Ayyye! I made my first real Substack post today from Travel Stories Paired with Tinned Fish. Check it out. Link in bio. Thanks to all the new subscribers yesterday!
Online reading with Pen Parentis, Tuesday.
May 12 ā¢ 7 PM - 8:15 PM EDT / SPRING 2026 PEN PARENTIS CLOSER Featuring: Steven Dunn / Suzanne Kamata / John Reed / Hannah Thurman ā¢ Moderators: M. M. De Voe & Marina Aris
/e/your-writing-career-through-a-parenting-lens-readings-author-discussion-registration-1980889832814
I'll be reading from Year of Valentines, which is ready to order! Would be thrilled if you read the poems and shared your thoughts with me or online. If you'd like to review on Amazon š¬, that makes a big difference in the algorithm, and I'd be very grateful.
Bookshop: /.../year-of.../889cfaf4cfdcfc39
Amazon: /Year-Valentines.../dp/1963908775...
Spuyten Duyvil: /Year-of-Valentines.html
because our mom loved to feed people, me and my sisters decided to honor her by feeding people one last time for her. And dancing to Maze and Frankie Beverly for her. Weāre not having a funeral, only this cookout where folks can get up on the stage and share whatever memories or feelings they want, just like we did for our dadās life celebration almost three years ago.
**weāre still figuring out the details, and will ask people if we need them to do or make something. Thanks for the offers, and we will let you know for sure.
Peep this room filled to the brim with people wanting to talk and think about how Appalachian writers create nuanced narratives in the context of a mainstream culture hellbent in perpetuating stereotypes. Filled as in: people sitting on the floor, people listening from the hallway. Folks are hungry for this conversation and this work. Letās keep having it.
I got Dani Janaeās book in the mail this morning and started reading it on the sidewalk while my keys were still in the open mailbox.
āHound Triptych, Dani Janeās debut collection of poetry, is a raw exploration of the intricacies of being an adoptee, the accompanying grief, and the destruction and rebuilding of the self through girlhood and into womanhood. The collection is a candid journey through the emotional landscape of abandonment and the human need for belonging; this is poetry that reaches into your chest and tells your heart, Listen. Feel.ā
cover image by Genevieve Barbee-Turner
So, what should we do with Pepaw spitting chew out front of the singlewide in our story?
Come hang with this (West) Virginia dream crew to discuss.
{{Huntington aesthetic by @epicproblem_ (collage) and @rozwellkid (brainworm) š¤}}
āFive Denver creatives. Four minutes each. One book that changed everything.
Battle of the Books is a fast-paced, live literary showdown where sharp pitches, big laughs, and audience voting decide the champion. Hosted by comedian and performer Shanel Hughes,featuringSteven Dunn, Jovan Mays, Mathangi Subramanian, and defending champion Dr. Jennifer Wolf.ā
February 20 at Central Library. Register in comments
