Last week I went on vacation for the first time in a couple years. It was great. Here are some things I accomplished:

- Touched the ocean.

- Ate at least one type of seafood every day.

- Started reading both Moby Dick and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again.

- Learned how to play a poker game called Night Baseball.

- Drank a milkshake at a pharmacy soda fountain.

- Bought a pair of sparkly fish skeleton earrings.

- Watched the entirely of the Miss America Competition. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid and let me tell you, watching a beauty pageant as an adult is a weird experience. I kept getting outraged by things like the fact that the swimsuit competition is supposed to be about judging the contestants' "commitment to health." I'm pretty sure every feminist in the world stopped paying attention to swimsuit competitions about 20 years ago. That fruit is so low hanging it's underground. The concept of Mario Cantone and Carla from Top Chef judging which 22 year old has the best bikini body and is therefore most deserving of a scholarship is kind of insane though.

- Saw a pig named Mr. Wrinkles crowned the winner of a livestock competition. (He beat two ponies!)

Feminism and Book Reports

- I did a reading last night at Bluestockings that was curated by the lovely Krystal Languell, who edits the poetry journal Bone Bouquet. We were asked to read one piece of writing by someone we considered to be our "feminist elder," along with our own work. I was so happy to be included and to have the opportunity to share one of my favorite poems by Sharon Olds. I first read "Sex Without Love," in college. It is amazing and taught me that it's possible to write poems about sex in a way that isn't embarrassing and does not involve flower metaphors.

- Miracle Jones' report on "Moscow, 1937," that he read at the Second Anniversary of The Book Report reading series was just published over at Vol. 1 Brooklyn. I hereby order you to stop reading my blog and go read Miracle Jones book report because it is fierce and brilliant and amazing.

Here is a quote:

"But we don’t live and die in the world. We live and die in our heads. We live and die making decisions as individuals that change the story of our life, in real-time, day by day, according to insane laws of our own devising. A higher intelligence is always watching, whether you believe that higher intelligence to be Stalin, Jesus, Spock, Krishna, or your friends who will tell your story when you are gone."

New Poem

My poem "Cricket Cage," was published today over at NAP! It's a really great journal and I'm very excited to have my work featured there.

Assuming I don't become overwhelmed by my fear of bumming everyone out, there is a good chance I will be reading this poem along with many others at one of my two readings this week. Come say hi!

Upcoming Happenings

- PANK Magazine interviewed Miracle Jones about my Rumpus interview with Miracle Jones. I would like to somehow take credit for this, but I think it more likely happened because Miracle is a fantastic interview subject and delivers quotes like, "A publisher should be no bigger than a pirate ship."

- I have two poetry readings next week! Both at Happy Ending! The first is on Wednesday June 19th at Patasola's Parlor hosted by the lovely Lisa Marie Basile and Emily Linstrom. I've read/danced at this show a few times and it's always a great time. Lots of whiskey and pretty women wearing alluring things.

Friday June 21st I'm reading at the perennially wonderful Derangement of the Senses. Lisa Marie Basile will be burlesquing! Todd Anderson will be poeming! Steve Zimmer will be storytelling! Miracle Jones will be amazing! As an added bonus, we'll also be livestreaming out house band's performance at The Greene Space as they represent Brooklyn in NPR's battle of the boroughs. Everyone must vote for them! If they win they'll get to perform at the Apollo. Go to http://www.thegreenespace.org/ for updates on how to help them win this thing.

Rumpus Interview with Miracle Jones

My interview with author/editor/coder/performer Miracle Jones is up at The Rumpus. He is hilarious and deranged in the best possible way, and if you ever find yourself becoming disillusioned with any element of publishing I encourage you to read this and be invigorated.

Time Ghost

My poem "Early Spring," was just published over at Time Ghost, along with videos of me reading some other poems at Kick Assonance. I haven't watched them because I can't handle the sound of my own voice, but you should!

The last Derangement of the Senses show received a really wonderful review in The Huffington Post! Every sentence of this review is true, except for one of them. Try to guess which one it is! (Hint: the show is on the third FRIDAY of every month.)

In honor of May 1st, I'm reposting a link to my poem "Beltane," that was published in Escape Into Life last Oct.

Kiss, Punch, Chapbook!

- Guys, how did I forget to post about this?! My chapbook "We Are Not Pilgrims," was published by Mondo Bummer last month. It contains poems about such varied subjects as death, bad boyfriends, and dental hygiene. Some of these haven't been published anywhere else so this is the only way to get your hands on them. Here is the best part: it is only $2! That's only 40 cents a poem! I'm not one to toot my own whatever but these poems are totally 100% worth 40 cents each.

You can buy it here. 

- Mark your calendars! Saturday April 20th I will be reading at Kiss, Punch Poem. I know I throw around the words awesome and amazing a lot, but this is for real, one of the best shows in the city. Three or four poets read poems and a troupe of improvisors make up skits about them. 

Fact: Improv is almost always terrible. Another fact: The improvisors in this show are hilarious. More facts: This show is in a real theater, it's only an hour long, and it is tremendously entertaining. Even if you can't make it when I'm reading you should definitely go. It is every Saturday at the Magnet theater at 9pm.