Of all the things I could have guessed would impact my book launch, a pandemic would probably have been one of the last. And yet, here we are: a couple weeks into the coronavirus pandemic, practicing social distancing or full-on quarantines, businesses are closing their doors (hopefully temporarily!), and every poetry event I had planned has been cancelled. For now the events planned for the end of April and beyond are still scheduled but it’s realistic to expect some of those will be cancelled.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disheartened and saddened and a little mad about this. I worked really hard to schedule those events, coordinating with local venues and reading series, reaching out to bookstores and poets to partner with, spending countless hours online and on the phone getting these events lined up. And now, it’s all crumbling.

I was supposed to have a book launch party over the weekend – I had bottles of bubbly, a stack of books to sign, and a group of friends ready to celebrate with me. Instead I cancelled the party and took my dog for a long hike and had a good cry. I came home to flowers from a friend, flowers to support my book and support me. It was a much-needed kind gesture.

I know in the grand scheme of things this is small and perhaps inconsequential. But it’s important to me and I’ve been struggling to move past my disappointment. I want this book in people’s hands and I know one of the best ways to do that is through readings, where people can hear the poems in my voice and then hopefully, want to have a copy of the book.

Launching a book is never easy but it’s especially difficult during a pandemic that urges, and perhaps should require, people to stay home. Twitter and social media have really stepped up to try to fill some of the void left by these cancelled readings. Entropy created a Quarantine Reading List and my book was included there among other great books. Fear No Lit interviewed me about my new book. International Poetry Circle is a great Twitter account to follow to catch poets reading poems and I’ll be contributing to this soon. I participated, virtually, in Word Portland’s Ungatherable Things poetry reading. A huge poetry reading is happening Saturday night, 6pm – midnight EST on Twitter, coordinated by Khalisa Rae – I’m reading at 7:10pm so chime in and listen to poetry!

While the virtual readings don’t replace in-person readings, they do give exposure and they do allow people all around the world access to poetry. I’m disappointed my readings are getting cancelled but I realize that desperate times call for desperate measures. So wash your hands, practice social distancing, and I hope you’re able to tune in and listen to poetry. Please remember to support poets, authors, and independent publishers and booksellers during these difficult times! Buy directly from the writers or publishers whenever possible. The world needs poetry, now more than ever.