I've reviewed latest 'High Desert Journal'

'High Desert Journal' is one of my favorite 'regional' literary magazine. My review of the latest issue is at New Pages here. 

A finalist for Washington Prize

I've just learned that my poetry manuscript, Mnemosyne's Tenor Sax,  was a finalist in the 2012 Washington Prize competition. It was one of 12 finalists. The winning manuscript, which will be published by The Word Works, is B. K. Fischer's St. Rage's Vault. Details are here. Click on the link to 2012 Winner.

Mark Neely's 'Beasts of the Hill'

I heard Mark Neely read at the Iron Post not long ago, and we traded books. Then John Griswold invited me to contribute a short piece about a writer I like to the "Rec Room" feature at McNeese Review. Great opportunity to tell people how strong a poet Neely is. My review of Beasts of the Hill is here. 

Stevenson wins Nassau Review award

One of my favorite younger poets, JodiAnn Stevenson, has won the 2012 Prose Poetry award from Nassau Review for "A Thousand Birds." I knew JodiAnn from the Midland-Bay City-Saginaw poetry scene and from Delta College, where I taught as an adjunct after retiring from Central Michigan University. She was kind enough to clue an aging, out-of-touch poet into the work of Roland Barthes. New Pages reported her award here.