10/1 All Good THings
Heya everyone! Let’s. Get. Into. It!
THINGS ARE HAPPENING LIKE RIGHT NOW
Another book trailer for Women In Space! is out! Also, my attempt at creating my own book cover is below, proving why I do words and not drawings).
I’m heading back to WWBA! Join me for Reiki & Write.
The writing retreat at Cedarmere is soon and the registration deadline is even sooner!
AND the Walk2EndAlz is almost upon us!
THINGS HAPPENED
My birthday celebration included eating fancy s’mores, a public art walk, and a make-your-own taco bar, which included flan. Life doesn’t get much better. I had a typewriter gig at a bridal shower at a gorgeous venue on the water. Dog school began; it seemingly never ends. Tactile Poetry Workshop at Walt Whitman Birthplace proved to be lots of fun—a calendar, a map, and some double-sided tape are all you need to make a poem touchable. Sunday Funday Book Club at Stay Green Brewing turned into a questionable medical advice convention while Sukha Backyard Book Club made its way indoors at the yoga studio while discussing a book about surfing outside (which is either ironic or meta).
WELLNESS CORNER
As aforementioned, October 18 is the Walk2EndAlz. Donate or root us on!
And as aforementioned, Reiki & Write unfolds at WWBA.
A very short rant about the healthcare industrial complex in the USA: how something so terrible can continue to get worse is beyond comprehension. Some free advice (not like the SFBC made-up advice): Always ask what the cost of the visit will be before you go and make sure they send it to you in writing. Fight the billing department if you have the energy. If a doctor you’ve never met messages you on an app with instructions that indicate he didn’t read your records, and then if that same doctor replies to your response with “Relax,” immediately seek another doctor. Then ask that new doctor’s office what the cost of the visit will be. Then fight the billing department. Repeat. Repeat.
By the way, I’m okay. I was attempting to get a routine physical. It turned into Pan’s Labyrinth.
Keep on coming to slow flow on Tuesdays at 7:15 PM at Sukha. We have fun at a slowish pace.
KUDOS!
Caitlin Shea is the featured artist in this Gallery & Studio piece!
Dr. Gina Sipley’s manuscript was a runner up for the Slapering Hol Press chapbook contest!
Homaro: Perspectives on Human Rights and the Human Experience, edited by Dr. Margaret Dinzler Shaw, is now available!
My second sci-fi fem full length poetry collection Women in Space! will arrive from Aqueduct Press in 2027. The first ten pre-orders come with free shipping! All pre-orders come with stickers! Pre-order here.
BOOKSHELF
Visit Bookshop.org for shelves of lists of recs.
I read quite a few more poems in the nature/ecopoetry anthology and another few chapters in the book about 80s movies. Because SFBC read a book entitled with a Vonnegut quote, I read Slaughterhouse-Five. Once I get to the library, I’ll start SFBC’s November read because I’m ahead! October we’re chatting about Black Hole, a graphic novel I read years ago. To be ahead is quite exciting.
Poetry
My poem “What We Dreamt In The Fire” appeared in The Bookends Review. Two of my poems appeared in the Zingara Project: “How To Defy Death On A Sheet Of Blue Paper” and “The Up and the Down.”
