Books Acquired Recently

Fitzpatrick, Cat. The Call-Out: A Novel in Rhyme. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2022.

I saw on Twitter (which I hope sticks around for the sake of the literary community) that Fitzpatrick was having a release event for this novel at McNally Jackson‘s seaport location this past Wednesday. I love the pieces of Fitzpatrick’s work that I’ve previously encountered, especially her anthology of trans speculative fiction co-edited with Casey Plett, Meanwhile, Elsewhere, so I registered for the event immediately and of course bought the book.

Piepzna-Samarasinha, Leah Lakshmi. The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2022.

I love Piepzna-Samarasinha’s work, so was very excited to hear that they recently had a new book come out.

Books Acquired Recently

Chee, Alexander, ed. The Best American Essays 2022. Boston: Mariner, 2022.

I always buy The Best American Essays, and saw that this year’s editor, Alexander Chee (whose work I love), was celebrating its release with a reading alongside some contributors at Book Culture the other night. So I bought my copy there and got it signed by Chee and the other readers.

Myles, Eileen, ed. Pathetic Literature: An Anthology. New York: Grove Press, 2022.

The above-mentioned reading was my first time at Book Culture, so I did some browsing while I was there (always a dangerous activity for my wallet!). This 600-page anthology initially caught my eye because I love Myles’s work, and then because of its intriguing title. Sure enough, the table of contents revealed many of my favorite writers (Samuel R. Delany, Dodie Bellamy, Kathy Acker, and Lucille Clifton, for starters), so I bought it!

Tea, Michelle. The Chelsea Whistle: A Memoir. 2002. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2022.

I enjoy Tea’s work but haven’t read much of her older writing. I was revising some writing that discusses Casey Plett’s short story collection A Safe Girl to Love, which takes its title from The Chelsea Whistle. I thought to myself, “hmm, maybe I should get around to reading that.” I found a used copy in good shape for a good price online, and it arrived a few days ago.

Writing Activity, October 2022

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of the pandemic (Which is still going on! Keep wearing masks!), and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled writer of color because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

3. Had a senryu published in Dawn Returns: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2022: “sunbeam / on the cat / on the poetry shelf.”

4. Submitted a personal essay to a journal and had it rejected.

5. Had a review of Casey Plett’s short story collection A Dream of a Woman published in the Journal of Mennonite Studies.

6. Had another personal essay rejected by a journal.

7. Had a haiku published in Modern Haiku: “Memorial Day / embers / another mass shooting.”

8. Had a senryu published in Frogpond: “morning petrichor / the ambulance / splatters a puddle.”

9. Continued to work on my MFA thesis/memoir and got feedback on two chapters from my advisor.

Books Acquired Recently

Cain, Amina. A Horse at Night: On Writing. St. Louis: Dorothy, a Publishing Project, 2022.

I’ve read a few short pieces by Cain and was excited when I found out she had this book coming out. My pre-ordered copy just arrived.

Hillman, Brenda. In a Few Minutes Before Later. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2022.

I am teaching this poetry collection this semester. It was released a few days ago and I just received my pre-ordered copy.

Kobabe, Maia. Gender Queer: A Memoir. Deluxe Edition. Portland: Oni Press, 2022.

I recently heard about this often-banned book, and decided to buy it as an action against such censorious attitudes.

Books Acquired Recently: Mennonite/s Writing Edition

This past weekend I attended the ninth Mennonite/s [sic] Writing conference. It was held at my alma mater, Goshen College, so I got to see some good friends in a nostalgic setting. Of course I bought lots of books at the excellent bookfair, which was arranged by Fables Books.

Beck, Ervin. Joe Wright (1879-1972): Goshen Folk Hero. Goshen, IN: Goshen Historical Society/Pinchpenny Press, 1988.

Braun, Connie T. “Silentium” and Other Reflections on Memory, Sorrow, Place, and the Sacred. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2017.

Davis, Todd. Coffin Honey. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2022.

Klassen, S.L. Menno-Nightcaps: Cocktails Inspired by That Odd Ethno-Religious Group You Keep Mistaking for the Amish, Quakers, or Mormons. Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions, 2021.

Miller, Evie Yoder. Passages: Scruples on the Line Book III. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, 2021.

Ratzlaff, Keith. Who’s Asking? Poems. Tallahassee, FL: Anhinga Press, 2020.

Samatar, Sofia. The White Mosque: A Memoir. New York: Catapult Books, 2022.

Unger, Andrew. The Best of the Bonnet. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2021.

Han, John J., ed. Dawn Returns: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2022. N.p.: Haiku Society of America, 2022.

