Happy publication day, PRETTY. 💛
Ty to Annie DeWitt &
@AAKnopf
for allowing me the chance to write my people, my state, myself into history. this memoir has been a google doc, a PDF, an advance copy of prose & poems for years. But now, it is yours.
so I tested positive for COVID this morning. me, a person who masks, takes nasal spray, uses CPC mouthwash, masked during all of my tour stops where I was less than 6 ft away from ppl, etc.
I am so tired.
I’m tired of doing everything I can to stay safe while my peers do nothing. I’m tired of this charade of “normal” we’ve been playing since 2020, effectively saying “oh well” to a debilitating disease. I’m sick of even ppl who’d call themselves leftists not being COVID cautious
gonna stay offline in attempts to try not to get too mad while recovering (fingers crossed), but just know that I’m done w/ all this. just don’t book me/hang with me/etc if u don’t care to take precautions.✌🏽
Ya'll... unreal news just dropped😭❤️
thank you to
@NEAarts
for selecting me as a 2023 Creative Writing Fellow in Poetry. check out bios & statements from our amazing cohort here:
good morning! did u know that yesterday 450+ Texans showed up to the Texas Capitol to testify against HB1686, an anti-trans healthcare bill, waited till misnight to do so, & were denied that right? watch this👇🏽
yikes; checked my phone & realized this has gotten out of my lil bubble of the internet so I'm muting & moving on after this msg lol
it is news to me that the 6ft thing is invalid/not completely true. I will keep this in mind moving fwd🙏🏾
to ppl going thru my media to find
ty for the kind responses😭 I'm at a writing residency that is bringing me stuff as I isolate. if you'd like to send $ for snacks/meds you can do so here:
v*nmo: earthtokb2
c*shapp: kbthepoet
ok logging off fr now💛
PS buy my book! 🙏🏾
why does every creative writing program not have a semester-long business of writing class (making a website, putting together ish to submit, pitching, contract negotiations, etc). also, why do I not teach it🧐
learned recently that Miyazaki wrote poems to his staff to convey the atmosphere, characters, settings, and themes of princess mononoke… this proves everything
regardless of these, my initial points are not invalid. I appreciate everyone being generous & wish the ppl who are not some peace. I also offer u the knowledge that even if I don't do everything right all the time, I (& everyone else) deserves to live in a world where
We are so excited to announce that KB Brookins has joined our Board of Directors at Sundress Publications. KB Brookins is a Black queer and trans writer, cultural worker, and visual artist from Texas.
we're not constantly at risk for this virus. so I hope u rise above the petty fingerpointing (especially at people on your side!) & learn to instead raise the consciousness of people around u. u cannot call yrself organizing, digitally or otherwise, if yr only tactics are
as a CSA survivor, I am disgusted but unfortunately not surprised. silence & shame is how abuse thrives; it's how it eats us whole. I hope that Andrea is showered with love, & I'm glad to hear that she's been able to process this betrayal. love to my fellow survivors💛
5 years ago, I wrote a list of goals, one of them being "get into
@poetrymagazine
". today, after years of trying & refining my craft/myself, I can finally cross the last goal left on that list off ❤️😭❤️
blessed to have 4 new poems in the March issue of POETRY. read 1 here:
y’all. the austin poet laureate resolution I’ve been working on for 2 years just passed. austin will finally have an adult poet laureate program.
I could cry!
🎊FREEDOM HOUSE is officially out today🎊
so damn happy that my Black ass, trans ass debut full-length poetry book is here (😭📚🫶🏾)! if we haven’t met yet, hello👋🏾learn more ab my book in this video. if u like what u hear, buy a copy 👉🏾
elated to announce that my chapbook HOW TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH A WOUND won the 2020 Saguaro Poetry Prize. I’s got a book coming out w/
@PressGaia
early 2022 y’all.🥺
2 pics/vids where I took off my mask to take a pic or accept an award: in order to get there u had to scroll past pics/vids of me masking. in this pic, we were feet away from an open door. if u don't agree w/ me doing this: OK!
🚨COVER REVEAL🚨
So excited to share the cover of my debut full-length poetry book! Cover design by Zoe Norvell. PREORDER FREEDOM HOUSE HERE:
First 100 preorders will receive a signed copy! Spread the word please!
#FreedomHouseBook
reminder that the relationship between a writer & a magazine is a symbiotic one. it is a gift to be published but it is also a gift for them to publish YOU.
(1/9)
read the
@POETSorg
Poem-A-Day poem for today & my blood is actually boiling. what is going on, family ???
here's an excerpt. read the whole thing for yourself here:
poets: when someone asks you “what is poetry”, what is your answer? my current one is “an exploration of the possibilities of language and sound”. I’m curious about others’.
also has anyone clocked how queer & trans the NEA list is? the transexuals are transexing !!! the gays are winning (while both groups are being attacked by legislation & weird cultural trends, but) !!!
to poets talking themselves out of applying to the NEA: stop thinking in “it’s not possible” of “what if i don’t get it” & “everyone’s more talented than me”. I almost let those thoughts win 2 years ago. I really did!
but I applied anyway &… well..
