Happy 65 and Millersburg

Mom – 12/27/2006

Tonight I’m excited about being one of three guest poets at the second annual Poesies open poetry slam at Jitters Coffee House in Millersburg, Ohio.  (I’m just sharing, not competing.) The last time I remember going to Millersburg, I was a teen in the early 80s with Dad and my step mom or on a church trip, visiting Amish country. What a trip it’s been since.

Even better than that, today is my mom’s 65th birthday.  There is no one I love more — and considering we nearly lost her last month, this birthday is even more special than ever.  She’s still in the hospital, but doing much better, and I’m very happy about that.  We’ll be spending much of the first part of the day with her in Elyria before we head south to Millersburg.

Happy birthday, Mom!

Mom – 5/29/2011

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Viral Eater Church

The bird church in Florida that Dianne Borsenik photographed in July and used on the cover of my book, The The Eater of the Absurd, in December has now gone viral. This article in the HuffPost makes it sound like it was just discovered yesterday: 

Chicken Church: Florida’s Church By The Sea Gives World The Bird, Attracts Hundreds

Uncaged Again During Hessler

Dianne Borsenik recorded this clip of me reading “John Cage Engaged and Uncaged” Sunday at the Hessler Street Fair.  Coincidentally, this was the first poem I read at my first ever poetry open mic while the 2008 Hessler Street Fair was going on.  Full circle and four square–might be a good time to lay off that poem for a while.  At least we’ll always have this clip.



http://youtu.be/THLfFBudAEE

On Exhibit at Project Space in Vancouver

3 poetry chapbooks I’ve had a hand in — 1 as author and 2 as publisher — will be part of the Arte Factum exhibition from March 30th to May 5th 2012 at Project Space, a studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The chapbooks are:

Unruly by Steven B. Smith (2011, Crisis Chronicles Press)
Blue Graffiti by Dianne Borsenik (2011, Crisis Chronicles Press)
Electric Company by John Burroughs (2011, Writing Knights Press)

Here’s the press release from Project Space:

“Project Space will open its first exhibition, Arte Factum, on Friday, March 30 at 8pm with an opening reception that doubles as the launch of Poetry Is Dead issue five.

Arte Factum is an exhibition of poetry chapbooks from across North America that features twenty contemporary works—including new releases by Jordan Abel and Dina Del Bucchia, commissioned by Poetry Is Dead—and is accompanied by curator Daniel Zomparelli’s personal chapbook collection along with additional donated chapbooks from derek bealieau and Warren Dean Fulton.

Arte Factum, the Latin phrase “to make,” acknowledges the chapbook as an object of literary and publishing craft that originated in the nineteenth century as a small, inexpensive pamphlet or booklet of literature. Today it is common for poets to publish collections of their work as chapbooks using low-cost printing and hand-binding techniques like sewing and stapling. These booklets are hand sold or exchanged, often at readings or other events that feature literary work. Although advances in technology continue to make online publishing and the production of digital books increasingly accessible, this nostalgic book-making practice continues to rise in popularity. This resurgence of an antiquated book production and distribution process reflects a rebellion against mass dissemination online or through traditional distribution channels—a push towards localization versus globalization. How do we create in a time of digitalism? We revert back to physical production.”

Check out Project Space on Facebook, on Twitter and at http://projectspace.ca.

Project Space
222 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC
V6A 1Z7, Canada

Open Tuesday to Saturday
12pm to 6pm

Thanks to Steven B. Smith for the images that appear on the covers of Blue Graffiti and Unruly.  I took the cover photo for Electric Company in front of Conrad’s on Broad Street in downtown Elyria after dropping my car off to be fixed in 2011.


  

 

Erie Rising in Hope

On October 22nd I had the privilege of being part of the Rising in Hope book release (and fundraiser for No Kid Hungry) in Detroit, Michigan.  Last night (November 19th) we did it again at Poets’ Hall in Erie, Pennsylvania.  Good time!  Anthology editor Heather Ann Schmidt of Detroit hosted. This time the featured poets were Kirk Nesset (Allegheny College), Jeff Grieneisen (Florida), Megan Collins (Erie), Dianne Borsenik (Elyria) and me — followed by an open mic. 

If you missed both events
but still want to support the cause and procure a copy of this excellent
book, you may do so for a mere $10 by clicking here.

Contributors to Rising in Hope: A Tinfoildresses Anthology include Rizwan Akhtar, Bobby Steve Baker, Dianne Borsenik, David Bradsher, Christina Brooks, Cori Brown, Chansonette Buck, John Burroughs, Megan Collins, Corey Cook, Nabina Das, Thom Dworsky, Joan Alcus Dupre, Ricky Garni, Amy L. George, Howie Good, Carol Lynn Grellas, Jeff Grieneisen, Alexandra Isacson, M.J. Iuppa, Michael Lee Johnson, Ami Kaye, Karen Kelsay, Yahia Lababidi, Shawn Leckey, Paula D. Lietz, Carla Martin-Wood, Darcy McMurtery, Joan McNerney, James Meetze, Corey Mesler, Frank Montesonti, Adam Moorad, Karissa Morton, Kirk Nesset, Heather Ann Schmidt, Romy Shinn Piccolella, R Jay Slais, Tanuj Solanki, Felino A. Soriano, Elizabeth Kate Switaj, Parker Tettleton, Antonio Vallone, Ber-Henda Williams, Michelle Williams and Gabriella Yokohama.  I’m thrilled that my poem “this un” appears in it.

Rising in Hope — self-portrait 11/20/2011

West Virginia, Coolville, and The Plains on May 23rd

Williamstown, West Virginia — Ohio River Reading — Williamstown Bridge
Monday 5/23/2011 at 3 pm — John Burroughs, Dianne Borsenik and Vladimir Swirynsky
will read poetry at the Williamstown Bridge that crosses the Ohio River
between Williamstown, West Virginia and Marietta, Ohio.  We’ll meet at the park (next to the bridge) on Front Street in Williamstown at 3.  Bring your own
poems (or your favorite river poems) and join us.  More details here.

Coolville, Ohio — Find ’em, Freak ’em & Flee Poetry — Ohio’s Smallest Church
Monday 5/23/2011 at c. 4:30 pm — Poets John Burroughs, Dianne Borsenik and Vladimir Swirynsky
will make a brief guerrilla poetry invasion at Ohio’s Smallest Church (official name: Healing Chapel) where County Road 63 meets US Route 50 in Coolville, Ohio. If anybody’s there, we’ll find ’em, freak ’em and flee.

Athens, Ohio — Poets South of I-70 — The Plains Public Library Branch
Monday 5/23/2011 at 7 pm — Poets South of I-70 will host featured poetry by John Burroughs and Dianne Borsenik, a.k.a. Lix and Kix, at the Athens County Public Library’s The Plains branch, 14 S. Plains Road in The Plains, Ohio.  There will also be an open mic.