NightBallet at Hessler Street Fair 2012!

Vertigo Xavier of Poets' Haven and John Burroughs of Crisis Chronicles Press have both already announced the great news: Poets' Haven, Crisis Chronicles Press, Writing Knights, and NightBallet Press will come together at this year's Hessler Street Fair in Cleveland on May 19 and 20, 2012!

We'll have tables full of delicious chaps for your perusal, delectation, and acquisition.  George Wallace's new chap the hard stuff will be published on May 5th (in time for his Cleveland visit May 11th), and we'll have it at Hessler, along with all the chaps that have been published by NBP to date.   NightBallet also plans to have at least two more new chaps out by then- one, by the prolific and fantastic poet Lyn Lifshin.

Check out the fair here:  Hessler Street Fair 2012... and the weekend of May 19-20, be sure to stop by and say hello!

A big thank you to VX for working out the details and making it possible.  We'll post more news of the event as it gets closer to the date.   

HOT OFF THE PRESS! MAP WRAPPING PAPER CRADLE DANGLER by Kara Johnston!

Hot off the press today- a new chapbook of poetry by Kara Johnston:  Map Wrapping Paper Cradle Dangler!

Kara Johnston, a recent graduate of Kent State University, has been called "a terrific young poet (whose) attention to sound and image and collaged narrative is sometimes breathtaking" by Robert Miltner.  NightBallet agrees with him- Johnston weaves a sensitive and quietly sensual thread of ocean, seashells, sunlight, and love throughout her poems in Map Wrapping Paper Cradle Dangler.
The cover features a photo taken by Bonné de Blas, whose own chapbook of poetry, The Act of Dwelling, is forthcoming from NightBallet Press.

Beginning today, Map Wrapping Paper Cradle Dangler is available through PayPal right here on the NightBallet Press website- order your copy today!   You won't be sorry.  I was spellbound from the moment I began reading the manuscript.  :)

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD!

ONLY 2 WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD! 

Until the "end of the world" Buzzkill: Apocalypse submissions of poetry, flash fiction, and photos are due, that is... the deadline is May Day, May 1st, 2012.  What are your visions of apocalypse? Catastrophe? Cataclysm? Climate change? Alien invasion? Biohazard or germ warfare? Radiation? Rogue asteroids?  Don't delay!  Send your submission in an email (with "submission, your name" in the subject line) to nightballetpress@gmail.com.

All submissions will be read, and the decision to include works will be based on subject relevance and merit, so previously-unpublished poets have just as much chance for inclusion as veteran writers.  Photos must indicate, in some way, the theme of "end of the world'.

Notifications of acceptance will be sent after the May 1st deadline.  Confirmed contributors so far include science fiction luminaries Geoffrey Landis and James J. E. Stanley, artist-photographers Eleanor Bennett and Amy Mothersbaugh Roos, and celebrated poets Lyn Lifshin, Robert Miltner, and George Wallace, with many more surprises in store.

Publication is scheduled for summer solstice, June 21st, 2012.

Friday the 13th- Zach Ashley Is POETICALLY INCORRECT!

We are allllmost on the third week of National Poetry Month, and the celebration here at NightBallet Press continues with the publication of Zach Ashley's Poetically Incorrect! 

Michigan performance poet Zach Ashley has long been known for his outrageous, hilarious, and magnificently performed tirades on getting a flu shot, finding the colors in his rainbow, hearing voices, and explaining his guardian angel.  An announcement that he's going to make an appearance always generates frissons of anticipation and excitement.  Now, you can experience Zach a whole new way:  Poetically Incorrect contains 18 of Zach's "greatest hits", as well as a list of links to online live performances.  Don't miss out on the excitement- order your copy today!

Second Week of National Poetry Month!

The second week of National Poetry Month here at NightBallet Press begins with the announcement and unveiling of the first four broadsides in the 2012 Series! 

The entire 2012 Series will be available for sale through PayPal at the end of the year. However, if you absolutely cannot wait (and who could blame you? These poems are fantastic!), NightBallet has figured out a way to make these first four broadsides available to you right away. Buy any NightBallet chapbook, and I will include these first four broadsides in the order free of charge. This is a limited-time offer, good only until the next batch of broadsides are announced.

The first four broadsides are:

"La Seducción en Español" by Skylark Bruce  (This delightful performance poem written in English and Spanish will thrill you with its musical wordplay! Canton, Ohio poet Skylark Bruce comes across as both naughty and nice in this first broadside in the 2012 Series. For a sophisticated chuckle, grab a Spanish dictionary and get bilingual with Bruce. And you simply MUST try to catch a live reading of this poem!)

"Of Ashes and Dreams"/"Dike 14" by Miles Budimir (Written with Cleveland in mind, and with a nod to dan smith's poem "I Am Down With You, Crooked River", these two poems, "Of Ashes and Dreams" and "Dike 14", are a must-read for any northern Ohio denizen. Miles Budimir's clear, narrative style will grab your heart and not let go. Thanks to John Burroughs for the cover photo.)

