Publications and readings and nominations, oh my

Back in January we started off a new Peauxdunque year with an expanded cast of characters and the publication of Maurice Carlos Ruffin‘s debut novel, We Cast a Shadow. Since then, I’ve been mainly delinquent in sharing the TONS of good news about Peauxdunque publications and readings and prize nominations. So, first a picture of that long-ago January meeting, and then on to the good news:

 

The publication news:

Where to begin? Well, big news, Maurice sold his second book to Random House/One World, a collection of his searing short stories titled The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You. We’ll, of course, report on details such as the publication date as soon as we know, because you won’t want to miss this. Also, Maurice’s novel, We Cast a Shadow, is now in its second printing.

New Peauxdunque poet Anne Babson has had her poem “Altarpiece Diptych” accepted for publication by Canadian journal QWERTY. Her poem “My Afternoon with Laura Ingalls” will be in the next issue of Silk Road Review. Anne’s review of Melinda Palacio’s Bird Forgiveness is in the current Louisiana Literature. And her play Reenactment is in the latest issue of Review Americana.

Lavinia Spalding had her beautiful creative nonfiction piece “The Cabin” published by LongreadsEmilie Staat’s essay, “The Passenger,” was published in Gris-GrisSusan Vallee will have a piece profiling We Cast a Shadow in the upcoming arts and culture issue of VIE Magazine. And Tad Bartlett’s short story, “Elysian Fields,” was published in the April 2019 issue of New Limestone Review.

Upcoming readings:

Cassie Pruyn will be reading on April 30 at the main branch of the East Jefferson Parish Public Library with Ben Morris, Brad Richard, Elizabeth Gross, Ben Aleshire, and Esme Franklin. A week before, on April 23, Anne Babson will be reading at the same location on a bill with Melinda PalacioAllison Pellegrin, and Paris Tate.

Maurice Ruffin will be reading at the Argenta Reading Series in Little Rock, Arkansas, on April 25. This weekend (right now) he’s participating as the keynote speaker at the Muse and the Marketplace conference in Boston.

Prizes/nominations

A little tardy in announcing these, but Peauxdunque’s Larry Wormington received a Pushcart nomination from Elm Leaves Journal for his story “Balloon Animals“; and Tad Bartlett and Maurice Ruffin both received Pushcart nominations from members of the Pushcart Board of Contributing Editors for work they published in 2018.

Peaux-ets at the 2017 New Orleans Poetry Festival

The New Orleans Poetry Festival will take place from April 20 through 23, at the New Orleans Healing Center and Cafe Istanbul (2372 St. Claude Avenue, NOLA), and Peauxdunque poets will be featured among the poets and presenters. (Indeed, unrequited Peauxdunquian Benjamin Morris is a coordinator of the 2017 NOPF).

Kelly Harris will be featured twice during the NOPF. On Friday, April 21, at 3:30 p.m., she will be on the “Mystic Female: Black Women Poets Read” panel, along with Kwoya Fagin Maples and Jacqueline Allen Trimble. Then at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, Kelly will be in the lineup for the Saturday Night Feature Reading at Cafe Istanbul, along with Rodrigo Toscano and Lee Herrick. (Kelly will also be on the faculty of the Saturday workshop at the New Orleans Youth Poetry Festival on April 22).

Cassie Pruyn will be part of the “Small Press Readings III” presentation at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, in Cafe Istanbul, along with Sarah Anne Cox, Jeff Grieneisen, and Biljana D. Obradović.

Come out and celebrate poetry and small presses for the whole festival!

More Peauxdunque readings on the horizon

Tomorrow night (Tuesday, December 3) at 7 p.m., Peauxdunque’s Cassie Pruyn and Benjamin Morris will be on the bill of the 5 Writers reading event at McKeown’s Books and Difficult Music (4737 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans). Also on the bill are Geoff Munsterman, Matt Roberts, and Katy Simpson Smith.

