I was sorry to read at various sources that Jeff Poniewaz recently passed away. He was currently serving as Milwaukee’s Poet Laureate. Known as an eco-poet Jeff taught Literature of Ecological Vision via the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee since 1989. His book Dolphin Leaping in the Milky Way was awarded the Discovery Award from PEN in 1987. Submission letters and his bio always came with this note: “His last name is pronounced POE-nYEAH-vAHsh and is Polish for … [Read more...]
Biding my time, resolving to resolve
Howdy. Ready for the longest day of the year? A couple weeks ago I read my horoscope and it said that after Mercury finished being in retrograde, I will receive good news on the 19th—so today’s a big day for me. I’ll keep you posted. I was happy to hear that Kevin Nance, who has contributed photos to Glimpse of Solace, is having a show of his photography this Friday in Lexington, Kentucky. I bet you’ve read articles by Kevin Nance – his byline appears in the pages of … [Read more...]
News and updates: Pamela Miller, Ellen Bass (and me)
Happy Father's Day to all. Please make sure to read Laura Rodley's poem, which I have posted as a guest blog. Pamela Miller (who contributed "What It's All About" to Solace in So Many Words) has new book from Mayapple Press. It's called Miss Unthinkable. Here's how it's described: "Who is Miss Unthinkable? In this latest collection from Chicago poet Pamela Miller, she’s a shape-shifting sorority of mysterious, funny and wise female characters who don’t let anything get … [Read more...]
All in a row
Printers Row Lit Fest was hot and fun. Weighed Words had record sales for a bookfair, and we got to talk with lots of cool people. Stopping by on Saturday was Chicago writer Sharon Solwitz. She's the author of Blood Mary and Blood and Milk (Sarabande) and teaches at Purdue Univeristy and was on hand for the "Neither Fish nor Fowl" reading put on by Northwestern MA/MFA faculty. Sharon Fiffer (friend to Solace in So Many Words) stopped by after her panel on the cozy … [Read more...]
Looking back, looking forward
If you read my last post you know that Solace in So Many Words is one-year-old. I have been thinking of the highlights from the past year. But before I give that account let me tell you how great it was that last week started with congratulatory flowers, sent by neighbor and mentor Fran Podulka and her husband Phil to celebrate the gold medal award Solace in So Many Words won from the Next Generation Indie Awards sponsored by Independent Book Publishing Professionals … [Read more...]