4/30/09

chocolate bunny toothpaste

Although I recently curtailed my practice of posting newly completed poems on my blog, I made an exception with the last entry, because I wanted to submit to 'past simple' and for that magazine's seventh issue, instead of submitting poems directly, they're asking writers to submit a link to poems on their blog; indeed, for this issue, they are allegedly ONLY accepting material that was previously published via personal blog. Interesting.

So those two pieces are two of three new poems that I wrote last week; the third piece has already been accepted for publication in the summer issue of Melusine, which will also be running a review of my HORRIFIC CONFECTION. Also on the poetry front, a new issue of Turntable & Blue Light is scheduled to go live this coming Monday and will include a couple of my poems, as well as an Italian translation of one of my poems by the luscious Letizia Merello. These two poems are part of my chapbook manuscript, 'Tongue Like a Stinger', coming soon as a free ebook from Wheelhouse Press. A new print chapbook, 'PINK LEOTARD & SHOCK COLLAR' is also coming soon from Spooky Girlfriend Press. Stay tuned.

Speaking of chapbooks, I only have one copy left of 'Gingerbread Girl', my 2008 chapbook from Trainwreck Press, which is kind of like a slim little sampler of my HORRIFIC CONFECTION innards or maybe more like a perverse appetizer of sorts. I also only have one copy left of MONDO CRAMPO published via the dusie kollektiv 3. The sensational Susana Gardner is slowly starting to release the dusie 3 chaps in PDF format, so sooner or later, MONDO CRAMPO will be available to partake of for free online, but if you covet the last print copy, then quickly pay a visit to http://www.bloodpuddingpress.etsy.com/. While there, peruse the latest multi-writer offering from the press, SPIDER VEIN IMPASTO, also avilable for sale (or trade or review copy; just ask me).

Speaking of Blood Pudding Press, I am in the early stages of working on Blood Pudding Press's next offering, the darkly delightful poetry chapbook, 'At Night,The Dead:' by Lisa Ciccarello. I hope to complete and make this project available next month.

I don't have time right now to indulge in a lengthy spiel about the matter, but have been thinking about how I need to get out there more in terms of poetry readings, seminars, panels, conferences and the like. In the last few years, I've become more hermit-like and due to that and my lack of association with a particular academic community, I am feeling as though I don't have enough direct interaction with other poets in real life and Blood Pudding Press visibility suffers for it. Blood Pudding Press feedback is largely positive, but my chapbook sales are pretty abysmal, to be be honest. I am an adoring fan of art trades and I do give away a number of chapbooks; I'm certainly not involved in pobiz to make a monetary profit, but I don't even come close to recouping my costs and I can't afford to continue publishing like that for too much longer. I feel that my literary stuff is going fine in the realms of reading poetry, writing poetry, getting my poetry published--but in the realm of me publishing other people's poetry, something has to change, because I feel that Blood Pudding Press visibility and popularity is low compared to what I seem to hear about other small presses. It seems like I'm often reading on other small press websites about the latest print run of 100 is almost sold out; meanwhile I'm sitting here thinking, 'Where is this audience coming from, because I'd be lucky to sell out a print of 10?'

I think I need to get out there more, consider grad school or some other sort of academic involvement, and think about attending AWP 2010, even though I don't know how I'm going to financially finagle it. I've not attended an AWP yet, primarily due to lack of financial flexibility and lack of mobility. I seem to hear a lot of poets conversing about spur of the moment buying a plane ticket to attend this or that poetry reading or conference or what have you; meanwhile I'm sitting here thinking, 'Aren't these people semi-obscure small press poets much like myself? How do so many of them seemingly have the financial flexibility to travel hither & thither in support of poetry?' Is it because they work in academe and can write off these kinds of events? I don't get it and sometimes it makes me feel like I must be doing something wrong and sometimes I feel guilty because I cannot participate; I feel as if I'm not doing enough in support of poetry (my own poetry and the poetry of those I publish through Blood Pudding Press), so perhaps I need to start thinking about some things differently, prioritizing differently, and viewing the academic establishment from a different vantage point. Perhaps more on this later; I'm overwhelming myself right now.

In one of my dreams last night, I was brushing my teeth with a chocolate bunny.

Thirteen Myna Birds is still accepting submissions on an ongoing, rolling basis. Have a gander at http://13myna.blogspot.com/ and consider submitting if you think you fit the bill--and by bill I mean beak--and by beak I mean a heaving mass of burnt chocolate...

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