The anthology Seeking has been released!

It has been a long time coming, but the anthology Seeking: Poetry and Prose Inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green, is now out. Edited by Kwame Dawes, with a preface by SC poet laureate Marjory Wentworth, Seeking is published by The University of South Carolina. It contains the works of twenty-nine poets and writers, as well as the beautiful art of Jonathan Green. The pillar piece of the book is Green's painting Seeking, which depicts a young boy in the woods going through a Gulla rite of passage. The painting was commissioned by Mepkin Abbey and has a wonderful story behind its beginning. I'm honored to have my poetry included in the book.

Poems recently published -- NCLR and Heron Tree

Thanks to North Carolina Literary Review (NCLR) for publishing my poems "Banding Hummingbirds" and "Beggar's-Lice" in the 2013 online issue, pp. 58-59. Both poems were finalists for the 2012 James Applewhite Poetry Prize.

I'm also pleased to have a poem published in the new online journal Heron Tree: "At Odd Angles Speedily" is now in their archives.

Both of these journals are ones that I'm truly proud to be in.

Initial plans for Brookgreen Gardens poetry series

Sunday afternoon poetry series
The Poetry Garden
A celebration of National Poetry Month
Poems of spring & gardens

Stay tuned for details about a poetry reading series on Sunday afternoons in April at Brookgreen Gardens, the Poetry Garden, Pawleys Island, SC. Cliff Saunders will read on April 7; Libby Bernardin and I, on April 21. Other featured poets to be announced.  All readings will be at 2 p.m.

The Next Big Thing -- a self-interview

The talented poet Melanie McCabe, author of the newly released History of the Body, tagged me for The Next Big Thing, a series of self-interviews making its way around the blogosphere among poets and writers, one by one. Thank you, Melanie. You can read her self-interview at her blog.
 

Below is my own self-interview answering the set of questions that is traveling from blog to blog as a part of The Next Big Thing project. My answers all pertain to my second full-length volume of poems, forthcoming this fall.

________________________________

THE NEXT BIG THING

 

What is the working title of the book?

My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In 2007 I began collecting and writing epistolary poems in preparation for a poetry workshop I was to teach on the subject, and immediately I was hooked. Besides that, I always loved writing and reading letters.

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass doesn’t really want to be a movie. It would much prefer to be a musical composition by, say, Philip Glass. Wouldn't that be a dream!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

What does it mean, this journey of beauty and grief—of the dangerous and the ordinary—when language and love are almost enough to make a connection?

 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I’d have to guess—probably about a year. Or maybe ten. My whole life.

What books within the same genre would you compare yours to?

Instead of making comparisons I’ll just name some contemporary books I much admire for all sorts of reasons: Rose, by Li-Young Lee; Carolina Ghost Woods, by Judy Jordan; Romey’s Order, by Atsuro Riley; A Metaphorical God, Kimbery Johnson; Kingdom Animalia, Aracelis Girmay; Trapeze, Deborah Digges; Columbarium, Susan Stewart; Ornithologies, Joshua Poteat; We Don’t Know We Don’t Know, Nick Lantz; Compulsions of Silkworms & Bees, Julianna Baggott; Bad Boats, Laura Jensen

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Emily Dickinson. A. R. Ammons. Every poet I ever read. The moon. A lack of bees. The South Carolina Lowcountry. Redbelly water snakes. The weather. Back roads. My husband, always.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

How about a few poem titles: “Why I Am Not a Tightrope Walker,” “Dear Yellow Speed Bump,” “Dear Melancholy,” “Why Does Rain Cast This Longsome Spell?” “Dear Morning after the Hailstorm”

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Cider Press Review will release it this fall (Septemberish). I’m delighted that they selected it for their inaugural Editor’s Prize.

 

_________________________________

Thanks for reading this little sneak preview of My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass. In turn, I've tagged several poets so you can read about their new works.  Here are three poets with their own self-interviews for The Next Big Thing:

Mary Hutchins Harris, Do Not Fault the Mockingbird (ms. in progress)

Al Maginnes:  read Al's self-interview about his book Inventing Constellations on Facebook

Cassie Premo Steele,  Wednesday: poems

 

 

Poetry Workshop: Beyond Craft -- Feb. 21

POETRY WORKSHOP: BEYOND CRAFT
Susan Laughter Meyers, instructor
Thursday, Feb. 21
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
OLLI at CCU
Litchfield Exchange location
(exact venue TBA)
Register in person or online at webadvisor.coastal.edu (click on Continuing Ed)
$30, plus OLLI membership
 

When starting a poem, you are often writing blindly, not following a familiar path or arriving at answers but moving in uncertainty. The overriding issue is not a matter of craft—but how to proceed, how to find your way to the real poem. Class packet included. Within two weeks after the workshop, participants have the option of e-mailing a poem to the instructor for feedback. Lunch can be brought or bought nearby. (You may want to bring your own lunch, since our exact venue is uncertain.)

