To be in England, in the summertime, close to the edge...

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in Southern Voice's "Best of Gay Atlanta." The results will be announced on July 16. I was in friendly competition with fine poets -- Theresa Davis and Yolo Akili -- and was happy for the nomination. I need all the publicity help I can get with Conquering Venus just around the corner. 

In other poetry news, Karen Head is blogging from Oxford, England this summer, where she's teaching at Worcester College. Check out blog, Poetic Acts in a Digital World. Karen is also part of the Fourth Plinth project, meaning she'll be standing on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square for an hour July 31 reading poetry and tweeting about it. Her new collection, Sassing, is out, too, so pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did.

Also Oxford-related, Karen is using the David Lynch/Twin Peaks-inspired chapbook A Slice of Cherry Pie (which features my poem "Sometimes Her Arms Bend Back") as part of her curriculum at Worcester. The Private Press editor Ivy Alvarez will be traveling from Wales to talk about the Lynch project (a new chapbook featuring poems inspired by Blue Velvet is coming soon). Hey, if I can't be in England, at least one of my poems is being read there.

What are you doing for 4th of July, fellow bloggers? I'm spending mine writing. Reviews of Brent Goodman's excellent collection, The Brother Swimming Beneath Me, and The Seventh Seal from Criterion coming soon.