Ketchup, No Mustard

While I no longer eat encased meats, any bona fide hot dog aficionado knows you don't put ketchup on your wiener. However, the title of this post is presented more as a pun on "catching up" than as condiment endorsement.

When I last wrote, both my semester at Indiana University Northwest and my Poetry Center residency at Skinner West were recently over, and I was still in the process of regaining my composure. The advent of 'summer' -- and a fuller swathe of free time than normal -- always requires a mental readjustment period. (A brief period: in less than two weeks I'll once again be co-teaching Northeastern Illinois University's Creative Writing Institute with Christine Simokaitis.) Since then, I hosted and read for the spring edition of my reading series, Excited Utterance (along with co-poets Hannah Gamble and Kristin LaTour); hosted and performed for monthly songwriter round-robin Folk You! (along with Dalice Malice, Simeon Peebler, and Sugar Still); and read for Blotterature magazine's "50 Shades of Lies" print-raiser (joined by Michele McDannold, Rick Kubic, and Bill Yarrow, with music from James Neary).

I also recorded some overdubs for The Injured Parties' sophomore album, as well as mastered my forthcoming 13th (!) solo album, Good Grief with Mike Hagler at Kingsize Sound Labs. Good Grief has been long-gestating, and I'll have more news on the Chris Stamey-produced effort later, as well as a standalone single launching about a month ahead of the album.

I also anticipate having some big news very soon on my next full-length book of poems, Activities of Daily Living. Stay tuned!

Consider yourselves down with the update. Yo.