This weekend I signed a representation deal with Mark Falkin of Falkin Literary after a great chat we had last week about a book I wrote, currently titled IT WON'T LEAVE. It's a horror novel set in Texas, about a cancer patient named JJ who moves back to San Antonio, into his father's new house. As his chemo treatments begin, he realizes a malignant presence is hiding within the bones of that house. Something that wants him out. Something that sees HIM as a cancer in need of eradication.
My poem “Variations of Blue” now appears online in a three-poet issue (#31.6) of Trampoline, alongside the works of Naa Asheley Ashitey and Sally Huggins Toner. The poem is from a small collection I wrote in (and about) the rugged and beautiful island nation of Iceland that I’m putting together, so you may hear more about that soon. But this is a great representation of what that collection is aiming for, so I hope you enjoy. My thanks to editor Justin Lacour for including this piece in his excellent online journal.
Roadside Press has released a new anthology called Roadside Assistance, containing a sampler of poetry from books they’ve published over the last few years. Four of the poems within (“Transference,” “Pastoral,” “Wane,” “and Prophecy”) are from my book Cistern Latitudes, which is also still available from Roadside Press for $15. Digging into this anthology is a great way to see who else the press has published and experience a wide range of poetic styles in one place. In a world that increasingly glamorizes the shallow depths of AI “creativity”, buying from a press like this is a great way to support the authenticity of the indie underground.
In late 2025, I had the pleasure of joining my poetry writing partners Gabriel Ricard and Kevin Ridgeway on an episode of the Meat for Teacast, a podcast hosted by Elizabeth Macduffie.
As with all my annual lists, these aren’t all new books but they were all new to me in 2025. And re-reads do not count, so some incredible favorites like Train Dreams by Denis Johnson or Dark Voyage by Alan Furst don’t appear here. A couple of these were audiobooks, but I say those count, especially when you’re life gets busy as hell and the country is falling apart into the dumbest plutocracy of all time and you just want to escape, lie in bed in the dark, and listen. Anyway, these are some damn fine reads. Enjoy!
I haven’t posted a whole lot this year but it’s been a busy summer so far. A quick trip to Philadelphia, a cancelled camping expedition, baseball games, pool adventures, parades, and I moved in with Amelia and Henry at long last. I’m settling in and getting back into a writing groove after spending most of the spring packing. Beyond a busy summer personally, I’ve been busy publishing and writing too.
