In a recent interview I gave to Jasmine Bates of the Pine Hills Review, I urged younger artists and writers to take to the road, travel, live somewhere new, and spend some time living a life worth writing about as early as they could. There are always risks involved in doing that, in quitting jobs and driving cross-country, but there are risks involved in staying put as well. Risk and mistakes are unavoidable, so why not go through with it and have something interesting to say afterward? But even with all my running around and zig-zagging around the country in my 20s, I kept ending up in two places, my two hometowns, which was the focus of my latest collection of poetry and fiction titled Both Ways Home. We talk about that in the interview as well, and I’m very honored that a hometown publication like Pine Hills Review took the time to talk about the book and my process. They’re a stellar literary organization and I hope you enjoy the interview.
"Umbra" Now Appears in Pine Hills Review
My poem “Umbra” now appears in the always fantastic Pine Hills Review, the literary magazine of The College of Saint Rose, a small liberal arts college in my hometown of Albany, NY, and located just a few blocks away from where I’m typing this now. They’ve published a poem of mine before (“How to Watch John Ashbury Read Poetry”) and it’s always an honor. This new poem is from a series I wrote based on some of my favorite words and the connotations that come to mind with each, and they also have an audio version of the poem that I recorded for their site. I hope you enjoy!
New Poetry in February - Pine Hills Review & San Pedro River Review
Two new poems of mine are now walking around out in the world for all to see. My poem "East Cevallos Street" now appears in the San Pedro River Review, a massive edition focusing on the American Southwest. My poem takes place in San Antonio, TX, and brings a glimmering colorful nighttime cantina into view, where drinks are cheap and so are the prayers to a saintly boxcar train rumbling through the downtown streets heading into the night, into the west. Copies are available for purchase online.
My poem "How to Watch John Ashbery Read Poetry" now appears at Pine Hills Review, the online literary journal for St. Rose, a college in my hoemtown of Albany, NY. This one is about going to see John Ashbery read poetry in NYC, and how these little gatherings are always more uncomfortable than you'd think.
There are a lot of other poems and stories set for release this year, a few appearing in large anthologies, a story set for release over at Drunk Monkeys, and a new poetry collection due later this year from Dark Heart Press. There's a lot going on, and I'll keep you posted as we get further down the road. Thanks for reading!