Revised Upcoming Reading Schedule

REVISED UPCOMING READING SCHEDULE
Sorry about the confusion. I've had a couple of new requests to read and made a couple of mistakes in the previous listing. This one is about as up to date as I can make it. At most of these events, I will be reading from the new book, "Something Knows the Moment," but I will sometimes mix in some of my older favorites and a few newer ones. I still have copies of "The Fractured World," "Paternity," and "The Nature of Attraction" that I can sell at each event.

9/10, 7:00, Joe Milford Poetry Show, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joe-milford-show
9/13, 5:30, "Something Knows the Moment" Release Party, Taste Full Beans Coffeeshop, Hickory, NC
9/15, 6:00, Lazy Lion Bookstore, Fuquay-Varina, NC
9/16, 7:00, Lincoln County Cultural Center, Lincolnton, NC
9/17, 1:00-4:00, Momentous Writing Workshop, Coastal Carolina University, Pawley's Island, SC
9/24, 2:00-4:00, 100 Thousand Poets for Change, Minetta Lane Center, Hickory, NC
9/25, 2:00, McIntyre's Fine Books, Pittsboro, NC
10/14, Writers’ Night Out, Mountain Perk, Hiwassee, GA
10/15, Perpetual Writing Prompts, The Writers' Circle, Hayesville, NC
10/16, 2:00, NetWest Annual Picnic, Location to be determined
11/3, 7:00, Royal Bean Coffeehouse, Raleigh, NC
11/6, 3:00, Malaprops, Asheville, NC
11/6, 5:00, WordPlay with Jeff Davis, http://www.ashevillefm.org/wordplay
11/18-19, NCWN Fall Conference, Asheville, NC
12/9, 6:30, Barnhills, Winston-Salem, NC

"Something Knows the Moment" is Out

My new book of poems, Something Knows the Moment, is out. I got my copies yesterday. If you pre-ordered, yours should be arriving soon. If you haven't ordered yet, you can still get them from Main Street Rag or if you want a signed one, send me a check for $17, and I'll get one out to you, or you could come to the Book Release Party on September 13 at 5:30 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory.

Other scheduled readings include:
9/17 Coastal Carolina University, Pawley's Island, SC, 1:00
9/22 Cellar 101, Fuquay-Varina, NC, 5:00
9/25 McIntyre's, Pittsboro, NC, 2:00
10/4 Lincoln County Cultural Center, Lincolnton, NC
10/14 Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA
11/3 Royal Bean Coffeehouse, Raleigh, NC, 7:00
11/6 Malaprops, Asheville, NC, 3:00

I will also be teaching workshops at the NCWN Fall Conference in Asheville 11/18-19 and at The Writers' Circle in Hayesville 10/14 and will be on the Joe Milford Poetry Show 9/10 and WordPlay with Jeff Davis on 11/6

Recovering Journalist is Accomplished Poet

“Musings” for August 13, 2009

Recovering Journalist is Accomplished Poet

I was first introduced to Pat Riviere-Seel’s poetry almost exactly a year ago when we read our work together at Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville. Afterwards, she invited me along with her friends back to her house for dinner. I went, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but enjoyed even more her stories of the wildlife, including more than one black bear, who routinely visit her mountain home.
Those stories and her beautiful home stayed with me, but not as much as her fascinating poetry. Most of the poems she read that day were from a manuscript called The Serial Killer’s Daughter, which has since been published as her second collection of poetry by Main Street Rag. That title alone was enough to catch my interest, but when she explained the poems were written from the perspective of the daughter of Velma Barfield, the NC native who made news in 1984 when she was executed for the confessed murders of her own mother and lover, among others, I was really hooked.
What Riviere-Seel creates, however, is even more fascinating than that might suggest. Yes, she tells the imaginative story of a woman who discovers what for most of us would be beyond the realm of imagination, that one’s own mother is a murderer, and in fact is responsible for the death of one’s grandmother, and in all likelihood, one’s father as well. However, Riviere-Seel’s collection is not a sensationalistic, tabloid-style rendering of gory details and pop psychology, but rather a sensitive and always poetic treatment of the humanity that exists preceding, during, and following such extraordinary events. In The Serial Killer’s Daughter Riviere-Seel creates beauty out of horror revealing in the process the humanity in a story whose inhumanity otherwise precludes understanding.
Riviere-Seel, a self-described recovering journalist, is associate editor of The Asheville Poetry Review and former president of the NC Poetry Society. Her poetry has been widely published and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She will read from her work at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory on Tuesday, September 8, starting at 6:30 PM as part of the Poetry Hickory reading series. The poem reprinted below is from The Serial Killer’s Daughter.

After My Mother Is Arrested and Charged with Murder

It’s not as easy as you might think,
up every morning, dressed and out
to the only job I’ve ever had--
the promised promotions gone
even though I’m the best at what I do,
sorting coats, sweaters by size.

I know the inventory, where to find
hairpins, which aisle holds light bulbs.
I keep up with the sales and never let
anyone use my discount. Ten years
I’ve never missed a day or clocked in late.

Yesterday my boss laid his hand
on my shoulder, said, “I’m sorry,” and
disappeared before I turned around.
I feel customers stare and sometimes
think I hear a whispered, “monster.”
Or was it “mother” that I heard?

Everyone wants to know
what’s going to happen next.
I’ll tell you: at the end of the day
four small arms will circle my neck,
I’ll fry chicken, bake rolls, and pray
to any god that will listen.