It may seem early to start thinking about 2016, but it's not too soon to get your hands on the 2016 Texas Poetry Calendar from Dos Gatos Press. Hot off the press, the 2016 version of the calendar can be yours for a mere $14.95. It makes a great gift for Texana-loving friends and family, particularly ex-pats who might need a little slice of the Lone Star State in their stocking come December. I just got my contributor's copy in the mail (sporting Jerry Hamby's great cover photo of the iconic Cadillac Ranch), and I've had a blast between its covers. Early favorites are "White Irises" by Katherine Durham Oldmixion, "Ghost Story" by Lyman Grant, "Where the River Does Not Flow" by former Oklahoma Poet Laureate Carol Hamilton, and "There've Always Been Rattlesnakes," by 2015 Texas Poet Laureate Carmen Tafolla. I am very excited to once again have work included in this project, and I look forward to reading with some of my fellow calendar poets at Half-Price Books in Dallas come early November. Stay tuned for details on that event.
"Hill Country Hesperides" was a lot of fun to write. A piece inspired by one of my favorite watermelon-stealing stories (yes, I have a few), one shared among my barber and his co-barbers during a summer haircut in Austin many years ago. Like church sermons, barber shops have provided very rich source material for more than a few of my poems. Maybe I should try to pull them all together for my next collection.... At any rate, I hope you enjoy it.
"Hill Country Hesperides" was a lot of fun to write. A piece inspired by one of my favorite watermelon-stealing stories (yes, I have a few), one shared among my barber and his co-barbers during a summer haircut in Austin many years ago. Like church sermons, barber shops have provided very rich source material for more than a few of my poems. Maybe I should try to pull them all together for my next collection.... At any rate, I hope you enjoy it.