April Events
Zooming into your face
My general uneasy sense of greasiness in how I interact with the world is heightened whenever I do the grubby work of self-promotion, yet here we are. I figure if I am going to say “Yes!” to doing stuff I am obligated to make my best effort at promoting them, and I suppose if you are a subscriber to this newsletter you’re potentially at least marginally interested in hearing about them. What an awkward position to find ourselves in, isn’t it? It’s like we got along so well online and now we’re in person trying to act like we didn’t use actual photos of ourselves for our profile pictures.
But anyway. Here are three things you might consider participating in that are happening in the next couple weeks. They are all free and they are all online. I’d love to see some familiar names to bolster my flagging confidence.
Wild Mercy: Winter 2021
Wild Mercy is the annual reading series of the University of Montana's Environmental Studies program, featuring current students, program alumni, and visiting writers. I read last year (one of the last things I did pre-COVID) and it was fun. This one is virtual, and I am reading with my friend (and wonderful writer) Claire Thompson, who I read with last year too! It’s like when I saw Bon Jovi and Cinderella together two tours in a row back in the 80s! I’m excited to read something I haven’t even written yet, so who knows how that will go.
It’s this (Good) Friday, April 02, 4pm—6pm Mountain Time.
The Day That Finally Came: The Little Shell Tribe
This is a virtual presentation about my people, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. I am presenting on behalf of the Yellowstone Gateway Museum in Livingston, MT. I’m a little rusty at this kind of thing but it should be okay.
It is Wednesday, April 07, 7pm—8pm(ish), Mountain Time
Seeley Lake Open Book Club
This is a reading/discussion where I will be joined by my good friend, the poet Mark Gibbons, who will ostensibly be there to “interview” me. We recently interviewed each other over beer and fire in preparation. This could go many different ways. You can count on one hand the number of people these days I am comfortable with one-on-one; Mark is one of them.
It is Saturday, April 10, 7pm—? Mountain Time
It’s a tough stretch, friends. I’ll do my best to make any and all of this stuff worth your time.
You crack me up. Happy to know about these; hope to make it! For the record, I too have a large melon.
Huh. I would never have called it "amusing" poetry, like Goodfellas "Do I amuse you? Funny haha -- am I your clown?" Unless in the manner of "amuse bouche," to amuse the mouth, or brain. It's deep, it's profound, it's authentic, and it's richly poetic. In other words, your writing tickles the muse. In that sense, yes, aMUSing.