“That Day at the Lake” by Jami Macarty
“Sand, and Then” by Cole Swensen
“Lake Prediction” by Lisa Fay Coutley
“A Painter’s Thoughts” by John Yau
“Salute” by James Schuyler
“Age of Miracles” by Daryl Lim Wei Jie
“Sternocleidomastoid” by Lisa Allen Ortiz
“Dust” by Danusha Laméris
“By Inch-Meal a Disease” by Nabila Lovelace
“Lingonberry Jam” by Henri Cole
“I Grieve That Grief Can Teach Me Nothing” by Brian Simoneau
“Vaccinated” by Jericho Brown
“Blue variations” by Lubna Safi
“Mother Dreamwalker” by Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné
“Annotations of Composition of Seventy-Three by Andrei Monastyrski” by Katherine Beaman
“Composition of Seventy-Three” by Andrei Monastyrski, Trans. by Yelena Kalinsky & Brian Droitcour
“Governor’s Mansion Hands” by Sean Hill
“The Iron” by Ed Skoog
“Two Countries” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“Gentle or Not” by Laura Cresté
“Three Lies and a Truth” by Gail Martin
“Mudlark” by Allison Burris
“Nearly” by Idra Novey
“How To Be A Poet” by Wendell Berry
“Venus de Milo: On Being Rediscovered” by Karen Head
“Man Praying – Encroachment” by Celeste Guzmán Mendoza
“Having A Fight With You” by Patrick Phillips
“The Body You Remember” by Gary Jackson
Excerpts from “72 Carona Transmutations” by CAConrad
“One Good Turn” by David Kirby
Fiction
Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Nonfiction
“Why I Still Write Poems” by Wendy Van Camp
Mixed Media / Cross Genre
“Blank Canvas” by Teresa Milbrodt (story) and Woodlin Latocki (art)
Internet
Time Out NY lists its top independent bookstores. (Direct all angry emails about omissions to Timeout.com)
Why we are all going to move to Singapore
And now for the most frightening and creepy things on the internet (which I didn’t plan to coincide with October but it’s apropos)
A Bed of Bees
Mind Control Cockroaches
Farm Titanic Ride
Clown School for Career Burnout (aka wtf is wrong with people this is the worst idea clowns are scary)
A Woman and a Bat
And of course check out these:
Typewriter photographs! Erasure poems! Post card sentiments! Signed copies of How We Make Amends!
LISTEN
Sunday Funday Book Club’s soundtrack for Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.
Working It Out podcast: Mike Birbiglia interviews Emmy Blotnick
Hyperfixed podcast: Cramping My Style
The Poetry Place with Peter, Dawn, and 10 Guest Poets, Episode 80
WATCH
Charlie Finch interviews Richard Jeffrey Newman on The Robot and The Flower Interview Series
Practical Magic 2 (and the first one if you never saw it)
The Great Wall
Eden
Girl Climber (Netflix)
Drinking Buddies
Nomadland
Adam Sandler: Love You (Netflix)
Untold: Raygun: Breaking Badly (Netflix)
Skywalkers: A Love Story (Netflix)
OPPORTUNITIES
Call for poets, Poetry Near & Afar online series, Oceanside Library
Workshops at Center for Book Arts (NYC)
Millay Arts Residencies, Various deadlines
The Mastheads Day Residences
NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, Nomination Deadline November 12
Poetry submissions for Approach to the Meaning open Nov 1, Deadline Nov 30
SUGGESTED THINGS
Somnambulant Visuals’ Kickstarter for the Somnambulant Tarot
Hudson Valley Arts Collective Poems for a Wish Anthology
Dead Poets Rise, a board game, or not?
Slate Café NYC (Nomad) and their delicious s’mores dessert
MISCELLANY
Pizza Hut gives students pizza to read books, and I would like a pizza please.
All good things,
Christina
**Of course, you can forward this email to those you think may have interest. If you post information publicly, please link back to me. Appreciate it.
THINGS ARE HAPPENING
My calendar is here.
Updated book club info is here.
Friday, October 2, 2026 at 12 PM CDT
First Friday Book Talk and Reading with Colleen Morton Busch online via Larksong Writers Place,
Friday, October 2, 2026 at 7-8 PM
Soulful Sound Healing with Laura Cerrano at Oceanside Library (NY)
Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 11:30 AM – 3 PM (and other dates!)
