Okelle's Tumbling

More here: Gardenofwords.com

[okelle]

On Marriage Equality and Why I'm No Longer a Catholic

On Marriage Equality and Why I’m No Longer a Catholic

I’m happy for LGBTQ+ Catholics that Pope Francis said that monogamous, same-sex families are kinda sorta okay. Since the initial story broke, it turns out that he was endorsing civil unions while vehemently fighting gay marriage. Now that we have full marriage equality in the USA–for now, anyway–it still feels like too little too late. I was happy being a Catholic until I read the Baltimore…

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[okelle]

Corners, by Enzo Silon Surin

Corners, by Enzo Silon Surin

My conversation with Enzo Silon Surin appeared in the The Rumpus in August. Here’s one of the poems from his book When My Body Was a Clinched Fist, out now from Black Lawrence Press.

Here’s a poem from the book.

Corners

Outside Papi’s Bodega, young boy in summer’s native garb—white tank-top,

doorag’s a smooth blue crown garnishing the stubbles of a week-old fade—regulates

a stereo…

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[okelle]

Come See Me Read on September 8, 2020, at 7 pm

Come See Me Read on September 8, 2020, at 7 pm

I’m headlining with Wyn Cooper and Rosie Rosenzweig at the Newton Public Library’s online poetry series on Tuesday, September 8 at 7 pm. There’s an open mic after the features. I’d love to see you there. You’ll need to register in advance in order to receive the Zoom link.

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[okelle]

The Deep Longings of Emigration: A Conversation with Poet Carol Hobbs, Author of New-found-land

The Deep Longings of Emigration: A Conversation with Poet Carol Hobbs, Author of New-found-land

Carol Hobbs carries herself with a quiet competence that I associate with Canadians. The fisheries collapse of the Maritimes in the 1990s forced her and many other Newfoundlanders to emigrate, but she carries her homeland with her, in her mannerisms, and in her poetry. Newfoundland, her debut full-length collection, is a testament to perseverance and an continued commitment to honing her craft.…

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[okelle]

Justice for George Floyd: What I Can Do to Help

Justice for George Floyd: What I Can Do to Help

I don’t post nearly as much personal contenton this site as I used to, but from time to time I feel the need to veer off the poetry path. Now is one of those times. I feel like I’ve been watching my country slowly disintegrate since 2016, but I know that the underlying conditions that have led to today’s crises far predate the Trump administration. Overpolicing of Black communities — and in…

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[okelle]

June Generative Workshop via Zoom Creative expression is a balm in troubling times. Take some time for yourself and your work and join a writing workshop I'm hosting on Wednesday evenings (7pm to 9pm Eastern) in June.

[okelle]

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Final Packet

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Final Packet

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the third semester, I studied with poet Adrian Matejka. We spent the semester working on my craft essay, a long term paper that does a deep dive into a particular craft element–in my case, poetic line and how Adrienne Rich and Gwendolyn Brooks have…

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[okelle]

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Third Packet

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Third Packet

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the third semester, I studied with poet Adrian Matejka. We spent the semester working on my craft essay, a long term paper that does a deep dive into a particular craft element-–in my case, poetic line and how Adrienne Rich and Gwendolyn Brooks have…

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[okelle]

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Second Packet

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, Second Packet

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the third semester, I studied with poet Adrian Matejka. We spent the semester working on my craft essay, a long term paper that does a deep dive into a particular craft element–in my case, poetic line and how Adrienne Rich and Gwendolyn Brooks have…

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[okelle]

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Three, First Packet

Dispatches from an MFA: Researching Poetic Line, Adrienne Rich, and Gwendolyn Brooks

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the third semester, I studied with poet Adrian Matejka. We spent the semester working on my craft essay, a long term paper that does a deep dive into a particular craft element–in my case, poetic line and how Adrienne Rich and Gwendolyn Brooks have…

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[okelle]

May 2020 Online Poetry Readings Based in Massachusetts

May 2020 Online Poetry Readings Based in Massachusetts

Many reading series have gone to ground during the COVID-19 crisis. A few have moved online. Many are hungry for poetry during this difficult time. I’m aware of the following ones. If you know of others, please fill out my contact form or comment below.

Dire Literary Series, Fridays at 7pm. Kim Addonizio reads May 22. Read an interview with the organizer Timothy Gager here and connect with the…

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[okelle]

The Branch Will Not Break: Poet James Wright

The Branch Will Not Break: Poet James Wright

I find it difficult to separate James Wright the poet from James Wright’s poetry. I wonder if such a thing is truly possible. A poet’s body informs their work. It certainly informs whether their work gets read. Wright reminds me of Hemingway: stoic, deceptively simple, un-self-consciously macho. When I first discovered Hemingway, I fell in love with his style and emulated it. But once my eyes…

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[okelle]

Dispatches from an MFA: Semester Two, Final Packet

Reflections on MFA coursework at the end of my second semester at Lesley University's low-residency program.

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the second semester, I studied with poet Kevin Prufer. We spent the semester looking at narrative versus lyric poetry. This is the cover letter to the final packet of the semester.

Dear Kevin:

I feel like I’ve learned a lot working with you this…

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[okelle]

Poems in a Strobe: D.A. Powell's Repast

Poems in a Strobe: D.A. Powell’s Repast

This is part of a series called Dispatches from an MFA, which details my experiences in the low-residency MFA program at Lesley University. In the second semester, I studied with poet Kevin Prufer. We spent the semester looking at narrative versus lyric poetry.

—————————————————–

[NOTE: The original version of this paper was set to landscape orientation to accommodate D.A. Powell’s long…

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[okelle]

Nostalgia as a Driving Force: A Conversation with Poet Amorak Huey

Reading Amorak Huey’s Boom Boxbrought me back to my adolescence in the late 1980s, listening to hair metal bands and hanging out in disreputable locations. His experience, which includes an early, traumatic house fire and growing up in rural Alabama, doesn’t mirror mine exactly (which includes an early, traumatic move across the country and growing up in urban Connecticut), but the poems made me…

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[okelle]

Take Time for Your Own Writing and Support a Small Business

Wherever you are, I hope that you are weathering well and staying safe and healthy during this pandemic. I’ve found it quite stressful, especially as my partner works in an emergency room. He takes precautions when he comes home, but I worry about him every day. For myself, I work from home regularly but I miss the days when I do go in to see my colleagues.

On the bright side, I’ve been getting…

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[okelle]

No Poetry Readings for the Foreseeable Future

As of this evening, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a ban on all gatherings of more than 25 peopleand has restricted bars and restaurants to takeout and delivery service only. Even without these new restrictions in place, the strong recommendations over the last few days to practice social distancing (avoiding gathering places, keeping six feet between yourself and others in…

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