Everyday Genius, March

Well, we're wrapping up another amazing month at Everyday Genius. A hearty, heartfelt thanks to Laura Ellen Scott for putting together some excellent reads. Every story a winner. After almost a year of great content, it's becoming more and more challenging to incorporate new writers and to maintain a diversity of voice while featuring one story/poem/thing every weekday. I'm extremely grateful to the editors who make this their mission, people like Laura and Fortunato Salazar (from February), who take the job seriously and artistically.

Sometimes I like to point out a few highlights from the month, but I've never felt entirely comfortable doing this. Everything featured should be featured. So I compiled a list of the daily genius, which you can view here. The writing is posted every day, but the archives are meant to be visited often, slowly, with tea and cookies.

Next month brings us selections from Blake Butler. Be afraid. Be calm.

Book submissions to close 4/1

Due to the number of great submissions already received, and the very few number of books that can be published, I won't be accepting any more submissions after April 1, 2010.

Book submissions will re-open again at random.

I am committed to building the Publishing Genius catalog from submissions. Please bear with me.

"Prayer" at On Earth As It Is

I'm really pleased to have a "poem" up at On Earth As It Is, a new journal run by Matthew Simmons and Bryan Furuness. The focus of the site is to present "prayer narratives, or dramatic monologues addressed to God, from writers of different faiths." My thing is called "Prayer." The other work at the site so far, by Erin McGraw and Melanie Rae Thon has been really exceptional.

"Prayer" is in my new book, SAY POEM, which will be out in May.

SAY POEM cover designs

I've decided on the first one here, I think, but here are a few designs for my new book, SAY POEM, forthcoming in May from my new imprint, Awesome Machine. The photographs were taken by Stephanie Barber.

More Words on Words

Dylan Landis, author of the complex and beautiful book, Normal People Don't Live Like This, wrote a fantastic review of Words at her Notebook. It's remarkable how well she describes the book:

Devine, a “conceptual fictional writer” and alphabetical essayist, writes novels and stories, then implodes them into lists of words and punctuation marks. Rigorous about revision, he whittles a couple down to their titles. His life’s work is the subject of much study. (Surprised?) Accordingly, Kimball, as editor, adds to this collection a scholarly afterword, quoting from rare Devine interviews; and I am amazed to find myself joyful over the whole thing.

WORDS reviewed at The Rumble

J.A. Tyler reviewed WORDS by Andy Devine over at THE RUMBLE. Aside from explaining the book and how it works, which isn't easy, Tyler says nice words like, "challenge," "cruise," "faces," and "unglue."

Thanks, J.A. Tyler.

Chapbook Genius: Howie Good

Current Issue:
Howie Good, Love Surrounds You Like a Posse in Bulletproof Vests [read] [print]

With twelve chapbooks already, Howie Good is out dropping jaws overtime. And he makes it seem easy, with lines like these, from "Sign":

How the crocuses
bustle about –

dumpy cafeteria ladies
in blue hairnets

I love the switch there, from "lovely garden"-type poetry to the ouch of "dumpy." Howie Good does a lot with just enough.

Publishing Genius is pleased to present 18 quiet, quickchange poems that comprise his latest collection, LOVE SURROUNDS YOU LIKE A POSSE IN BULLETPROOF VESTS. With this addition to Howie's goodness, I read to enjoy the care of poetry.

There are now four ways to get this Chapbook Genius:
Read on the screen (Simple, effective)
Read on a homemade staple stitch chapbook (Instructions for printing.)
Download from Smashwords (Great for devices)
Or you can order a copy for $5 (Paypal to adam@publishinggenius.com)

Win a Copy of The Difficult Farm, which is a book by Heather Christle

Here's an interesting contest from Heather Christle. Make a video of someone doing something while dizzy, and if your video (hosted at Youtube or Vimeo), gets the most votes, you can take home a copy of The Difficult Farm. And take it from me -- the dizzy life is awesome.

Book release party

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Adam Robison and Other Poems release party. In an effort to look like my book cover, I shaved my beard. Some people helped. During the shaving process, I played this video on the jumbotron in Justin's backyard:

Road Trip Summary

After we read against each other on Apostrophe Cast, Joe and I went on a road trip. On the way down we had Outback Steakhouse. We stayed in a Super 8. At one point Joe said, "I'm glad I don't have a TV." The next day, we arrived in Savannah.

