Much to tell, much to do!

There’s lots of news of which to tell! In no particular order, here’s what’s new:

• Full details of the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest have finally been made public! Check out this year’s plans for the Cleveland tradition!
• Writing Knight Press is graciously including me in their lineup of featured poets for the 20th National Poetry Month! The details for the event at which I’ll be reading haven’t yet been finalized, but  UPDATE: Here is the event info! I am scheduled for the evening of April 4th! My 100-word bio is now featured on their website!
• As you may have noticed, I’ve created an official Facebook page for my career as a poet! Please “Like” me to be among the first to hear what I’m up to!
• Last but not least, I’m excited to announce that The Ghazal Page has accepted my submission of “Ghazal of Humanity” for an upcoming publication!

Please watch for updated on these and other topics in the near future!

NEWS FLASH: Performance This Saturday

NEWS FLASH: I am scheduled as a featured poetry performer at this event on Saturday night (click here)! I’ll be reading several new pieces, as well as selections of my past work. Is there a past poem that you’d really like to hear? Let me know! I hope to see you there!

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ!!

IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT order copies of my book from Amazon.com! I DO NOT RECEIVE ANY ROYALTIES FOR AMAZON.COM SALES OF MY BOOK! If you appreciate my work enough to buy it, PLEASE BUY ONLY FROM THE PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE HERE: http://store.writingknights.com/2013/0051-3051.html

THANK YOU!

Woodland Retribution

This Tanka was inspired by and written for Writing Knights Press’s upcoming “Karma” anthology. The poem was also written as a means of expressing my frustration with humanity’s unceasing destruction of nature.

Returning & Ready!

Sorry for the long delay! There are several reasons for said delay, none of which I intend to waste time explaining. That said, here are the latest happenings in the world of my poetry:

My chapbook, Smorgasbord, is AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE! You can order your copy(s) here: Buy Smorgasbord here!

If you’re not yet convinced that you should buy a copy of Smorgasbord, have a look at this review which was written for “The Artistic Muse” about the book: Read a Review of Smorgasbord here!

Aside from all the goings-on about Smorgasbord, I have three poems ready to share in the coming weeks, one of which was written for, and submitted to, Writing Knights Press’s upcoming “Karma”-themed poetry anthology!

Also, from among my list of poetic ideas, I have chosen, and begun working on, three new pieces: two song parodies and a Tanka poem! I’m not sure how long it will take to complete those projects, but I am confident that I can and will finish them in due time.

I believe that that is all the news I have to share tonight, but be sure to look for more posts here in the near future!

“Smorgasbord” Book Release – GREAT NEWS!

Howdy! I have wonderful news to share with you regarding the upcoming release of “Smorgasbord”: Instead of printing “Smorgasbord” as a chapbook, Writing Knights Press will be printing it as a perfect bound book! The release date is still Saturday, September 7, 2013, at this event (click on this link to RSVP!). I hope to see many friends, relatives, and fellow poets in attendance that night in support of myself and the other poets being featured! I suppose I should mention that releasing “Smorgasbord” as a perfect bound book raises the price slightly, but I sincerely hope you will find that the increased quality of the book is worth the cost!

Well, I think that covers everything new regarding “Smorgasbord”! Thanks for reading! I’ll be posting a new poem on this blog tomorrow!

The ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ Poem (A Poem for Performance)

Okay, the parody I posted last week wasn’t as well-received as I expected it to be. That said, here, in contrast, is a poem which was just published in Writing Knights Press’s second annual Grand Tournament anthology despite my expectations (I should mention, quickly, that I have ADD myself, which I believe grants me the privilege of shamelessly making fun of it):

“Smorgasbord” – Chapbook Release Announcement!

Early this morning, I received permission from Writing Knights Press to make the following announcement:

My chapbook, entitled Smorgasbord, will be released at the Writing Knights Press event on September 7th, at 7:00pm, at the Literary Cafe in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland!! (Click Here For Directions!) In addition, I will be the headliner at that event! I plan on reading some poems from Smorgasbord, as well as some which were written since the acceptance of Smorgasbord for publication.

If you are on Facebook, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO RSVP!

This event is very important to me, so PLEASE mark your calendars and plan on attending if at all possible!

Once again, this event will take place on September 7th, at 7:00pm, at the Literary Cafe in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland! (Click Here For Directions!)

Thank You!

Haiku #8

The finalists in Writing Knights Press’s Grand Tournament II have been announced, and I am not one of them. However, there is a positive side to this: I am now free to post the poems here on my blog which were part of my submission! I’ll begin with a humorous haiku:

The Grand Tournament II

For those who haven’t been following my progress on Facebook and Twitter: I completed my entry to Writing Knights Press’s second annual Grand Tournament today! I will be submitting it tomorrow morning, after one final inspection. The poems included in this manuscript are all new and range widely in topic as well as in format. Also included in this manuscript is my original story, Herman Titus and the Battle at the Clay Field, the entirety of which will, I hope, be received more enthusiastically than the first page of the story was received on this blog.

I will begin posting the new poems from my competition entry after the results of the manuscript round are announced. I will also, at that time, post on this blog the answer to whether or not I make it to the performance round. Look for all of that after June 1st.

Wish me luck, and to the other competitors, may the best writer win!

Oh, one more thing: The manuscript for my first chapbook has officially been approved! I will share further updates as I receive them myself.