Organizing your writing life

NEWS & NOTES: I'll start this post by sending congratulations to two of my poetry pals, Karen Head and Brent Goodman. Karen's new chapbook, My Paris  Year, won the Editor's Choice Award at All Nations Press and will be published this fall. I've had the pleasure of reading the manuscript and I can tell you this is a fab little collection. Last night, Brent posted on his blog that his full-length manuscript, The Brother Swimming Beneath Me, was a finalist in the St. Lawrence Book Award competition and has been picked up for publication by Black Lawrence Press. Brent's poetry is beautiful, and he's been trying to find a home for this book for ages, so I'm thrilled for him. 

Karen also passed along information about a new print poetry journal that will launch soon, Motel 58. You can submit by snail mail or by email (hooray!). Check out editor Tom Williams' blog to get more submission info, and check out those subscription prices. $35 for life?! Sign me up. 

One of my favorite poets, Barbara Jane Reyes, has a spiffy new look to her blog and she's got a new post about indie and micro presses and the poets who still turn up their noses. It's not "prestigious" enough. BJR offers some good insight and support for the DIY'ers, who, for my money, are producing some of the best poetry today.

Last night was Lisa Allender and Judson Mitcham's reading at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center here in Atlanta. Lisa did a great job of presenting poems from her forthcoming collection, Words from Water, and Judson is simply magnificent. His poetry is concise and accessible in that Ted Kooser way. He had everyone verklempt with the poem about his mother who recently passed away. Click this link to find out more about Judson and see him performing his work.

Thanks to all of you who have sent in your snail mail address to get a pre-order/publicity postcard from Finishing Line Press about my chapbook, After the Poison. There's still time to submit your address. Just send it to collinkelley@hotmail.com. The addresses won't be shared or used for junk mailing.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day...if you're into that.