays here and here.

Some of my poetry was recently translated into Turkish. I posted some photos of the literary magazine at the bottom of this post.

I'm the guest judge for the 2016 Vignette Collection Award so I'm reading manuscripts for Vine Leaves Press. Congratulations to the quarter finalists!

After the Vine Leaves contest, I will finish reading submissions for the next issue of Dressing Room Poetry Journal.

I recently updated my website (which you can see here) so things are finally up to date on it...I think...

Onward.

Book Review

A review of The Crimes of Clara Turlington came out last week in Barn Owl Review. You can read it here.

I have two readings in New York in March. (Berl's Brooklyn Poetry Shop on the 10th and Pete's Candy Store on the 11th.)

Ohio Photos

I had a wonderful time teaching a master class and a senior workshop at Malone University! I also had a great time reading at the Hub Art Factory!

Hambleton House Bed and Breakfast

Meg Johnson

Meg Johnson

John Estes, Molly Fuller

Robert Miltner

Eliese Goldbach

2 0 1 6 !

Happy 2016!

Yes, I did get a bit behind on blogging! Between the end of the semester and the holidays and the new book out things were busy. I have two books out now! I don't think that had even hit me yet when I wrote my last blog post.

Stephen Burt recently tweeted about The Crimes of Clara Turlington!

Later I found out that NewPages named The Crimes of Clara Turlington an Editor's Pick. Inappropriate Sleepover was a NewPages Editor's Pick shortly after it was released too!

There is a new article in the Iowa State Daily about the release of my new book which you can read here. Last spring the Daily wrote about the book after it had been accepted for publication. You can read that article here.

The second half of January I'll be in Minneapolis and Madison. In February I'll be teaching guest workshops in Ohio at Malone University and doing a reading at the Hub Art Factory. In March I'm going to New York and I'm reading in the series at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn. I have a reading in Iowa in April. I'm ready for an adventure.