Where I'll Be Sunday, Sept. 22: Fall for the Book

64º ~ joy, joy, joy, the heat has broken and we have two delicious days ahead ~ then, because the weather is a cruel dictator, the heat and humidity will return all through next week ~ living for today!

Friends in Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland, I'll be in your area on Sunday, September 22, to read at the Fall for the Book Conference.  As the runner-up to Gazing Grain Press' 2013 feminist chapbook contest, I'm slated to read at their party for Meg Day, the winner.  Cathy Park Hong selected Meg Day's chapbook, We Can't Read This, as the winner of the contest, and I'm so excited to hear Meg read.  We will be at the Sherwood Center from 4:30 - 6:00.  And, hey, Dave Barry follows us!

As the chapbook I submitted contained poems from my forthcoming book, The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths, that's what I'll be reading.  It's going to be an extra delight to read these poems for the first time as part of a collection with a home.

This conference runs from Sunday through the following Friday, and I'm super jealous of all the amazing talent I'll miss and happy to be included!

Too Busy to Write!

95 deg ~ bright sun but possibly a wee chance of rain as a slow, slow, slow cold front moves in and lowers our temps by the weekend

Hello from the wild and wacky world of a poet who suddenly has an abundance of poetry-related projects to juggle.  I confess, I haven't even had time to think about writing a new draft in the last month, but I'm okay with that for now.  Eventually, the poems will arrive, no matter how busy I am, and push their way through. Or, eventually, things will calm down and I'll be able to make time for writing again.

Until then, please remember that you can find all of my process notes in the archives if you are looking for ideas on how to spark something on the page.

Today, you can read a glimpse into my writing process on Laura E. Davis' blog, Dear Outer Space.  Laura is a fabulous poet and the editor of Weave.  Interested in how other writers approach the writing process, Laura sent out a call for anyone interested in answering her interview questions.  Let me say, these were some of the best interview questions ever.

Next week, the Big Rock Reading Series kicks off for the 2013 - 2014 season at Pulaski Tech. Garry Craig Powell, author of Stoning the Devil, will read, take questions, and sign copies on Tuesday, September 17!

I've also been working with Richard Krawiec at Jacar Press getting The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths in the works.  It's amazing how quickly Richard and folks managed to bring everything together, and I can't wait to hold the book in my hands.  Watch out for more news on this soon.

As mentioned here earlier, I launched the Central Arkansas Broadside Project this month.  I'm happy to say that through a shared effort, we are spreading the broadsides all over the region.  You can read all about it on the project's dedicated blog, and you can see some pictures of where we've posted the first broadside.  Many thanks to my fellow poets in the area (and their students who are helping us distribute).

And, don't forget, Heron Tree is open for submissions, right now.  We are reading the first few submissions, and I look forward to reading many, many more over the next few months.  We accept submissions through December 1 for anyone interested, with the guidelines here.  In other exciting Heron Tree news, the first print volume is now available as well.

In the meantime, there is also and always teaching, which comes first, first, and first during the semester. 

And the Winner Is....

66º ~ bright sun on the horizon, not a cloud, a few days of peace and then the heat and humidity return...ah summer, don't you know when you're done?


Apologies for the lateness of this post. Life is overwhelming (but for all the right reasons!) at the moment.  And the winner of the free copy of Blood Almanac is

MICHAEL LEVAN!!!!

Michael, I'll be in touch for your mailing address. Thanks to all for reading the blog and helping me celebrate the good new for The Girlhood Book of Prairie Myths.

We are flying through the production schedule and already have cover art, blurbs, barcode/ISBN, and layout.  I've proofed the interior, and we are on our way.

If you work at a journal that will seriously consider doing a review of the book, please send me an email (sandy dot 40 dot longhorn AT gmail dot com) so I can arrange a review copy.  If you work at a journal that receives tens of hundreds of review copies with little chance of reviewing this particular book, please take into consideration that a small press has a small margin when deciding whether to contact me.

Here's the beautiful cover, with art by Marilyn Ormsbee Strother.  This piece was painted around Urbana, Illinois, which explains why it leapt into my heart the minute I saw it!

Yes, Stuart Dischell calls my poem "sly."  "Sly" I can't get over it.  I had never thought of them this way before, but I see it now, and I love it!

Heron Tree Print Edition Launch!

94 degrees ~ heat index = 100 degrees, cold front coming through Monday into Tuesday, until then, the A/C runs continuously

It's here, it's here, it's here!  The first print edition of Heron Tree is now available at Lulu. Volume One collects all of the poems which will have been featured on the website from January 2013 through September 2013. To celebrate our first print edition, we are offering it at cost to everyone: $4.38 plus shipping.

Note: Resolution in Lulu's preview is low and not reflective of the volume as printed.

Now, help us gather the poems for Volume Two.  Our new reading period opens today!  You can read the complete guidelines here. If you did submit last year, please take a look because we've changed a few guidelines for this next round. We are ready and eager to read your poems, so send on!