I thought I might collect my eight-word poems from August in chapbook form—until I discovered they took up about 140 pages or so. So… Continue reading
Announcements
Poet of the Month: S. R. Mason
For this latest entry in my series of tributes to poets I know, I celebrate and acknowledge S. R. Mason. A writer, photographer, and poet, her main outlet for poetry is her Tumblr blog, titled Think of Me As Poetry.
Love is a frequent theme in her poems. However, her protagonists do not experience love in their heads (or with their heads in the clouds), but in their bodies—tongues, eyes, ribs, fists, fingers, teeth, and so on—whether it is pain, pleasure, or indifference. Water is another element that regularly appears in her work—sometimes a benevolent, healing presence, other times an oppressor, or sometimes an object of desire.
Still in her early 20s, Steph (as you might know her if you follow her on Twitter), has a way with phrasing that you’d expect from someone my age. Or—to be more honest—that I wish I had.
On several occasions, I have found inspiration in her poems, most notably:
Ghosts that leave footprints
The past ending in an exhale
What to listen for in a cold war of visual cues.
‘Goodbye’ is a confusion we feel comfortable ignoring.’
As part of a prompt I was working from, I ended up using a line each from the last two poems in this list in poems of my own; she was kind enough to grant me permission to include them in This Is Fifty-three (the oversized volume I published last year).
As far as I know, Steph has not yet published her poems beyond her Tumblr feed; however, she is planning to publish Sugar Comma [sic], a chapbook of donut-related poems, later this year. She also occasionally posts video clips in which she reads her poems. More recently, she has begun writing music reviews for 303 Magazine.
Check out her work. You won’t regret it.
(1 August 2017)
The Smashwords Summer Sale—Final weekend!
Just three days (Saturday/Sunday/Monday) left in the Smashwords annual summer sale. All of my books are 75% off through July 31; simply click on the Buy with coupon button, or use the coupon code SSW75 at checkout.
Here are the links:
This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/717550
…but for the thoughts running through my mind
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/702209
‘Dear Wednesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695024
‘Dear Tuesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Two
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695000
This Is Fifty-three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/663864
Coffee Stains
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605573
Refusal to Remain Invisible
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574838
Quiet on the Outside…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/555023
‘Dear Monday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542407
The Imperfect Document
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528714
Journalism
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474249
Separation Anxiety
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444694
Of course, the great thing about Smashwords is that you have your choice of format: ePub or Kindle.
And don’t forget to check out the month’s other offerings from indie authors:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1
In the scripted words of the late Alan Rickman:
(28 July 2017)
2017 Poetry Marathon: It’s official
It is official! I will be participating in the half-marathon portion of the 2017 Poetry Marathon. This means that, starting with the 6 o’clock hour (Pacific time) on August 5th, I will be writing and posting a new poem every hour for twelve hours.
Although I write new poems daily, try to write more than one at a time whenever possible, and have opted for the half-marathon instead of the full marathon (which involves writing and posting a new poem every hour for twenty-four hours), this event is no small endeavor. Fortunately, the marathon takes place a week earlier this year, so there will be no need to reshuffle my schedule—last year, I skipped the earlier of the two open mics I would normally go to, then scrambled to make the second one on time.
So! On Saturday, August 5th, starting somewhere between 6 and 7 a.m. Pacific time, you can follow my progress at https://thepoetrymarathon.com/blog/kevinjoconner/, and the marathon as a whole at https://thepoetrymarathon.com/blog/. I will also post my poems on this blog, as well as on ello.
Meanwhile, on with the countdown!
(26 July 2017)
The Smashwords Summer Sale—One week to go!
Just one week left in the Smashwords annual summer sale. All of my books are 75% off through the end of July; simply click on the Buy with coupon button, or use the coupon code SSW75 at checkout.
