New Flashes

Cathy Smith Bowers, co-host of Wordplay for the monthly Laureate's Radio Hour, will be reading at Queens University in Charlotte tonight. The event marks the publication of her book Like Shining from Shook Foil, a selection of poems from her four previous collections, augmented by a score of previously uncollected poems, including two which appeared in the past year. Press 53 is the publisher, and Tom Lombardo, the press's poetry editor, a former student of Bowers, selected the work included and wrote the introduction. It's available now from the Press 53 website, and should ship to bookstores soon. Nice cover, eh?

Meanwhile, here in Asheville, I'll be joining the Juniper Bends Anniversary celebration at the BoBo Gallery. The reading will feature a slew of folks who've participated in the reading series over the past year, including Mesha Maren, Ingrid Carson, Katherine Min, Lori Horvitz, John Crutchfield, Julian Vorus, Antonio Del Toro, Jaye Bartell, M. Owens, and myself - and there'll be music by DJ Lorruh and the Sugarfoot Serenaders. Lots of different types of work emitting from that spectrum, so it should be an illuminating event on several wavelengths..

Friday and Saturday, of course, there's the Oulipo Conference at UNCA which Lee Ann Brown worked with university faculty from multiple departments to organize. Not to miss. Here's the page with a link for registration (it's free, but they need a head-count).

And after things Oulipo wind down, new Asheville denizen Carol Novack launches her Mad Hatter reading series at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center on Saturday night at 7:00 pm. She'll be joined by San Francisco poet David Smith and North Carolina writers Carter Monroe and Traci O'Connor.

Friends, it's sure going to be busy the next few days. I think I'll try to catch a nap tomorrow before it all kicks off. Hope to see you somewhere along the trail.