Arkansas Literary Festival’s Pub or Perish 2011
A few days ago, I put out a call for poem submissions via Facebook and Twitter:
Email poems about or inspired by Mr. James Franco and the top ten will appear in July’s Assaracus. No limits, no rules, no restrictions.
The original deadline was today at noon, but because I’m enjoying reading these poems – I’m extending the submission deadline to Wednesday. Which pretty much mean as long as I have your entries by the time I stumble out of bed on Thursday, you’re cool. Need inspiration? I’m still waiting to see poems addressing THIS (adults only – and only those adults who can handle extremely, um, unique fetish talk from James’ brother, Dave) or poems about James Franco’s forthcoming role as my all-time favorite actor, River Phoenix.
Email your submissions to bryan.borland@gmail.com. I’ll send contributor copies of Assaracus to those who are selected to appear in the issue. Again – no restrictions on who can enter. Assaracus is “A Journal of Gay Poetry,” yeah, but Mr. Franco is a gay poetry icon, so by topic alone, the doors are open.
Assaracus is now available everywhere thanks to distribution deals with SPD and Ingram.
It’s close enough to call it a year. Last March 12, My Life as Adam showed up on Amazon.com, and soon after, I made the decision to transform Sibling Rivalry Press from a vanity operation for my own books into a legitimate publishing house. Since then, Adam has met with some success, and SRP has published anthologies and chapbooks (like Ocean Vuong’s Burnings), but today is special. Today marks the release of our first full-length collection since incorporating the company – Road Work Ahead by the iconic Raymond Luczak. He doesn’t consider himself an icon. But, trust me, he is. He came to prominence in the publishing world in 1990, when Christopher Street published “Notes of a Deaf Gay Writer.” Since then, he’s published more than ten books, seen his plays workshopped or performed in multiple countries, and won even more fans and critical praise with 2010′s Mute (A Midsummer Night’s Press). For his full bio, click here. He’s become a friend and mentor, and in our daily email exchanges, he’s schooled me on poetics and publishing. On March 26, we’ll officially launch Road Work Ahead at a familiar place for me, New York City’s Rainbow Book Fair, where Raymond will be performing work from the book.
Sometimes I question whether I’ve made the right decision in forming SRP. It’s a lot of work, and then there’s the pressure of wondering whether I can represent these authors in the manner they deserve. Luckily, people like Raymond, Ocean, Theresa Senato Edwards, Jessie Carty, Saeed Jones, Kevin Simmonds, Loria Taylor, and Steven Reigns have been willing to take a chance on me, and they have been patient as SRP has grown. This morning, when I woke up and saw the excitement over Road Work Ahead, I knew I’d made the right decision. Watching Raymond’s latest promotional clip (for the poem “Jules”) gave me chills. These are poems that deserve a home, and these are books that deserve to be read. There’s no turning back now, folks.
And that’s fine by me.
Road Work Ahead, thanks to Ingram, our new distribution partner, is available everywhere (that’s right – everywhere. Your bookstore down the street can order and stock it). You can, of course, get it directly from SRP. You’ll want it after you check out Raymond’s clip.
I will never be a father or an older brother
but that day I was both, a high school junior
giving the keys to you, barely 13, barely tall enough
to see over the dash of my Ford Mustang. You would
have been fine on those country backroads
had the sheriff not appeared in the rearview,
had you not lifted your foot and slowed to a crawl,
had you not been a highway toddler in irresponsible care,
then blue lights, of course, and we died together
as he walked to the driver’s side, ticket pad in hand,
but when he saw you he laughed and said
don’t let cops scare you, boy.
We tell this story over beers
on your 27th birthday. I am 31.
You have your beard and guitar. I have
my husband. I have never loved you more
than this moment. I have never better understood
what I’ve missed, what I’ve had.
© Bryan Borland
I decided to test out the webcam on my new iMac with a vlog praising my buddy, Ocean Vuong. His first chapbook, Burnings, is available from SRP. I’m still learning the ins and outs of this computer, so you’ll have to turn the volume up… just don’t forget to turn it down again when you go back to listening to Justin Bieber on iTunes (don’t deny it!).
