Tag: Copper Canyon Press

Back to the Grind, In a Good Way

John Winkelman

Jim Harrison's Complete Poems boxed set

I’ve been busy playing catch-up this past week. Taking two days off of work to attend ConFusion 2022 turned into, as it always does, less of a vacation and more of a deferred workload. That workload caught up with me at 8:00 Monday morning, and was still dogging me when I logged off at 18:00 Friday afternoon. But by several orders of magnitude I am not paid enough to work weekends when the literal end of the world is not at stake.

The only reading material to arrive in the past week, and it is a very big deal, is the three-volume boxed set of Jim Harrison‘s Complete Poems. This collection is absolutely beautiful. The book covers are from paintings by the late Russell Chatham, and the volumes have introductions by (respectively) Colum McCann, Joy Williams, and John Freeman. This set was a special edition published through Copper Canyon Press‘s project The Hearts Work: Jim Harrison’s Poetic Legacy. The online book launch celebration is available for viewing on YouTube.

In reading news, I finished Tamsyn Muir‘s Harrow the Ninth in the middle of last week, and started Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel shortly thereafter. I finished it this past Thursday evening, in our hotel room at ConFusion. After returning home I started reading S.A. Chakraborty‘s The Empire of Gold, the third volume in her fantastic Daevabad trilogy.

In writing news, I was thrown off my stride somewhat by preparing (physically, mentally, and emotionally) for ConFusion, so I didn’t accomplish much. This past week I have made some more progress on my short story, and should have it finished next week. Since my new writing routine has the first full week of the month set aside for editing, I still have one more writing week in which to complete some work. Thanks to my weekend of good friends, good fellowship and good vibes, I feel energized to dive back into my creative work.

Rainy Days are Good Days for Reading

John Winkelman

An interesting mix of reading material arrived here last week, fueled in part by a friend purging her collection and sending some books my way.

On the top left is the latest title from Two Lines Press, The Skin Is the Elastic Covering That Encases the Entire Body, by Bjørn Rasmussen. Next is the latest issue of Poetry Magazine. The last two in the first row are from Rudy Rucker’s most recent Kickstarter.

The three in the second row are the books from the friend who studied English and literature and the interpretations thereof, many years ago. She actually sent a large stack my way, but these three were the only ones which seemed like I would be able to make sense of them without a Master’s Degree.

In reading news, I finished The Nine by Tracy Townsend. It was fantastic! I’m looking forward eagerly to reading the sequel. I am not going to pick up another long novel until I finish the initial read-through of a draft of a book one of my oldest and dearest friends sent me a few weeks back. Once that is done, I will dive back into long-form fiction.

But I am still reading poetry. I just started Here: Poems for the Planet, edited by Elizabeth J. Coleman and published by Copper Canyon Press. The work contained herein is, quite simply, extraordinary. I usually write about nature and the environment in my own poetry so I find myself continually inspired by this collection. And I’m writing more too. Maybe one of these decades I’ll even get published!