How important is our poetry?
          

            “The words you speak

            become the house
            you live in.”                    —Hafiz

 

Yes, we are choosing words. But when we’re deep in the process of writing, they are partly choosing us, too. Without measuring each move, we accrue sounds, rhythms, meanings, connotations, and so much more along the way. Each of us and our words are building something, the poem. It’s a makeshift hut we’re constructing in that first draft. Somewhere in our messy construction site is the real poem, or the path to it, and our job is to find it.

Please come join us for the workshop!

Poems in The Southern Review & its audio gallery

Thank you to The Southern Review for including my work in their fall and winter issues, five poems in all. Two of them are in the audio gallery of the winter issue: "[Let's say you forgot me]" and "Not one single further sorrow." Also in the gallery are poems by Philip Schultz, Brendan Galvin, and Deborah Flanagan. You can listen here.

New Issue of Cider Press Review

Thanks to Cider Press Review for including one of my poems from my forthcoming book, My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass, in their latest issue. They'll be publishing my book this fall, and I'm pleased that "Dear Morning after the Moon Kept Me Awake" serves as a sneak preview in CPR Volume 15, Issue 1.

Sunday, Dec. 9: Annual Holiday Women Authors Book Signing

Sunday, December 9
2 - 5 p.m.
Annual Lowcountry Women Authors Book Signing
Citadel Holliday Alumni House
Hagood Ave.
Charleston, SC
Free event, free gift wrapping, free parking
60 women authors with their books -- Center for Women, Charleston, SC
Readings throughout the afternoon

Click here for more info.

