Ready for Launch? Flare, Corona’s Official Pub Date Arrives, an Upcoming Open Books Reading with Martha Silano, Instagram Takeovers, Plus More Pics of Tulips and Parties

Ready for Launch? Flare, Corona’s Official Pub Date Finally Arrives (and BOA’s Instagram Takeover)

Yes, all the waiting is over – if you pre-ordered the book, or were waiting for the book to be available from BOA or Amazon or you wanted to review it on Amazon, the 9th is the day! That’s tomorrow!

In celebration, I’ll be taking over BOA Edition’s feed on Instagram May 9th, 10th, and 11th so keep your eyes out for that! I’ll talk about inspirations, making cocktails, playlists, and more. I’m a little bit nervous because I’m not the world’s most confident Instagram user, but hopefully I have respectable posts and stories. Isn’t it funny that now Instagram videos are part of promoting a book? That wasn’t true the last time one of my books came out. Ah, how things change!

And, really, if you have time, if you can go and put up a few words about the book on Amazon I would really appreciate it. Amazon reviews (and stars) still matter more than we would like to think!

Also, in case you are interested, I’m not just a BOA author, I’m also a customer! This is what I got from my Spring Book Lovers Subscription package, which includes my new book plus Jessica Q. Stark’s Buffalo Girl (which I can highly recommend!) and more. You can subscribe here: https://www.boaeditions.org/products/subscriptions Fluffy cat not included.

Open Books Reading with Martha Silano (and Macarons and Book-Signing Afterwards!)

My Official Seattle Book Launch Reading and Party is taking place on May 13 at Open Books in Pioneer Square at 6 PM.  I’m super excited!

Martha Silano is doing the introduction and reading and I’ll be bringing macarons from Lady Yum for the book signing afterwards in the Parlor. It’s supposed to be a warmish day but hopefully not too warm? I’d love to see some of my old friends’ faces so come on out, get your signed copy of Flare, Corona. Here’s a link from the store itself for more info: https://open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com/pages/5-13-book-launch-with-jeannine-hall-gailey

And, if you can’t be there but you want to order a personalized copy of Flare, Corona from Open Books (support our local independent bookstores) click here.

It should be a great chance to see a lot of Seattle friends I haven’t seen since the beginning of the pandemic! So come out on Saturday. I’d love to see your face! I haven’t done a reading in Seattle for a very long time…

 

 

 

 

More Tulip and Party Pics

Since I had too much content and not enough space last week, here are some more pics from my 50th birthday at J. Bookwalter (pics thanks to Kelli Agodon) and from our trip to the Skagit Tulip Festival. We are supposed to have a heat wave at the end of the week that may push everything to bloom (and hopefully not burn) after a long cold, wet spring.

Even with a book launch, I have time to snap pictures of goldfinches and black-headed grosbeaks, which only appear during the summer, and I took time to photograph fallen cherry blossoms yesterday on a long walk looking for evidence of ducklings and goslings (no luck yet.) Wish me luck on the reading and book promotion this week – Flare, Corona was such a difficult book to write, and I hope people do find something in it that they can relate to. Wishing you all a happy spring (almost summer, apparently) week with time to notice the little things that make spring my favorite season.

 

 

 

50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books and Paintings, Poems in American Poetry Review, Feature at DMQ Review’s Virtual Salon, A Visit to the Tulip Festival, a Parental Visit – It’s Been a Week!

50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books, and Paintings

Yesterday was my 50th birthday, and wow, I was so excited to be celebrating with friends of 20 years from all over (including across the water!) and my family (including my parents who flew out from Ohio to be here. We had the celebration at J. Bookwalter’s Winery in Woodinville, there were wines and cupcakes and a poetry reading (I mean, should all birthday parties have poetry?) and Glenn did a toast and Kelli read an old poem I wrote that made me cry and I read poems from Flare, Corona. People brought beautiful flowers, my whole book club was there, and we stayed way past closing time celebrating. Having MS means today I’ll pretty much just rest but it was so worth it – we threw open the doors and windows at the winery and it (almost) felt like the last three pandemic years of isolation were over. Someone (John Campos, who is also J. Bookwalter’s Woodinville manager) gave me a beautiful painting rendition of my book cover (I love to be friends with artists!) and I just felt so much love and support. I didn’t get a ton of pics (even Glenn was too busy to take pics) but here are a few including my family pre-party, the editors of Two Sylvias Press, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy, and my friend poet Ronda who just had her own book come out, Chaos Theory for Beginners.

