Jennifer Perrine's Blog, page 4

Silver White Winters that Melt into Springs

All over the interwebs, folks are compiling their "Best Books of 2015" lists, so I thought I'd put together my own retrospective. In no particular order, here are my favorites of the books I read in 2015:

The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity by Louise DeSalvo

The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction by Edward James

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

The Folded Clock: A Diary by Heidi Julavits

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer by Sydney Padua

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Absolute Sandman, Volume Two by Neil Gaiman

Here by Richard McGuire

Bird by Zetta Elliott

The Brother Swimming Beneath Me by Brent Goodman

Famous Last Words by Catherine Pierce

The Absolute Sandman, Volume Three by Neil Gaiman

Apparently, I was particularly smitten with comics and graphic literature this year, with memoir, poetry, and science fiction rounding out most of the rest of the list. For the full scoop on my 2015 reads, including many more books that I enjoyed, check out my Year in Books. Happy 2016, y'all!

Nothin' Lasts Forever

Hello from the end of a cold, rainy November! My new book, No Confession, No Mass, comes out tomorrow, but already there are more poems in the works. One of those poems is out in The Journal , which also features some incredible poems by Emily Yoon and Cortney Lamar Charleston. Read the whole Fall 2015 issue online here.

I Can't Tell If I'm a Kingpin or a Pauper

The publication date of my new book, No Confession, No Mass, is only a month away, and to celebrate, I'm giving away books!

Because the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues are a running theme in the new book, I'm giving away seven signed copies of each of my books. The giveaways open November 8th. Good luck!

No Confession, No Mass


by Jennifer Perrine


Giveaway ends December 08, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

In the Human Zoo


by Jennifer Perrine


Giveaway ends December 08, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

The Body Is No Machine


by Jennifer Perrine

Giveaway ends December 08, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I Wanna (Split This) Rock

The folks at Split This Rock have put together an amazing resource: The Quarry: A Social Justice Database . The Quarry is a living archive of 300+ poems by contemporary socially engaged poets. Because it's searchable by theme, as well as by author's identity and location, I'm looking forward to using this for teaching, for organizing readings and advocacy work, and for finding inspiration on those days when injustice seems overwhelming. I hope you'll check out The Quarry, and if you're not familiar with Split This Rock, poke around the rest of their site to discover the amazing work they do!

Kickstart My Heart

The fine folks at Virginia Arts of the Book Center are running a Kickstarter campaign to create a resource for exploring their large, diverse collection of moveable type. Backers who pledge $50 or more will receive a limited edition broadside of my poem, "If Life Gives You Lemons, Make."

Lemons not your thing? No problem. For the same pledge amount, you can choose from among VABC's other nifty swag, including limited edition broadsides of poems by Rita Dove, Mary Szybist, and Hailey Leithauser. Learn more about the VABC and the project here.

Go Ahead and Judge

At long last, I'm allowed to reveal the cover art for No Confession, No Mass:



Although the publication's still months away, I'm excited to see the book coming together! Thanks to everyone at University of Nebraska Press who worked on the design!

The Jig is Up, The News is Out

Thanks to the staff at River Styx for including my poem, "My Father Asks Again about the Weather," in their Spring 2015 issue. Though there's lots of good poetry and prose in this issue (and a play, too!), my favorite part might be the cover art by Kaja Renkas.

So You Wanna Win a Book Prize?

When Ian Rogers interviewed me about No Confession, No Mass, I ended up talking about the usual things: process, inspiration, current projects, and--of course--my mother.

You can check out our conversation at the Prairie Schooner blog.

Writer to Writer

Two rounds of good news this week:

I'm excited to be part of AWP's Spring 2015 Writer to Writer program. I'll be mentoring poet and fiction writer Catherine Cryan, who's doing some amazing work at the intersection of science and writing.

I also got a sneak peek at the cover art for No Confession, No Mass today. I can't officially unveil it yet, but I love it. Thanks to all the folks on the design, marketing, and editorial teams at UNP for your brilliance!

Truthiness

Now that Stephen Colbert is off the air, I guess it's up to the rest of us to figure out where the blurry edges of truth reside. Pank posted an interview with several of the Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence authors–Laura Madeline Wiseman, Sarah Chavez, Leslie Adrienne Miller, Sara Henning, and me–discussing how “fact” and “truth” play out in poetry.

Also, thanks to the editors of Natural Bridge , who included two of my poems–“Coronal” and “For the Lone Man at the Violence Prevention Center”–in their Fall 2014 issue. The issue also includes a powerful set of stories and poems by and about veterans. It's worth ordering the issue just to check those out.