Rock you like a hurricane

My friends on the East Coast weathered Hurricane Irene with some flooding and power outages. The storm was a non-event in New York City, although the media hype late last week made it sound like a disaster movie in the making. Still, better safe than sorry. Here in Atlanta, it's been sunny and hot all weekend. A little rain would be nice. We've been in the 90s pretty much all summer long and I can't wait for cooler weather.

Earlier in the week, the East Coast was hit by a 5.8 earthquake. We felt it here in Atlanta for a few seconds, too. I had just come back to the office from lunch when my publisher said, "I think we're having a little earthquake." The newspaper racks shook and the light fixtures swayed. I jumped on Twitter and, sure enough, the quake in Virginia had been felt all along the East Coast. With the temblor and hurricane, the right wing Christian crazies were out in full force proclaiming the end of the world brought about by, naturally, the gays.

While all this was going on, I was desperately trying to finish up the Java Monkey Speaks Anthology, Volume 4 and get it to Lulu for printing in time for next weekend's Decatur Book Festival. Uploading a book to Lulu is pretty simple, but the cover design process is a pain in the ass. Still, the end product looks good and it cost nothing to set up the book and get it into the Lulu store in both print and ebook editions. Poetry Atlanta Press will release the anthology (which I co-edited with Kodac Harrison) on Sunday night, 8 p.m. at the special Java Monkey Speaks open mic as part of the book festival. Natasha Trethewey (who has a new poem in the anthology) will be the featured poet. If you can't wait for the festival, you can purchase the anthology at Lulu right now at this link. It's only $6.28 for the paperback or 99 cents for the ebook! Now that is a bargain!

I'll have an announcement about the release of the ebook version of Remain In Light on Sept. 1, so check back here for info. You can still read the first four chapters of the novel at this link and the book trailer is now embedded in the sidebar of this blog.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy of the newly re-issued edition of Slow To Burn from Seven Kitchens Press. Publisher Ron Mohring said he was fulfilling 10 orders this weekend, so I'm very pleased to hear that. You can order your copy at this link and if you're in town for the Decatur Book Festival, stop by Eddie's Attic at 1:15 p.m. next Sunday for my reading with Michael Montlack to pick up a copy. There will also be copies throughout the weekend at the Local Poetry Stage at Java Monkey Coffee House.

Five Questions for...

Since I'm so busy with my own writing projects and since I don't want Modern Confessional to become just a shill for my own work, I'm starting a new feature called "Five Questions for..." where I will post fun Q&As with two poets or authors each month. This new feature will be by invitation only, but  I might open it up for submissions in the new year.

One of my goals for this blog was to help spread the word about other poets and writers, and I've drifted away from that as my own projects have demanded more attention.

"Five Questions for..." begins in September. I've got a short list of folks I want to feature, so watch your email for the invitation.

Burn notice

I walked into Bound to Be Read Books this afternoon for my reading and what was playing on the stereo system? Vanessa Daou's Slow To Burn album, which inspired the title for my chapbook. It was a very good sign.

The reading went well and I was happy to see so many friends in the audience: Karen, Colin, Franklin, Rupert, Julie, Lisa, Danny, Estelle, Brent, Laurel, Richard, Jessica and more. Karen gave a lovely intro (despite not feeling well) and Jef and Jeff of Bound to Be Read were gracious as always.

Thanks also to the fab poet Montgomery Maxton for interviewing me about Slow To Burn at his blog. You can read the flash interview at this link.

Don't forget you can order a copy of the chapbook from Seven Kitchens Press at this link or if you're in Atlanta, drop by Bound to Be Read in East Atlanta Village and pick up a copy and support me and the shop. 

Bits & Bobs

I'll be reading from Slow To Burn on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 3 p.m. at Bound to Be Read Books in East Atlanta Village. If you're in the area, come by and say hello. If not, you can order a copy of the chapbook from Seven Kitchens Press at this link.

I'll be reading with poet Michael Montlack at Eddie's Attic at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4 as part of the Decatur Book Festival.

Anis Shivani eviscerates new U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine, Sharon Olds, Jorie Graham and Louise Glück in his latest column for The Huffington Post. Here's a quote: "Their poetry is garish, troublingly content-free, indecorous, and emotionless. Readers are smart not to read this trash." You can read the whole column at this link.

I should be sitting at Chastain Park Amphitheater right now with BFF Donna awaiting the fabulous Stevie Nicks. Unfortunately, Stevie got sick and postponed her concert until Wednesday. Donna was flying down from Virginia today just to see the show with me. The cost to switch the plane tickets was a fortune, plus we both have work, so maybe another tour. Hope Stevie feels better soon.

Thoughts on the UK riots

Anyone who knows me or follows Modern Confessional knows that I'm an avowed Anglophile; London is my spiritual home. The last five days have been devastating, not only because of the senseless destruction of the city I love, but because I have good friends there who are dealing with the riots, looting, arson and murder.

The rioting began Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the shooting of Mark Duggan by the Metropolitan Police. In a matter of hours and over three nights, the rioting spiraled out of control across London and to other parts of Britain.

As those arrested were hauled into court today, it became clear that the perpetrators were not all disaffected youth, but teachers, leisure center workers, college students, construction workers, and an 11-year-old boy. While many wanted to turn it into a racial issue, footage of the looting proves that blacks, whites, Asians and all colors in between were involved.

We've seen this in America, too – the LA riots after the Rodney King verdict and the looting after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In the midst of desperation and rage, people were looting stores and stealing television sets. Why? Because there is an element of society that will take advantage of the situation for personal gain.

There is extreme poverty in England, simmering racial tension and austerity measures have cut deeply into public spending and education. There is definitely a reason to protest, but these riots made a wide turn from being about deprivation and police brutality to opportunistic thievery and destruction with no thought of the consequences. As these people were looting stores, many run by their neighbors, there was obviously no consideration given to the fact that these small shop owners are also struggling to make ends meet.

A video of jazz singer and activist Pauline Pearce yelling at rioters on a street in Hackney pretty much sums it up: "If you're fighting for a cause, then fight for a fucking cause. Because we're not all gathering together and fighting for a cause, we're running out of Foot Locker and thieving shoes." You can watch the video below.

"Slow To Burn" 2.0

Slow To Burn lives again thanks to Seven Kitchens Press! My 2006 chapbook (originally published by MetroMania Press) has been reissued in a limited edition of 125 copies as part of Seven Kitchen's ReBound Series. The chapbook is only $7. Click here to order your copy today. You can read the poem "Acid Flashback #1" and an excerpt from Karen Head's introduction to the new edition by clicking this link.

I'll be reading from Slow To Burn at the Decatur Book Festival and I'm hoping to set up another reading very soon. Stay tuned.

"Remain in Light" book trailer

Here's the book trailer for Remain in Light. Please feel free to share it, repost it and link to it! The music is by the brilliant Brokenkites and is called, appropriately, "Into the Light."And don't forget you can read the first four chapters of Remain in Light at Scribd.