This weekend, Saturday, September 23rd, is the New Orleans launch of the new Mid/South Sonnets Anthology from Belle Point Press at the Old Metairie branch of the Jefferson Public Library. I’m honored to be hosting and reading alongside such exceptional poets as CT Salazar, Stacey Balkun, Justin Lacour, Alison Pelegrin, Adam Clay, Ellie Black, Kirsten Reneau, David Greenspan, Maggie Graber, Jack Bedell, Madeleine Trosclair, T.K. Lee, Celeste Schueler, and Darrell Bourque, with more to be confirmed soon. Call it Sonnet-Fest 2023: hope to see everyone there!

I am so grateful to be reading at the next installment of “Poetry and Pie” hosted by lmnl lit, a fantastic new arts catalyst here in the city. I’ll be joining C.A. Munn with an open mic to follow, and I’ll be reading from a work of nonfiction that is so brand-new and in process that I haven’t even typed it up from the page. (Depending on how the week goes, I may just have to read from the longhand.)

The reading is this Thursday, September 14, at Windowsill Pies on Freret Street. Come out (and eat pie)!

I’m delighted to be hosting a discussion on Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s short story collection “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You,” hosted by One Book One New Orleans. Ruffin’s book is the 2023 selection for OBONO’s citywide reading drive, and this event is the next in a series of community discussions about it. More information is available here on Facebook, as is registration for the event, which is free. The discussion starts at 6pm CST tomorrow evening, August 22 — hope to see all interested readers there!

I could not be more honored that The Singing River was just named a finalist for the 2023 Washington Prize at the Word Works: not only is this press one of my absolute favorites in the business, but my dear friend (and steadfast encourager) Brad Richard actually won that prize in 2010 for his book Motion Studies. Am flattered and flabbergasted in equal measure. Onward!

Could not be more delighted to be a part of the new Mid/South Sonnets anthology forthcoming from Belle Point Press, edited by Casie Dodd and CT Salazar. It’s sure to be an amazing book — not just a poetic snapshot of the region, but a snapshot of the contemporary form (and all its variations). Even more delightful is a reading/launch that will be taking place in September for the book, featuring as many contributors and other Belle Point authors as we can fit in the room:

“Sonnets in September”: The New Orleans launch of a new anthology by Belle Point Press
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Old Metairie Library Poetry Series
2350 Metairie Road, Metairie, LA
2-4pm

More details on the lineup to come, but it’s going to be a blast. Watch this space.