Thanks to Michael Dechane for his lovely review of Hereverent in the new issue of Presence! Here’s an excerpt that the journal shared on social media:
“This feels like Lectio Divina meets fridge magnet poetry meets found poetry meets erasure poetry meets the serious, playful holiness of Manning’s imagination.”
— from Michael Dechane’s review of Katie Manning’s Hereverent in Presence 2025.
I’m so delighted to be part of Issue 1: Synesthesia from The Creative Process! This issue features work by writers and artists from over 30 countries. Thanks to Helene Cardona for including a reprint of my poem “On the Night We Met, My Father Gave Me Icarus.”
I just realized that I missed sharing this in the chaos of spring: I have a poem included in the game-themed Six of Magpies zine! My poem is called “The Game of Life Still Makes Me Think of You,” and I suppose it’s kind of a bonus track for my How to Play chapbook. Thanks to Scott Russell Morris for including me in this fun project!
I’m delighted to be on faculty for the Glen Workshop this summer as the writing retreat guide. Come write with me in Seattle at the end of July? 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed through an entire interview before, but the My Bad Poetry podcast made it happen. Thanks to Aaron and Dave for the hilarious conversation about my old poems!
Thanks to The Rabbit Room for featuring my poem “Where Death Is Not an Is” from The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman this week.
I was sorry to miss the launch readings for the new issue of Mom Egg Review, but I’m delighted to have a prose poem called “The Ghost in My Knees” included alongside some really incredible work.
My dad passed away this week. I feel shocked by this every time I say it. This post is not about my dad, but it felt wrong not to acknowledge that after the last few hard months, things here continue to be hard and sad.
Somehow, there’s still been joy and fun in the last couple of months too. This extrovert writer is especially happy when I get to throw myself into a sea of writers and spend days totally immersed in the writing world, so here’s a rundown of recent conferences and a festival.
AWP conference highlights:
– Celebrating Whale Road Review‘s 10-year anniversary at our booth with nonstop author signings and some sparkling cider toasts (pictured above).
– Being part of amazing off-site events: Wednesday Night Poetry, Off Site. On Purpose. (co-sponsored by Whale Road Review, SWWIM, MER, Perugia Press, and Cultivating Voices LIVE), and Reluctant Prophets (a book launch for J.D. Isip). Each of these felt magical—full of incredible poems and some of my very favorite poets.
– Giving a presentation on Networking for Writers alongside Abayomi Animashaun, Elizabeth Dark, and Jessica Jacobs.
– Going to the Gregory Alan Isakov concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on the last night with some of my dearest friends.
San Diego Writers Festival highlights:
– Being part of an eclectic panel interview on the writing life that was organized and moderated by Adam Greenfield (pictured above).
– Reading as a featured poet alongside some of San Diego’s rockstar poets.
– Meeting new writers and visiting with dear friends around the bookfair and in the presenters’ lounge.
PCA conference highlights:
– Enjoying the poetry panels: all hits, no misses! Being there as an attendee/presenter rather than as an Area Chair for the first time in 11 years was a nice break (and Billie Tadros did a fantastic job chairing).
– Presenting on how to write occasional poems on a deadline alongside Morgan Tinin and Debbie Campbell (who I refer to as my Whale Road Review doula due to a conversation we had 10 years ago at PCA in NOLA!).
– Getting to enjoy panels and events in other areas, including a Disney area movie viewing (an unofficial sing-along) and the annual Game Studies game night (where someone just gave me a new expansion of Settlers of Catan after I showed him the Catan earrings I was wearing.)
– Spending time with dear long-time friends and some newly-made friends too, often over fantastic food. So many beignets, but not nearly enough. 🙂
Life has continued to be busy and somewhat absurd, so I’m behind on sharing good things! Here’s a quick bit of news from March: I had a prose poem included in the spring issue of MoonPark Review. I’m honored that the editors wanted to share this one, and I love the art that they created to accompany my poem. I hope you’ll take some time to enjoy their whole issue.
I’m honored to bits that two of my poems were published in Villain Era this past Friday!
There’s something so special about being included in a brand new publication, and I could not be more delighted about this revenge-themed magazine edited by Charlie Jensen. The concept and the editor are brilliant!