Month: February 2013

An hour later, upon returning to our rental car, we immediately sensed something was wrong: a window had been punched in, and all of my CD’s (in ten or twenty-pack carrying cases) were stolen, as well as some other personal items. Seemed a huge violation then: but became an incident that I’d forgotten over the years since; until yesterday. My e-mail was hacked, as many of you know. It’s my own fault- I fell for one of those Yahoo reminders that even they tell you NOT TO DO…”we need your password to verify your yahoo account…” Yeah. Dumb. The sad part is we live in a day and age where people are desperate. When hackers are commonplace. I can’t tell you how many friends responded (thanks!) with concern, then to tell me: ‘We knew it wasn’t you, the writing of that letter was so bad!’ That made me feel slightly better. But still, for the friends and family who were unsure, I am deeply sorry. I’ve looked into gmail, and might leave yahoo after a decade with the same e-mail address. It feels scary, and yet change is good, right? Yes, change is good. And so, while I make these decisions, here are some worthy threads for your perusal: Deep gratitude to Patrick Simonelli who has included my two poems in the February Red Fez issue: http://www.redfez.net/poetry/1751 In the February Cervena Barva Newsletter, there is a thoughtful review of Flash Fiction Fridays by writer Ralph Pennell: Cervena Barva Press Newsletter. You can also read more reviews of the book at Amazon: Flash Fiction Fridays: Robert Vaughan: 9781105460937: Amazon.com: Books At AWP 2013 in Boston this March, one of the events I’ve been asked to read for is HEAT on Friday, March 8 at Dillon’s. A new Heat Flash Contest has been announced, judges are Bonnie Zobell, Cliff Garstang and Shaindell Beers. Winners to receive prizes, and be published in JMWW, Prime Number and Corium magazines: https://www.facebook.com/AwpHeatFlashContest And speaking of AWP have you ordered your Meg Tuite Magnanimous Portrait original t-shirt yet? I know I have. How about your Whitman meet my Burroughs: http://www.magnanimousportraits.com/index.html “Cold Reads” is a Weekly podcast by Nathanial Tower. This week he reads “Medicine and Meat” by Len Kuntz: http://nathanieltower.podomatic.com/entry/2013-02-14T04_44_18-08_00. He has a new microphone: doesn’t Nate sound incredible! Flavorwire has “15 Essays by Female Writers Everyone Should Read.” Will you? http://flavorwire.com/370347/15-essays-by-female-writers-that-everyone-should-read Poet Cyrus Cassells latest epic book, The Crosssed-Out Swastika is featured at Writing The Holocaust by John Guzlowski. Four poems, link to reviews and a Rothko Chapel reading are all included: http://writingtheholocaust.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-crossed-out-swastika-by-cyrus.html The Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review has a new format in which they will publish poems and fiction regularly. Here is a short fiction, “Easter,” by Abe Gaustad: http://thedoctortjeckleburgreview.com/2013/02/04/fiction-easter/ The latest issue of Literary Orphans is published, congrats editor Mike Joyce: http://www.literaryorphans.org/playdb/?page_id=9 At A-Minor, Judith Skillman has three poems: http://aminormagazine.com/2013/02/11/elusive-mysteries-turnip-leavings/ Tim Suermondt has a poem in the new Meadowland Review, “The Day I Decided to Leave the World”: http://www.themeadowlandreview.com/ “Face Full of Asphalt” by Mathew Allan Garcia is up at Shotgun Honey: http://www.shotgunhoney.net/2013/02/face-full-of-asphalt-by-mathew-allan-garcia.html A great exchange with Nate Tower and Los Angeles based writer Joseph Grant: http://nathanieltower.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/always-a-sure-thing-an-interview-joseph-grant/ Michele Mcdannold has a new Citizens for Decent Literature, issue #5 out, with writers like Bud Smith, Michael Grover and Amy Sasser: http://issuu.com/literaryunderground/docs/cfdl5 Today is Valentine’s Day. Happy Birthday dear sister, Cheryl! Also, do at least one kind, loving thing for someone today. Be daring! Unusual. What the world needs now, is love, sweet love! Thanks, Dionne, for that lovely reminder.]]>

