Category Archives: Interview

Publications & Reviews & Readings… Oh My!

I just read the last words of this post’s title in George Takei’s voice rather than as the end of “lions and tigers and bears” from The Wizard of Oz, and I’m loving the collision of pop culture references that’s happening in my head!

The last couple of months have been a busy blur, not always in the best ways, but sometimes in wonderful ways. Here are some poetry highlights…

Courtney LeBLanc came to town in September, and I got to read with her at the CHE Cafe! What a brilliant poet, and what a wonderful space!

At the end of September, I hosted PLNU’s 25th Annual Poetry Day. I had the idea to have an ensemble reading of 25 poets for this special occasion, and we pulled it off! San Diego poets and a few guests from LA turned out for this incredible event, and we filled the auditorium. People stayed around talking for a long time afterwards too, and that’s how I know it was a good time. The whole evening felt magical.

In October I was a featured reader for Hafez Day in San Diego alongside some incredible poets. I chose the poems I read that night using Hafez divination: I opened the book of poems and let the lines I landed on point me toward which of my poems I should read. (I loved this! I need to let Hafez choose poems for me more often). This was such a beautiful night of poetry by a gorgeous variety of people.

Jennifer Pollock Michel interviewed me about Hereverent alongside Heather Lanier for The Englewood Review of Books podcast.

My poem “Who Is Like God?” was published in the latest issue of The WIndhover!

Psaltery & Lyre published Jennifer A. Sutherland’s incredibly thoughtful review of Hereverent last week.

The grad students in my Editing & Publishing course in PLNU’s new MA in Writing program are creating a new online literary journal that focuses on longform work, and it’s amazing: Last Syllable. I’m so proud of the work they’re doing. They’ve already had their first reading period and chosen work for the first two issues, and the first issue will be out in December!

I’ve also gotten to be a guest at a poetry salon, attend some delightful readings, receive a couple of exciting acceptances… and I made some fun arrangements that involve licensing “This Poem Is about Dinosaurs” (my Jeff Goldblum poem). More info on that coming soon!

Caesura Presents

This interview was released while I was traveling for the Pop Culture Association conference, but allow me to share it now. I’m so grateful to John Sibley Williams for his close reading of Hereverent and deeply thoughtful questions! There’s also a video of me reading a few of the poems at the bottom of the page.

Interview with Glenda Bailey-Mershon

I usually enjoy interviews, but Glenda Bailey-Mershon took interviewing to another level with her incredibly thoughtful questions and generous affirmation of my poems. I think I’ll listen to this again some time when I need a morale boost!

Two Interviews

I’ve been remiss in sharing these two interviews that’ve gone live over the past month!

Nancy Brashear, my incredibly kind former colleague who is also a wonderful novelist, interviewed me for her blog. This interview comes with a chapbook giveaway, so you can read it for a chance to win a copy of How to Play. (You should also follow Nancy on Twitter @drnancybrashear.)

I also got to do an interview as the editor of Whale Road Review for Iss. 42 of Alien Buddha Zine. This zine and press put out so much great work, so you should definitely check them out and follow them on Twitter @thealienbuddha too.

Conversations with Poets!

I had such a fun time chatting about poetry and reading some poems with Michael Klam at the San Diego Public Library for this Conversations with Poets video series.

I’ve really enjoyed watching the other videos in the series too. Thanks also to the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and the San Diego Poetry Annual for this great collaborative project.

“A Child Walks in the Dark” Podcast

Darren Demaree invited me to chat with him on his podcast about kids, linguistics, and more! Give this episode (and the other episodes!) a listen, and check out Daren’s new poetry collection, a child walks in the dark (Harbor Editions, 2021), which inspired this podcast.

Interview in Mom Egg Review

Earlier this semester, I got to visit Will Woolfitt’s creative writing class at Lee University and talk with them after they’d read my new chapbook. Two of his students, Makenzie McGee McCracken and Eric Van Gorden, sent me the most thoughtful interview questions after my class visit, and their interview was just published last week in Mom Egg Review. I’m so grateful to Makenzie, Eric, Will, and the MER editorial team for their kind support of my work!

An Interview With Katie Manning

How to Write a Form Poem

I am somewhere past thrilled to have two poems, a ghazal and a found poem, included in How to Write a Form Poem (T.S. Poetry Press, 2021) by Tania Runyan. This fantastic book is now available to buy, to adopt for classes, to give as gifts… it’s going to come in handy all over the place.

Tania also interviewed me about “The Book of Class,” my found poem that’s included in the book, and you can read that interview here. I don’t think I’ve ever teared up at an introduction to an interview before, but now I can say confidently that I have.