SO STOKED FOR THIS

WOOOOOOOOOOO

So stoked for the return of Vouched Presents! So stoked to see Heather Christle and Benjamin Hersey read! So stoked to be on the lineup! So stoked to see you there!

here are some quick thoughts about last monday's vouched presents dogzplot reading

1. i got to help chris run the table and it was super cool to be able to talk about these books to another human being in a way that's not just me tugging on my friends' shirt saying LISTEN TO ME. when people ask questions and you know the answer and furthermore want to give the answer it's a mighty nice feeling.

2. sunnyoutside press makes some gorgeous books.

3. indy-based scratchtruck fed me one of the best burger-fry combos i've ever had. Scratch Burger- 1/3 lb custom ground burger, bacon marmalade, arugula and gorgonzola cheese served on a fresh, toasted soft roll. oh and that banana pudding!

4. a lot of readers with three to five minutes each is a nice way to shake things up. quick and fun. similar to why i dig lit journals so much. if you don't like it, wait it'll be over in a minute and then someone new.

5. i love listening roxane gay read. can't wait for ayiti. hope there's an audiobook.

6. picked up hosho mccreesh's book as well as sean lovelace's new one from publishing genius. i doubt they'll make it into august being unread.

7. layne ransom is awful.

8. clark swears its an acquired taste, but i'm no fan of ipas. i can do one but after that it felt like i've been sleeping with my mouth open in the middle of the woods. if it's an acquired taste, i'm not gonna let myself get there.

9. vouched books is indie lit's best I WISH I'D THOUGHT OF THAT ventures.

10. i'm so stoked for AWP CHICAGO. PLAN SOON?

ANOTHER READING WOOOOO

Some very cool people including Roxane Gay, Sean Lovelace, Matt Mullins, Layne Ransom, and Brian Furuness are reading at this, so it only makes sense to be there. More Info Here.

Vouched Reading: 5/15/11

Another excellent Vouched Presents... Reading put on by the super cool Christopher Newgent. Two of my (former) professors at Ball State University, Jill Christman and Peter Davis, read, along with Ball State grad Kyle Winkler and touring poet Michael Shiavo. As usual, a really fun reading to be in attendance for.

I hadn't heard of Kyle until Christopher vouched this story a short while back. I dig this piece a bunch. Kyle introduced himself to me after the reading, and he seemed like an enthusiastic, good dude. Though he is not on Facebook (?).

Michael Shiavo, whom I'd read poems from around the web and printworld, read from a couple of his books along with some new pieces. I really dig the idea using found text and erasures like he did for many of these pieces, though not all of his work stuck with me. He does have a new chapbook out from Forklift, which is a great press.

Jill Christman read an essay called "The Margarita Game," which was published in Barrelhouse awhile back. It was a surprisingly, yet fantastic piece, about being a grad student, figuring out relationships, and growing up. For some reason, I have never seen Jill read, nor have I read her book, Darkroom, which is certainly in my to-read pile this summer.

Peter Davis read from his two books and some new poems. He is always a riot with a strong undercurrent of AWWWYEAHMAN. I count myself lucky to have had a poetry workshop with him.

Well, I just wanted to say HEY I WENT THERE AND THIS WAS COOL. So I did.

THINGS THAT CAN REALLY MAKE ME FEEL BETTER THIS WEEK

The 2011 Issue of the Broken Plate (More on this later.)

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A wackyweirdstressfulconfrontationaladjusting week weaved with good words is nice.

Tuesday, a few of my friends--Ryan Rader, Ashley Ford, and Cody Sean Davis--read at one of my favorite bars, Be Here Now.

Cody read a few things including his poem "Virgin," which is gonna be in the 2011 Broken Plate, and a short story, which I saw an earlier draft of and man his edits blew me away. LANGUAGE TIGHTENED IS LANGUAGE USED.

Among other things, Ashley read this powerful story about her brother wearing her clothes. I'm stoked that Ashley will be reading at the next Vouched Presents... reading on March 26th. It'll be nice to see her get an outside-of-Muncie audience for her strong personality.

Ryan released two chapbook, one of which I've blogged about before, and another, First Rodeo, that features himself, Shaun Gannon, Jeremy Bauer, Joe Betz, Joe McHugh, and Daniel Bailey. I read First Rodeo on the bus this morning; having read/heard several of these pieces before, it was awesome to see them packed together in this nice-for-reading-on-the-bus collection. Ryan's poem "Self-Portrait at 21" is killer associations and images. I WAS IN AN ODD MOOD THAT NIGHT BUT IT WAS FUN.

I haven't read in a while and I miss it.

Last night, super pal Layne got to open for a Faculty Reading here at Ball State, featuring Cathy Day and Matt Mullins. Of course, she ruled. She'll be reading again, for longer, as the winner of last Fall's Writers Gala, at the Gala Winners Reading on March 1st.

