Dork Swagger (Official Book Trailer)

Upcoming Readings

Miami Book Fair International
"Assembly Required: A Reading by the Miami Poetry Collective"
Saturday, Nov. 23, 4:00 p.m., Room 8202 (Building 8, 2nd Floor)

Featuring:ANNIK ADEY-BABINSKI, DANIEL ALARCON, MARCI CALABRETTA, PAUL CHRISTIANSEN, P. SCOTT CUNNINGHAM, DENISE DELGADO, ASHLEY JONES, STEVEN KARL, JESSICA MACHADO, ELLENE GLENN MOORE, YADDYRA PERALTA, DAWN S. DAVIES and NICK VAGNONI

More info & bios here.

What’s New in Poetry? A Reading Series
1st floor of the Emory University Bookstore (1390 Oxford Road Atlanta, GA 30322)
Dec. 5th, 2013 8:00 p.m.
Jiyoon Lee, Steven Karl, Alexis Orgera, Amber Nelson, Serena Chopra

So and So Reading Series
The Morning Times Cafe,10 E Hargett St Raleigh, NC 27601
Dec. 7th 8p.m.
Hanna Andrews, Steven Karl, Alexis Orgera, Sandra Simonds,& Nick Sturm

"Dork Swagger Book Party"
Berl's Poetry Shop, 126A Front Street (next to Superfine) in D.U.M.B.O, Brooklyn, N.Y.
December 18th, 7 p.m.
Steven Karl, Dan Magers, & Jamalieh Haley
Book Trailer by Jared Hohl
Music by Bill Ricchini (of Summer Fiction)

"The Best of No, Dear Magazine"
Mellow Pages Library, 56 Bogart St. Brooklyn, NY
Dec. 20th, 7 p.m.
Brian Trimboli, Iris Cushing, Steven Karl, Gracie Leavitt, Lauren Hunter, Paige Taggart

Recent Work

I have a long poem titled, "Leaves of LOL" featured in the new issue of NOÖ Weekly. It's the last poem in my forthcoming debut book of poems, Dork Swagger (Coconut Books, 2013).

I also have an interview with fellow Coconut press-mate, Christie Ann Reynolds over here & here's one I did with the ever-awesome, Farrah Field!

"Goddamn Sad Animals"

Here's a sneak peak at one of the illustrations by Joseph Lappie which will be featured in my book, Dork Swagger, forthcoming this fall by Coconut Books.

Some Work Here & There

My poem, "& I Dragged My Sister's Feeble Body Up The Mountain" was featured on Everyday Genius today. You can read it here.

Issue 23 of jubilat has an untitled poem of mine. It should be out any day now.

I've also done interviews with Amy Lawless, Eric Baus, & Jackie Clark which you can read here, here, & here.

Interviews with Sampson Starkweather, Farrah Field, and Christie Ann Reynolds forthcoming so keep an eye out on Coldfront Magazine.

Collaboration with artist Matt Bollinger

I'm thrilled to see my writing showcased in this review of Matt Bollinger's show, The Road of Ashes at Zürcher Studio.
Myself, Farrah Field, Paige Taggart and Alina Gregorian all wrote pieces specific for the show and then they were edited by Matt Bollinger and Dan Magers. Read the write-up here & then go see the show if you're in NYC (or going to be in NYC).

The Next (Big) Thing

Susana Gardener kindly tagged me in this self-interview thing that has been setting the nets afire.

The Next (Big) Thing


What is the working title of the book?

The End of Dork Swagger


Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was born in Philly and I think that city has always “valued” the swagger. I’m thinking of Moses Malone, Dr. J, World B. Free, Wilt Chamberlain, and AI. This season the Sixers signed Nick Young who goes by the nickname, Swaggy P. There’s also a statue of Rocky in Philly. So I started thinking about the intersection of “swagger” in politics, sports, music, and art, as well as what happens when superficiality of it fails. The book wound up exploring this more through the lens of youth: ambition, slackerdom, parties, and naïveté.

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry


What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Don would be played by Richard Pryor hovering somewhere between his stand-up routine, and setting himself on fire.

Maria (Don’s party/junky girlfriend) If the Parker Posey’s character in Party Girl partied harder.

Bree (high school/college crush turned awkward post-college “just friends”)- Perhaps Thandie Newton or Charlotte Gainsburg.

Unnamed narrator – Somewhere between Aaron Stanford (in Tadpole) and Jesse Eisenberg (Squid and the Whale) skating the line between awkward and idiocy. Wait maybe that’s Paul Giamatti.

Hitomi- (girlfriend of unnamed narrator) Carry Mulligan (circa Education or Never Let Me Go) or Anna Karina.


What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

“You itch your head & hair falls out.”


How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The first draft took about a year (most of the poems came fast and delirious). The revisions however, are coming much slower and more focused.


Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to take a break from another manuscript (Sister, formerly From Every Slit Throat Still Song) and write poems that more openly relished in Ugly Feelings ala Sianne Ngai. This allowed me to embrace a lot of (dark) humor.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

As mentioned before, there’s a healthy dose of black humor, a sprinkling of feel good moments, references to Warhol, Eddie Fiola (freestyler from the 80s), bonfires, salmon, film and art by the ever-awesome Joseph Lappie aka Peptic Robot Press. Also its on Coconut Books!!!


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Coconut Books(October, 2013).


My tagged writers for next Wednesday are:
Alexis Orgera, Farrah Field, Jared White, Kate Greenstreet, Shane McCrae

Happy New Years (albeit belatedly so). Great new review of the collab chapbook over on Coldfront Magazine. Check it out here! Thanks so much for the kind words Stephanie! If you haven't read it yet you can head over to Lame House Press and pick up a copy (only a limited number of them left). Also, I've been busy working on the edits for my Coconut book which should come out in October, as well as putting together the new issue of Sink Review and another Immaculate Disciples Press chapbook both will come out by the end of February. If you're attending AWP come see the panel I'm moderating. It will be on Thursday, March 7 at 9:00am. I'll do another post about it as we get closer to the date.