"Contradance", a collaborative poem by Shelley Chernin, Joshua Gage, T. M. Göttl, Geoffrey Landis, and J. E. Stanley (This is NightBallet's first broadside to feature a collaborative poem. Written at Cleveland Poetics by (alphabetically) Shelley Chernin, Joshua Gage, T. M. Göttl, Geoffrey Landis, and J. E. Stanley, this poem is a stunning display of five fine poets working together to achieve a strange beauty. Science fictional in tone and masterfully structured, "Contradance" is not to be missed. Thanks to Steven B. Smith for the cover photo.)

and a mini-collection of musical tribute poems titled "Noteworthy Travelin'", by Renay Sanders ("Noteworthy Travelin'"), John Burroughs ("No More Dark Horse" and "Danger Cruise"), Jane Rosenberg LaForge ("Rock Star Watching"), and J. E. Stanley ("Wayfaring Pilgrim" and "Humbuckers").  (This broadside is another first for NightBallet Press, with a (very) short collection of poems written on the subject of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and the rock-n-rollers who make the music happen. Featuring a wonderful poem by Renay Sanders, "Noteworthy Travelin'", two insightful "rock-ku" by John Burroughs, and tribute poems by New Yorker Jane Rosenberg LaForge and Ohioan J. E. Stanley, this one-time, one-of-a-kind broadside pays homage to the Hall of Fame induction festivities taking place in Cleveland, Ohio during the month of April.)


With a projected total of 12 broadsides in the series, NightBallet promises to satisfy every possible poetic taste with outstanding poems by a broad spectrum of diverse poets. Stay tuned for more announcements!


Note:  The poets in the collaborative poem "Contradance" have been listed alphabetically.  If you wish a "key" to which poets wrote which lines in "Contradance", send a request to nightballetpress@gmail.com, and I'll email it to you.  Thanks to J. E. Stanley for providing the key!

Happy National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month, and NightBallet Press is celebrating all month long!  To kick off the festivities, we posted the exciting video "Lens" by John Burroughs yesterday; for an exclusive peek at his amazing performance, go here. 

To continue the joyous celebration and appreciation of poetry, NightBallet Press is extremely pleased and honored to announce the publication of Elise Geither's new chap Monologue for Poets!

With three sections of monologues (Poetry, Excerpts from Plays, and Performances for Two Poets), this chap is a treat for the mind, ear, and tongue.  Elise Geither's Voice is strong and consistant throughout, and her images will burn themselves into your retinas and into your hearts. 

NightBallet is deeply grateful to John Burroughs's granddaughter Jada for the beautiful smile that graces the cover of Monologues for Poets, and to the artistpoet (yes those two words are inseparable) Bonné de Blas, who graciously permitted the use of three of her artbook photos for the chap. 

Beginning today, Monologues for Poets is available for sale right here on the website, and of course, Elise Geither will have a number of her own for sale.  Stay tuned for announcements concerning upcoming readings where you can experience Elise live, on stage, aloud, and monologuing!

NightBallet promised we'd wallow in poetry this month, and wallow we shall:  there will be a number of publications following Elise Geither's Monologue for Poets. 

The first of the poems in the NightBallet Broadside Series 2012 will be printed during April; the first two are "La Seducción en Español" by Skylark Bruce, and "Of Ashes and Dreams" & "Dike 14" by Miles Budimir.  Both broadsides feature very different Voices, and NightBallet is proud to present them to you for your poetic  pleasure.  I'll post photos when they've been printed and are available.

We'll be publishing another chap within the coming week or two:  Map Wrapping Paper Cradle Dangler by recent Kent State University grad Kara Johnston.  Her delightful poems interweave themes of ocean, sunlight, wings, and love in a quietly sensual way. 

Time and the gods permitting, NightBallet plans the publication of at least one additional chap after Johnston's, and perhaps even two, during the month of April, so stay tuned for further news!

NightBallet strongly urges you to write poems, read poems, attend poetry readings, submit your poems to journals, support your local poets by buying their chaps, versify, rhymify, rappify, shout it from the rooftops, howl during this National Month of Poetry.

Thank you for your past and continued encouragement and support.  NightBallet Press is proud to present the musicality of language and originality of expression, and could not do so without the many wonderful Voices of all you poets who make up my world.  I love poetry, and I love you.

For more information on National Poetry Month, please visit Poets.org.

John Burroughs performs his poem "Lens" w/ music at Nia Coffeehouse 03-2...

NightBallet had the good fortune to attend the Nia Coffeehouse poetry reading on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The theme was "BEING AT PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY": Poems of Power, Words of Life Against Violence and Brutality, and the event was held at St. Alban Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Cavana Faithwalker emceed and John Burroughs featured, along with Steven B. Smith and Kathy Smith, and Vince Robinson and the Jazz Poets (joined by Wanda Sobieska) dazzled with cool jazz grooves. "Lens", a new poem written and published--in a very limited edition of 30 by Crisis Chronicles Press especially for the event by John Burroughs earlier in the day--debuted with a bang. 

