Had a great time last week speaking to the Poets of Tarrant County on pushing the boundaries of formal poetry. Such an enthusiastic, talented group! And I was flattered to receive from them a stunning azalea in honor of Naomi Stroud Simmons. I really look forward to crossing paths with this group again. They’ve got a GREAT thing going. For anyone interested, check out their monthly meetings at the historic Thomas Place Community Center.
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I was very fortunate today to have the chance to speak to the Poetry Society of Texas at their monthly meeting. I always love getting the chance to visit with my friends in the PST and share works and ideas. I was happy to donate a copy of my 2018 William D. Barney Chapbook Contest winning book, What Happens When We Leave, to the PST's permanent collection. My talk focused on current events poetry, which is a field I have only recently begun to explore since I was inspired to write about Hurricane Harvey. What Happens When We Leave contains several current events poems, including pieces published by Poets Reading the News and Rattle: Poets Respond, so it was a good tool to use to illustrate my approach to this subject. I spoke on the challenges of writing poetry that won't be so tied to the present that it becomes irrelevant in the future. To overcome this, I discussed selecting inspirational material from the "back pages" of the newspaper, as opposed to the big, overwhelming stories on the front pages. It is easier, I think, to find something of ourselves in these quieter, quirkier stories, something that can speak more to the human condition and less to the politics and passions that are so hard to constrain in a poem. I spoke on using unique perspectives to create a current events story, approaching a topic tangentially. And I spoke on the ways to approach a news poem: as an objective observer, as an interpreter of events, or with a narrative retelling or a narrative frame. I was also very happy to learn about the next Barney award winner, Robert Schinzer and his manuscript Westbound 380. Robert read several pieces from his award-winning manuscript, and I am very much looking forward to seeing his book come to life. Congrats, Robert! photo credit: JDarrel Kirkley photo credit: JDarrel Kirkley photo credit: JDarrel Kirkley Robert Schinzer reading from his Barney award-winning manuscript Westbound 380. Photo credit: Steve Sanders What a Friday the 13th! I had a wonderful time today at the Poetry Society of Texas's annual summer conference in Waco. The theme for this year’s conference was “Building Bridges,” a play off the beautiful bridges that span the Brazos in our host city. This was my first PST conference, and I was invited to read as the winner of the 2018 William D. Barney Memorial Chapbook contest. I enjoyed insightful presentations by Joyce and Michael Gullickson, Dwight Gray, and Anne McCrady. It was great to talk to Anne, in particular, a writer whose work I much admire and a friend who has agreed to write a blurb for my new chapbook. I also got the opportunity to meet Diane Glancy, a Pushcart Prize-winning poet who judged the Barney contest. I even recorded some readings for a compilation CD Steve Sanders is putting together under his imprint Seadog Studios. (Steve will also be publishing my chap under his Blackbead Books imprint.) Steve and his crew do fantastic work backing elegant readings with music and sound effects, and I cannot wait to hear how those turn out. While my chapbook, What Happens When We Leave, was not quite ready to bring along in time for the conference, I enjoyed reading from my manuscript to a highly engaged and packed house. Thanks to Anne for taking some photos. Thanks to Diane for seeing promise in my chap. Thanks to Steve for undertaking so much work to bring my chap to life. And thanks to the PST—and in particular the Heart of Texas chapter—for inviting me out. It was a blast, and I hope I can make it to Denton for next year’s conference. Below is the conference program and anthology, which includes my poem "Tractor."
What a memorable night! On October 20, I read as part of the Pandora's Box Poetry Showcase at Deep Vellum Books in Dallas. It's a very high-energy reading series right in the heart of Deep Ellum, thanks to the charismatic Pandora's Box crew and the welcoming venue. Deep Vellum is a cool space with a marker on the facade commemorating Leadbelly's presence in the area. Needless to say, this old blues geek felt right at home. Met some new friends and connected with some old ones. Really enjoyed sharing the stage with Craig Nydick. To cap it all off we were treated to the Pandora's Box ever popular third annual breadcrumbs cycle of poems featuring Paul Koniecki, Christopher Soden, Gayle Reaves, Mark Nobel, Logen Cure, Lisa Huffaker (as read by Kendra Greene), Dan Collins, and Joe Milazzo (as read by Tom Farris). So much thanks to Gayle Reaves for the invitation and to Paul Koniecki, Dan Collins, and the rest of the crew and audience for making me feel so welcome.
What's more, my tribal media outlet was there to feature me and my new chapbook. It was truly an honor and a very humbling experience to be a voice for creative arts within the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and to share my vision and work with the rest of the tribal network. I hope I was able to reach a few aspiring Choctaw writers and perhaps motivate them to pursue their craft. Reporter Kendra Germany and video tech Payton Guthrie did a fantastic job with the Chahta Stories segment here. I hope you enjoy it.
Wow! What a great event this past Sunday at Malvern Books. Shan and I rolled into Austin on Saturday night, leaving D/FW right after I finished coaching our daughter's soccer game. Crazy to see how things have changed in our old stomping grounds. The little Crestview bungalow we owned around the time we were starting our life together has undergone some major renovation, and there were whole sections of town we didn't recognize. But the more things change, the more they, well, you know. Hoovers was still open and still serving amazing home-cooked fare. We stuffed ourselves, drove all around town reminiscing, and then headed back to the hotel for a Nightmare on Elm Street marathon into the wee hours.
