Books Acquired Recently

Camp Deerpark. Forever God is Faithful: The Story of Camp Deerpark. Westbrookville, NY: Camp Deerpark/Morgantown, PA: Masthof Press, 2019.

Camp Deerpark is a camp owned by the New York City Mennonite churches. I spent lots of time there as a kid because my parents have always been heavily involved with it (my mom was the director for a few years). This year is its fiftieth anniversary, so, in true Mennonite archival fever fashion, it has published a book to commemorate the occasion. My parents sent me a copy in the mail which I look forward to reading.

The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.

I have shifted away from using MLA style in my scholarship since the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook came out because it is clearly geared toward students rather than scholars. I’ve been using Chicago style instead, and finally decided to break down and buy the seventeenth edition. I purchased it and Gundy’s book from amazon.com.

Gundy, Jeff. Without a Plea. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog Press, 2019.

I bought this book, Gundy’s latest poetry collection, as soon as it came out last month. I have already read it and it is a fascinating, thought-provoking work, definitely ranking in the top half of his poetry books.

Books Acquired Recently: AWP Edition

This morning I got back from the 2019 Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Portland. It was a fantastic time! I saw some authors that I love and encountered some new writers whose work I cannot wait to check out.

As usual when I go to conferences, the bookfair was a highlight of the trip. AWP’s gigantic bookfair is legendary. It is, frankly, overwhelming, even for a hardcore bibliophile/book-buying addict such as myself. I acquired 17 books. I was able to get Awkward-Rich’s, Berggrun’s, Chee’s, Chen’s, Davis’s, Dawn’s, Dentz’s, and Tedesco’s signed. Note that all of the books except Chee’s are published by small independent presses, which are more important to support than ever. I bought most of the books from the publishers themselves, but I got Awkward-Rich’s, Chee’s, Chen’s, and Smith’s from the Powell’s display at the center of the fair. Powell’s handed out free commemorative tote bags and pins with purchases from their booth, both neat souvenirs.

I also bought a Walt Whitman Brooklyn Poets t-shirt–I couldn’t resist. I also wanted to get the Audre Lorde shirt, but they were a bit pricey ($25.60 each) so I will have to get it another time.

Awkward-Rich, Cameron. Sympathetic Little Monster. Los Angeles: Ricochet Editions, 2016.

Berggrun, Chase. Red. Minneapolis: Birds, LLC, 2018.

This book is an erasure poem created from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula.

Chee, Alexander. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays. Boston: Mariner Books, 2018.

Chen, Ching-In. The Heart’s Traffic: A Novel in Poems. Los Angeles: Arktoi Books, 2009.

Dangarembga, Tsitsi. This Mournable Body. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

Davis, Todd. Some Heaven: Poems. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2007.

Dawn, Amber. How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013.

Dentz, Shira. the sun a blazing zero. New Orleans: Lavender Ink, 2018.

Hopkinson, Nalo. Report from Planet Midnight Plus…. Oakland: PM Press, 2012.

Jih, Tristan Allen, and Adam Vines. Day Kink: Poems. Greensboro, NC: Unicorn Press, 2018.

Le Guin, Ursula K. “The Wild Girls” Plus…. Oakland: PM Press, 2011.

Sato, Hiroaki. On Haiku. New York: New Directions, 2018.

Scenters-Zapico, Natalie. Lima:: Limón. Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, 2019.

Smith, Danez. Don’t Call Us Dead: Poems. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2017.

Soto, Christopher, ed. Nepantla: An Anthology for Queer Poets of Color. New York: Nightboat Books, 2018.

Tedesco, Adam. Mary Oliver. Fruita, CO: Lithic Press, 2019.

This is a book of poems about Oliver. Meta!

Tovar, Virgie. You Have the Right to Remain Fat. New York: Feminist Press, 2018.

Books Acquired Recently: Birthday Edition

I turned 39 on Thursday and got two books as gifts.

Choi, Franny. Floating, Brilliant, Gone. Austin, TX: Write Bloody Publishing, 2014.

I tore through this collection over the past two days. It is excellent! Feminist and queer. One neat feature is that some of the poems are illustrated; it’s neo-Blakean.

Dunn, Mark. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters. 2001. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.

I have not heard of Mark Dunn but the title of this book is quite intriguing.

Books Acquired Recently

I’m currently working on a memoir project that is in large part about my Mennonite upbringing. I bought all three of these books as resources.

Caws, Peter, and Stefani Jones, eds. Religious Upbringing and the Costs of Freedom: Personal and Philosophical Essays. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.

MacKendrick, Karmen. Failing Desire. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2018.

Remer, Molly. She Lives Her Poems: Moments from a Year in the Forest. N.p.: Brigid’s Grove, 2018.

Books Acquired Recently

Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. 25th Anniversary Edition. New York: TarcherPerigree, 2016.

A colleague is working through the exercises in this book and recommended it to me. I have been thinking more and more about writing as a kind of spiritual discipline over the past year and look forward to reading this book as a resource in that journey. I bought it at Northshire Bookstore before the Laymon reading last night (discussed below).

Huber, Sonya. The “Backwards” Research Guide for Writers: Using Your Life for Reflection, Connection, and Inspiration. Sheffield, UK: Equinox Publishing, 2011.

A colleague recommended this textbook to me because I teach personal writing in my composition classes, so I ordered an examination copy. I think it might be helpful for my own writing as well.

