No April Fool here! (Latin "follis": bellows, leather bag; "April" perhaps based on Apru, Etruscan borrowing of Aphrodite)
Bet you thought I forgot the newsletter. I did not 😅
Just busy. That’s all. So, so busy. Some of the fruits of this labor will show up in the near or less near future (“fruit” was so-called tramp slang in the 1930s for “a girl or woman willing to oblige” and I often oblige 🤭, for some value of the term).
Coming up next Friday and Saturday, the Midwest Poetry Mash-Up, a constellation of slam poets — ten teams! — from across the nation, gathering in Minneapolis at Open Book. Preliminary Bouts start at 6pm on Friday April 25th and continue on Saturday, April 26th, at 1pm. Finals are Saturday at 7pm, and will include ASL interpretation.
Last year I was an indie poet, but in 2025 I’m on the BuckSlam team, and we have got some 🔥 for you….
In other news, the next Better Things 5x5 reading — scheduled for Tuesday, May 6th (add to Google calendar) — has an incredible lineup of readers, including Antonio Williams, Alice Paige, Dralandra Larkins (shout out to the Northside), Halee Kirkwood, and Danez Smith.
Do I have videos ready to post? I do.
More videos in production? Yes. Some in collaboration, some solo efforts.
Poetry manuscripts submitted to publishers? Multiple.
More poetry in various stages of development? More than I have time to count right now.
A play in development? (Or “further development,” as it’s already been performed 😉.") More than one, actually.
Do I have time to actually post videos? I do not 🫠.
But someday I will. Stay tuned….