Your hold is ready! (9. 22. 23)

September 22, 2023

Happy September/official start to Autumn, everyone! When we last spoke, I was back in Connecticut, not yet moved into my new apartment here in Davis. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you that moving, despite a huge amount of help from my mom, who graciously flew out to California for a few days to hang out and unpack, was an absolute pain in the ass. That being said, that process is over now, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything has turned out. I’m considering making a post on which furniture and decorations I got, since I worked hard to find affordable options and made out great. Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in.

I also started my remote adjunct job and my position with the Remote Access Archive, both of which have been really great alternative to my dissertation and conference paper-writing when I get tired of doing those. So far, remote, asynchronous teaching has gone better than I had expected; while I really miss the classroom experience for a number of reasons, students have been happy to chat with me via email, and I feel I’ve been able to communicate lectures and feedback with them in ways that satisfy us both.

In writing and editing-related news, the first issue of manywor(l)ds is out as of 08/15, and submissions are currently OPEN through 10/31, with issue 2 dropping 11/15. I’ve been thrilled with the variety and quality of submissions so far, and would love for you to throw your hat in the ring. With my position at Frontier, I also have the opportunity to review about 4 poems a month that I find particularly compelling, in a depth that I’m not able to do in these big roundups. You can view my first two entries in Frontier’s Exceptional Poetry column here and here. I’m trying to make sure to find amazing poems in smaller journals, so if you have any new/small magazines you really like and want me to take a look at, be sure to let me know.

Right now, I’m in a weird in-between moment for several reasons: summer is finally, here in California, turning to fall, and I’m finally waking up a little chilly in the morning. I’m actively practicing for a 5K (my first ever!) on November 18, and it’s nice for my morning runs to be chilly, too. I’m in between high holidays, with Rosh Hashanah passed and Yom Kippur coming in just a couple days. At the end of next week, UC Davis finally starts for the fall quarter, and my TA duties will begin (I’m sure, between that and my other work, I’ll be too busy to dwell in the weirdness of having no more coursework anymore…ever).

So, it’ll be weird, and exciting, and probably a little disorienting –– change sucks sometimes. But my new stuff has, so far, gone better than I could have imagined, and overall, I’m pretty excited to kick off the academic year and get ready for chillier weather and all the other trappings of fall.

On to the recommendations!

Today’s Recs:

Books:

Audio & Intermedia

Poetry & Prose & In-Between:

Essays and Articles:

My Recent Work: