Annette C. Boehm's Blog, page 4

Is it February Already?!

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No worries, I’ve not been pushing daisies (or snowdrops)! Hibernating a bit, but now I’m back and ready for 2018.

While the December issue of the New Welsh Reader was / is home to two new poems of mine, there are more new poems coming up – look for them in these print venues: Pleiades, Rabbit Catastrophe Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, and the lovely Bone Bouquet. (Btw, the fact that all of my recent acceptances seem to be print is purely accidental, I promise.)

I’ve also been experimenting with linocut / linoprint and find I really enjoy this (literally) hands-on type of creative activity. Here’s to a creative, productive 2018!

Some Good News

I’ve had some good news recently, so I thought I’d share it here. First of all, the New Welsh Review / New Welsh Reader and Pleiades both have picked up poems of mine and they’ll be published later this year / early next year. It’s lovely to see my new poems find such good homes!

And then, the manuscript for my second book of poems is currently a finalist for the Moon City Poetry Award – keep your fingers crossed for me! The winner will be chosen by the end of the month.

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…what happened to summer?! 

Operator

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Issue 80 of Pedestal Magazine just came out, and one of the poems, ‘Operator,’ is from my second book manuscript. The poem was inspired by footage and transcripts shown at the “Whistleblowers & Vigilantes” exhibit organized by Hartware MedienKunstVerein in Dortmund last year. Here’s the link to the issue: http://www.thepedestalmagazine.com/issue-80/

AWP, Sewanee, & a Review

So far, 2017 has been a whirlwind of sorts, and I’m still working on getting Internet service at my new place, so this will be short and sweet.

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This spring I got to take part as a mentee in the AWP Writer to Writer mentoring program. My AWP mentor was (is) Sidney Wade, and all I can say is that we were really well matched – thank you, Kenny at AWP! Thank you also to Sidney who took the time to work with me, give me feedback on the manuscript I’m currently sending out, and to talk shop.

At Sidney’s suggestion I applied for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference – and I was offered a scholarship to go, so I’m really looking forward to going to Tennessee in July to recharge my writerly batteries and meet cool new people.

And finally, in this month’s issue of The Lake, there’s a review of The Knowledge Weapon. You can check it out here: http://www.thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/june17/

Looking Back, Looking Forward

 

2016 is very much over, and while it wasn’t great in many respects, it sure had its moments. I loved being able to do a book tour for The Knowledge Weapon, — that was the highlight of my year. I read at my favorite coffee place / record store,  T-Bones, in Hattiesburg, MS, and then headed over to the UK for readings in Cardiff, Manchester, London, and Birmingham, respectively.

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right to left: Peter Wallis, Jo Duffy, Rob Harper, Andrew McMillan, Annette C. Boehm.

Meeting so many readers and writers of poetry was downright exhilarating. Thank you to everyone who came to read, to listen, to talk, and of course thank you to Rob Harper and the owners of the venues for making all this possible. I’ve gotten hold of some photos from the events (thanks Rob!) though there are no photos from the Hattiesburg reading because I was so excited I totally forgot to ask someone to take pictures. But the reading did happen. Lots of witnesses.

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I have a very tangible souvenir from the book tour: my reading copy of the book. It’s gained a bit of texture, not just because of the post-it notes and all the use it’s gone through, but also because it got ‘baptized’ at the Cardiff reading when a pint was knocked over by a fellow writer. No names shall be named.

Luftmensch

Well, the publication date for this poem could not have worked out better: Today (on the first of September), Whale Road Review‘s fall 2016 issue went live, and in it you’ll find my poem “Luftmensch, It’s September.”

In other news, the book tour / readings went well and I met lots of interesting / creative / cool new people. I’ll post more about this once I get a hold of photos from the events.

New Poem @ Popshot

Popshot Magazine published a poem from The Knowledge Weapon, and you can read it right here.

Also, click the ‘readings‘ tab to see the updated list of readings for my little UK book tour.

Giveaway & TAP

Just a quick heads-up that Bare Fiction is doing a Goodreads giveaway for The Knowledge Weapon, so if you’re in Great Britain (or have a mailing address there), you can try for your own free copy right here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/192704-the-knowledge-weapon  For those of you who are not in Britain, don’t despair. I’ll do a little international giveaway sometime soon.

The Transatlantic Poetry reading with Victoria Kennefick and myself is happening tomorrow (Wednesday, June 29th) on Google Hangouts, and you’re totally invited! Use this link to join us, or (if you’re reading this after the fact) to watch the event later on as a video: http://www.transatlanticpoetry.com/readings/36-annette-c-boehm-and-victoria-kennefick/

 

We Have Touchdown!

Today, the longest day of the year, my maternal grandmother would have celebrated her 90th birthday. And today, a familiar brown breadbox stopped in our street to drop off my copies of The Knowledge Weapon (official release date July 1st). How fitting is it that the first poem in the book is about her?

If you have a computer and the internet, it doesn’t matter where you are, you can enjoy a poetry reading in the comfort of your own home(office): This month’s Transatlantic Poetry virtual reading will take place on June 29th and will feature the talented Victoria Kennefick and myself. After the reading, we’re happy to answer questions and talk about our own poetry, or about poetry in general, so check out the Transatlantic Poetry site to send in questions in advance or during the reading itself.

If you’re in the southern Mississippi area, come join us for a fun reading and book-launch at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg, MS, on July 1st, 8pm. Our poster even has old-timey movie monsters!

Then, there will be the big Bare Fiction launch event in London, July 28th, featuring a whole handful of winning writers  And there will be more readings coming up in July, in various places in the UK, — I’ll keep you posted on those once dates and locations are confirmed.

I’m happy that my book is now a real, physical thing in this material world, and I’d love to share it with y’all, so drop by and say hello! I hear there’s also a Goodreads giveaway in the works so watch this space!

Free Book Preview

Well, just over a month to go until the official release date for The Knowledge Weapon. As of today, you can download a free preview of the book — I’m glad that Bare Fiction decided to do this because I love to page through books before I buy them, especially if they’re by someone I’ve not read before. I like to get an idea of what I’m getting myself into. I hope the preview will give you an idea of what The Knowledge Weapon is about. To get the preview, go here, scroll down a little, and click on the “look inside” tab. Hope you enjoy!

We’re also working on lining up some readings. I’ll be doing a virtual reading at Transatlantic Poetry on June 29th, with fellow poet Victoria Kennefick. I’ll also be reading at T-Bones in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, July 1st with Anastasia Stelse and Jillian Rochelle Etheridge, and at Waterstones, London Picadilly, July 28th. Check back soon for more info and more dates / locations.