Authors and Titles

Charlotte Beers - I'd Rather Be In Charge (2012)
Cindy Blackburn - Playing with Poison; Double Shot; Three Odd Balls
Avette Brown - . . . Cause I'm Me (2012)
Nina Bruhns - Shadow of the Shiek; A Kiss to Kill; If Looks Could Chill; Shoot to Thrill
Archie Burkel - The Joy of Hats
Susan Hudson Chellis - The Kitchen Table (2011)
Mary Clark Coy - Charleston, from a kid's eye view (2010); The Civil War Walking History Book (2010); The                Revolutionary War Walking History Book (2009); Charleston 101 (2003)
Katie Crouch - The White Glove War (2012); The Magnolia League (2012); Men and Dogs (2011); Girls in
              Trucks (2009)
Jan DiRuzzo -The Lost Mermaid~A Shem Creek Moonlight Jamboree (2009)
Sherry Dixon -Natural Destiny (2012)
Carol James Drolet - My White Cocoon (2008)
Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubert - Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking (2012); Southern Biscuits;
               Shrimp and Grits (2011); Nathalie Dupree's Southern Memories (2004); New Southern Cooking
               (2004)
Margaret Middleton Rivers Eastman - Hidden History of Civil War Charleston; Old Charleston Originals;
               Hidden History of Old Charleston; Remembering Old Charleston
Laura Fogarty -I’m the Boss of Me! (2011); Painted Blue (2009); I Can Do Anything! (2008); Larger Than Life
               (2007)
Lisa Foster - Janie Mitchell, Reliable Cook (2011)
Linda Grabeman -No Prissy Shoes
Nathalie Gregg -Leading in Stilettos
Jacqueline Gum -Confessions of a Corporate Slut, The Accuser's Burden
Helen R. Hammond and Martha K. Graham -Standing Straight and Tall, The Charleston Light at Sullivan's
              Island (2012)
Kathleen Hegenberger - My Mimi Has Wings
Lee Heyward - Simply Effortless Style (2011)
Lynne M. Hinkey -Marina Melee (2011)
Jane Hirsch -Art is a Powerful Language: Willard Hirsch- The Man, The Artist
Sheridan Hough - Mirror's Fathom: A Novel
Trish Hutchison - Girlology's There's Something New About You (2010); Girlology: Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups &
               Holding Out (2007); Girlology: A Girl's Guide To Stuff That Matters (2005) Ann Igoe
Ann Ipock - Life is Short: I wish I was Taller; Life is Short, But It's Wide; Life is Short, So Read This Fast
Charlotte Jenkins - Gullah Cuisine: By Land and By Sea (2012 edition)
Migsie Jensen -Mommy, Where Were You?
Kate Boehm Jerome - Columbia and the State of South Carolina: Cool Stuff Every Kid Should Know (2011);
              Who Was Amelia Earhart?
Nadine Johnson -I Love (2011); I Am (2011); Last Night I Dreamt I was a Musician (2008); Last Night I Dreamt
              I was a Doctor (2008); Last Night I Dreamt I was a Teacher (2008)
Kami Kinard - The Boy Project
Ann Kulze, MD - Eat Right for Life®; Eat Right for Life® Cookbook Companion; Eat Right for Life®: On The Go
Suzette Latsko - Brides' Advixor Charleston
Nancy Lorraine -The Butterfly Adventure (2012)
Nancy Mace - In the Company of Men (2002)
Deb Mangolt - Drink Wine and Giggle (2012)
Lynne Marie (Morgan) - The Lion's Lair (2012); The Seahawk's Sanctuary (2011)
Vikki Matsis -Inside An American Hostel: A Guidebook for Managers and Aspiring Owners (2012) Terri McCrea
Dorothy McFalls - Oak & Dagger (2013); The Scarlet Pepper (2012); Flowerbed of State (2011); as D McFalls:
               The Nude
Kim McLendon - Izzy and the Crystal of Power (2012) Galactic Guerillas Saga, Book 1 (2012)
Harriet McLeod - Good Morning, Lowcountry! (2011)
Janna McMahan - Anonymity (01/2013); The Ocean Inside (2010); Calling Home (2008); Undertow (2002);
               Literary Dogs and their South Carolina Writers
Amy Mercer - The Smart Woman's Guide to Eating Right with Diabetes (12/2012); The Smart Woman's Guide
               to Diabetes (2011)
Susan Laughter Meyers - Keep and Give Away (2006)
Jennifer E. Michaels - What is Love? My Question... God's Answer (2012)
Ashley Glenn Miller - Common Senseless (2012)
Mary Alice Monroe - Beach House Memories (2013); The Butterfly's Daughter (2012); The Beach House, 10th
             ann ed (2012); Last Light Over Carolina (2010); Time Is a River (2009); Swimming Lessons (2010);
             Turtle Summer (2007); Sweetgrass; Skyward; The Four Seasons; The Book Club; Girl in the Mirror
             (1998)
Dorothy Perrin Moore, PhD - Island in the Storm (2006); Careerpreneurs (2000); Womenpreneurs (2012)
Kathy Murphy, PhD - Your Possible Life: How To Build The Life Of Your Dreams (2011)
Valerie Perry Upper King Street (2011)
Sarah Renee - Enchanted Home (2012); Hunted Home (2011); Dash (2010); The Tiger Princess (2009)
Mary Caroline (Walker) Rhea - Lose Weight, Feel Great! (Even after Kids) (2011); Managing Life with Kids
             (2007)
Pattie Simone - Big Bold Business Advice (2012)
Jo Anne Simson - The God that Says I Am: A Scientist's Meditations on the Nature of Spiritual Experience
Heather Solos - Home-Ec 101 (2011)
Shari Stauch - Pool Player's Edge (2nd Edition) (2010); Precision Pool (2nd Edition) (2007)
Stephanie Suell - I Speak Female Poetically; Songs from My Soul; Hot Water Cornbread
Barbara Jean Sullivan - Born On The Kitchen Floor
Megan Waldrep and Melissa Nelson - Spice & Little Sugar (2011) Marjory Wentworth - Taking a Stand, The Evolution of Human Right (non fiction); The Endless Repetition of an             Ordinary Miracle (poetry); Noticing Eden (poetry); Despite Gravity (poetry); Shackles (children's book)
Mary Whyte - Down Bohicket Road (11/2012); Painting Portraits and Figures in
            Watercolor (2011); Working South (2011)
Karen Spears Zacharias - A Silence of Mockingbirds: Memoir of a Murderer (2012); Will Jesus Buy Me a
            Double-Wide? (2010); Where's Your Jesus Now? (2008); After the Flag Has Been Folded (2006); Hero
           Mama (2005)