Laymon, Kiese. Heavy: An American Memoir. 2018. New York: Scribner, 2019.

I saw Laymon read last night at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, New York, and he was amazing! He was kind and insightful during the question and answer session after the reading. I had heard good things about him before but have not yet read any of his work. I bought a copy of his latest book and he graciously inscribed it for me.

Nelson, Maggie. The Latest Winter. 2003. London: Zed Books, 2018.

I love Nelson’s memoir The Argonauts, but have not read any of her poetry. While browsing before Laymon’s reading last night I came across this collection and decided to check it out.

Books Acquired Recently

Brautigan, Richard. Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, So the Wind Won’t Blow It All Away: (Three Books in the Manner of Their First Editions). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

I received this omnibus edition of three of Brautigan’s books as a Valentine’s Day present. The only book by Brautigan that I’ve read is Trout Fishing in America, and that was about 17 years ago, so it will be good to have a fresh dive into his work.

Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2014.

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2014.

Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2014.

Some friends and I have recently started playing Dungeons & Dragons (yes, dear reader, it was possible for me to get even more nerdy). After completing our first adventure, we decided that we want to continue playing, so I decided to buy the box set of playing manuals. I purchased these, Williams’s, and Womack’s books from amazon.com.

Williams, David. When the English Fall. 2017. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2018.

This is a novel about how the Amish fare after an apocalyptic natural event. It sounds like a similar premise as Leigh Brackett’s science fiction classic The Long Tomorrow, which assumes that Mennonites will come to prominence after the fall of current American society because they are used to living simply without modern technology. Williams’s biographical statement says he is a Presbyterian, but in his author photo he is wearing an Amish-style beard, so I wonder if he is ex-Amish or has Amish ancestry.

Womack, Ytasha L. Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 2013.

My current research project is about two African American speculative fiction writers, Samuel R. Delany and Sofia Samatar, so I thought I should do some reading about Afrofuturism, which I know a little about, but not much.

Books Acquired Recently

Davis, Todd. Native Species. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2019.

Davis is a former professor of mine and he also kindly blurbed my new book. Native Species is his six full-length collection of poetry. I bought it directly from the publisher.

Gallop, Jane. Anecdotal Theory. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002.

I loved Gallop’s most recent book, Sexuality, Disability, and Aging, in which she discusses her earlier book Anecdotal Theory. The latter work sounds like it is relevant for my current project so I bought a copy from amazon.com’s network of independent booksellers.

Giovanni, Nikki. A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter. 2017. New York: William Morrow, 2018.

I received this signed copy from a friend who attended Giovanni’s reading at Colgate University earlier this week. I enjoy Giovanni’s work–I have one of her poems on my office door–but have not read any of her recent stuff, so I am looking forward to diving into this volume.

Whitman, Walt. “Leaves of Grass” and Other Writings. Edited by Michael Moon. New York: W.W. Norton, 2002.

I love Whitman, and thus ordered this exam copy from the publisher in order to read its paratext.

Books Acquired Recently

Kuhn, Gabriel. Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics. 2nd ed. 2018. Oakland: PM Press, 2019.

I received an advert about this book from the publisher and ordered it immediately because I was able to get 50% off so it was only $10.00. A steal!

Peters, Torrey. The Masker. N.p.: CreateSpace, 2016.

I loved Peters’s other novella Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones so much that I ordered this one from amazon.com (I wanted to order it directly from her, but her website says she’s on vacation) as soon as I finished it. I can’t wait to read it!

Books Acquired Recently

Bellatin, Mario. The Large Glass: Three Autobiographies. Trans. David Shook. Los Angeles: Phoneme Media, 2015.

I heard about Bellatin, whose work is mostly only available in Spanish, at MLA a few weeks ago and he sounded intriguing, so I decided to buy the one book of his I could find in English. I bought this and Muñoz’s book from amazon.com’s network of independent booksellers.

Gallop, Jane. Sexuality, Disability, and Aging: Queer Temporalities of the Phallus. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019.

I received an email advertising this book from the publisher and ordered it immediately because it sounds like it relates to some issues I am currently encountering in my personal life.

Muñoz, Manuel. Zigzagger: Stories. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2003.

As I have written in this space before, I have recently been researching the queer-Latinx intersection. I encountered a reference to Muñoz’s collection during this research and decided to buy it.

Books Acquired Recently: Post-Holiday Edition

I’ve begun receiving books in the mail (all of the books in this post were ordered via amazon.com) that I have ordered as a result of my literary experiences over the winter break. I received Knecht’s other novel (Who is Vera Kelly?) as a gift and loved it, so decided to order her first book, and I heard about Awkward-Rich’s and Peters’s books last week at MLA.

Awkward-Rich, Cameron. Transit. Minneapolis: Button Poetry/Exploding Pinecone Press, 2015.

Knecht, Rosalie. Relief Map. Portland: Tin House Books, 2016.

Peters, Torrey. Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones. N.p.: CreateSpace, 2016.

Peters has her MFA from the University of Iowa and has published in a number of prestigious journals, but writes in her “About the Author” statement that “she’s trans, and has concluded that the publishing industry doesn’t serve trans women. So now, she just wants to give her work away for free to other trans girls.” This is a powerful political choice that makes the argument that literature has the power to change lives and that this possibility is more important than furthering one’s literary career via traditional venues. I read through Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones earlier today in one sitting and loved it; Peters is certainly not self-publishing due to a lack of writing skill. You can read more about her work at her website, http://www.torreypeters.com/.