I know I say this all the time, but y'all, I am such a lucky poet. I've had such an incredible week!

I kicked off this week with the Pandora's Box banned poetry event at the Wild Detectives. The whole night was filled with poetry that has been banned somewhere, including work by poets who are being censored and punished for their work today. Very important, indeed. I got to read one of my favorite poems, "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. It was a great night at a fantastic venue. Many thanks to the Pandora's Box masterminds for including me. Check out this photo from the reading:

Also, my poem "Make it Memorable" came up over on IndieFeed. It's always an honor and a pleasure to be included on this podcast. IndieFeed will be coming to a close at the end of this year. While I am sad to see it go, I am grateful for everything they've done for performance poetry over the past decade.

The Fort Worth Weekly put out their Best of Fort Worth issue this week. I am incredibly grateful to this fine publication for selecting Still as the best book by a Texas author for 2015. I am thrilled by the response; people are so amped. In a world where someone posts a "poetry is dead" article on the internet every other week, I am particularly satisfied to have hard proof that poetry is alive and as important as ever.

Last night, I got to read at the opening night of the amazing Art&Words Show at Art on the Boulevard in Fort Worth. This annual collaborative show pairs visual artists and writers who create pieces in response to each other. Many thanks to curator Bonnie Stufflebeam for including me. I responded to the haunting and gorgeous work of James Rosin. The extremely talented Gale Johnston responded to my poem, "Illumination." Check out these photos from the show:

I am having a blast and I'm not done yet! Next week, October 2nd and 3rd, I'll be in Macon, Georgia for the Lost Keys literary festival. I'll be reading and giving an advanced poetry workshop. That following week I'll be in Austin October 8th to feature for the BookWoman 2nd Thursday reading then I'll make an appearance at the Fort Worth Writer's Boot Camp table at Arts Goggle October 10th in Fort Worth. Then I'll feature for Pandora's Box October 19th at Shipping & Receiving in Fort Worth for poetry of place and I'll teach a workshop October 24th for the Boot Camp.

I've got copies of my gorgeous handmade chapbook Letters to Petrarch to sell at all these events. Come see me! I'll read to you, I'll teach you stuff, I'll send you home with a beautiful book.

Stay tuned. I'll report back about everything here. Cheers, y'all!