Category Archives: Reading

“Hermit Crab” in Mom Egg Review

I recorded my poem “Hermit Crab” that was just published in Mom Egg Review, vol. 18. I wrote it two years ago, but it feels strangely timely now.

 

Hermit Crab

The pain in my right temple
flares awake, my lower back
aches from face-down sleep,
my sprained ankle pangs
before I take a step. I long
to crawl downstairs and out
to the beach. If I could slither
my soul from this skin, I would
find a new shell to hold me,
something shiny and solid—
no cracks—something large
enough to bring my spouse
and children in, shield us
from this violent, broken world.

You can order copies of MER’s “Home” themed issue at this link. Mom Egg Review took submissions a year ago, but this issue also feels especially timely now, so check out the order link and get yourself a copy of this wonderful literary magazine (and order copies for others too!). I’m thrilled to have a poem in here alongside so many writers I admire. Thanks, Marjorie Altman Tesser, Jennifer Colella Martelli, and company!

THRUSH Virtual Reading Series

I can’t participate in or attend as many of the online poetry events as I’d like since I’m trying to be a full-time prof (newly online) and a full-time stay-at-home (homeschooling?) mom simultaneously, but I jumped at the chance to be a featured reader in the new THRUSH Virtual Reading Series on Zoom last Friday night. Thanks to Helen Vitoria for creating this salon-style reading! I started things off by sharing seven poems, and then I was enamored with the incredible poems by Sandy Marchetti, Sally Rosen Kindred, Dan Albergotti, Jennifer Colella Martelli, Rachel Patterson Moles, and Amanda Auerbach. What a life-giving experience! You can watch the whole reading on YouTube and subscribe to Helen Vitoria’s channel to catch more of these weekly THRUSH contributor readings.

Poetry Rev

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m starting a video series called Poetry Rev. I’ll be doing 2-3 minute poetry book reviews with a sample poem each and posting the videos to YouTube. Please check out my welcome video for more details and subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Poetry Circus #5: The Future We Write

The future-themed Poetry Circus #5 was held on Saturday, July 21, at the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round. I’ve read at all 5 of these events that Nicelle Davis has hosted in LA, and I thought I knew what to expect, but the quality and the organization was on another level this time. I was so honored to read in such company!

Anne Yale, Sean Hill, & Katie Manning

Thanks for the photos, Edwin Vasquez, and thanks for creating another magical event, Nicelle Davis!

Festival of Faith & Writing

Last month, I had a wonderful first time at the Festival of Faith & Writing in Grand Rapids!  (Even though I had to re-book my Sunday morning flight and get out on Saturday afternoon to escape an ice storm…) I especially loved spending time with writer friends on the plane ride there, over meals, in the hot tub, and at the One Poet, One Poem reading.

I got to present on a panel of literary journal editors called “Making Space: The Literary Journal as Witness” alongside Angela Doll Carlson (Saint Katherine Review), Nathaniel Lee Hansen (The Windhover), Daniel Bowman (Relief), and Brianna Van Dyke (Ruminate). I loved getting to represent Whale Road Review and talk about reading, writing, and editing with such wonderful company.

One of the very best parts for me was seeing my current and incoming PLNU colleagues present. Dean Nelson gave an excellent talk on interviewing (even at 8:30 in the morning), and Margarita Pintado gave a great poetry talk and reading.

Some of my other favorite sessions included a celebration of Luci Shaw and later an interview with her conducted by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughters, a poetry session on daughters writing mothers (with Barbara Crooker and Jeanne Murray Walker), and a session on using ancient texts (with Diane Glancy and Lauren Winner). l also loved the keynote by Edwidge Danticat, who was stunning when she read and talked about her book The Art of Death.

Another highlight for me: I was so impressed with Pádraig Ó Tuama, an Irish poet, who did an interview alongside Marie Howe and then gave a talk and reading on Friday. When I bought his book and went to his signing, I also gave him a copy of The Gospel of the Bleeding Woman because he’d talked a bit about the bleeding woman during his interview. I felt a bit like a silly fan giving him a copy of my book, but I did it anyway. When I was traveling home on Saturday, a friend texted me to say, “Did you SEE what Pádraig posted about your chapbook on Instagram?!”

This was a wonderful way to close my first trip to FFW. 🙂 I hope to be back!

