Fall is for poets (but so is winter)

Titles are hard. It's been another busy couple of months since my last update. Here's a quick recap of the fall so far: 


Book News
September and October were full of readings at home and in the Philadelphia area. I celebrated my dear friend Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach's book launch for her collection The Many Names for Mother. And Julia and I read with our friend Nancy Reddy for our (M)other(ship) events. 


I've still got one more reading coming up. If you're near the Washington, DC area, mark your calendars for December 6 at 6:00 p.m. at Zed's Cafe in Silver Spring, MD. See you there!

I visited a very welcoming English 101 class at Washington College and talked to them about Catechesis and poems and fairy tales. They were such a smart, curious, and very insightful group. 



 I was also lucky enough to receive two very generous book reviews for Catechesis so far this fall. Here are some highlights: 

This collection is a stunning pastiche, interwoven with references to Grimm's Fairytales, Silence of the Lambs, anatomical drawings from Grey's Anatomy, and botanical references, all done in gorgeous, precise verse. This book studies the overwhelming horror and beauty of the natural world as well as the overwhelming unease of being a woman.
—Jessica Drake-Thomas, This Week, I Read

In Catechesis, Lusby not only subverts liturgical catechesis via creating her own transfiguration narratives and imagery, but she also offers a bad-ass tribute to Silence of the Lambs and Alien, two thrillers featuring female protagonists pitted against evil. Whether composing "traditional" poems, or crafting visual poetry, Lusby deftly creates, deconstructs, and bridges high and low culture.
—Stephen Scott Whitaker, The Broadkill Review


I've also been lining up some readings and talks for Winter/Spring 2020. There are still some potential events in the works, but this is what I've got on the books right now:
  • University of Utah Guest Writers Series: A Reading by Kimiko Hahn & Lindsay Lusby—Thursday, January 16 at The University of Utah, Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Life After the Book Deal: A Talk about Publishing & Marketing (working title)—Saturday, February 1 at the Kent County Public Library in Chestertown, MD.
  • The Turning Wheel Reading Series—Thursday, February 13 at DogStar Books in Lancaster, PA.
  • NHCC Meet the Authors Reading Series—February 2020 (exact date & time TBD) at North Hennepin Community College in Minneapolis, MN. 
  • University of Cincinnati Clermont Poetry Series—Wednesday, April 8 at UC Clermont in Cincinnati, OH.

New Publications
Last month, my poem "Presswife" was published in the new issue of Gulf Coast. Such a big, gorgeous volume and my poem about historical American women, letterpress printing, and the Japanese fairytale, "The Crane Wife," gets three whole pages to herself.


My first book review was also published in the new issue of The Cortland Review! I reviewed Aviya Kushner's chapbook Eve and All the Wrong Men, published earlier this year by dancing girl press. You can read the full review here. And then you should head over to dgp's store and buy yourself a copy of this smart & beautiful chapbook.

I've been sending out new my Poltergeist poems and my remaining letterpress lady poems, as well as my true crime lyric essay, to literary magazines for the past several months; but none of them have had any luck yet. We'll just keep on keeping on though. 
Other Ventures
I've been taking on a number of freelance broadside design jobs lately, building up my graphic design portfolio. I've had the pleasure, so far, of working with poets: Mary Ardery, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Justin Hamm, Kelly Grace Thomas, and Amie Whittemore. I'm hoping there will be many more to come! For more info about my broadside design services, you can check out my website here. 


I'm currently working on the design and letterpress printing of a broadside for the poem that won the first annual Rossetti Broadside Prize from the American Literary Review. Mag Gabbert's prize-winning poem "America" has been such fun to work with. I think I managed to come up with an eye-catching and cohesive design that extrapolates from the tone and content of the poem, without producing a literal visual interpretation of the text. I cannot wait to share the final printed version when the broadside is released by ALR early next year!

Issue 6 of Cherry Tree is currently in production. After a busy open reading period, we've accepted incredible poems, stories, and essays from a whopping 49 contributors—even our first translation! I've been busy compiling contributor bios and publication contracts, arranging the issue specs with our printer, overseeing the work of our Production Intern as she completes the initial layout and typesetting of the volume, and various other managing editor tasks. Soon it will be time to perform the deep proofread, compile proofs and style sheets, and send the proofs out to the contributors—all before the Winter Holiday Break. 

My final piece of news is that I will be serving as a preliminary judge for the 2020 Dorset Prize from Tupelo Press. For the month of January, I will be knee-deep in poetry manuscripts and I am so thrilled to have this privilege. The contest deadline is December 31, so if you have a full-length poetry manuscript ready for sending, I hope you'll consider submitting it to this contest. All submissions will be read blind (without identifying information). And the final judge for this year's contest is the magnanimous Maggie Smith! 

For now: the moon is waxing, the autumn is waning, and the days are getting shorter, darker, and colder. Every season is a poet's season. Stay cozy!



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