I'd never seen Cathy or Matt read, but they were both excellent readers. Matt read a mix of poems and short stories, some stories which will be in his forthcoming book from Atticus Books, as well as showing a poem/video thing he's been working on called Highway Coda. Really dug the feel of the video. Also, his reading approach matched his content so well. Excited to be going to read with him (AND LAYNE) at the Slash Pine Festival in Alabama later this semester.

Cathy Day's approach, like RESEARCH HEAVY and mashing lives/stories/etc., is so impressive. The book she read from seems more Sara's style, but definitely an interesting writing project.

Odd writing related thing of the day: My former professor Michael Meyerhofer just walked in here, I'M AT WORK SHHHH, and had me sign as a witness for his contract in which he won ANOTHER book contest. I won't give details. I don't know if I'm allowed, but SWEET.

I've also been doing a good deal of reading. In addition to the Dickman book (see previous post) and First Rodeo, I had the pleasure to read Come On All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder. While sometimes, my eyes pulled away in the middle, a little loose at times, the tightest moments were emotional associations and cool images. Take Dobby's Sweatshirt. OH MY GOODNESS.

Also, I Vouched Brian Oliu's story in the new kill author. WOAH-WEE the pile of sentences buried me a little then I was all hugging it with my lit-reading arms to never let it go. Also also, Oliu is coming to Ball State in two weeks for the Alabama-BSU exchange. SWEEEEEEEEEEET.

TWO QUICK WORD THINGS

1. January Smalldoggies/Vouched Satellite post up! I was like, HEY WONDER WHAT SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO READ ONLINE, so I asked. Read my explanation and their answers here. COOL PEOPLE INCLUDING: Vouched Books/Vouched Presents contributors, Smalldoggies editor Matty Byloos, Matt Bell , Peter Davis , and Ryan Ridge. THANKS

2. I DONT KNOW WHY ANYONE IN THE INDY AREA WOULDNT COME TO THIS READING

THIS WILL PROBABLY BE THE BEST READING EVER

Stoked Things

Spent all yesterday in Ft. Wayne with major pals like Sara, Tyler F., and Cody D. Big fun watching cool bands like the return of In The Face of War, a comforting set by Frank Schweikhardt, and another killer performance by Husband&Wife. It was a big all day fest (WE DIDNT MAKE IT ALL DAY=MISSED JOOKABOX, though we were there 11:30 am to 10:30 pm.). The sound quality was great, the crowd was cool, the venue was a sweet pizza place called Pint and Slice (AWESOME NAME HUH?).

In The Face Of War is calling it quits on May 7th, a show featuring a Recovery reunion by Away With Vega. I'm not sure I can handle that much stuff in one show. Last ITFOW show + Vega reunion might be the crumpling of me that would last all summer. I'm not kidding.

Husband&Wife has a new album out called Proud Flesh. This was the first time I've seen them since I saw them play at VGR right after the release. Oh gracious, it's rock n' roll beauty. I can't get these jams out of my head like "I'm completely unaware of the market for grumpy old men trapped inside the bodies of 25 year old kids" and stuff like that. One gripe: the liner notes are in webdigs or winddings or dingdongs or whatever you call them, which is like ha funny then annoying because I might be wrong on lyrics and look silly (see above). Anyways, they just released it on LP too. I passed on it last night, but I have a feeling I'll own it soon.

Last night, I realized there is the Mother of All Shows 5 in January with a lot of the same bands. It's in Muncie and cheaper ($6<$10), but still I'm glad I saw this show. I needed that ITFOW set to rejuvenate me for Finals and the possibly lonely winter break.

Next thing to be super excited about: Vouched Presents Matt Bell, Aaron Burch, Sean Lovelace, Andy Devine. I've never seen Matt or Aaron read and both dudes wail on the page, so I'm stoked for that. Also, be nice to see my buddy Matt again and catch up. Also, Lovelace is a cool writer/reader. Also also, I hear Andy Devine is the coolest person anyone has ever met. Also also also, Vouched is a killer thing that my pal Christopher Newgent has started, and I'm lucky enough to be an Online Contributor. YES THANKS.

I've decided no AWP this year. One, the initial (re)interest came from a cancellation of my trip to Alabama at the beginning of April for Slash Pine Poetry Festival as part of an Alabama/BSU exchange, but that's back on. With the location and the money going to that fest, I'm gonna wait until Chicago next year for AWP. I'm sad to be missing Bob Hicok, Kevin Young, etc. and the sweet readings/bookfair, but DECISIONS MUST BE MADE. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice and info on that decision.

Another thing I'm stoked about is Chicklitz. This is a group of female BSU writers who write some fun and cool words. They're putting out a chapbook, doing a reading, and now having this blog. It's nice to see people GO FOR IT.

I'm not sure what this post says. I'm thinking it says that I have a nice life.