Plethora of Poets at Annie's Book Stop of Worcester

Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester is holding a reading and signing for six different, local poets from 7 pm to 9 pm on Friday, July 27th. The poets that will be there include Lori Desrosiers, Eve Rifkah, Joshua Michael Stewart, Susurrus Din, Dan Lewis, and Paul Richmond. All... poets will be reading from their own works, and signing books.


Lori Desrosier’s first full-length book of poems, The Philosopher’s Daughter, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry in 2013. She has a chapbook, Three Vanities (2009). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.


Eve Rifkah is author of Dear Suzanne (WordTech Communications, 2010, and Outcasts (Little Pear Press, 2010). She was founding editor of the literary journal Diner, and co-founder of Poetry Oasis, Inc., a non-profit poetry association for local poets. For more on Eve Rifkah, check out: http://www.everifkahwriter.com/


Joshua Michael Stewart has had poems published in multiple journals. He currently has two chapbooks out, Vintage Gray (2007) and Sink Your Teeth into the Light (2012). Visit him at http://www.joshuamichaelstewart.yolasite.com/



Susurrus Din owes much to the Masters of the Macabre, Gothis Horror, and World Myth/Folklore. A tome of his photography and poetry, Mendicant the Hidden, Votary of the Sepulcher, has been recently unleashed.


Dan Lewis lives on the edge of the Patch Reservoir in Worcester, MA. He is the author of the chapbook, Tickets for the Broken Year, and a full-length poetry collection, This Garden. His work has been published in many journals.


Paul Richmond started writing 37 years ago by keeping a journal. Many of his works have been collected to create "No Guarantees – Adjust and Continue" and "Ready or Not – Living in the Break Down Lane" with a third book due out in June 2012. He runs Human Error Publishing. Visit him at: http://www.humanerrorpublishing.com/

For more information on the event, please contact Annie's at (508)-796-5613 or check out their website at

http://www.anniesbookstopworcester.com/

Writers and artists you should know. And the books you SHOULD own!!

Consider this your WINTER reading list ;-)

I very privileged to some very talented friends who are probably some of the best writers and artists I know. And here's a short list of their books. Click on the selected cover images to either order a copy or check out their website:

The Tragic Tale of Turkey Boy; An American Love Story
by Andy Fish
In this black comedy, mayhem, madness, and murder combine when the American public, the world, and specifically one devoted fan must come to grips with the death of the iconic star of stage, screen and product endorsements, Turkey Boy. Yes, Turkey Boy had it all, but was his life idealistic as it seemed, and just what drives some fans to go to the extreme? Selected as a CERTIFIED COOL pick in Diamond Comics PREVIEWS catalog for April 2008

FLY; A True Story Completely Made Up
by Andy Fish
Francis Woombler has a dream to fly like a bird. All his life he's felt small and insignificant, which has earned him the nickname FLY. This is the story of his epic journey to conquer flight.

Mayor Maynot And The Missing Speech
by Rori Shapiro
Subject: JUVENILE FICTION / General
Reading Level: 7 - 9
Age Level: 6 - 9
Mayor Maynot has a problem. A big one. He’s lost his speech for Opening Day. Can the baseball game go on without the mayor’s speech? Will he find it in time?

Will Shades Mc Bug, Insectropolis’ resident private eye, be able to help?

Join Mayor Maynot as he learns a valuable lesson about procrastinating And taking care of your belongings.


SOMETHING TO DO WITH VULNERABILITY
by Joshua Michael Stewart
The latest collection of poem from Joshua Michael Stewart deals with one of the most difficult parts of life, the lose of a loved one. What keeps the 37 pages of this collection fresh and interesting are the various perspectives that Stewart is able to focus on. He speaks from the vantage point of a brothers, a son, a spouse, and in one of the most pointed moments, a child. It's a book of memories, and all of the tangible ways our loved ones return in moments of stillness. It is a rummage through the closet, and it has much more than just something to do with vulnerability.

Vintage Gray
By Joshua Michael Stewart
Pudding House Publications
ISBN Number: 159984919

Target Metropolis
by Jamie Buckmaster
JJB Buckmaster also has a previous book at That's Entertainment in Worcester in the Local Homies section. It's the one which features a very EC Comics looking cover that says "Kill Your Brother". Get a copy by either stopping by T.E. or by e-mailing the Buckmaster personally.

DETOUR 12 Friends and Monsters
by UCF Group
The latest issue from the Under Cover Fish Group of artists-- including Derek Ring, Andy Fish, Jim Riel, Jamie Buckmaster, Veronica Hebard, Barbrara Kimball, Sarah Jeppson, Alison Cowell, Brian McKeon, Mike Briggs, Christopher Whitehead and Randy LeSage. Cover by Allison "Bamcat" Bamford

Projects on the horizon

I started work on my next project as I continue to prepare Sherlock Holmes for publication. It's actually one I started a while back but had to put it on the shelf while I devoted my time to finishing up Sherlock Holmes.

The next one I've been planning with my friend, writer and editor of the Big Toe Review Joshua Michael Stewart. We had discussed the possibility of creating a graphic novel based on his poems. Even though the poems are all self contained stories, we had decided on loosely creating them into one ongoing narrative which all take place in this small town and the characters in these poems become the characters in this town.

We kind of had a trial run with the idea when I did a five page short story based on his poem O Come All Ye Faithful which ended up in both Detours for the Undercoverfish Group and my own book Confessions of a Peculiar Boy... And Other Stories. I was also experimenting with the ideas by seeing how my work would look with less line and grays. It wasn't that successful. Not Rori's fault who did a great job with the grays, but my own work seems to lose something with less details.

But I was satisfied with the way the poem adapted to a short story format. Josh's poems read like little stories anyways, so his words and my art seemed a very ideal union.

O Come All Ye Faithful will be a part of our book as well. It's one of my favorite poems of Josh's.

After I've completed that project, I'm toying with an idea of doing an 80 page graphic novel completely devoid of dialogue. Possibly a murder mystery mixed with a little factual history.

This project would be in honor of my friend and mentor Patrick W. Welch who did a series of post cards called the Hippogryph Files which had absolutely no words in it and you had to figure out the story from the pictures.

I had Patrick sign one of the cards for me from the series when I was still in college down in Savannah :-)

But I have to think a plotline through and write a script before I dive into this.