First Book Interview #55 - Jeff Alessandrelli

A new First Book Interview is live:

#55 - Jeff Alessandrelli

Check it out, and check back in a couple of weeks for another... 

First Book Interview #54 - Karen Rigby

A new First Book Interview has been posted:

#54 - Karen Rigby

Enjoy. And check back soon for another.

Quick News

I'm not sure how long this blog will be up in its current form, as http://www.keithmontesano.com will hopefully soon be a legitimate website, though now it just takes you to where you are currently. 

Once it's live and the links work and the information is there, I'll let people know. 

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Happy to say that my second book, currently titled What We Hope Will Never Find Us, will be published by Dream Horse Press sometime in 2013.

It's comprised of ekphrastic film poems, and I'm thrilled that it has finally come together.

Like I did with Ghost Lights, I'll probably set up something for a pre-order on my future website. So if you want a copy directly from me, you'll have that option.

With that, Sirens and Wildfire, which I hope ends up being my third book when the time comes, will make the rounds again to contests and open reading periods starting this fall. 

I haven't messed with it a lot over the last year, but now may be the time, especially since I'll most likely be using it for my dissertation in the spring.

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The First Book Interviews are back. My apologies for the long delay, and hopefully it won't happen again.

An interview with Anne Shaw was posted two weeks ago. 

And just today, there's a new one posted with Amanda Auchter.

From now on, one will be posted every two weeks: on the first and fifteenth of each month.

If you'd like to be interviewed, or you know someone who you think would want to be interviewed, you can contact me via email at the top right part of the blog.

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I should be done with my PhD by the end of next spring.

There's a lot to be done in the next eight months.  

And from there, who knows? 

Ages

It's been a while since I wrote anything on here, but it seems like an update needs to happen.

Also, since I wrote last time the Giants won the Super Bowl. Won't get tired of saying that until they're no longer the victors. Hopefully that takes at least a few years.

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First off, regarding the First Book Interviews, the first one, starting up the new wave of interviews that will hopefully take us into at least the new year, will be published on May 1st.

I have many poets I need to get interviews too, and a good amount of books to get through. If you're schedule to get an interview, you will soon, and accept my apologies for the delay.

PhD work is catching up with me, along with teaching, so soon enough I'll have time to dedicate to the series and get it back up and running with a new interview every two weeks.

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Also, I've had some recent publications over the last few months that you can check out if you're interested. Most are from my third manuscript, of which I recently finished a draft that I'm pretty happy with.

There's an interview and four poems in Connotation Press

Four poems in Superstition Review

One poem in Quarterly West

One poem in Devil's Lake

One poem in Linebreak

And some others in future issues of Rhino, Weave Magazine, Bellingham Review, Cream City Review, and a few more.

I still have a lot of these going out into the world also. I know they're not for everyone, but I decided just to go for it and try to put together a conceptual manuscript with all the film poems. I think it's working pretty well, but we'll see what others think when I get some more eyes on it.

I've been thrilled by the response from so many editors, so now it's to keep working on the third, and keep sending out my second manuscript, which I hope will be out in the world soon enough, but we all know how that goes.

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More soon...

Check back in May for the start of the new wave of First Book Interviews.

First Book Interview #51 - Steve Kistulentz

Today there's a new interview with Steve Kistulentz.

Check out the interview. Check out his work. Grab a copy of his book.

#51 - Steve Kistulentz

First Book Interview #50 - Shane McCrae

We've reached the half century mark with the newest First Book Interview from Shane McCrae.

Mule has gotten quite a good reception out there thus far, and for good reason, so do check out his work and buy his book.

#50 - Shane McCrae

A Few

Wanted to share this new review of Ghost Lights at Southeast Review Online by John Beardsley, whom I also need to thank profusely.

He did a great job with it, and though there haven't been a ton of reviews of the book, I've been thrilled with all of them, and this is definitely no exception.

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Also, last week I got my contributor copies of Copper Nickel, and the issue not only looks fantastic as an art object, but there's a ton of newer poets for whom I'll be on the lookout in the future, along with some friends and great poets I've been following for a while.

It's becoming one of my favorite journals in the country, and is surely worth the subscription price.

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Picking up The Tree of Life tomorrow.

Finally.

There was no stand-alone DVD released, as it should be.

Aside from the theater, it now needs to be seen on Blu-ray only.

I can't wait.