Well August is a bit insane. I have 10 readings in 6 states. Yup, it’s going to be a doozy of a month.
As if 10 readings aren’t enough, the independent poetry press I run, Riot in Your Throat, is having a pop-up submission period and is open for full length manuscripts 1-7 August — if you have a full length poetry manuscript looking for a home, consider submitting! You can find the full guidelines here.
Here’s to a busy, productive, poetry-filled month!!!
ME!! Yup, it’s official, I am Arlington’s new Poet Laureate!!!
Arlington made the official announcement last week and so I was able to then share the news. I’d been sitting on it for a little while so I was excited to finally share it with the world.
When I first moved to this area fifteen years ago something magical happened: I finally felt like I belonged. Before that I’d lived in North Dakota (where I grew up on a farm!), southern Maryland, and a brief stint in Puerto Rico. None of them felt right. None of them fit. But when I moved to northern Virginia (settling first in Alexandria before eventually buying a home in Arlington), everything fell into place. This is where I was meant to be.
I can’t wait to share my love of poetry with the community I love.
Well I am wildly late in posting this as we’re already a week into July! EEEKK!! It’s been busy but it’s about to get busier because I have a whole slew of readings this month including two in DC, three in Minneapolis/St. Paul, one in Eau Claire, and one virtual, via Hudson Valley Writer’s Center.
Today’s reading is at the Writer’s Center (free, but please register!), next Sunday is a virtual reading with a great lineup via the Hudson Valley Writer’s Center (register here), then it’s off to Minnesota and Wisconsin, and then finishing the month with a reading at Potter’s House Bookstore in DC with some of my favorite people. If you’re around, come to a reading and say hello – I’d love to see you!!
Last week my husband and I went to Iceland and celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. This trip was originally scheduled for May 2020 but was obviously cancelled when the pandemic shut down the world. Realizing we needed to use the travel credit before it expired, we decided to go to Iceland for our anniversary – it seemed fitting since we eloped and married in Denali National Park, Alaska in June, when the sun doesn’t set. Iceland experiences the same stretches of sunlight (and darkness!) as Alaska so in a way, it felt like an homage to the time and place we married.
The first day we arrived my husband needed a nap as he didn’t sleep on our overnight flight. I explored Reykjavík and soon found exactly what I was looking for: a bookshop. I purchased two books of poetry by Icelandic authors (translated into English) and settled down in a coffeeshop to read for a bit.
It was windy and rainy every day we were there so we weren’t able to get in as much hiking as I wanted, but we did do one hike that was quite amazing – we hiked a glacier!
Mýrdalsjökull Glacier is the fourth largest glacier in Iceland and based on current climate change, will be gone in 70 years. It was undoubtedly one of the coolest hikes I’ve done. Of course I had to snag a fun picture at the top!
No volcanoes were erupting while we were there so I didn’t get to snag a cool picture with lava. 😉 That said, Iceland is a cool country with some really amazing geographic features. We were there for four days but could have used an extra day to do a little more exploring and hiking. If you haven’t been to Iceland, I recommend checking it out!
May is already here and it’s a very busy month for my book tour as I have seven (!!) readings this month including two in Philly, two virtual, the Gaithersburg Book Festival, and my book launch party!!! I hope to see you at one of these events! Details below on all of them!
In Philly you can catch me twice – on Wednesday, 10 May at 7pm I’m reading at Fergie’s Pub with Moonstone Arts Center. Thursday night’s reading is at 6pm at A Novel Idea on Passyunk, my favorite little bookshop in Philadelphia. This reading is with fellow Write Bloody poet, Sheleen McElhinney, and will be followed by a discussion and a Q&A session.
You can catch me virtually on Thursday, 18 May at 6:30pm CT/7:30pm ET at A Hundred Pitchers of Honey reading series (register here). And on Wednesday, 24 May at 7:30pm ET I’m reading virtually with the Wild & Precious Life Reading Series.
I’m once again a featured poet at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, an absolutely wonderful festival that is FREE and open to the public and has a wonderful list of authors who will be reading and discussing and taking questions. I highly recommend checking it out – Saturday, 20 May from 10am – 6pm. My reading and discussion is from 3:15 – 4:05pm in the Poe Tent with poetry powerhouses Le Hinton and Alison Palmer.
On Sunday, 21 May at 5:30pm I’m reading with Reston Readings, a local reading series that is always delightful.
And last but definitely not least is my official book launch party at the end of the month!! Join me Saturday, 27 May from 6:30-9pm at Del Ray Artisans in Alexandria, VA. It’s free and open to the public (but leave the kiddos at home please!), there will be snacks and drinks, I’ll read poems and there will be books available for purchase.
May is going to be wildly busy but I’m so very excited about it and hope to see you at one of these events!
