People of New Jersey and New York!

I am overjoyed to say that I will soon be in your states. If you would like to see me and listen to some of my poems during my journey to the Northeast, I would love to see you and read some of my poems to you.

New Jersey first:

On Wednesday, September 23rd (this very upcoming Wednesday, in fact) I will be reading at the World Above Free Poetry Night, sponsored by Stockton University and the South Jersey Poets Collective. This reading will take place at the Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City, and I’m especially excited because I will get the chance to hear some of your poems, too. The event begins at 7:00 with an Open Mic. After a brief break, we will reconvene at 8:00 for a take-home poetry prompt and then I’ll do my poem thing. I’m terribly excited about this and hope you’ll come out to read and write and celebrate poetry with me — and I can’t thank the wonder Emari DiGiorgio and the SJ Poets Collective for asking me to read and write and celebrate with you. You can find more information on the Book of Faces and on the South Jersey Poets Collective‘s website.

On to New York:

On Thursday, September 24th (this very upcoming Thursday, in fact again), I will be reading at the New School as part of The Best American Poetry 2015 launch. The reading begins at 7:00 at Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall on 66 West 12th Street. Here’s the list of readers, replicated here because I am so incredibly excited about hearing each and every one of them read: Sarah Arvio, Melissa Barrett, Mark Bibbins, Catherine Bowman, Jericho Brown, Julie Carr, Chen Chen, Danielle DeTiberus, Natalie Diaz, Meredith Hasemann, Saeed Jones, Joan Naviyuk Kane, Laura Kasischke, David Kirby, Dana Levin, Dora Malech, Donna Masini, Airea D. Matthews, Laura McCullough, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Dennis Nurkse, Alan Michael Parker, Donald Platt, Raphael Rubinstein, Bethany Schultz-Hurst, Evie Shockley Sandra Simonds, Susan Terris, Michael Tyrell, Sidney Wade, Cody Walker, Afaa Michael Weaver, Terence Winch, Jane Wong, Monica Youn, David Lehman, and Sherman Alexie.

And me? Yeah, I have no idea why I’m on that list either. But I am glad that I am, even with all of the controversy, just because it’s a chance to celebrate the written word. It’s a chance to listen to people whose words have, in so many deeply positive and tremendously beautiful ways, read their words live. It’s also a chance to appreciate the power of language and to remember that with this power comes responsibility. I hope you’ll celebrate along with us, and with the rest of the other 74. You can find more information about the reading here.