Literary Birthday News: Two Poems in American Poetry Review and a feature on DMQ Review’s May Virtual Salon

Wow, I am really feeling the literary love on this birthday – I just got the new issue (May/June) of American Poetry Review with two of my poems in it, “Disintegration” and “In the Second Year of the Plague, I Plant a Fig Tree.” Snag the whole issue, but sneak peek of my two poems below.

 

And, DMQ Review invited me (perfect timing!) to do a virtual Salon for May, which means you can see me reading a few poems from Flare, Corona here at their site. Cool birthday present!

Tulip Festival and Parental Visit

This is already a long post and I am busted from the week’s festivities, but I wanted to post a few pictures from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (exhausting but exhilarating to be around so many flowers) and my parents’ visit to Woodinville. We had some sunny weather – as you can see – after a mostly miserable, cold, rainy, April, so all the pictures in sunlight we all look pretty happy (or squinty?) Cherry blossoms, lilacs, apple trees, tulips – Pacific Northwest Spring at its best.

I hadn’t seen my parents in six years – and definitely hadn’t been in the same room with so much family in at least that long, Dad’s health issues keep him from traveling much (at all during the pandemic) so I was really grateful to have this time with them. We played guitar, visited wineries, walked around trees…it was wonderful. Okay, exhausted from a wonderful April – birthdays, poetry, flowers, cupcakes, and wine.

What a Week! Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s Best Poetry of the Year List, A New Poem in Sixth Finch, Reports from a Redmond Reading and Speculative Lecture for Writer’s Digest, Upcoming 50th Birthday Party

What a Week! From the Hospital to Poetry Readings to Making the List and More!

Well, this was a heck of a week. Besides miserable cold weather all week, it started out with Monday spent in the hospital (blood work, MRI, fluids) and ended with three straight days of cortisol-packed poetry action – a reading on Thursday (plus some good news for my new book,) picking up my parents from the airport on Friday, and a lecture for a Writer’s Digest virtual conference Saturday afternoon. One of my favorite poems just went up at Sixth Finch today. And now, I will collapse! Just kidding. But I may spend the day in bed reading!

Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s best Poetry of the Last Year!

Wow, what a surprise to come home from Thursday night’s rainstorm reading to see this! Ms. Magazine had a list of the best poetry books of the last year, and Flare, Corona was on it! Check out the list here! I am so grateful to Ms. Magazine and Karla J. Strand for choosing my book and putting it in such great company. A couple of BOA authors (including Jessica Stark!) on the list too, yay.

It’s a first for me to get this kind of “major media” attention, so I’m extra grateful. I do not take anything like this for granted. I hope the list is a fun read – I know I’m going to grab a couple of books on the list I hadn’t heard of.

A New Poem in Sixth Finch

So proud to have a new poem in the terrific new issue of Sixth Finch, “Cassandra Considers a New Job in a Plague Year.” It’s a little bit autobiographical. Cassandra of myth, of course, was cursed with the ability to see the future but have no one believe her.

There’s a sneek peek below but read the whole issue – and check out the art as well.

Reports from a Redmond Reading with Kelli Russell Agodon and a Speculative Poetry Presentation at Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Conference

Thursday night was Kelli Russell Agodon and my reading at Soul Food Coffee House, a series that’s been going on in Redmond for a shocking 17 years! (I was one of the first readers 17 years ago!) It was a squalling rainstorm outside. Kelli and I had dinner together beforehand, Kelli got a chance to cuddle with kitten Charlotte, we got to catch up, and then it was off to the reading. This was one of my first in-person readings in a long time, besides being a chance to try out poems from Flare, Corona, which I haven’t read from except really briefly at AWP. The open mike part ran long, so we had to book it to get Kelli to her ferry on time in the pouring rain. It was really good to do the thing called “human contact” again, despite my continued nervousness about covid. And Kelli and I always have a good time hanging out.

