Born Magazine Piece from Fake Love on Vimeo.

(Thanks to producer Fake Love for uploading it to Vimeo.)

http://www.web100.com/books-100/poetry/scary-no-scary

Other poets on the list include D.A. Powell (Chronic), C.P. Cavafy (Collected trans. by Daniel Mendelsohn), Lucia Perillo (Inseminating the Elephant), Amy Gerstler (Dearest creature), David Baker (Never-Ending Birds), Heather McHugh (Upgraded to Serious), and Philip Levine (New of the World).

I'd like to take a moment of silence now, to thank God that it is Friday.

We are now accepting unsolicited poetry manuscripts for consideration from June 1st through June 30th. For complete guidelines, download the PDF available on our Submit page here.

We charge no reading fees and give everyone a fair read. In exchange we ask that you give us your best work. We also ask that you familiarize yourself with the work we have already published so as not to waste our time and your hope, because, let's be honest--both are in short supply these days...

It also behooves you to pick up a few of our titles for your personal collection because at least a conversational knowledge of two or more of our authors is now considered de rigueur for any cocktail party worth attending. [Also, as a poet, I have to ask: why would you trust us with your beloved manuscript if you don't even know what we publish? Are you that callous and desperate?]

This is an exciting time we live in! What are you waiting for? Let's become very close.

The first is an interview with local poet Ben Mazer, who has two new books out with Dark Sky Book and The Pen & Anvil Press (look for reviews on this blog coming soon). Ben is a great poet and I find there's no such thing as "small talk" with him. Please take a few minutes to check him out.

The second is an interview with yours truly, in which I discuss death, poetry, the death of poetry, altered states, and hitting people in the face.

If you order the print version of the journal, you'll also be treated to creative work by: William Doreski, Janet Butlerm, Alan King, Franz Baskett, Peter Schwartz, Marie Gauthier, Irene Koronas, Zachary Bos, Jenna Dee, Graham Hillard, Jasmine Bailey, Sharron Singleton, Daniel Hudon, J. A. Tyler, Joseph Goosey, Sergio Ortiz, Joseph Dorazio, KJ Hays, Jenny Grassl, Adam Tavel, Samuel Lovett, Erik T. Johnson, Sean Campbell, and Nora Delaney.

"Good Warm Sad Blood Spilling Out in the Forest"

a conversation with Heather Christle, Hannah Gamble, Matthew Rohrer, Zachary Schomburg, and Matthew Zapruder

The following conversation took place over email in the fall of 2009, although, as Matthew Rohrer articulated in a preliminary exchange, we would rather have been together in a hotel conference room eating Chinese takeout. Gulf Coast organized this conversation because it seemed, to us, that a new generation of surrealist- and absurdist-influenced poetry had emerged in the U.S., written by poets ranging from their mid-twenties to mid-forties and rooted in small presses like Wave Books, Black Ocean, and Octopus Books. But what does “surrealism” even mean, in American poetry today? We decided to ask some of the editors and authors associated with these small presses what they thought about the “surrealist” label and their relationship to it.

Sam Cornish
Robert Pinsky
Louise Gluck
Rosanna Warren
Margo Lockwood
Frank Bidart

Then there was a blank spot for write-ins. While I admire the writing of Gluck and Bidart; the community work of Pinsky; and Cornish was even an instructor of mine as an undergraduate at Emerson (and is also Boston's first Poet Laureate), I thought the options were a little tame and predictable. So, I suggested people write me in as an alternative, just to shake things up a little. And guess what--I won.

This is not to say that I think I'm a better poet than all of these candidates; my point was that there are many great poets in Boston that weren't represented on this list--probably because they don't have high profile university affiliations. In a largely transient city many artists come and go, and it's not surprising that more poets don't stay without security in a job that pays decently. I love Boston, and have lived here my entire life--but I can't blame people for giving up on it; it's a tough nut to crack and its peculiar, complex charm takes acquiring.

All that said, this is why winning this category means a lot to me. As someone who grew up literally reading poems in the woods on the shores of Massachusetts; who has walked or driven every major street in this city, at times elated or sad or drunk or stoned and even occasionally lost--and who has spent my adult years reading the Boston Phoenix as a barometer for what's cool, interesting and fun around town--winning their Reader Poll for Boston's Best Poet is a personal landmark, even if I don't think it actually carries much bearing on my poetic talent.

Thanks to those of you who voted. You made my year.

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from the Phoenix:

Best Poet
Janaka Stucky

Author of the award-winning and best-selling collections, The Man Suit and Scary, No Scary, is traveling the United States in his special vehicle. Check out the dates:

St. Louis, MO. 4.14. Stirrup Pants. Exploding Swan Night. A poetry collaboration w/Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra, a sound presentation by David Weinberg, and intermission crooning by Jaffa Aharanov. Time TBA.

Cincinnati, OH. 4.15. 9-10:30 pm. The Comet. w/Michael Hennessey

Bronxville, NY. 4.17. 3:30 pm. Sarah Lawrence Poetry Festival. Also, on a panel about publishing the following day, 4.18.

New York, NY. 4.19. A house party. w/Curtis Jensen. Details TBA

Stockton, NJ. 4.21. Stockton College. Lecture & Discussion about poetry translation. Philadelphia, PA. 4.23. New Philadelphia Poets. w/ Sasha Fletcher. Screening of poem-films. Details TBA.

Cleveland, OH. 4.25. 6:30 pm. Sunday Roast at The Cafe at Arts Collinwood. w/ Michael Dumanis and Eric Morris.

South Bend, IN. 4.28. 6:15-7:15. Notre Dame University. O'Shaughnessy Hall Room 106. w/ Johannes Goransson.

Chicago, IL. 4.29. 5:30 pm. Columbia Poetry Review new issue release party. Ferguson Hall. 600 South Michigan, 1st Floor.

Baton Rouge, LA. 5.4. LSU. Reading/workshop. Judging the MFA poetry manuscript prize.

New Orleans, LA. 5.5. The Goldmine Saloon. Details TBA.

Miami, FL. 5.8. University of Wynwood. Reading/workshop. Gallery Diet. 174 NW 23rd S. Time TBA.

Athens, GA. 5.13. w/Joshua Marie Wilkinson. Details TBA.

Atlanta, GA. 5.14. Eyedrum. Reading followed by a screening of 60 Writers, 60 Places, a film by Luca Dipierro and Michael Kimball. Other reader TBA.

Conway, AR. 5.17 to 6.4. Hendrix College. Poetry Workshop.

Lincoln, NE. 6.12 to 6.18. Nebraska Summer Writer's Conference. Reading and panel.