My book is now available

My first full-length collection of poetry, A Model Year, has been published by Coconut Books and is available for sale here. I will also have copies with me at my reading this Friday at 7PM at Bay City's Brewtopia.

Tomorrow: Bon Mot/ley Reading Series

I am reading in Cincinnati tomorrow with Eric Baus & Dana Ward at 7pm at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. The series is hosted by Kristi Maxwell & Michael Rerick. For more information, check out the Bon Mot/ley Reading Series blog.

Detroit

Rain. More rain. Black skies over Flint. Limited visibility. Flat tire before Pontiac. Changing the tire in the rain. Then: Detroit. Meeting up with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend. The people mover. Walking in the rain. Lunch and drinks at Hockeytown. Piling into a car too small for the number of passengers inside. Then to the Eastern Market. Bert's = the best bar ever. Bobby Caldwell. Blue-eyed soul. Back into the car. Then the people mover, or as my brother's girlfriend calls it, "the people pusher." A woman calling my dad an asshole on the train. Free shots at the Baltimore. Tigers game, Section 140, 9th row, seat 5. Bad day for the home team. 11-0 loss. Diet Cokes at Oslo, too tired to stick around for the main show. Walking Woodward Ave. Next day: casual morning. Sunny skies. Renaissance Center. Walking the riverfront. Dogs, lots of dogs. Hart Plaza. Rooftop tennis courts. Driving down Warren to Dearborn for Iraqi food. Delicious. Way too much food. Then back to Saginaw.

Every time I visit a city, even one like Detroit where I have spent a lot of time, I wind up spending the following days (sometimes month) debating whether or not I'd want to move there. So tonight I have been asking myself, "What kind of job would I look for if I were to move to Detroit?" I haven't figured out the answer yet.

Frank Sherlock's Over Here

I've been reading & re-reading Frank Sherlock's Over Here all week. I totally have a crush on these poems. If you haven't read it yet, check it out.

Some things

My review of Kaya Oakes's Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture is now up in the August issue of BookSlut. You can read it here.

My interview with experimental filmmaker Elise Kermani is in the new issue of College Hill Review, which can be read here.

Review Magazine has just released their summer fiction issue, wherein you can find an interview I did with Jeff Vande Zande. You can read it online here.

The new issue of H_NGM_N is up. I am listed as the Reviews Editor, but I only wrangled on review for this issue.

And finally, new stuff regularly at 360 Main Street. Recently, I reviewed Chey Davis's chapbook and wrote about DJ Psycho.

NYC

Was a whirlwind. I went out to help Gabi with leaving the city (she's moving to Korea).Wednesday: 5am wake-up. Detroit to LGA. Taxi to Gabi's apartment. Lunch w/Nikki & Gabi at the Garden Grill. Back to Gabi's to sort through clothes for the Salvation Army. Rain & lightning. Then, briefly bar-hopping our way to Gabi's reading: Hare Field Inn, Walter Foods, Clem's. Giant umbrella. Taxi to Manhattan to Home Sweet Home. Gabi gave her last poetry reading ever (so she says) & surprised me by reading a collaborative poem we had written together years ago. JodiAnn Stevenson gave her first ever NYC reading & will be reading again later this month at Goodbye Blue Monday. Saw Steve Roberts, Steve Caratzas, & Nathan Austin. Post-reading: back to Brooklyn. Union Pool for the Saviours show. Giving away our umbrellas. El Diablo taco truck (absolutely delicious). Back to Gabi's, exhausted.

Thursday: Morning coffee & bagel run. Cleaning & packing. Hauling things to Salvation Army & the shipping store. Sushi for lunch. Getting ready for Gabi's going away party. Two bottles of champagne at Nikki's. Dinner in the backyard at Walter Foods. Then to the Richardson for drinks. Saw Arlo & Christa Quint, Dustin Williamson, John Colleti, & Dan Hoy. Lots of Morrissey. Closed down the bar.

Friday: Morning coffee & bagel run. Then cleaning supplies run. Final day in NYC for Gabi. Throwing out a lot of stuff, giving things away, cleaning, cleaning, and cleaning. (Even after showering, I could still smell bleach on my arms.) Late lunch break at Yola's. Running errands. Pouring rain. Then, drinks with Dan Magers at Union Pool. Meeting Nikki, Sarah, and Julianna at the Alligator Lounge. Stopping by Gabi's one last time. Saying goodbye.

NYC is always the same. There are new businesses opening and old businesses close, but that is the norm so it doesn't really matter if you were gone one week or one year. Even Coletti said, "Everything's the same here." But I had a good time; it was great to see everyone, and I was glad to see Gabi off.