Night + moves.

Oh dear. This day became incredible hectic, in the "well, I guess I'll leave my desk looking like it's been ransacked" kind of way. Where did that come from, huh?

My poem-writing productivity has slowed a bit this week, but there's still exciting news.

I have some new poems here at Toad. Yeah!

And it has officially been announced that I will be judging two awesome things in the future. I'll be the poetry judge for the 2011 Best of the Net anthology (attention online magazine editors--submissions accepted until 10/31/11). I am also the judge of this year's Mid-American Review James Wright Poetry Award competition, which has a postmark deadline of 10/1/11. That's practically right around the corner!

One thing I can share about judging contests is that my aesthetic is incredibly eclectic. I can honestly say that I like all different kinds of poems. I like dark/chilly poems, and hot love poems, and silly poems, and dark poems that turn into silly love poems. I like lyric poems and narrative poems. I love poems that seem really felt by the author (even if they're funny--sometimes they can be the most moving poems). I'd rather poems take risks and have a few runs in their stockings, rather than being impenetrable in a cold veneer. If that makes any sense. Anyhow, it's an honor to be judging, and I can't wait to read what folks send my way.

On Saturday I'll be reading with the amazing Susan Grimm (who arguably has the best reading voice in all of poetry--downright mesmerizing) at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry, at 7 pm. I'll read some Saint Monica poems, but also a handful of my brand new, hot of the press series that I've been having so much fun with. I hope to see you there, local poetry fans!