Blog on Hiatus

Friends, this blog will be on winter break from now (12/17/09) until mid January (sometime around 1/15/09). Thanks for reading, and in the meantime, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza -- or, well, whatever you celebrate -- and please have a very Happy New Year!

John

Copper Nickel

Among recently established magazines - "recently" referring to the past five years or so - Copper Nickel, of the University of Colorado, Denver, is certainly among the most notable.  The magazine is run almost entirely by students, and led by editor Jake Adam York, who for the last few years has pushed the magazine forward, and even revived it when necessary (As of October 2008, the magazine had exactly 0 subscriptions!).  In the past, the magazine has featured plenty of big names, such as Bob Hicock and George Kalamaras to name a few, as well as many up and coming (soon-to-be big name) writers, such as Jericho Brown in the most recent issue.  They have also given break-through exposure to many new talents (including myself), many of whom have yet to publish elsewhere on the national market.  Furthermore, the magazine has been receiving recognition from, well, the powers that be: recent contributor's work has appeared on such sites as Verse Daily and Poetry Daily four times in the last month.  Plus, let's face it, the design for issue 13 is bangin'.  

So, to get a little political here, if you are thinking of investing in a literary magazine, don't waste your money on Poetry or The New Yorker, both of which you can read online anyways.  Instead, invest in a young journal, brimming with new talent, where the work is fresh, and the journal could really, really benefit from your support - plus, right now the magazine is holding it's Year-End sale, and subscriptions are going for less than nothing!  Look into Copper Nickel, and look into it now.

Copper Nickel

Mark Bibbins & Mary Jo Bang @ KGB Bar 12.14.09

KGB Poetry: Mark Bibbins & Mary Jo Bang

December 14, 2009

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

KGB Bar

85 E. 4th St.

New York, NY 10003

Mary Jo Bang is the author of five previous collections of poetry, including Elegy, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.  She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where she teaches in the writing program at Washington University.

Mark Bibbins is the author of The Dance of No Hard Feelings (Copper Canyon Press).  His poems have appeared in the Paris Review, Poetry and the Yale Review.  He teaches at Columbia University and The New School.

KGB Bar

Columbia Journal Panel Discussion Tomorrow

Hang Together or Hang Apart?

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Arts in the Era of Mixed-Media

(A Panel Discussion)

Thursday Dec. 10, 7 p.m., Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen St. at Stanton

In today's mixed-media ferment, how can artists and writers

collaborate across genres to create innovative forms of art? Can

the arts excite a “post-literate” generation? Panelists

are novelist Siri Hustvedt, artist Jon Kessler, poet/painter Marjorie

Welish, filmmaker Michael Almereyda, novelist/poet Terese Svoboda,

and writer Alix Ohlin. Moderated by Gideon Lester. Hosted by

Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art.

A critically acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist, Siri Hustvedt has published three volumes of essays, one of poetry, and four novels, including the international bestsellers What I Loved and her recent The Sorrows of an American. Among many other themes, her work explores art, perception, and the permeable boundaries between genres and media.

Sculptor, photographer, and mixed-media artist Jon Kessler combines centuries-old craft with digital and video technology to create “kinetic sculptures” that explore consumerist, fearful, post-utopian society. With sprawling pieces such as The Palace at 4 A.M. he has won acclaim over three decades and been featured at the Whitney Biennial, Carnegie Institute, Deitch Projects, P.S.1, and MOMA.

A renowned poet, painter, and art critic, Marjorie Welish has published eight volumes of poetry, exhibits her paintings at the Baumgartner Gallery and Bjorn Ressle Fine Art, and has received numerous awards in both fields, including fellowships from the Gottlieb and Djerassi Foundations. Her poems have appeared in Best American Poetry series and in many anthologies, and her work was the subject of a comprehensive retrospective at the University of Pennsylvania.

A wildly diverse filmmaker and writer, Michael Almereyda directed the film Hamletstarring Ethan Hawke, wrote and directed documentaries on photographer William Eggleston and playwright Sam Shepard, and has published many essays and criticism on film. One of his most recent films is the post-Katrina love story, New Orleans, Mon Amour. Among other awards, he has been decorated for “expanding the possibilities of experimental film.”

A prolific novelist, poet, translator, and documentary filmmaker, Terese Svoboda has published a dozen books, exhibited her films on PBS and at  MOMA, and debuted her opera WET at the Disney Theater in Los Angeles. She has won numerous awards, including an O. Henry, a Pushcart, a Jerome Foundation Grant in video, a John Golden Award in playwriting, and the Iowa Prize in poetry.

An exhilarating young voice, Alix Ohlin has received acclaim for her debut novel The Missing Person and debut collection Babylon and Other Stories. She has often commented on the relationship between music and fiction, and her work has appeared in the Best New American Voices and Best American Short Stories series.

A dramaturg, artistic director, and writer, Gideon Lester was until recently Acting Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre. His translations include plays by Brecht, Buchner, and Marivaux, and his stage adaptations include Kafka's Amerika and Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. He teaches courses on theater, adaptation, and interdisciplinary collaboration in the School of the Arts at Columbia University.

Metro Rhythm Facebook Fan Page

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A Public Space Issue Release Party 12.10.09

December 10: Issue 9 Launch Party!

We hope you can join us at BookCourt to celebrate the launch of Issue 9. Drinks, merriment, and readings by contributors Brian T. Edwards and Idra Novey. There will be issues and totes for sale, plus subscription discounts!

Bookcourt

163 Court Street

Brooklyn, NY

7:00 PM

If you don't know about A Public Space, it's a really great magazine based in Brooklyn. Check out their website here:

A Public Space