'Of Creatures' Proof / Liquid Words / Books Recently Purchased

I got the proof copy of my forthcoming collection of poetry, Of Creatures (Gold Wake Press, 2011) in the mail the other day. It is available for preorder at BN.com, and will be soon through Amazon. The cover is an image called "Ice" by elimae editor Cooper Renner. Reading through these poems, I’d almost forgotten they are an experiment in optimism…

My last journal publication was in the October elimae, Kim Chinquee’s last issue as fiction editor. Before that was a story in August in A-Minor Magazine (nominated for Best of the Web, 2011).

Last year I had over 50 publications, which averages out to one or two publications a week. Many of them were only days a part, and on a good week I had 3-5 publications. This year I’ve only had a little more than 20 publications.

While being disappointed by this number, I realize: Oh, I probably have to submit things. I haven’t been submitting much of anything lately. I used to be obsessive about sending things out, but for a while I’ve been wondering what the point is, questioning my motives, the purpose of publication, etc. Oh, life's questions. For now, I want to focus most of my energy on getting my books published...


I like how these words/phrases look like they’re morphing into another word/phrase, as if made of liquid:

art form : ant farm

stories : stones

whole : whale

carrot : cannot

I want to think of more of these...


I finally have a little money to spend, thanks to financial aid and student loans. So, I have purchased the following books:

Matt Bell’s How They Were Found
Ethel Rohan’s Cut Through the Bone
Kendra Grant Malone’s Everything is Quiet
Ben Spivey's Flowing in the Gossamer Fold
Jason Jordan’s Cloud and Other Stories
Zachary German’s Eat When You Feel Sad
Shome Dasgupta's i am here And You Are Gone
Jimmy Chen’s Typewriter
and Audri Sousa's Caspian Quilt

Also, I will order xTx’s He is Talking to the Fat Lady when it’s available.

Also, Steve Roggenbuck is offering his forthcoming chapbook for free.

Kim Chinquee and I traded books a few months ago. She gave me her latest collection Pretty for Snowing Fireflies. I think Pretty is better than her first collection, Oh Baby, and that’s saying a lot because I think Oh Baby is really good.

Ken Sparling recently emailed me and asked if we could trade books. I traded him Snowing Fireflies for his latest novel BOOK. It came in the mail the other day, and it's beautifully produced. I read the first few pages, and feel like I’ll like it a lot. Big thanks again, Ken.

Tao Lin sent me a copy of Richard Yates after writing an essay about him, and I really liked it. I will read it again soon. I've enjoyed all of his work so far.

J. Michael Wahlgren sent me copies of his books, Valency and Silent Actor, and I like them a lot. He also sent me Gold Wake Press's first three releases, Zachary Bush's The Silence of Sickness, Donora Hillard's Theology of the Body and Kristina Marie Darling's Night Songs. My collection, Of Creatures, will be the fourth book released by Gold Wake Press.

Also, Mel Bosworth sent me a copy of the first printing of his novel Grease Stains, Kismet and Maternal Wisdom when it was released. It has been republished by Brown Paper Publishing and is available for $3.95. Sweet…