On Sunday, December 15, beginning at 6 p.m., Peauxdunquian Maurice Carlos Ruffin will be among contributors to NPR’s Storyville project who will be reading at Siberia Bar (2227 St. Calude, New Orleans). Also reading will be Robin Baudier, Adam Karlin, Laura Janelle McKnight, Jonathan Brown, Daniel Lawton, and Phyllis Dunham.

And don’t forget, this Wednesday at 4 p.m., Peauxdunquians Cassie, Maurice, Emily Choate, Terri StoorTad Bartlett, and J.Ed. Marston will be reading in the Presbytere (corner of Chartres and St. Ann) as part of the kick-off to the 2014 Words and Music Conference.

Two more Peauxdunque readings: Tom Carson and Ben Morris

Get out and hear some live, local writers, of the Peauxdunque variety and otherwise. Peauxdunquian-extraordinaire Tom Carson will be reading from new and recent work TONIGHT, Wednesday, February 20, at the Art Klub (513 Elysian Fields), from 7:30 to 9:00, along with Lisa Pasold (Any Bright Horse) and Michael Patrick Welch (Y’all’s Problem).

Then Monday night, February 25, from 7:00 to 8:00, Benjamin Morris – who I’ll claim for Peauxdunque until I’m forced to stop – will be reading from new poetry at Cudd Hall at Tulane University, along with Melissa Dickey. Ben has just finished a book, a collection of poems a year in the making. Ben reports, “I have only one hope for it, which is to share it with you now that it’s done. It’s a book inspired by the endangered forests of southeastern Louisiana, a special landscape in a place we all know and love.” If you know Ben’s writing, you know this will be special.

Peauxdunque performances coming up!

A couple of readings and performances by Peauxdunquians are coming up soon, and both should be well worth attending.

Tonight, The Megaphone Show Featuring Harry Shearer will feature impromptu story-telling from a cast including Peauxdunquian Helen Krieger. It will take place at The New Movement Theater at 1919 Burgundy, New Orleans, at 8:30. It will be a fundraiser for the Hell Yes Fest, and advance tickets are recommended.

This Saturday, July 14, Peauxdunquian L. Kasimu Harris (along with Friend of Peauxdunque Kelly Harris and several others from the MelaNated Writers Collective, including Ayanna Molina, Geryll Robinson, and Danielle Gilyot), will present works at the second installment of the MelaNated Summer Reading Series. At 4 p.m. on July 14 at Cafe Treme (1501 St. Philip Street – free admission), MelaNated puts on The Literary Jook Joint. Kasimu and fellow Peauxdunquian Ben Morris put together this teaser for the story Kasimu will be reading Saturday:

Readings, seminars, and another Peauxdunque publication

More news on Peauxdunquians in the world: Foremost, another Peauxdunque publication, as Kimberly Clouse’s short story, “Hector Gets Taken,” is in Volume 1, Issue 9 of Fortyouncebachelors. Kimberly joined Peauxdunque in 2011, and is currently working on a collection of short stories for her thesis project in the UNO Creative Writing Workshop MFA program.

In readings news, TODAY, February 3, Peauxdunqian Helen Krieger will be reading at the Artfully Aware event at the New Orleans Museum of Art, which takes place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Also reading at the event are friend-of-Peauxdunque and fellow Oxford American Summit alum Benjamin Morris, as well as New Orleans literary renaissance man extraordinaire, John Biguenet; Moira Crone; and M’Bilia Meekers. A number of other musical and visual art components will take place in conjunction with the readings.

In a final bit of Peauxdunqian-in-the-world programming news, beginning February 26, 2012, Hatchery Media‘s (and Peauxdunque’s) Helen Krieger and Joseph Meissner will conduct an eight-week master class in acting and directing actors for the screen, bringing together actors, writers, and directors to develop and hone their material in a hands-on workshop. The class will meet Sundays from 1-4 p.m., until April 22. Contact Joseph at Hatchery Media for information or registration.