I can’t recall exactly when National Poetry Month became a big deal for me, but I know that during the height of the Pandemic it really took off in my small corner of the world. An excuse to freely gush about poetry every day for an entire month! A time of year designated for celebrating the craft I adore! I love it and the way it acts as a catalyst for me and many other writers, inspiring us to plan events, release new work, and share what we’ve been brewing up all winter long.
The fact that it’s also Earth Month couldn’t be more aligned for me and my practice. Blending my planetary love with my adoration for careful verse seems only right. The fact that I get to share this weave with all of you brings me something steady in this current collapse we’re all witnessing. We still have our voices, our pens and visions. We still have all of the writing that came before us, answers to existential questions, reflections on the endless unknowns. We still have the earth, our incredible home, under stress and pressure alongside us, guiding us. And we still have each other. This month is a reminder of all this bounty, a prompt rising through the haze of this crooked timeline that steers us toward hope, newness, and change. As I always say, we need all the reminders we can get!
In the midst of continued chaos and global unrest, I’m putting myself out there with a new book that tends to these truths, exploring the vulnerable and the uncertain sides of myself, offering up the intricate nature of my love that is in fact infinite. Sometimes I feel like a salesman with a suitcase full of books. I’m knocking at your door asking you to buy my words, load up on these precious copies, and read each page with curiosity. Has every poet always felt like a salesman of sorts? Wandering around the world exchanging beautiful rambles for bowls of food or shelter? I feel more like a mushroom who is trying to spread the message. I wish money didn’t have anything to do with it, but it does and I’m grateful for those of you who click the pre-order links, who save the dates and plan on making a purchase. You’re saying yes to spreading the spores, to circulating the healthy propaganda and enriching our story of interconnection. Thank you. I can’t wait to see you and embrace it all in unison.
With that, I’ll leave you with dates to discover and more links to follow! Please come out and find me in the world over the next two months to honor the earth and The Verse for Now. I’m giving it my all, but it’s really nothing without you.
April 22, Detroit 7pm at 27th Letter Books : I’m kicking off my book tour on Earth Day with the release of my new collection at 27th Letter Books. Join us as we celebrate not only my book launch, but the relaunch and renewal of Flower Press!
RSVP if you want to show us you’ll be there, or just arrive with all of your friends for an evening of poetry, snacks and conversation.
April 23 - I’ll join poet James Crews for a virtual event on Zoom. James and I are both celebrating new releases this month. I have a poem featured in he and his husband’s latest anthology Love is For All of Us and I’m so excited that we get the chance to read together as we uplift our efforts. James does an amazing job nurturing an impressive community of poets and I’m always so touched to be part of his magic. RSVP for link and more info!
I have a few more Michigan events planned for April and I’m sure I’ll keep adding readings to the calendar as National Poetry Month continues. If you can’t come to the release on the 22nd, please come visit with me at Eugenie in Detroit on April 26th for their Earth Month celebration. I’ll be in the shop from 11am-6pm with books and would love to talk poems and sustainability with you while surrounded by beautiful objects and clothing! I’ll head up to Traverse City after this for a reading with my dear Cody Cook-Parrott at Second Hand Social Club on April 28th at 5pm. Cody and I always support one another in book-making, but we haven’t done a reading in person together in years. I edited their latest prayer book Look About You : A Book of Ordinary Prayers and am so excited to share our words of reverence side by side.
In May, I’ll head to California and continue the tour for all of my loved ones out west. I cannot wait to be with my cherished trees, rivers, people and coastline. These events will move from north to south and I invite you to save the dates now and join me when and where you can!
5/9 - Arcata, CA Northtown Books 6pm PT my standard and beloved homecoming. I can hardly wait!
5/14 - Vallejo, CA Winslow House Project starting at 3pm PT so you can miss the city traffic and stay for many hours of poetry and conversation. I’ll be reading with the incredible Lora Mathis and other Artists in Residence of Winslow House Project.
5/16 - Morro Bay, CA at Rock Shop, hosted by Sky Fusco 6pm PT reading with Kathryn deLancellotti
5/18 - Ojai, CA Greater Goods 6pm PT
5/22 - Los Angeles, CA at Skylight Books 7pm PT
5/25 - Idyllwild, CA details TBA
5/? - Joshua Tree details TBA (Still trying to figure out if I can get to this sacred corner of the desert this time around!)
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered! You have until April 22nd to get your pre-orders in and I know you may see me on the road and wait to buy your copy then, which is wonderful, but maybe you want to buy many copies? Pre-orders give me and my publisher a great boost in confidence and cash as we make this whole thing happen so, if you can, pre-order and buy in person!
My gratitude is infinite! I send my love and thanks all day every day! I cannot wait to see some of you very soon and there will be more to come, including a New York mini tour in June. Onward we go, pushing against the darkness because we know we must, we know we carry the light.
Deep appreciation,
Jacqueline