SOLD: That Prince chapbook I’ve been talking about for months!

So…I got some news. And when the yesses were finally yessed and the virtual hands were virtually shaken, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

My chapbook PRAY PRAY PRAY: Poems I wrote to Prince in the middle of the night just sold to Porkbelly Press. You may have heard of Porkbelly. Either by following me on Goodreads as I’ve read like most of their catalog since I first heard about them last fall. Or maybe because they printed the gorgeous EMILY anthology that I was in earlier this year. Or maybe just because they’re an all-around badass operation.

This chapbook is the product of a few things, but it boils down to:

1. Prince. I’m obsessed with Prince. It was a sudden and unexpected obsession, but there it is. I now know more about Prince than probably most people who were fans in the 80s and 90s. This is a thing I do. You’re welcome, Prince.

2. Artistry. Especially music, as an appreciator, and writing, as a creator. Also, the work behind both “fine” art and entertainment.

3. Mental health, and my own struggles with severe depression in 2014. It was ugly, y’all. The Purple One got me through.

4. Patriotism. Which surprised me, as I wrote these pieces. But, oh, America, you are so dirty and beautiful and raw and broken and hopeful.

I spent a lot of time not sleeping well — which isn’t that unusual for me — in 2014 especially from around June and onward. I used that time to listen to Prince records and write poems. I wrote them in notebooks, on the backs of junk mail envelopes, and even as snippets into my phone. And I landed, finally, with the last poem that I didn’t think would be the last poem, turning up somewhere around September or October. And by that time I realized this was a thing. And I ran it by critique partners and sent it out. And here it is. Almost. Here it will be.

So thanks to everyone who has listened to me talk about Prince and his genius and how I want to be him and how I’d marry him if he was just a brain in a jar and the obviously blah-blah between album x and album y and advocacy for artist’s rights and OMG THE NEW ALBUM HAVE YOU HEARD IT? You guys win for not pulling the car over and pushing me out.

I’ll keep y’all updated. The book should be arriving sometime this year. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the rest of your month before April — National Poetry Month — begins. And you know what that means around here — poetry guest blogs from all over publishing! Let’s do this.

And, writerly types, I’ll be seeing you in Minneapolis (HOME OF PRINCE!) for AWP. How fitting!