The next day my parents flew in from Ohio, so Glenn and I drove out to the airport to get them, then took them to the ferry to they could visit with my little brother and his wife who live over the water for a few days. It was really good to see them in person – it had been six years! And then woke up early Saturday to prep for my Speculative Poetry lecture for Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Writing Conference. I am still learning how to do a PowerPoint on a shared screen during Zoom, but it went really well, a pretty full class, and lots of good questions afterwards.

After Saturday’s lecture, though, my MS brain and body decided it had had enough stress – even though it was mostly good stress, minus the hospital trip – so I crashed early with HGTV on in the background and slept through a whole six hours – a bit of an accomplishment for a poor sleeper like myself. This morning I had breakfast in bed and I’m catching up on reading.

Woodinville 50th Birthday Party Plus New Poetry Book Celebration

And guess what? The parents will come to our house in a few days, and then we’ll have our Woodinville Birthday Party/Book Launch at J. Bookwalter’s Winery with cupcakes, a little poetry reading, and a LOT of wine and celebrating on April 30. I’m turning 50 and having my book come out the same week, just a few days after a solar eclipse, which seems appropriate given the book’s cover. Kelli will also be a guest reader and family and friends are welcome, so if you want to come celebrate with us, here’s the info in a graphic Glenn made. Wine, poetry, and cupcakes! What could be better than that?

A New Interview with Interstellar Flight Press, Taking Advantage of Sunshine and Cherry Trees, a Redmond Reading on Thursday, Parents Flying In, and a Writer’s Digest Conference Presentation on Saturday!

A New Interview with Interstellar Flight Press with T.D. Walker

Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press and T.D. Walker for doing this thoughtful interview, “Covid, Science Fiction, and the Poetry of Survival” about my new book, Flare, Corona. It’s always nice to interview with someone who asks such interesting questions. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s remained dreary and cold here in the Northwest, but we had one day of chilly sunshine, so Glenn and I dressed warm and went out to visit the Seattle Japanese Garden (still very early on the blooms there—camellias, rhododendrons, not even their cherries yet) and visited the famous cherry trees in the University of Washington quad.

Here are a few pictures from the visit to the Seattle Japanese Garden (the camellia shot too)…

Taking Advantage of Sunshine and Cherry Trees

We’re on track to have another record cold month, this time an April without reaching 60 degrees. Meanwhile, the East Coast was at 90 degrees. Sigh, could we have a little dry warmth without overdosing on it?

But the cherry trees at UW were bustling with students, tourists, and us on the one sunny weekday this week, and I’m glad we got to see them—it’s important to take breaks to appreciate nature, especially when your schedule looks like mine does this month. Enjoy these pictures from UW’s cherry tree quad!

Redmond Reading This Thursday at Soul Food Books with Kelli Russell Agodon

Very excited to be reading with my good friend Kelli Russell Agodon this Thursday at 6 PM at the Soul Food Poetry Night at the Soul Food Coffee House in Redmond, WA. A great chance to see some of my Eastside friends, and I’ll be reading all new poems from my new book, so it should be fun! If you can, come out, get some coffee, chill out and listen to Kelli and I read some poems!

 

Crazy Schedules: Poetry Reading Thursday, Parents Arriving from Ohio Friday, and Saturday Giving a Virtual Talk at the Writer’s Digest Conference on Speculative Poetry!

Remember I talked a couple of posts ago about crazy schedules this month and next month? Well, this week has it all: family coming in for visits, the second ever reading for Flare, Corona, and then a virtual talk on Speculative Poetry. Yes, I definitely have the energy for it (I hope) after two weeks of fighting off a non-covid sinus infection and trying to get my garden into shape. I am looking forward to reading with Kelli at Soul Food Books, as it’s pretty low-key with a friendly audience and it’s always more entertaining to read with friends.

My parents are coming for their first visit in six years, so my little brother and I have been cleaning our houses and planning fun outings while they’re here. It’s also my 50th birthday on April 30th, so they’ll be here for that, which should be fun.