Sunday morning found us consuming a liquid breakfast all Bukowski-style at Fuzzy's before heading to the reading at Malvern. I had never set foot in the store before, but had kept up with it on social media for a long time. What a terrific place. Great reading space, great staff, and a great selection of independent publications. They went all out to promote the event. I am very thankful for their hard work in helping me promote my little book. The reading itself went well. Judy Jensen, who was recommended to me as a co-reader, opened things up and was brilliant, introducing a visual element to her series on Frida Kahlo by circulating pictures during the reading. Judy is so awesome: under her letterpress printing Float Press imprint, she made a stack of hand-numbered postcards commemorating the reading, using her 1908 Golding Jobber #6. They included my poem "West of Key West" and featured an awesome drawing of a ghost crab on the front and back. I am so grateful to her for this wonderful gesture. Next, dear friend and mentor Ken Fontenot followed up and read several fantastic pieces, some of which I recognized and some of which were new to my ears. It's always a delight and honor to share the stage with Ken. Then, I went on, reading several selections from the chapbook and a few new pieces such as my Ozzy Osbourne poem that is slated to appear in the forthcoming as-yet-unnamed anthology from Dos Gatos Press, the next installment in their Poetry of the Southwest series. I sold a few books, made some new friends, reconnected with some old friends, had a nice talk with Kurt Heinzelman (the former director of the UT Creative Writing Program), and even picked up a copy of Karla K. Morton's New and Selected Poems from the TCU Press Texas Poet Laureate series. We enjoyed some knock-out Larb Gai at Thai Kitchen before heading home. Thanks to all who came out. For those who could not make it, check out the video graciously filmed by Malvern staff. I look forward to doing it all over again at my D/FW book launch at the Benbrook Public Library on October 13. video of Judy Jensen at Malvern Books for the launch of J. Todd Hawkins's Ten Counties Away video of Ken Fontentot at Malvern Books for the launch of J. Todd Hawkins's Ten Counties Away video of Todd Hawkins at Malvern Books for the launch of his book Ten Counties Away Last night, Shannon and I went to the final reading in support of the Dallas Poets Community’s new anthology of DFW poets titled Cattlemen and Cadillacs. It was held at the Benbrook Public Library, which I thank for having us back after the first C&C reading there back in September. As with the previous Benbrook reading, the lineup was awesome, and I was humbled to participate. I enjoyed hearing Patricia Ferguson, Mike Baldwin, Michelle Hartman, Travis Blair, Ann Howells, and the others who attended. And it was good to read a few new pieces of mine and try out some haibun I had never read publicly before. Haibun pose distinct reading challenges, and I plan on reading several at my upcoming feature in March, so it was good to get the chance to play with some methods. Thanks too (again) to Ann, who edited the anthology and put these readings together, and to Susan Vogel, for hosting the event. Speaking of Ann Howells, I won one of the door prizes at the reading (whoo-hoo!) and was able to snag her latest collection, Under a Lone Star. It had been sitting on my Amazon wish list for months, but I hadn’t quite had the funds to move it into my shopping cart. So I was really glad to finally get a copy. I highly recommend it. A collection of short, pithy verses, all using Texas as subject matter and each accompanied by a really nice illustration by J. Darrell Kirkley (who also did the cover art for Cattlemen & Cadillacs). Each piece is a treat. You’ll want to buy a couple of copies… it would make a terrific gift for poetry lovers and fans of the Lone Star State. I look forward to having a chance to read at this well-supported venue again soon. Terrific reading last night at the Benbrook Public Library in support of the new anthology of DFW poets titled Cattlemen and Cadillacs. I brought out almost the whole crew: Shan, my son, and my parents. In fact, I think it was the first poetry reading my folks had ever been to. So, I’m glad that the event was so well attended and that the readers were of such a high caliber. Logen Cure, Travis Blair, Lewisville Poet Laureate Paul Holcomb, and many others were fantastic. It was a great group and a fun event, and I enjoyed talking to folks afterwards about poetry, music, and the scene in DFW. I also got my hands on my contributors copy of C&C. It’s a very impressive anthology featuring a couple of Texas Poets Laureate and many other acclaimed local writers. I really appreciate the work of the Dallas Poets Community and specifically editor Ann Howells in putting this collection together as well as their efforts to bring attention to the wealth of poetic talent in this part of state. The poetry circles in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston all receive a ton of (well-deserved) attention, and I’m glad a concerted effort is being made to shine a light on writers up here, too. Though it’s hard for me living out in the "provinces" of Southern Tarrant/Northern Johnson Counties, I’m looking forward to getting a little more connected with these folks in the future. I enjoy their words and what they are doing from an organizational standpoint. Contact Ann Howells through the Dallas Poets Community to get your hands on one of these anthologies, and go looking for the publications of the individual contributors, because these poets are really leading the charge. |
J. Todd Hawkins
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