Line tamer.
And that is why we never had our tree up on December 4th. Or December 10th or 17th. First came Advent. And my father, a Lutheran minister, wouldn’t let us forget that. We’d bring out the Advent log of birch—ancient Druidic tree of renewal—with three purple and one pink candle, and would do Advent devotionals Read More …
We never had our Christmas tree up this early. In October, small trees would start to appear at every intersection, bound to the four signal posts. On the day after Thanksgiving, the three local high school bands—Liberty, Freedom, BeCaHi—would alternate years performing at the tree lighting ceremony. Freshman year of high school, part of the Read More …
A cardinal on a pinecone nest. Another craft. Once a month the women’s craft guild would meet in the social hall at Rosemont, my father’s church for 18 years. The room smelled of hot glue guns, silk flowers and Spanish moss, and when I was done with my homework I would help my mother construct Read More …
For the month of December, I’ll be posting little stories about the ornaments on my Xmas tree. You can take the boy out of Christmas City, USA… * * * My little sister’s birthday is today, December 1st (Happy Birthday, Jess!). We are four and half years apart, so one’s full birthday is the other’s Read More …
My poem “Black & White Gotham” from the Impossible Gotham project is now live at Kin. The poem was inspired by Keith Haring’s mural in the former men’s bathroom at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center on 13th St. here in NYC. Tino Sehgal’s interactive work “This Progress” (Guggenheim, January 29-March 10, 2010) and Read More …
I meant to publish this post sometime after Skin Shift was released back in 2012 and it just never happened, probably because I borrowed info from it for various interviews last year and for the Poets & Writers profile they did on me. But still–since I did one previously for my chapbooks, let me pause Read More …
Back in the summer of 1999 I did a little independent study over in Ireland between my junior and senior year of college called “The Solitary Voice”. It was a class for actors and writers and I was the lone poet. We all had to memorize a text–the actors monologues from plays such as The Read More …
A birthday post to round-up the latest news and happenings: The big news is that I’ve signed the contract for my second release from Sibling Rivalry Press, The Erotic Postulate. It will be out in September 2014 along with Stephen Mills’ second book, Brent Calderwood’s first book, and Douglas Ray’s anthology of queer Southern writing. Read More …
A new Marilyn poem, “My Cinemascope Life (With Stereophonic Sound)” is in the recent “Heroes & Villains” issue of PoetsArtists magazine. It was a collaboration with painter Francien Krieg, a response to her painting of the elderly woman in the bathtub. Got me thinking: if Marilyn had lived to be 80, what would her thoughts be looking Read More …
A quick note about some upcoming readings: Monday, April 8th: Indian Springs School, Birmingham, AL, 7pm. I’m part of the Indian Springs Visiting Writers Series which was highlighted recently in The Nation. Looking forward to seeing Douglas Ray and Jessica Smith, and discussing Skin Shift with their students! The public is welcome. Thursday, April 11th: Gay Read More …