My poem "Canticle in Noir" received an honorable mention in the Noir Nation Golden Fedora competition and will appear in that publication.

I am picturing you in a golden fedora, J.D. You wear it well.

Yes, J.D., I remember your wearing the golden fedora at West Chester, and it was quite striking, but...to be honest...in combination with the gold shoes, the gold belt, and the gold vest it was - at least in my opinion - a bit much. Looking ahead, as your career progresses, I would suggest that one gold accessory (or two golden shoes) at a time might work better, focus more attention on your poetry.

I will be trying out a more modest look this year.

I read some of my poetry on Tuesday and, for the first time in my life, I don't want to die immediately upon hearing my recorded voice.

If you're interested in hearing me read some of my poems (all honed on the Sphere), you could do so here. The poems are:

1. (sonnet variant)
2. Glint
3. "So priketh hem nature in hir corages"
4. Dialogue
5. Ephemera
6. Poem for John Ashbery

Well read, Aaron. It's so rare to hear the written shape of the poem in the voice of the reader. The power of measured silence is something it can take a lifetime to master. An old poet on the other side of the Atlantic has downloaded you. Do you mind?

Beautifully read Aaron.

My good news is that after quitting my high school job at Christmas and supply teaching for a bit, I got another high school job, but from September I'll be doing only four days a week. We can just afford it. This means no more staying up till midnight planning and marking as I can do all that in the day off. I'm VERY excited. I've never worked less than five days a week since I was 22.

Congratulations Mark! I taught high school for a while back in the day and the workload was killing. I'm very glad you'll have that day off every week.

Cheers,
John

Aaron, I enjoyed your reading quite a bit, even I think preferring to encounter some of your poems that way rather than on the page - the first, for instance. You do make effective use of silence, as Anne says, and your poems demand that. I also enjoyed seeing a photo of you, it and your voice are of a piece.

Cheers,
John

Well read Aaron. I remember all of these on the board.

Mark: congrats on having more time to write!