M.A. Dubbs's Blog, page 5

New Book Tease! Publication & Upcoming Events

The cat is out of the bag! I teased on my Instagram feed this week the behind the scenes of my third book release. Limestone Versified: Indiana Haiku and Other Poems is launching April 1st. I’ll be teasing more photos on Instagram to lead up to the launch as I’m prepping the last pieces but I am excited! This full length poetry book focuses on nature and the parks, landscapes, and landmarks of my home state. I’ll post more on here as included pre-order information soon!

Coffee to fuel the final edits!

Today I attended the launch of “Grow” an anthology created by Rue who was the resident creator at Ignite Studio (located at Fishers Library). It was a fun event where we signed each others’ books, read, and ate snacks! Remaining books will be for sale at Noblesville Library at a future date.

This spring is really busy for me! The Eclipse and upcoming Poetry Month makes for an active time for poets! Here’s some upcoming events you can see me at!

March 13th I will be participating in the Hidden Sun haiku reading at DePauw University. Haiku from the poets will be printed on banners around the area and generate some hype for the upcoming total solar eclipse! I’m an amateur astronomer, so I am thrilled to be combining two passions together! You can find full event details at Indiana Humanities Website.

March 23rd I will be attending Gal’s Guide award ceremony for their Nourish Anthology. I have two poems included in this anthology. They’re both about food: one about canning and another about my Hispanic heritage. This will be in person and on Zoom (link pending).

March 26th is my FREE publishing poetry workshop at Poets Laureate of Lawrence at 7 pm. Dip your toes into the publishing world and learn how to submit your first poems for publication. Find full information at IndyArtsGuide.

April 13th is the book launch party for the Nourish Anthology by Gal’s Guide. Event runs from 2pm to 4pm.

April 20th is the Local Author Fair from my library. There will be nearly 60 authors and literary organizations with books, zines, and merch to sell eager readers. Find me there from 1pm to 4pm! Get the full details on the HEPL calendar.

Lastly, on May 4th will be a Meet the Authors event for the Nourish Anthology for Gal’s Guide. This will also be accessible online (more details pending).

I’ll need a breather for the summer, ha ha! I have lots of upcoming publications in zines, anthologies, and journals but nothing set in stone at this time. I feel so blessed to be able to be so busy with my craft and it has been incredibly fun getting around my area to meet other creatives.

Vote in Left Brain Media Contest

My piece “No Way to Prevent This: A Dialogue” is now live and up for voting with Left Brain Media! Left Brain Media is an online U.K. based publication of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and art focused on addressing political or cultural issues. They are hosting their first ever writing competition!

I submitted my short fiction piece which is a series of dialogues showing the various factors that lead up to a character’s horrific act of violence. This has been a very hard and complicated piece to work on, trying to balance being respectful as I approached this hard topic while addressing possible social and personal areas of growth. I’ve worked on this piece on and off for a couple years now, researching and seeking feedback, so I am excited to have it finally see the light of day. For those wanting to seek additional information, I highly recommend this NetCE course where I learned so much. You can read my piece “No Way to Prevent This: A Dialogue” here.

If you like my piece (or any others!), you can vote for me in “The State of It” Writing Competition by Left Brain Media. You can vote using this Google form and drop down which pieces you liked best in each category.

4 Haiku in ionsphere Vol 1

It’s here! The first edition of @ampliconpress, a journal where poetry meets science, space, and technology is now live!

I had a fun time doing research before writing my pieces. It’s nice to brush up on science and try to merge terminology with poetic imagery. I’ve always enjoyed science and learning about space, even if I don’t fully understand everything. When I was a kid I had a telescope and an interactive space board that gave you facts about the planets which I loved. My kids play with it now, though I have to explain that Pluto is no longer a planet.

I have four haiku to kick start the journey into the ionosphere. The book also was #1 best seller in Nature for new releases so congratulations to Amplicon Press! So proud to be included in this project! You can buy a copy (digital or physical) on Amazon.

Poem in pan(*)Cha.zine

It’s #mailday and I received my copy of Remix by @panochazine You can find my poem “Patchwork of a Mixed Kid” (paired with beautiful art!) inside. The art is by Amori Piñon and I love the message. As much as I love genealogy, I feel that, at least in the US, there is a big emphasize on your percentage of heritage instead of focusing on people and cultures as wholes.

The poem explores my mixed feelings about my mixed identity and cultural upbringing of being white Mexican-American. Oftentimes I have felt not Latina enough, not white enough, etc. Where do I fit in when I have blonde hair but celebrate Día de Muertos? What do I call myself when filling out a census and it asks if I’m indigenous? What percent is the cut-off? Does it even count when you aren’t card-carrying with a tribe? Am I Hispanic when I speak Spanglish that I mostly learned in the classroom? Should I just put white because there’s more European blood or is that erasing my ancestry, lineage, and culture that survived colonization? These are questions that I hem and haw frequently. If anyone has an easy answer, let me know, so I can obtain some inner peace!

