Second printing out now 
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Mix Tapes and Photo Albums is a coming-of-age poetry collection about a small town punk rock scene told by a girl who loved Francie Nolan and Ben Weasel equally. Each poem assumes the title of a song which creates the soundtrack to a group of teenagers who push the boundaries of their small town, test where they fit, and find solace in their local punk rock scene. This poetic mix tape sings to the kids who will hear their first Sex Pistols song, start their own bands, write their own zines, scrawl Xs on their hands, and create their own communities; and those kids who remember. Mix Tapes and Photo Albums speaks to those to know that punk is thriving in the streets of small towns everywhere, just waiting for the next generation of kids to tap into its raw power.
This is for anyone who ever played in a band, put out a zine, booked a show, or passed out a flyer
This is for Metro in the Sterling Hotel, Metro on South Main Street, and Homebase This is for all those bands who provided the soundtrack to my adolescence This is for all those bands who wrote the songs that shaped my life This is for all the punk kids who were fucking there This is for all those the ex-boyfriends This is for the Wilkes-Barre scene ALso available at
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Short Skirts and Whiskey Shots captures that liminal part of our lives, that time past adolescence, yet before adulthood. This collection is deeply rooted in the people and the streets of New York City. It thrives in the bars, the clubs, the tenements, the subway. It celebrates the dirty streets, the beer soaked nights, and those who sweat liquor. It explores the idiosyncrasies, the innocence, the excesses of the city.
From a tenement building in Alphabet City that had not changed much since the turn of the century to the trendy clubs and dark bars this collection explores, finds, loses, and regains itself. It claims the space and the right to be reckless, as a woman. It explores the uncertainty of being on your own for the first time, exploring the world, and getting a little lost along the way. It veers off the intended path, it course corrects, it celebrates what we learn on those detours. It does not make apologies. Out Now
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Hi there !I am a confluence of contradictions, fan of parallel structure, and nostalgic pack rat who writes poetry about punk rock kids, takes photos of forgotten places, and rescues discarded treasures. Most importantly I believe in the beauty of the ordinary, the power of the vernacular, and the history of the abandoned. My work strives to reveal the art in what we see, say, do, ignore, and forget every day. I hold Creative Writing degrees from SUNY Purchase (BA) and Wilkes University (MFA). With two collections currently out on Earth Island Books. Prior to all the fancy education and publication credits, I was raised by rock n’ roll parents who knew the importance of concerts and going past the no trespassing signs. I spent my adolescence in a small town punk rock scene where I moshed, fell in love, and produced a few cut and paste zines, before I escaped to New York City and caused a ruckus in Alphabet City. Currently I am one step behind nature when keeping up with an antique house, at the whim of a feisty terrier, and navigating the poetry world in Pittsburgh. |
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