Thanks to Christine Sajecki, who did the cover of Easter Rabbit, and who is hilarious, for hosting us. It was a lot of fun. The first thing we did when we got there was take two dogs to Animal Control. They were sad strays. After that, everything we stopped at Target and I got underwear.

Here's a pic I took of Savannah:

Here's one of me and Joe and the gross, gross ocean near Savannah:

At the ocean, Joe and Christine made fun of pictures of birds. They made fun of the bird's names.

I went to Flannery O'Connor's house. Well, it was nice. Joe and I read at Atwell's, an art and frame place. Brandi Wells came out for it. Super awesomeness.

Later we found ourselves in Atlanta. In Atlanta, Blake took us to this place:

Where I ate this:

Things got out of hand and I felt maybe a little under the weather the next day. But still major massive thanks to Amy McDaniel, Blake Butler, and Jamie Iredell for hosting us. We did a reading at Amy's house which was comfortable and fun. Amazing food (not pictured) and salon-style evening reading. It was nice to meet James Yeh and Alexis Orgera. The new Gigantic is printed awesomeness.

On the way home we ate at Dad's Diner. In Virginia Joe said, "Joseph Young Nice 3451." And that was that.

Road Trip with Book

*Adam Robison and Other Poems has arrived, fresh from Narrow House and it is beautiful, so pardon me if I'm a little one dimensional for a week or two.*

**Tuesday, Mar 16: come to Atlanta to see me and Joe read at the Solar Anus series. Email me for details.**

I'm writing now from Savannah, GA. Joe Young and I have beat it for the streets in an abbreviated tour that reverses Sherman's March. I feel like it's lame to think about the Civil War just because I'm in the South. There's something about us New York boys.

Joe and I read last night in a downtown art gallery/frame shop called Atwell's. We switched back and forth. I had a lot of fun. It was nice of Brandi Wells to make the trip. Thanks to Christine Sajecki for setting it up.

The reading was a nice, easy unveiling of the book. Like, I feel as if I've broken the seal. I've removed the plastic and AR&OP is out.

I bought new socks and underwear. They're really cool. I also got a Nook.

Dummies or Ventriloquists

Joseph Young and I read each other's work for Apostrophe Cast. It's good and strange to hear Joe read my poems. It's a pretty short and easy reading to listen to.

Narrow Genius?

Justin Sirois, publisher of Narrow House Books and CDs, author of MLKNG SCKLS, created this logo that fuses our brands:



Makes you think.

Yick Junk Moondick

I've been scuba diving in the ocean of busy so I can't even make a stupid blog post. Love making blog posts, too, especially smart ones. Well, settle for a stupid one.

I have some great interviews that I can't wait to put up at htmlgiant -- important stuff I think. Stuff about bookstores.

Putting out three books (Barber reissue, Byrne, Devine) at once was a crazy idea. I love it so much but I'm feeling it in my body. Or maybe that's the ski trip. Life, hard -- headached -- is whoa gimme.

"Work" work has swung up. I can't get one thing done before 4 more things come in. Feel nervous. People are saying my name into the phone. "Adam takes care of that," "Adam is already working on that," "That's overdue? Oh, that was ARob."

Also my own book.

Also my own book, which is HOME FROM THE PRINTER ON THURSDAY. I'm not excited, I'M EXCITED. People, people: you should have it next week.

I feel kind of nervous about that.

Also, dig my my MFA thesis project, which isn't just a manuscript (called SAY POEM), but it also has to be made into a self-published book. If it comes out nice, I will sell it/give it away to people. I am not sure how I feel about self-publishing. Even though I think I might be able to do a better job with my own book than some other presses might do (because, like, I would have Justin design it and Michael provide legal advice and Marion help with promotion and Josh with proofreading and maybe I could get Shane to write it even), it still doesn't jive for me. I am fine when other people do it though. So what's with that?
Anyway, that is five books that I'm working full bore on right now. I do it for status, so, overnight, I can become the most famous poet ever.