A Reading I’ve got coming up in April
Me and badass poet (and cool lit mag monger) Glenn Shaheen will be reading in April at Literary Life Bookstore in Grand Rapids. Check it.
A Reading I’ve got coming up in April
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Glenn Shaheen, Jamie Thomas, Literary Life Bookstore, poetry, poets.org, shameless plugs that just keep coming on 2012/03/03 by jamiejthomasIt’s a Proof . . .
Posted in poetry with tags Etch and Blur, first books, Jamie Thomas' poetry, poetry on 2012/01/06 by jamiejthomasLook what the stork dropped into my mailbox today. It’s the real life-hold-in-the-hands proof of Etch and Blur. Stupendous.
Kenneth Koch on the internets
Posted in Academia, poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags Kenneth Koch, poetry, The Best American Poetry, The New York School on 2012/01/04 by jamiejthomasI just came across this website of all things Kenneth Koch,
as shared by David Lehman on the Best American Poetry blog (who apparently shared it via Ron Padgett). It has photos, biography, detailed bibliography, and various videos and audio of Kenneth Koch reading from his work and discussing The New York School.
It is truly excellent, and well worth the time you will lose exploring it. So explore away . . .
ps – Kenneth Koch remains one of the most highly underrated poets line-breaking American English–funny, irreverent, heartbreaking, earnest, proof that there is nothing more serious than a joke . . .
“A serious moment for the match
is when it bursts into flame . . .”
Cover Proof of Etch and Blur
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags cover art, Etch and Blur, Etch and Blur Cover Proof, Goddard, Jamie Thomas' poems, poetry on 2011/12/21 by jamiejthomasI found this in my email the other day . . .
Nothing left now but the printing . . . I think it turned out quite nicely.
Behind Schedule, Just a Bit
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags Brick Road Poetry Press, cover art, Etch and Blur, Jamie Thomas' poems, Jamie Thomas' poetry collection on 2011/11/19 by jamiejthomasThough we are behind publication schedule on Etch and Blur, it is getting inevitably closer . . .
Of nothing, nothing, nothing–nothing at all
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags 3 Pulitzers, American Poetry, Archibald MacLeish, poetry, Sonnets on 2011/11/18 by jamiejthomasOne of my favorite sonnets for sure. One kick-ass writer. 3 Pulitzers? Really?
The End of the World
Quite unexpectedly, as Vasserot
The armless ambidextrian was lighting
A match between his great and second toe,
And Ralph the lion was engaged in biting
The neck of Madame Sossman while the drum
Pointed, and Teeny was about to cough
In waltz-time swinging Jocko by the thumb
Quite unexpectedly to top blew off:
And there, there overhead, there, there hung over
Those thousands of white faces, those dazed eyes,
There in the starless dark, the poise, the hover,
There with vast wings across the cancelled skies,
There in the sudden blackness the black pall
Of nothing, nothing, nothing — nothing at all.
I Love the Smell of Poetry in Big Rapids
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags ArtWorks Big Rapids, Big Rapids, Etch and Blur, Jamie Thomas' poems, One Amber Bead, poetry readings, Rebecca thaddeus on 2011/10/18 by jamiejthomasHello all, just wanted to chime in to add a nice little reading coming up in the next few days in Big Rapids.
Yours truly will be reading. I’ll be reading from Etch and Blur, my nearly-released collection of poems from Brick Road Poetry Press.I’ll be reading with fellow Ferris State University faculty member, Betty Stolarek, as she reads from her new novel, One Amber Bead (written under the pen name Rebecca Thaddeus–she has a nom de plume, how rad is that.) It should be a good time–there’s poetry for the poet-types, prose for the prosers, and light refreshments for all.
The lowdown:
What: Reading: Jamie Thomas and Rebecca Thaddeus (aka Betty Stolarek)
Where: ArtWorks Big Rapids – 106 N. Michigan Ave., Big Rapids, MI 49307, (231) 796-2420
When: Thursday October 20th at 7pm
How: with our mouths mouthing the words
Why: b/c we love you
If you’re near you should come on out. and if you’re far, you should let someone who IS near know the skinny.
Hecht Prize Anthology – Coming in November
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags anthologies, Etch and Blur, Hecht Prize Anthology, Jamie Thomas' poems, kick-ass, poems, Waywiser Press on 2011/08/21 by jamiejthomasI just got done proofing the two poems of mine that will be included in the Hecht Prize Anthology (2005-2009). Waywiser Press decided that they would release an anthology of poems from poets who were Finalists for the Anthony Hecht Prize over the first 5 years the book prize has existed.
I was twice a finalist/semi-finalist for The Anthony Hecht Prize for my manuscript Etch and Blur (which will be published by Brick Road Poetry Press this Fall), and the Eds. were cool enough to include my work in this boss anthology.
I am extremely flattered to appear next to so many talented poets. Waywiser Press does a very god job promoting poets’ work–even those who advance but don’t win their book prize–each year including selection from finalists on their website, along with biographical material. It’s a nice touch for sure.
The Hecht Prize Anthology is due out in November, and, as I said, it is busting its seams with killer poems by killer poets. Everything kills you these days, but this anthology kills you with lines and verses.
A Couple Not-New Poems Dressed Up to Look Like New . . .
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags Jamie Thomas' poems, poetry, The Anthony Hecht Prize 2010, Waywiser Press on 2011/05/23 by jamiejthomasWaywiser Press has been real cool about promoting its finalists/semi-finalists of The Anthony Hecht Prize, with BIOs and poems from everyone on that list.
I’ve got a couple of poems up there right nowhe Eds. at Waywiser were cool enough to include me even though I had to pull my manuscript out of the running (unlike another press I won’t name–who struck me from their short list b/c I’d just placed the mss. elsewhere (whatever)).
Anyway follow the link here (The Anthony Hecht Prize 2010) if you want to check the poems out. And check out the other good poets with good poems you’ll find here.
Update on the Progress of Etch and Blur
Posted in poetry, Stuff I assume other people care about with tags Brick Road Poetry Press, Etch and Blur, Jamie Thomas' poetry collection, M. Ayodele Heath, poetry, poetry collections on 2011/04/13 by jamiejthomasThings are moving forward nicely on the new poetry collection. I just sent off the Final (final final, I swear) revisions to Brick Road Poetry Press. Added one poem and subtracted one poem. Hopefully the added poem I shuffled in there will stay “shuffled in there.” It’s a decent poem (and a much better fit to how the manuscript shaped up), so it should be no problem.
Also been working on cover images. A very good situation, in that I’ve got some input into the cover of my book. But it is also a bit daunting. I’ve got a few mocks done up and a few images I’ll be sharing with Brick Road. It is starting to get moving toward an actual, live, hold-in-your-hands book.
Author photo: now there’s something that hasn’t been quite as fun. Nothing like taking a bunch of photos, combing through them, looking for the one that makes you look less like a jackass. hee haw . . .
And last but not least . . . Etch and Blur is ready for pre-order, on Brick Road Poetry Presses website. They’ve got a really cool promotion going that gets you free shipping, as well as a chance to get current Brick Road titles at half off. So all you poetry enthusiasts head to Brick Road Poetry Press and check it out. They have some good books out right now, like M. Ayodele Heath‘s debut collection Otherness.
Here is some video of his book release reading in Atlanta–Heath is a helluva poet, well worth checking out.
