Catch Me If You Can

Sometimes, as a writer, you go for long stretches where it seems that no one knows you exist. No one is reading your stories, no one is returning your emails, no one is accepting your work, no one remembers you have something good to contribute to the world of words. Then the drought breaks and you get an acceptance or a kind note or an invitation to read. When you’re really on a roll, you might even be granted more than one of these, which is what happened to me recently. My friend and an incredible poet, Elijah Burrell, asked me to drive over to be a part of a special English honor society event. That was last week and I had a fantastic time (note: if you’re in Jefferson City and you’re looking for a good place to eat, try Prison Brews, and if you’re looking for truly hilarious company to join you, bring along the English Department–and one member of the Math Department–of Lincoln University). I read a story for them that is currently out in the most recent edition of Natural Bridge, titled “This Trailer Is Free,” and I hope they enjoyed hearing it as much as I did reading it.

But as luck would have it, after Eli asked me to visit Lincoln, I received an invitation here in STL to read at an issue launch party for both Boulevard and Natural Bridge. Happily, I will once again be reading “This Trailer Is Free”. This event will be at Dressel’s in the Central West End (Dressel’s is one of my favorite local pubs and was featured not too long ago on “Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives”) on May 25th, 6:30pm. You’ll want to hear the other readers, too, including my MFA professor, Mary Troy, and another poet I admire, Adrian Matejka (the other poet is Travis Mossotti, and I’m excited to learn more about his work). All the details can be found right here.