The Unknown Show, and this week he interviewed me and I got to read “The Lost and Erasable Parts of Us” (published here: http://usedfurniturereview.com/columns/exquisite-duet/) Also I read my poem, “Adversity” which was published in the Red Fez Sandy Hook Memorial Tribute: http://www.redfez.net/poetry/1751. Another writer interviewed was Matthew Guerruckey, editor of Drunk Moneys  (http://www.drunkmonkeys.onimpression.com/). Bud also plugged Aaron Dietz’s Superhero Anthology and read one of his magnificent poems which Aaron read in the recent Uno Kudo Los Angeles event. Here is Bud Smith’s UNKNOWN show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theliteraryunderground/2013/02/06/the-unknown-show-w-bud-smith Over a year ago, I had a piece taken for Stripped: A Collection of Anonymous Flash edited by Nicole Monaghan. The concept, and the reveal of author’s paired with their pieces, one year later, is here: http://writenic.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/strippeds-big-reveal-one-year-later/ Jodi Paloni is up at Monkeybicycle with her flash piece, “Alchemy”: http://monkeybicycle.net/alchemy/ Marcus Speh at A-Minor with “One Week on the Happy Isles”: http://aminormagazine.com/2013/02/04/one-week-on-the-happy-isles/ Teisha Dawn Twomey is up at New Graffiti, with “How do you like your grits cooked?”: http://newgraffititheoriginal.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/how-do-you-like-your-grits-cooked-by-teisha-twomey/ Ben Tanzer is at The Weeklings with Bed Sex: http://www.theweeklings.com/btanzer/2013/02/05/bed-sex/ “As Outside the Clouds Made Fists” is a micro-flash by Kathy Fish at Metazen: http://www.metazen.ca/?p=12097. Also, if you want more of Kathy, which we all do, then read Christopher Allen’s fantastic review of her insatiable book, Together We Can Bury it, at Fictionaut: http://www.fictionaut.com/wordpress/2013/01/31/books-at-fictionaut-together-we-can-bury-it/ Chris Dankland brings it with “Infestation” at Everyday Genius: http://www.everyday-genius.com/2013/02/chris-dankland.html Alex Pruteanu has an interview at Fictionaut in the F5 series: http://fictionaut.com/blog. If you have not yet ordered Alex’s new book, Gears, then what are you waiting for?: http://www.amazon.com/Gears-Collection-Alex-M-Pruteanu/dp/0984009329%3FSubscriptionId%3D0SBFH8FHMR8PSPMHY202%26tag%3Dfictionaut-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0984009329. Are you planning to attend the upcoming AWP Conference in Boston this March? If so, I hope to see you there! In the next few weeks, I will post information about Off-site readings I have been asked to participate in.]]>

http://usedfurniturereview.com/columns/exquisite-duet/ Gesture #4 is out with tons of great alt lit fire in it, including my two abstract ditties: “On Their Way Back,” and “Complacency”! Thanks editor Matthew Sherling: http://thegorillapress.com/sites/default/files/gesture_4_.pdf Nicolette Wong has four poems in Otolith: http://the-otolith.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/nicolette-wong.html Andrew Roe’s How to Talk to Children About Death at Fwriction Review: http://www.fwrictionreview.com/post/41940739589/how-to-talk-to-children-about-death-by-andrew-roe When She Realizes She’s Immortal, She Thinks She’ll Write a Poem by Sarah Carson is up at Wigleaf: http://wigleaf.com/ Read ALL the contents of the latest issue of Pithead Chapel, with the likes of James Claffey, Meg Tuite, Joe Kapitan, Matthew Dexter, Susan Lilley and more: http://pitheadchapel.com/ JP Reese has “Pink Quartet” up at Orion headless: http://orionheadless.com/pink-quartet/ “Space and Time” from Len Kuntz is at River Babble: http://iceflow.com/riverbabble/issue22/RIVER-P-22-KUNTZ.HTML Lots of fantastic writing about women, by (mostly) women. Check these essays out, including work by Roxane Gay, Joan Didion, Amy Wallace, and more: http://tetw.tumblr.com/Women There was a “dip” in the temperature from 70+ degrees to single digits in Wisconsin this afternoon. Needless to say, that’s quite a shocker! When was the last time you were shocked by something? Was it self-induced, or a surprise that occurred naturally?        ]]>