New Book: Spring, 2012

I’ve just signed with Your Scrivener Press for the proposed spring publication of Fancy Clapping.

The collection, written from May 2010 to August 2010 and revised November 2010 and again May to July 2011, consists (as of now) of 42 poems, including two long poems, “Fancy Clapping” and “Found Missing.” The title poem, consisting of 32 couplets, is an experiment in rhythm. While “Found Missing,” made of 25 modified cinquain stanzas with roughly 15 syllables per line, is a look at myth, law, gender, sex, and hubris. The collection deals with mortality in, I hope, a humourous way. Can’t wait to see what it looks like.

In other news, I hope to have a collection of short stories together by next year, and two novels are on the go – one slowly, the other very slowly.

Ghost Music, Nominations, and the Blinding Echo/Ego

I suppose it might be considered bragging, if I thought anyone read this blog, to say that Ghost Music (BuschekBooks) has been longlisted for the fabulous ReLit Award. If you, who probably aren't reading this post, haven't heard, the ReLit is given out to three books -- one novel, one collection of poetry, one short story collection -- published by small Canadian presses. True to its motto (Ideas, Not Money), The Relit Awards awards the winners with a beautiful and coveted ring ("My Precious!") with four articulated alphabetic bands for spelling out four-letter words (or short sentences: "Iwin," for example). I've only seen the ring in pictures, and in my dreams, so I can't say for sure what it's like, but I can think of a whole lot of four letter words that need spelling.

I am honoured to have Ghost Music listed alongside all those great titles. That's reward enough, isn't it? "We wants it, we needs it" -- oh, cut that out!