Upcoming Reading: Bruce Cohen

Connecticut: Bruce Cohen will headline the 2013 Rose Garden reading at noon on Saturday, June 22–don’t miss your chance to hear this wonderful poet read from his much-loved books. Details here. (Bruce’s new collection Placebo Junkies Conspiring with the Half-Asleep is so, so good…buy your copy here.)

Rebecca Hazelton on Verse Daily

We are so in love with Rebecca Hazelton’s poem “Book of Janus,” featured on Verse Daily this week.

Upcoming Reading: Charlotte Pence

The Nantucket Book Festival sounds like a pretty dreamy way to spend a summer weekend, especially since poet Charlotte Pence will be there! Her prizewinning chapbook THE BRANCHES, THE AXE, THE MISSING is one of our favorites, and she’ll talk about poetry and song and participate in a reading, all on Saturday, June 22 starting at 11:45am. Details here (and buy a copy of BRANCHES here.)

“Under The Kitchen Floor” by Bruce Cohen

This poem, featured in ALIMENTUM, will be your new favorite. A tease: “The world would be better if there were no floors. We could simply walk on air, without gravity. A full glass of inky wine elbow-knocked from the counter would not fall but rise to the ceiling, out the chimney, towards the clouds, past Mars & other undiscovered stars. No need for stain remover.” Click here to read it all, and here to buy Bruce’s brand-new and addictive collection PLACEBO JUNKIES CONSPIRING WITH THE HALF-ASLEEP.

New Review of THE TIDE KING

Jen Michalski’s debut novel–and Big Moose prizewinner–The Tide King gets some love from The Baltimore Sun: “Michalski creates a tale that sweeps history by marrying icons of childhood nightmares such as witches, magic, and children struggling on their own to the icons of adult nightmares: war battles, socially sanctioned violence and murder, success and failure in love, success and failure in connecting meaningfully with others, and the mind-numbing, soul-sucking daily grind.” Read the entire review here, and buy your copy of this magnetic and beautiful book here.

Three Poems by Katie Rauk

Hobart features three new poems by Katie Rauk, whose “hallucinatory, mysterious and beautiful” chapbook Basil is one of our favorites. Check out her new work here, and buy a copy of Basil here.

Speed Date with Sarah Suzor

The Buoyant Group recently caught up with the lovely Sarah Suzor and asked her a few questions about storytelling: “A simple example: I see a sunset and I think of a song. I think of a song and I remember a lover. I remember a lover and recall the last thing they said to me. I recall the last thing they said to me and I trip on that damn crack in the sidewalk. I trip on that damn crack in the sidewalk and a red car passes by. There goes a whole other story. In a matter of minutes. I think we all operate that way; I just allow myself the time and space to throw all of it into words.” Read the rest here (and buy her prizewinning poetry collection The Principle Agent here.)

New Reviews of THE MORROW PLOTS and THE LOST EPISODES OF REVIE BRYSON

The latest issue of Mid-American Review is packed with great stuff, including reviews of Matthew Gavin Frank’s  The Morrow Plots and Bryan Furuness’ The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson. This issue isn’t online, but click here to order a copy. (And click here and here to buy copies of Matt’s and Bryan’s stellar books.)

Tomorrow: LA Reading with Sarah Suzor

The lovely and brilliant Sarah Suzor, author of the prizewinning poetry collection The Principle Agent, will read tomorrow as part of the “This Side of the 405” exhibit at the Ben Maltz Gallery in Los Angeles. All readings will also be streamed online here. (And keep an eye out for her forthcoming collaboration with Travis Cebula, due out next year…)

New Poems from Russel Swensen and Matthew Gavin Frank

The new issue of The Carolina Quarterly is especially awesome, featuring poems by Russel Swensen (Santa Ana) and Matthew Gavin Frank (The Morrow Plots). It’s a BLP double-dip!