Since this month is National Poetry Month, I’ll be running Poetry Tuesdays instead of the usual Guest Author Wednesdays this month – and am very excited about the poets I’ll be hosting!
I wanted to kick off the April posts, though, by sharing the news that the 2nd Annual Page Davidson Clayton Prize for Emerging Poets has just been awarded by the Michigan Quarterly Review, to Eric Lee. His poems “Getting Kicked out of Steamers Restaurant in Fairhope, Alabama” and “Kangaroo or Lion?” were published in the Summer 2010 issue. Eric is a Ph.D. student in Creative Writing at Florida State University; his most recent work has appeared in RATTLE, Crab Creek Review, New York Quarterly, Slipstream, Dos Passos Review, and Chicago Quarterly Review.
And a head’s up, too, that books by two 1st Books guest authors are now out in paperback (or almost out). Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s Wench is already out, and Daphne Kalotay’s Russian Winter releases this week. (Both great book group choices!)
Daphne’s lovely post, “The Hastily Jotted Letter R,” will leave you feeling hopeful even in the face of form rejection.
Dolen’s “Connecting,” ends “Your story is too important for you not to persist in telling it. I wish you much success.”
I’ve just reread them both myself, and feel inspired.
And my new novel, The Four Ms. Bradwells, was just released in hardcover last week. – Meg
