Poems Published in Ryder; Another Colossal Royalty Received

We may recall an April local poetry issue of local magazine THE RYDER that got postponed to June to make way for a special Ukraine edition, along with a reading morphed into a more general one in April (see March 19, 3). Well, June is here and, per email today from Writers Guild coordinator Tony Brewer: It’s on the street! If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, it is out there at the usual Ryder locations around Bloomington. With trembling fingers, I clicked the link to the electronic edition (which you may see too by pressing here) — poems galore! — and began to scroll through them to check out the two of mine that should be there. . . .

. . . and scrolled . . . and scrolled . . .

I remembered, there was one thing the email mentioned, almost in passing. I wanted to note, due to a printing error 3 poets were omitted from the issue but we’re working on printing them in the next issue.

. . . and scrolled. And scrolled. . . .

Forty-three poems I scrolled through, by rough count from the print issue I picked up later. And scrolled . . . and . . . wait! There they were! Tucked in at the very, very end (page 46 in the print edition, just before the inner back cover), poems number 44 and 45, “Don’t Always Believe Everything You Read” (sage advice from a zombie, perhaps all the more salient given the politics of today, although specifically about New Hampshire’s state motto) and “The Vampiress’ Soliloquy” (a biting satire — sorry, couldn’t resist — in Shakespearian language). By me!

And one more item, about a promised reading at Morgenstern Books by the poets, details may be announced later this week (so stay tuned to these pages. . . .).

Then a quick change of subject: June marking the start of summer, a royalty report arrived today of which, by custom to avoid embarrassment to the publisher and/or me, I give no details. Be assured, though, it was a positive if compact amount.