Parisian Phoenix Publishing

Not including manuscripts we are publishing, I finished

• Autobiography/Anti-Autobiography by Jennifer Barlett: I ordered this before a meeting with Jennifer this week (about the prospect of working together). I devoured this. Jennifer has explored disability in this chapbook-memoir. As a fifty-something woman with diplegia spastic cerebral palsy, I could connect with Jennifer’s experiences and insights. And the poetry was good— regardless of my background in the subject matter.
• The Lies We Tell Others edited by Sahar Abdulaziz and Michael A. Ventrella: This anthology benefits and features the Pocono Liars Club. All of the stories hinge on lies. It’s a fun book and includes my flash fiction piece, “The Weeper.”
• Moe Asch: a Speculative Life in Verse and other poems by Benjamin Goluboff. Ben is one of the authors on the Parisian Phoenix poetry chapbook, Group Portrait, so he sent me a copy of his latest independent project. I learn so much about real people through Ben’s speculative biographical poetry— yes, he writes poetry from the perspective of historical figures. And the other poems gave me such a lovely glimpse into Ben’s life in Chicago and experiences as an educator.

I’m currently reading

• Death and the Gardener by Georgi Gospodinov: slow going but deep and poetic, reminds me of the French Existentialists and mid-20th century European writing in general.
• Baker Street Irregulars edited by Michael A. Ventrella: this anthology features twists on Sherlock Holmes. Some of them are very clever. I know a lot of people love short stories because you can pick them up and put them down easily, but I find that’s exactly why they are slow-going for me. I don’t get invested. But these are a lot of fun.
• NYPD A Thread In Time: The Contrarian by Michael Watson: This book features old-school cop Frankie Neptune, based on the real-life adventures of the author. The format almost reads like police reports, with all the details about antics, violence, and events that happened in New York City in the second half of the 20th century. The author and I are in discussion regarding a potential new novel about Frankie Neptune.

I’m currently editing

• The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, Marilyn Jaye Lewis
• Very Bloody Marys, M.Christian. I’ve paused on this one because their recent death has made it difficult to proceed. I had hoped to release this one for February, but it seems uncouth to do so so soon.