My webinar is at the Virtual Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Writing Conference, where you can get a day-long pass to hear from the four featured speakers, including me. Here’s a little bit more about my session:

Supervillains, Witches, Monsters, and Particle Physics: Writing Speculative Poetry and Finding an Audience for It

by Jeannine Hall Gailey

In this session, Jeannine will cover a definition of speculative poetry and a short history of it, give some examples from recent writers, talk about where to publish it, and even include a speculative poetry exercise.

I have been trying to also write poems and submit this National Poetry Month, but as you can see, it’s been mostly readings and writer’s group visits and planning and promotion and scheduling doctor and dentists in between events. Oh well! It’s my first book in six years, so I need to give it my attention and energy for a little while. In PR for Poets, I talk about the dangers of burning out on doing promotional stuff, but right now it’s all still mostly the fun stuff and a lot of it feels new, because things have changed since the last time I had a book out. New publisher, new social media things, a different climate for books, plus coming out of three plague years makes everything seems more anxiety-provoking (hoping me and my parents stay well for their visit!)

So, if you’re looking for inspiration on speculative poetry or live on the Eastside of Seattle and want to enjoy some in-person poetry, I hope you visit one of these events. But check out the side of my page—there are a lot more events coming up, both virtual and in-person.

 

 

Happy Easter and Passover, An Avalanche of Poetry Events in April, Spring Sylvia and Katie Farris’ New Book, Cherry Blossom Fest

Happy Easter and Passover! And an Avalanche of Poetry Events in April!

Happy Easter and Passover to those who celebrate. I always loved Easter as a kid, mainly because our family celebrated by watching “Jesus Christ Superstar” and we got chocolate bunnies. It’s also a time of rebirth, of celebrating spring, of renewal – even in the cold rain today, you can feel the flowers and the green leaves happening.

What happened to April? It started with a few early book launch events (the book is officially out May 8th,) nothing crazy, and then I started getting e-mails and now every week is packed with classes, lectures, and readings, culminating in a reading at J. Bookwalter’s Winery on my 50th birthday on the last day of poetry month! Take a look at the events of the right side of the screen and come to some of the in-person or virtual readings and get a copy of Flare, Corona.

I guess this is no surprise, since this is National Poetry Month and all! And I’m actually looking forward to being a little bit busy after a few years of the only “busy times” were dental work and blood draws. And being in person with people is such a great experience as a writer – it takes you out of the isolation of writing, editing, submitting and into a community of writers, readers, that it’s not just you and your words, that you and the words are out in the world.

Cherry Blossom Fest

Even though it’s been mostly cold and gray, I made an effort to get out in the few hours of sunshine we had this week and snap pics of the cherry trees (and magnolias) as they take their time coming into bloom – first one species, then another. And I haven’t even been up to the tulip festival yet. And this middle pic is me, getting my hair cut and enjoying a brief but chilly stint in the light.

We actually have a real festival going on this weekend called SakuraCon, which means “cherry blossom” con, but it’s mostly anime-focused. I’ve actually presented there before, but not this year.

Literary Kittens and Katie Farris’ Standing in the Forest of Being Alive

I mentioned reading Katie Farris’ moving and funny account of being diagnosed and treated for early breast cancer in her thirties, Standing in the Forest of Being Alive, from Alice James Books. I’ve always enjoyed Katie’s writing, but this book is really something special. Literary kitten Sylvia did a photo shoot with the book, and the outtake in on the left of paragraph, and the “real” shot is below. I think one of the things I love about the poetry community is how supportive we can be (not always are, but can be) towards each other. I love shouting out other poets’ terrific work, and the cats love to pose with poetry books (they like the attention, and they get treats after.)

Celebrate! I hope you all have lots to celebrate too this poetry month. I’m looking forward to seeing friends, and family (my parents are – crossing fingers – going to be out for my birthday reading,) and I’m trying to ignore the anxiety of doing readings in public again and focus on the good stuff. Soon the temperatures will hopefully be back to normal, say, above 50, and we’ll get at least a little sun to balance all the cold gray rain, although it doesn’t really get sunny here much before July. Be sure to post a poetry book review, or just post a poem you love on Twitter or Instagram or whatever. Give poets some love – we mostly work really hard alone in the dark. It’s nice to know when someone actually hears us. Happy week!