I want poets -- & people who think they know what poetry is -- to release yrselves from the rules u internalized from teachers that aren't actually rules; just opinions
"poems have lines" "don't line break on an article" "it's only a sonnet if"-- think for YRSELF for once!
the amount of booksellers on here being mean instead of thinking "oh, lots of authors have this same experience; we should collectively figure out a better system to handle author inquiries" is sad to me
I just went into a bookstore, bought a book, then asked “hey I’m a local author, would you be interested in carrying my book?” and the way she brushed me off SO QUICK, asked no questions, wouldn’t even make eye contact with me 😭😭
love this & hate that white disabled folks were foaming at the mouth bc she didn't respond in *checks notes* under 72 hours
ALSO y'all hold Black women & lizzo specifically to a ridiculously high standard that y'all don't hold anyone else in entertainment to but whatever
things I learned at AWP:
talking for hours in a row (even when it’s fun!) drains me
the lit world is still too white
when ppl think you’re famous they forget u have physical/mental boundaries
anyone who says poetry is dead doesn’t know poets; I pity those fools
Happy publication day, PRETTY. 💛
Ty to Annie DeWitt &
@AAKnopf
for allowing me the chance to write my people, my state, myself into history. this memoir has been a google doc, a PDF, an advance copy of prose & poems for years. But now, it is yours.
I cannot read a poetry book a day atm (sorry
#SealeyChallenge
peeps!), but but I can close read a poem every day. here is one I've been reveling in. by
@nicholas_goodly
🌹
nobody told me that teaching undergrads would be so second-hand streesful. they be like “hey I just got hit by a bus & it doesn’t help that I haven’t slept in days haha anyway I’ll be 10 minutes late tomorrow” 😵💫
y'all ... I woke up this morning to being featured in
@voguemagazine
🥹
ty
@EmmaSpecter
for understanding PRETTY & asking delightful questions! read the whole thing here:
lupita posted this w/ the caption “open audition for
@JanelleMonae
Can I be your
#lipsticklover
?” & my question is why r the gays not freaking out about this yet❔
In honor of
#EarthDay
today & with thanks to
@info_treehouse
, we're pleased to announce the winners of the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize: KB Brookins
@earthtokb
, Liza Katz Duncan, & Nisha Atalie. Their poems will be published in
#PoemADay
. Read more:
who is allowed to be abstract & who is asked to explain themselves? who is allowed to be concrete & who is accused of being "simple"? these are the kinds of questions I'm constantly asking of poetry that does/doesn't catch on; these are questions that keep me skeptical & curious
hey. just tweetint to letting everyone know that I’m not doing this event anymore. if you’d like to know why, please read this beautifully crafted open letter in its entirely:
🇵🇸
a friend told me, a chronic over-booker, the other day a quote that changed something for me:
“part of readying yourself for opportunities is not being burnt out”
tweeting in case it helps anyone else🫶🏾
elated to debut the gawgeous cover for my debut chapbook❤️🔥📚much thanks to
@kingcael
for the design &
@PressGaia
for trusting in my vision.
you can also PREORDER IT FOR $10 HERE:
can I be honest: I work/worked rly hard at promo for my book that came out in June & I feel like... discouraged @ how many venues didn't respond to me/my press' interview & review inquires. it's like I KNOW the readership for the book is out there & (1/2)
I really hope that journalists & poets start boycotting this piece of shit publication. it’s literally been publishing transphobic, right-wing trash for years
instead, we should be working together to pressure
@awpwriter
to put out a statement in support of trans people, ensure that conference attendees will be safe (state politics doesn't always translate to city culture!), & patronizing trans writers/presses/etc while we're in town!
it’s wild to me that a poetry book can be pulitzer prize winning & sell like… a couple thousand copies. ofc grateful for those who buy & sell poetry but why is the circulation of our books so damn low🤨
in the video that ppl keep putting in my mentions, the woman clearly moves away from me when I start talking. everyone there besides her is 15+ ft away. u can even see the distance btw me & the person who's recording. if u don't agree w/ me doing this: OK!
dislike for mary oliver’s poetry is always going to be pretentious because it assumes poetry should possess some god-like obscurity capable of being labored on by the exclusive few. how strange to think subtlety / simplicity requires no skill or is alien to the domain of poetry
beestung is thrilled to announce our 2022
@PushcartPrize
nominees!
Congratulations to Jason B. Crawford, Stephanie Kaylor, Tori Ashley Matos, jonah wu, Dani Putney, and KB!
Read their work below, and look out for more to come on the 20th!
AWP24 panel ideas:
-trans poetics in the age of US anti-transness
-contemporary relevance of the epic
-poetry2prose pipeline: bringing poetic sensibilities to cnf, fiction & screenwriting
-artivism: making your art useful to political movements
comment if interested🥲
so anyway I performed at an event today that required masking, had 3 HEPA filters & free masks/hand sanitizer for folks who needed some, & mic covers. I appreciate ppl who don’t treat me & other COVID conscious folks like we’re asking for too much