I’m delighted to serve once more as a judge for the 2018 Mississippi Poetry Out Loud state contest. Few are the pleasures greater than a room full of people who love poetry; one such room will be cohering tomorrow at 1pm at the Mississippi Public Broadcasting studios in Jackson, as high school students from around the state gather to recite great poems by canonical and contemporary poets alike. Mississippi has a strong track record of national winners, and it’s always a thrill to see the talent on display. For anyone in the Jackson area, the contest is free and open to the public, and will be aired on state media in days to come. Come watch!

I’m honored that Ecotone was chosen as one of the books for the winter reading list of Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the magazine of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. From their books pages:

“By turns sublime and twisted, this collaboration … takes the reader to an eerily familiar post-apocalypse, inhabited by mutants, miscreants, and earnest missionaries. There are hints of post-Katrina New Orleans, but the scarier prospect is the future the words and paintings foretell.” 

To round out its coverage of Prospect.4 (closing this month), Nola.com and Pelican Bomb have an interview with photographer and filmmaker Monique Verdin. Only a few weeks remain to see the show, currently on view at The Historic New Orleans Collection.

In a collaboration with Nola.com/The Times-Picayune during the Prospect.4 biennial, Pelican Bomb has an overview of the incoming artworks addressing monuments in the city. Former Confederate generals need not apply.

Pelican Bomb has a review of “Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection” currently on view at the Ogden. A stirring show, with breathtaking works in every room, and a must-see for any art lover in the greater New Orleans area.