It was refreshing and relieving to read the pieces from others about their own experiences. Sometimes it can feel isolating and that you have to choose when you are split between different races/ethnicity/cultures. I think this forced choice comes from a long line of historical oppression and colorism and puts stress and pressure on people with mixed backgrounds. I love this zine because it was a reminder that we are whole and always enough. We get to define who we are and our labels. You can buy your copy of Remix or other zines here!

Fright Night Print + Group Photo + Upcoming Workshop

Today is mail day and it’s here! The print edition of Fright Night: A Halloween Zine @frightnightzine. It’s so sleek and looks so nice! I love have large the book is and it was so well packaged (it came in a black bubble folder which I think thinks the tone of the zine nicely!).

I’m a little sad this chapter is coming to a close because it was a pleasure being a part of this project. I’ve worked with lots of publications but this is among my top experiences so far! Great communication, scheduling, packaging, attention to detail…things you really come to appreciate as a writer and creative. It was so nice working with Nicole! But here’s to maybe potential future happy haunts?

This Tuesday was also the first meeting of Poets Laureate of Lawrence for 2024 and we took some group photos which was fun! More to come in the future on why we needed a group photo… (if you can’t tell, I hate to spoil things too early, especially when things haven’t been finalized.)

Also, on March 26th, 2024 I will be holding a FREE community workshop on how to get your poetry published. Whether a single poem, a chapbook, or a full length book, I’ll walk you through the things you need to get started and gain your confidence!

You can get the full event information at Indy Arts Guide or from Arts for Lawrence events! I hope to see you there!

Visual Found Poem with Rough Cut Press

First publication of 2024! My visual found poem “Secrets of Midsummer” is now live in Issue 56 of Rough Cut Press. Rough Cut Press is a monthly online publication that shares written and visual work from creatives that identify as part of the LGBT+ community. They also pay an honorarium and do not charge submission fees (we love to see it!)

“Secrets of Midsummer” was created from the June 1921 edition of Good Housekeeping. I love going through old magazines and seeing what things people were writing, talking, and thinking about. I couldn’t help but notice the illustrations of women together and note the proximity and intimacy at play (I was picking up some ‘and they were roommates’ vibes!) So from that, the collage was born!

I’m so happy that the piece was picked up by Rough Cut Press! You can read Issue 56 for yourself which also has a short piece, “Chokecherry”, by Kody Owen.

Haiku for Swim Press December Prompt

My haiku ““Trimming Our Tree” is now live over on Swim Press’ monthly blog. Swim Press is an independent publisher and magazine dedicated to emerging and undiscovered writers/artists. Each month the release a writing prompt to inspire creatives and then post the results on their monthly blog. The month of December had the theme “ornaments” and I had immediate inspiration. Ornaments are small but can hold so much meaning, much like a haiku, so the form choice was an easy one. You see my excerpt below and

Sneakpeek Haiku with The NeuroJournalist

My haiku “Tetris Therapy” was presented as a sneak peek for the upcoming winter edition of The NeuroJournalist. The NeuroJournalist is an upcoming publication featuring all things related to neuroscience: art, writing, articles, music etc.. I have a large interest in neuroscience given my previous education and career background in psychology, so I had to create something once I saw the call! I am so in love with the visuals added to the poem. It really aids so much to the piece.

“Tetris Therapy” references the very real world phenomenon of The Tetris Effect which are lingering thoughts/thought patterns of the Tetris blocks falling and quickly arranging them. Because of the taxing and quick nature of the game, Tetris has been helpful for those suffering with PTSD and other mental health symptoms.

I can personally attest to using video games to help with mental health symptoms, especially when I was teenager and young adult. Wario Woods and Bomberman 64 were my Tetris but I also loved the calming nature of Legend of Zelda OOT, Mario 64, Mario Paint and later RPGs such as KOTOR and Mass Effect. They provided me escapism and peace of mind during rough parts of my life.

It’s not too late to submit to The NeuroJournalist! You can email them anything neuro related at their email: theneurojournalist@gmail.com

Haiku Published with Coin-Operated Press

The Haiku Poetry Zine by Coin-Operated Press is now live! Coin-Operated Press is “queer-led social enterprise run by Chloe Henderson & Katie McCann” from Scotland. I have five haiku in this edition: “Rain Legs”, “Fool’s Spring”, “Pearl Hunting”, “Endangered”, & “The Climb.” My poems focus on nature in Indiana (minus “The Climb”, that has to do with Clingman’s Dome in Tennessee). You can buy the virtual edition for £3.00 or print for £4.00.

Poem Published with Fright Night

It’s…it’s…it’s alive!! Fright Night, a local Indiana based horror zine, is now live! Check out the digital zine on Flipbook! It’s free and filled with spooky, gory, goodness. You can read my poem “An Ode to Sammy Terry” which is dedicated to the O.G. horror host himself! You can also pre-order the print edition on Big Cartel before December 31st.