John Burroughs was published by NBP last year in the broadside "Low Kay Shun"; Steven B. Smith has two poems in the upcoming NBP anthology Buzzkill: Apocalypse, and Kathy Smith is working on a manuscript of poems entitled Firecracker Mandelas for NBP. Now, if we could only figure out how to get that sweet jazz between NBP covers!

April is National Poetry Month, and NightBallet has plenty of surprises in store for you!  Stay tuned for more exciting videos as we continue to gather the spoken word performances of NBP poets, and watch for the release of several new chaps over the coming weeks.  We're going to WALLOW in poetry, people!

CALL FOR PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

As most of you know, NightBallet Press will be publishing Buzzkill: Apocalypse, an End of the World Anthology, this year.  Along with "end of the world" poems (see an earlier blog on this site for details), I'm interested in ORIGINAL photographs that might fit the theme.  Let me be clear here:  I'm NOT interested in images taken from Google or some other photo site.  I want only your OWN original photos.  Suggestions of what I'm looking for include photos of air raid or tornado shelters or signage, tornados or giant hail, damage done by tornados, hurricanes, forest fires, etc, atomic symbols, graffiti or signage that might say something apocalyptic, and so on.  You can send me a link to the photo, or include it in the body of an email to nightballetpress@gmail.com, with PHOTO SUBMISSION- (your name) in the subject line, so I can find it when I need it.  The deadline for both poetry and photograph submissions is May Day, May 1, 2012, with a projected publication date of Summer Solstice, June 21, 2012.  I can't wait to see what you send me!

Sometimes, Illinois by Steve Brightman is published!

Ohio poet Steve Brightman's brand new NightBallet Press chap Sometimes, Illinois, is published!

 It debuted at the Mac's Back's event in Cleveland Heights last night, where Steve Brightman gave a simply delicious reading from his book:

NightBallet is very pleased to publish this fine poet, who uses both brevity and wit to create pithy little poems that pack a punch.  Seek him out and buy a copy of Sometimes, Illinois, or order yours on this website from NightBallet today!

Ohio poets Jim Lang (Coyote Moon, NightBallet Press 2012) and Bree (the melody, I swear, it's just around that way, Crisis Chronicles Press, 2011) also gave fantastic readings last night.  Jim Lang brought his own unique brand of performance, along with his wonderful, autobiographical poems:

Crisis Chronicles poet Bree began her reading with a song, and continued with a good number of beautiful, lyrical poems:

Many thanks to these three poets, who made March's combined NightBallet Press/Crisis Chronicles Press/Mac's Back's Books on Coventry event an exciting, satisfying, outstanding evening of poetry!  Special thanks to Suzanne DeGaetano for giving NightBallet and Crisis Chronicles the opportunity to bring this event to life.

Brightman, Bree and Lang, PLUS Updates!

NightBallet is very pleased to announce the upcoming Jim Lang- Steve Brightman- Bree reading, a NightBallet Press/Crisis Chronicles Press/Mac's Backs collaboration.  The event will take place at Mac's Back's Books on Coventry, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Hts, OH, on Wednesday, March 14, at 7 PM.  That's only one week from today!  Jim Lang will be reading from his new chap, Coyote Moon, published just last month by NBP, Bree will be reading from the melody, i swear, it's just around that way, published recently by CCP, and Steve Brightman will be reading from his brand new chap, Sometimes, Illinois, which NBP will be publishing this weekend!  Open mic will follow the features.  Having been intimate with both Lang's and Brightman's poems, and having read Bree's book as well, I promise you an evening of poetry you won't soon forget- hope you can join us!

Updates:  My day job has been brutal lately, and I've fallen a little behind on my publishing schedule.  However, if you are one of the NBP poets waiting to have your chapbook published, be assured I haven't forgotten you.  I've been working on multiple manuscripts, formatting whenever I had the time, and I'll be publishing several more chaps soon.  The next one is Elise Geither's Monologues For Poets, a truly delightful collection of themed poems and play excerpts.  She has seen the proposed chapbook cover, so I'm posting it here (Steve Brightman has not seen his cover, so I'm going to save his for a future posting).

The photo, by the way, is from a pic taken at John Burroughs' house at Christmas- it's the beautiful smile of his granddaughter, Jada.

Check out the new video in the left column- Chansonette Buck reads poems from her NBP chap blood oranges.   I'll be posting more videos of poets in the future, so stay tuned.

Heather Ann Schmidt tells me that she was stopped by an Indian woman on the street in Chicago, who bought her chap Batik on the spot.  Have poetry, will travel!

Cleveland poet Jean Brandt has promised me a manuscript (yay!) and so has Elyria poet John Burroughs.  And I've started collecting poems for the 2012 NightBallet Press Broadside Series, including a half-English, half-Spanish poem from Skylark Bruce. We'll have an exciting year here at NBP!  I'll be posting more updates as we go along.  For now, hope to see you at a local poetry reading soon!