Poemspotting: Amie Whittemore

Current third-year poetry MFA Amie Whittemore's poem "Movement of Heat" appears in the Winter/Spring 2010 (Volume 22, number 1) issue of Sycamore Review .

Congrats to Kerry James Evans (MFA '09)!

Kerry James Evans (MFA '09) has been one busy poet:

I'm the featured poet for Beloit Poetry Journal for the month of February. So far we've had some good discussion up on the forum: musicality, blues, section breaks, space, distance, landscape and more. I'm looking forward to see where the discussion can go.

Join the discussion at
Kerry James Evans

I also have poems in the current issues of Fugue and The Florida Review and Beloit Poetry Journal just accepted two more poems for publication: "An Empty House" and "Packed in Ice."

Congrats, KJE!

Congrats to Melissa Scholes Young!

Second-year fiction MFA student Melissa Scholes Young has news to share as well:

The editor of Mothering just called to let me know they want my essay, "To Nurse or Not to Nurse" (forgive me, Shakespeare, but Mama needs a new pair of shoes), to be the feature article in their May/June print magazine.
LINK: Mothering

Also, my paper "In Service of the Body: An Academic and Creative Approach to the Interdisciplinary Study" was accepted for presentation at the National Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference at Indiana University in March. It's a research paper that resulted in a short story. I wrote it last semester between Dr. Klaver's class and Beth's workshop.

Congrats, MSY! Way to work academia!

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux

Second-year poet Brenna Lemieux writes again from Ireland:

I'm writing to let you know that I'm behaving myself (for the most part) here in Ireland and that I've just heard from
The Connecticut Review that they've accepted the poem "My Father's Moonlilies" for publication in their next issue.

Congrats, Brenna! Someone likes SIUC MFAs in CT!

Storyspotting: Alex Lumans (MFA '09)

Alex Lumans (fiction, MFA '09) has a story in the latest issue of the Greensboro Review (Fall 2009, Number 86). The story is titled "Brainbarn."

Congrats to Tim Marsh (MFA '06)!

Fiction grad Tim Marsh has good news to share:

I had a few acceptances last month. My piece "A Month Before 30, Summit of Signal Hill" will appear in an upcoming edition of The Splinter Generation. The Evansville Review will also publish my CNF story "Discovery Channel" in Issue XX.

LINKS:
Splinter Generation
Evansville Review

Congrats, Tim! Keep the good news coming!

Congrats to Travis Mossotti!

Current third-year poetry student Travis Mossotti continues to place poems in fine magazines:

The Cincinnati Review accepted "One Act: Opening Night" for publication. Also, the Connecticut Review accepted "Too Many Hillsides for the Dead" for one of their upcoming issues. I love snail-mail surprises.

Congrats, TM!

LINKS:
Cincinnati Review
Connecticut Review

Allison Joseph's new book now available

Faculty poet Allison Joseph's latest collection of poems, My Father's Kites, is now available from Steel Toe Books.

Alumni Reading Alert: Melanie Dusseau MFA '03, poetry)

Melanie Dusseau, MFA '03, author of the new poetry collection The Body Tries Again will read from her book at 3 pm on Thursday, February 25th, at the Carlson Library on the main campus of the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. This venue is located at 2801 Bancroft, in the Canaday Center, 5th Floor. For more information, visit
U Toledo Library

Congrats to Jan La Perle (MFA '06)

Poetry alum Jan LaPerle (aka Jan Matthews) has had a short-short published by Hobart! Congrats, Jan!

Congrats to John Flaherty (MFA '09)

John Flaherty (MFA '09, fiction) writes with new story news:

Hi, Allison -

Just wanted to report that a story of mine went up today on McSweeney's. It is entitled "An Aspiring Club DJ Reluctantly Moves On to Weddings." I'm including the link here, and it is also available on their iPhone app, if, you know, you're into that sort of thing.

Hope all is well!

Best,

John Flaherty

Congrats, John!

Words, Photos, Music

A multimedia presentation of a ghazal written by faculty poet Allison Joseph for the re-opening of SIUC's Morris Library can be found here.

Alumnispotting: Sou'wester and Southern Indiana Review

A new poem ("A Mural in the Abandoned Cane Hill Asylum") by Melanie Jordan (MFA '01) appears in the new issue of Sou'wester, the literary journal of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

New poems and stories by SIUC-connected authors appear in the most recent issue of Southern Indiana Review. In this issue, you'll find new poems by faculty poet Allison Joseph and poetry alum Matthew Guenette and a new story by fiction alum Ben Percy.

Congrats to Rachel Furey (MFA '09)

Congrats to MFA fiction alum Rachel Furey on getting two pieces accepted for publication:

Since it wouldn't have seemed quite right if I had gotten a piece infor one of my parents and not the other, I'm happy to report that Ihave work forthcoming in both the Thanks Mom (due out in March) and Thanks Dad (due out in April) editions of
Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Hope all is well here. Ice and snow here, but staying warm.

Congrats, Rachel to you and your parents!

Reminder: Help for Haiti Benefit Tomorrow

Details here:
Benefit Press Release

Congrats to Brenna Lemieux

Second-year poet Brenna Lemieux sends good news from Ireland:

I just found out one of my poems got picked up by New Delta Review, so I thought I'd brag a little. It's called "Life of Eloise (Temporary Exhibit)."

Congrats, Brenna! We miss you in C'dale!

Alumni Publications: Forthcoming and Recent

Melanie Dusseau (MFA '03, poetry)'s first book of poems, 

The Body Tries Again (Word Press), is now available and can be ordered  from Amazon. com and Barnes & Noble.

Alex Lumans (MFA '09, fiction)'s story "Excavating the Blind" appears in
Story Quarterly #43. The journal is now published at Rutgers University-Camden.

Andy McFadyen-Ketchum (MFA '09, poetry) writes to say: "Looks like the South Dakota Review is taking "Winters we Watch the Snow Descend Slowly." That makes a third of the poems in my thesis published....feels more legit somehow..."

Congrats to all these fabulous alums!

Upcoming Alumni Readings: Adrian Matejka (MFA '01)

Poetry alum Adrian Matejka will be reading from his work both close to home and far away:

via Jake Adam York, editor of Copper Nickel at the University of Colorado Denver

Poet Adrian Matejka, author of Mixology, a 2008 National Poetry Selection, and contributor to the 13th issue, will read at 4pm on Wednesday, January 27th in the Recital Hall of the King Center on the Auraria Higher Education Campus. Books will be on sale. Copper Nickel 13, will sell for $5 to ANY student with an ID. A reception will follow at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm, at 6pm, with a contributor reading at 7pm.

Adrian will also read with his faculty colleagues at our sister school, SIUE, in Saint Louis:
Thursday, Jan. 21, SIUE is hosting a reading by creative writing faculty at the Regional Arts Commission on 6128 Delmar at 6 p.m. Adrian Matejka, Stacey Lynn Brown, Valerie Vogrin, Geoff Schmidt, and Allison Funk will read. The event is open to all.

Upcoming Literary Event in Carbondale

HELP FOR HAITI: A LITERARY BENEFIT
Sponsored by the MFA Program in Creative Writing
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Thursday, January 28, 2010
SIUC Student Center Cambria Room
7-8:30 PM
Free and open to the public with donations gratefully accepted
All donations to go to the International Relief Fund of the American Red Cross

Rodney Jones poem to appear in BAP 2010

Beloved MFA faculty member will appear in Best American Poetry 2010 (editor, Amy Gerstler) with his poem "North Alabama Endtime!"
Congrats, Mr. Jones!