'Why We Should Suffer For This' exceprts in 'Amethyst Arsenic'

The new issue of Amethyst Arsenic is online, with the first published excepts from my work-in-progress, Why We Should Suffer For This, alongside poems by Chad Parenteau, Aaron Samuels, Judith Skillman and others. I was honored that editor Samantha Milowsky solicited them after hearing me read pieces at The Outlaw Stage, although I confess it feels a bit odd publishing excerpts from a thing before I'm entirely done writing it. Moreover -- and I encountered this at the reading Friday -- having to edit it down in such a way that it's basically cohesive and makes some sense to a reader demands some hard decisions. Here, we're only following one of the book's thread, and only following it so far. I favored sections from the early part of the book that most resembled poems, as that's a format both the journal's readers and whatever ones I bring to the party are familiar with. The sacrifice, of course, was narrative. But what are you gonna do? In any case, I'm happy to see it up there, and I hope people enjoy.

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Next up on the agenda:

New York Launch Reading of "The Incredible Sestina Anthology"
With David Lehman, Marilyn Nelson, Sharon Mesmer, Sparrow, Jade Sylvan, Victor D. Infante, Patricia Carlin, Ned Rust, Sharon Dolin, Scott Edward Anderson, Jason Schneiderman, Jeanne Marie Beaumont, Brendan Lorber. Hosted by Daniel Nester.
Poets House
Ten River Terrace (at Murray Street)
New York, NY 10282
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A or C lines to Chambers Street Station
3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014

Looking forward to this: An eclectic mix of poets representing an absolutely fantastic book. If you happen to be in NYC this weekend, come visit!

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I wrote a light column for Pop Culture Notebook on the way people look at the Grammy Awards. Couldn't really comment on the ceremony itself, as I skipped it this year, but mostly, I just think people expect too much from what's mostly a trifle. Far more important -- and saddening -- was the news this morning that Pete Seegar has died. At age 94, that's perhaps not entirely surprising, but he was vital and active pretty much right up until the end. Still, his importance as both a songwriter and an activist is immense, and when I heard the news, it was hard not to feel like something was suddenly missing from the world.