Poets in Pajamas

I had so much fun being the guest poet on Poets in Pajamas on my birthday! I read a couple of favorite poems from each of my published collections, plus a couple of bonus brand new poems, and I answered questions from the live online audience. Thanks to all who tuned in and participated!

You can catch the video of my reading here: Poets in Pajamas 32: Katie Manning.

Poetry at the PCA

The week before Easter, I got to attend the annual Popular Culture Association national conference in Indianapolis. I love this conference. It’s the perfect mix of scholarship and fun, with participants inside and outside of academia. I can attend sessions on poetry and Doctor Who and games studies all in the same place. It’s glorious.

I’m the Area Chair of Poetry Studies & Creative Poetry, so I screen submissions and organize the poetry panels. It takes a chunk of time and doesn’t pay, but I love this work too. It’s a fun puzzle for me to figure out how to arrange the presentations into panels so they will speak to each other in interesting ways, and I love getting to connect with poets and poetry scholars by hosting them at this conference. I’ve met some wonderful people this way over the last four years, from undergraduate students presenting for the first time to well-established poets like Kaveh Akbar. (I was going to insert a photo, but I just took a ton of blurry photos from my crummy old phone, so just imagine a lot of people looking awesome. I’ll bring my good camera next year…)

This year, I got to present in a session called A Field Guide to Grief: Poems. Kira Dunton, Sally McGreevey Hannay, Sarah Ann Winn, and I read poems from our collections that deal with loss (of a friend, of a son, of grandparents). I wasn’t sure people would turn out for grief-based poetry, but the room filled up, and it was one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had. The audience was audibly and visibly connected with us. I saw people openly crying. The room rang with laughter in the moments when the poets’ dark humor came through. The Q&A time continued with audience members sharing very personally about their own losses and asking about when/how we’d come to write from grief. It was such a special time.

I also had the good fortune to be invited to take a side trip to South Bend on Good Friday to read with Sarah Ann Winn and Emily Capettini. Krista Cox of the Lit Literary Collective was a wonderful host. I loved hearing more of Sarah’s incredible poems from Alma Almanac, and I was so impressed with Emily’s Velma Dinkley flashes and Bloody Mary short story. Bonus features: talking and laughing with Sarah and Emily on the drive, seeing my cousin Toni who’s always lived halfway across the country from me, and eating delicious food with all of these people until the restaurant blasted loud music to make us leave at closing time.

I’m looking forward to the 2019 PCA conference in Washington, D.C.!

PCA, New Alchemy, & Unlost Journal

The end of the semester would’ve been busy enough, but we’ve also had my spouse’s surprise cancer, surgery, and chemo treatments. Although April and May haven’t been the most productive writing and publishing months for me, I do have some good poetry-related updates.

The PCA/ACA conference was wonderful as always. I loved seeing all of the poetry presentations and sharing poems from Tasty Other. I was also honored to receive the Felicia Campbell Area Chair Award!

I got to read on April 19 at the New Alchemy Poetry Series, which is newly relocated at Lestat’s West. What a cool venue, and what a great night of sharing my poems and hearing others read during the open mic.

In May, my poem “The Book of Icons” from my Bible word banking project was published in Unlost Journal.

This week, Tasty Other turned 6 months old! I joked about doing a mock-baby photo shoot with a chalkboard of fun facts about the book, but I’m not that silly (or perhaps I just don’t have the time right now… I am that silly).

Next up: I’ll be participating in a local author book signing this coming Friday, June 2, from 6-8 p.m. at Liberty Station, Barracks 16 (co-sponsored by SD Writers, Ink and Comickaze).

San Diego Readings

I loved being part of the SD Writers, Ink local author exhibit and featuring at the (Not) Dead (Yet) Poetry Society’s reading on February 3 with Ron Salisbury and Anthony Conwright.

Not Dead Yet Poetry Series - 2017

I also had a wonderful time as a featured reader for Non-Standard Lit on February 5 with Kaia Sand and Suzanne Stein. (Yes, we had a poetry reading during the Super Bowl. I did read the closest thing I have to a football poem…)

Non-Standard Lit 2017 - zoom

My next local reading will be with the New Alchemy Poetry Series on April 19 at Lestat’s Coffee House.