Here are the links:
This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/717550
…but for the thoughts running through my mind
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/702209
‘Dear Wednesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695024
‘Dear Tuesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Two
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695000
This Is Fifty-three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/663864
Coffee Stains
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605573
Refusal to Remain Invisible
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574838
Quiet on the Outside…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/555023
‘Dear Monday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542407
The Imperfect Document
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528714
Journalism
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474249
Separation Anxiety
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444694
Of course, the great thing about Smashwords is that you have your choice of format: ePub or Kindle.
And don’t forget to check out the month’s other offerings from indie authors:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1
In the scripted words of the late Alan Rickman:
(24 July 2017)
The Smashwords Summer Sale—Ten days left!
Just 10 more days to go in the Smashwords annual summer sale. All of my books are 75% off through the end of July; simply click on the Buy with coupon button, or use the coupon code SSW75 at checkout.
Here are the links:
This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/717550
…but for the thoughts running through my mind
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/702209
‘Dear Wednesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695024
‘Dear Tuesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Two
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695000
This Is Fifty-three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/663864
Coffee Stains
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605573
Refusal to Remain Invisible
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574838
Quiet on the Outside…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/555023
‘Dear Monday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542407
The Imperfect Document
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528714
Journalism
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474249
Separation Anxiety
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444694
Of course, the great thing about Smashwords is that you have your choice of format: ePub or Kindle.
And don’t forget to check out the month’s other offerings from indie authors:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1
In the scripted words of the late Alan Rickman:
(21 July 2017)
Dead website
My website (not this blog) will be offline for a while. I received e-mail from my hosting service indicating my site may have been hacked. In the process of deleting the files they had disabled in the meantime, I inadvertently disabled the site to the point where I no longer have the option to restore from backup. So… I am going to start from scratch. Stay tuned…
(6 July 2017)
The Smashwords Summer Sale—through July 31st!
Smashwords is doing their annual summer sale right now. As part of it, the e-book editions of all of my books are 75% off; simply click on the Buy with coupon button, or use the coupon code SSW75 at checkout.
Here are the links:
This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/717550
…but for the thoughts running through my mind
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/702209
‘Dear Wednesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695024
‘Dear Tuesday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week, Volume Two
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/695000
This Is Fifty-three
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/663864
Coffee Stains
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605573
Refusal to Remain Invisible
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574838
Quiet on the Outside…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/555023
‘Dear Monday…’ Love Notes to the Days of the Week
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542407
The Imperfect Document
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528714
Journalism
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474249
Separation Anxiety
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444694
Of course, the great thing about Smashwords is that you have your choice of format: ePub or Kindle.
And don’t forget to check out the month’s other offerings from indie authors:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/category/1/newest/1
In the scripted words of the late Alan Rickman:
(4 July 2017)
Poet of the Month: Talicha J
This month, I celebrate Talicha J, one of the first poets I began to follow after I started actively writing poetry again. I don’t remember where I first encountered her work (it’s been about four years, after all), but I appreciate her ability to get to the heart of whatever she is writing about. Numerous times I have read something in one of her poems that perfectly captures something I have experienced.
Talicha regularly participates in slam competitions, and last year did her first tour (I was lucky to see her read at Everett Poetry Night in May 2016, and finally meet her in person (after having already been connected for a while on social media).
To date, Talicha has published one book of her poetry, Falling in Love with Picking Myself Up, and one poetry album, In the making (click on the bandcamp link below).
I strongly recommend you check her out. You won’t regret it.
Talicha J website: https://talicha-johnson.squarespace.com/
Talicha J YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbP6BNSxJvMksiY2Qa0PyA
Talicha J In the making poetry album: https://talichaj.bandcamp.com/
(1 July 2017)
Spotlight on ello
A few minor fixes (returns) are pending, but I am this week’s @ellowrites spotlight on ello: https://ello.co/ellowrites/post/ht8dodaglidj4ct9pvnjqa
(7 June 2017)
Ordinary Average Thoughts 