Better Things in April: a 5x5 Reading, Trans Day of Visibility performance, is that all? Yes, that's pretty much it.

But I also signed up for a kickball team. Because why wouldn't I?

You know that thing where you let the dishes pile up just a little bit and suddenly you have a Himalayan range of crusted ceramics threatening your life?

Well.

That’s what’s happened to my Writing News. Hah! So good-Lord-busy I haven’t had…haven’t made…the time to write much about the things here.

In a feeble attempt to expend the least possible amount of energy and time while spitting out the maximum amount of news, here goes A Mad Crashing of the Dishes:

Yes, that’s me up there, being all Host-y and stuff! My first big curatorial thing. I’ve been working with the ReEntry Lab & we’re putting on this event, the first of a series of Better Things, with these five fabulous writers, C. Fausto Cabrera, Chavonn Williams Shen, Junauda Petrus, LM Brimmer, and Sara Dovre Wudali. Five writers, five minutes each. (This format was originally pioneered by E. R. Tannen at Five Watt Coffee.)

The next day (the next day!) is the debut performance of This Body, This Fruit, as part of the Hennepin County Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Employee Resource Group (bit of a mouthful, hang on, almost there) Transgender Day of Visibility Celebration (link is to Facebook Event page). It’s at 625 4th Ave S — an auditorium, in the building right across the street from the Hennepin County Government Center — from 1-3pm. It’ll also be available streamed live on Teams, Meeting ID 212 908 470 517
Passcode LfNW3r.

While the performance and the livestream are both free and open to the public, the recording will only be accessible for Hennepin County employees.

If you can’t make it to see This Body, This Fruit on the 3rd, you’ll get another chance (two, actually) on Art-a-Whirl weekend in May. More details about that in a future edition!

On Thursday, April 18th, I’ll not be leading a poetry workshop, along with the amazing Dralandra Larkins, as part of the Hennepin County Library Coffee & Conversations series. It’s at the Minneapolis Central Library from 8:30-10:00am. It’s free, including the coffee, and would have been a lot of fun. Alas, it was not to be.

On April 19th-20th (Friday & Saturday), I’ll be participating in Midwest Poetry Mash-Up 2024! It’s at Strike Theater, in Northeast Minneapolis. This one does cost money to attend—$15 for a single bout (there are four, two on Friday, two on Saturday), $20 for finals (Saturday at 7pm), or $45 for a festival pass to the whole thing (great deal! only a limited number available, though). Buy tickets on Eventbrite.

And, finally (I know, right?!), on April 27th, I’ll not be a featured reader at the Queer Voices reading at Quatrefoil Library, 1220 E Lake Street, 2-3:30pm. No event page for this one yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s happening.

I hope that tides you over for now. News-wise. Lots of stuff to look forward to. I’ve also gotten a couple of poems accepted for publication recently, but waiting on more details.

I’m the inaugural fellow for the ReEntry Lab & ArtStart Writing Fellowship, which means that I’ll be assisting the incredible prize-winning poet, essayist, critic & educator Michael Kleber-Diggs in teaching a four-class very accessibly priced poetry workshop, Line, Sound, Meter, and Voice: Poems as Beautiful Songs. There are only ten slots available, of which I know some are already gone, so if you’re interested…I’d get there quick. Classes will be Monday evenings, 6-8pm, beginning May 6th (and skipping Memorial Day). And later on…a poetry reading and chapbook with work produced by the class. Most excellent!