The Haiku Society of America’s annual members’ anthology was waiting for me upon my return home. I have a poem in it: “sunbeam / on the cat / on the poetry shelf.” So the anthology also includes some Mennonite literature!

Writing Activity, September 2022

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of the pandemic (Which is still going on! Keep wearing masks!), and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled writer of color because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

3. Sent two chapters of my MFA thesis (a.k.a. my memoir) to my advisor and continued to work on the thesis.

4. Received one of Paragraph‘s MFA residencies.

5. Submitted a personal essay to a journal.

6. Had another personal essay rejected by a journal.

7. Had two poems included in the first issue of Heterodox Haiku.

8. Attended and presented at the ninth Mennonite/s Writing conference, which was held in Goshen, Indiana.

Books Acquired Recently

I was in Manhattan to run a necessary but quick errand on 14th Street today, and thought I might as well stop by the Strand while I was in the neighborhood to make the trip more worthwhile. I bought these four books, all of which I’ve had my eye on. It was nice to buy them from an independent bookshop.

Berrigan, Ted. Get the Money! Collected Prose (1961-1983). Edited by Edmund Berrigan, Anselm Berrigan, Alice Notley, and Nick Sturm. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2022.

Chen, Chen. Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency: Poems. Rochester, NY: BOA Editions, 2022.

Gomez, Edgar. High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir. New York: Soft Skull Press, 2022.

Rivera, Gabby. Juliet Takes a Breath. Illustrated by Celia Moscote. Los Angeles: Boom! Box, 2021.

Snow, Cassandra, and Siri Vincent Plouff. Lessons from the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth. Newburyport, MA: Weiser Books, 2022.

Earlier this week, I received Cassandra Snow’s new book, which I had pre-ordered. She is one of my favorite tarot writers, so I look forward to reading it!

Books Acquired Recently

Gentili, Cecilia. Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist. Brooklyn: LittlePuss Press, 2022.

I had pre-ordered this book that, according to its blurb, “reinvents the trans memoir, putting it squarely back between the writer and her various enemies.” Very Frank O’Hara/Personism-esque! My copy came in the mail yesterday.

Smith, Tracy K., ed. The Best American Poetry 2021. New York: Scribner Poetry, 2021.

Zapruder, Matthew, ed. The Best American Poetry 2022. New York: Scribner Poetry, 2022.

As I mention here, I decided I should start reading The Best American Essays every year. I’ve decided the same about The Best American Poetry, and went to buy the 2021 edition. When doing so, I discovered that the 2022 edition is already out (it comes out two months earlier than the Essays!), so I bought it too.

Books Acquired Recently

Abdelmahmoud, Elamin. Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces. New York: Ballantine Books, 2022.

I read about this book in an article in Poets & Writers and was intrigued by its subtitle. I’ve been struggling with the form of my own memoir (Is it essays? Is it a single narrative?), so I decided to buy Abdelmahmoud’s to see if I could learn anything from its form.

Snediker, Michael D. Contingent Figure: Chronic Pain and Queer Embodiment. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2021.

A friend of mine gave me this book after she found out that I am interested in queer disability studies. The blurb says that the book “Juxtapos[es] close readings […] with candid autobiographical accounts,” a hybrid form that my work also engages in.

Vallese, Joe, ed. It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror. New York: Feminist Press, 2022.

I know the editor of this anthology, and my pre-ordered copy just arrived!

Writing Activity, August 2022

Since January 2021, I’ve been keeping a list of my writing activity for each month (here’s last month’s). I do so partly as a form of encouragement for myself to show that I am still able to do some writing despite the energy-sucking terrors of the pandemic (Which is still going on! Keep wearing masks!), and partly as an archive that I can look back on in the future. As such, I will include negative happenings (e.g., receiving rejections), not just positive ones.

I think that it is important for me to share my list publicly as a queer disabled writer of color because mainstream discourse tries to either pretend voices such as mine do not exist or actively tries to suppress them. Whether one is part of a marginalized group or not, writing is an essential act of resistance in these terrible times, so I hope that my list offers encouragement to others.

The list is basically in chronological order.

1. Wrote a haiku or senryu on most mornings.

2. Submitted ten poems to Kingfisher and had two accepted.

3. Worked on revisions to my memoir.

4. Had a poem accepted by Frogpond.

5. Submitted three poems to Heterodox Haiku and had two accepted. It was a good month for haiku after a long dry spell!

6. Had a personal essay rejected by two journals and submitted it to another journal.

7. Updated the Mennonite/s Writing Bibliographies.

8. Began the third semester of my MFA program.