Wednesday, December 16, 2009

New Poem on 14 by 14

I am pleased to report that my sonnet "Botanical Garden" appears online in Issue 11 of 14 by 14, the "lean sonnet zine" that features 14 sonnets by 14 poets in each edition. You may never see goldfish the same way again after reading my short poem.

I am particularly pleased to have my work included in the same venue as a poem by Susan McLean, whose collection The Best Disguise was awarded the Richard Wilbur Prize and has recently been published by the University of Evansville Press.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Round-Up

These posts usually mention only one topic at a time, but a lot of news has come in over the past few days.

This post therefore lists several items in a round-up, not to be confused with one of the brand names of the herbicide glyphosate, which looms large in controversies surrounding genetically modified organisms in agriculture.

This round-up should engender less controversy, but perhaps a certain amount of interest.
To wit:

1. Literary agent Robin Mizell interviewed me last Friday on her blog Treated & Released. She graciously gave me a considerable amount of valuable online real estate to discuss The Best Mariachi in the World/El Mejor Mariachi del Mundo as well as work that is very much not for children.

2. My poem "Dachshunds of Buenos Aires" appears in Issue 55 of legendary literary magazine Gargoyle. After many years of trying, I have managed to place a poem there. Still, I have to live the rest of my life knowing that I may never come up with a better title for a poem.

3. My poem "Lullaby for the Bereaved" appears in the Winter Issue of Able Muse. Come for my poem, and stay for work by many fine poets as well as a tribute to the late Turner Cassity.

4. I have begun discussing revisions of my one-act play "Dig" with members and affiliates of CurvingRoad in London as we begin the long journey toward a June engagement at a venue to be named nex month. I am a bit intimidated by the whole thing, but there is no choice but to press on and learn something.

5. I am even now starting preparations for next May's Book Expo America. The time for my signing has not yet been determined, but I have put in for a slot and will make the information known as soon as possible.

The last few days have also included rejections of both prose and poetry, including one of my two circulating book manuscripts, but those are much less enjoyable to discuss.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

New Poem in Tilt-a-Whirl

I am pleased to note that my new poem "Crepuscule" appears in Issue of 1 of Tilt-a-Whirl: A Poetry Sporadical of Repeating Forms, a venture by poet and editor Kate Bernadette Benedict.

My poem is a triolet, an eight-line form. Other forms in the issue include the ghazal, rondeau, and villanelle. The latter is perhaps best known to readers as the form of the Dylan Thomas poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," which was given a surprisingly tender reading by Rodney Dangerfield in the film Back to School.

Another popular culture note comes to mind. Had I known that paranormal romance (the publishing trade term for things such as vampire crushes) were going to be a big thing, I would have gone ahead and entitled the poem "Twilight" for reasons that are all too obvious these days.

Oh, well.