No Depression

People of the world, behold this news:

* Ethel Rohan’s CUT THROUGH THE BONE releases 12/1. You can pre-order now. Before you do, watch the latest trailer:

* Seth Berg is reading from MUTED LINES FROM SOMEONE ELSE’S MEMORY in Cincinnati on 11/11. He will be joined by Michael Earl Craig and Katy Lederer. If you’re in the area, do check them out.

* Many leaves have fallen. Many more are still to fall. I must rake all of them.

* We’re currently designing two new books: Stephen Sturgeon’s poetry collection TREES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY and Greg Sherl’s chapbook I HAVE TOUCHED YOU. Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks.

* Colorado for Thanksgiving sounds nice. Yes, I think I’ll go there.

* I’m reading Wells Tower’s EVERYTHING RAVAGED, EVERYTHING BURNED. Tower is a powerhouse. Here are the opening lines from the story Retreat:

“Sometimes, sometimes, after six or so large drinks, it seems like a sane idea to call my little brother on the phone. It takes a lot of solvent to bleach out such dark memories as my ninth birthday party, when Stephen, age six, ran up behind me at the goldfish pond at Umstead Park and shoved me face-first into the murk. The water came up only to my knees, so I did some hog-on-ice staggering before completing the belly flop. My friends laughed until they wept. Our mother put Stephen across her lap and beat his calves red with the hard side of her hairbrush, which, in the eyes of my guests, only confirmed Stephen as a heroic little comedian willing to suffer for his art.”

* Ben Mazer reads from his new collections, JANUARY 2008 and POEMS, on 11/11 in Boston. Annie Freud will join him. If you’re near the Hub and like poetry, RSVP here: poeticjustice@libertyhotel.com.

* DSM’s debut print issue is getting damn sure ready to ship. Order yours today.

* Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows my sorrow…

* We will announce a new Poetry Editor soon. You may know him/her. You may not know him/her. But him/her is a pretty great poet, so stay tuned.

* This is an old postcard of Snoqualmie Falls, which is an hour outside of Seattle. If you ever visit, I will take you there.

* From the November Issue: “Ways” by Ravi Mangla:

“There are three ways we can do this, he says to me. I elect for the second way, immediately, before he’s had time to explain any of the ways. Are you sure? he asks. I tell him I am sure. He says I ought to have selected the third way. I tell him I am quite smitten with the second way, thank you very much, and it would be difficult to change my mind at this point in time. He says he made the second way up, that there are only two ways of doing this. I inquire about the first way. He lists the supplies and materials the first way would require, and the cost of those supplies and materials. I tell him I was only asking about the first way; I still want the second way, of this I am absolutely certain. He sighs, removes his glasses, kneads his eyes with his thumb and forefinger…”

* “Ha! Tuesday. How depressing.” — Oscar Wilde