Announcements

Poet of the Month: Lola E. Peters

2017/10/01 — Leave a comment

Almost let this one sneak up on me again—fortunately, I made my decision a few days ago, so it was only a matter of sitting down and actually writing the post.

For this latest entry in my series of tributes to poets I know, I celebrate and acknowledge my friend Lola E. Peters. Her poems and essays have appeared in a number of anthologies, as well as on the Crosscut, Seattle Star, and South Seattle Emerald websites. She has also published two volumes of poems, Taboos and The Book of David, and a book of essays, The Truth About White People. She founded the nonprofit Poetry+Motion, which, over its five-year lifespan, brought together dancers and poets to create ‘new choreography for poems written and performed by local poets’; currently serves on the boards of Leadership Tomorrow, Seattle City Club, and Onyx Fine Arts Collective; and is a long-time member of the African-American Writers’ Alliance (AAWA).

As a poet, Lola has inspired me in two important ways: Continue reading

8: Eight-word Poems submitted for proofing

2017/09/06 — Leave a comment

I have been working quickly with this one. I spent part of today proofreading a printout, then making the necessary edits. I have already uploaded the interior and book cover PDFs for review; the next step will be proofing. Continue reading

Poet of the Month: S. R. Mason

2017/08/01 — Leave a comment

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!

2017/07/28 — Leave a comment

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

2017/07/26 — Leave a comment

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!

2017/07/24 — Leave a comment

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!

2017/07/21 — Leave a comment

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

2017/07/06 — Leave a comment

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)