Flower Power Drum Circle at the New York Botanical Garden
Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 2-4 PM
Ashtanga Full Primary Series Practice & Workshop with Joanna Asher, Sukha Studio, Garden City, NY
Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM
NY Insight Meditation Center Benefit Event: The Wisdom to Meet This Moment at Symphony Space NYC
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 7 PM
Youngstown First Wednesday Reading Series featuring Diane Kendig & Erica Manto with ASL Interpretation by Meagan Albani, Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave, downstairs FREE
Friday, October 9, 2026 at 7:30-8:45 PM (I’m going to this as a participant and I’m very excited!)
Restore & Reset with Micheline DeBono, Sukha Studio, Garden City, NY
Friday, October 9, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio at Tompkins Corner Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY
Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 6 PM
Writers in Conversation: Mike Bockoven and Shoshana Sumrall at Larksong Writers Place, Lincoln, NE
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 10 AM - 4 PM
Cedaremere Writing Retreat with Stefanie Maura and Christina M. Rau Details and registration here.
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 1 PM – 5 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center’s Harvest Fest 2026, Putnam Valley, NY
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 10 AM
Walk2EndAlz with Team J and J. Donate or root us on here.
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 2-4 PM
The Art of Noticing with Carmen Rubio, Sukha Studio, Garden City, NY
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3 PM
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center’s Poets’ Corner featuring Jim Zimmerman, open mic follows, Putnam Valley, NY
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 6 PM – 8 PM
Reiki & Write at Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, NY, Register in advance.
Friday, October 23, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Peppino D’Agostino at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY
Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 11 AM CT
Writing With Larksong: Bridging the Miles online writing series
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 10-noon
Sunday Funday Book Club at Stay Green Brewing reading Black Hole
Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 2-4 PM
Small Works Big Joy art reception at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY
October 30, 2026 at 7 PM - 9:30 PM
Tales Told in The Dark with M. L. Lyons, HART Theater , Hillsboro, Oregon, General Public $12/ At the door $15
Sunday, November 1, 2026 Time TBA
Cedarmere celebrates William Cullen Bryant’s Birthday. Registration link coming soon
Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, December 1,8,15, 2026, 6:30-8:30 PM EST
Poetry and Its Forms: Learn the Rules and Break Them with Sarah Stern, $450 for six-week Zoom Workshop
Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 7:30-9 PM EST
For the Love of Lists with the Eastern Shore Writers Association, online. Register here.
Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 10 AM – 12 Noon
Hike Around and Write with Walt Whitman Birthplace, Jayne’s Hill, Huntington, NY, Register in advance.
Sunday, November 22, 2026 at 10 - noon
Sunday Funday Book Club at Stay Green Brewing reading Lady Tremaine
Saturday, December 5, 2026 at 1-2:30 PM
JM Vinyasa Masterclass with Jared McCann, Sukha Studio, Garden City, NY
Sunday, December 13, 2026 at 10-noon
Sunday Funday Book Club at Stay Green Brewing reading Dungeon Crawler Carl
On The Regular (Always check with venues. If no contact info is listed below, search for it online. If your series has changed, let me know for next time. If you want to add your series, drop me a line).
One Sunday a month: Mid-Island Y JCC Poetry Series 2-4 PM, hosted by Gayl Teller
First Sundays: Poetic License, online, 4 PM
One Sunday a month: Speculative Sundays with Akua Lezli Hope, online, 7 PM EST
Later-in-the-month Sundays: Book Club at Great South Bay Brewing, Bay Shore, NY from 10-noon
Third Sundays: Sunday Reading Series at The Hungry Brain, 6:30 PM
Last Sundays: Po’Jazz with Golda Solomon at Blue Door Arts Center, Yonkers, NY, 2-4 PM, Free
ON HIATUS: Every Monday: Summer Gazebo Reading Series, Oceanside, NY and on zoom, 7 PM
Every Monday: Open Mic at Great South Bay Brewery, Bay Shore, 6:30 PM
Every Monday: Restless Open Mic, Marché Le Woof 31-03 Vernon Boulevard Astoria. Signups at 6:30 PM
Every Monday: The Underground Open Mic at Bar Freda (Queens/Brooklyn Border), 7:30 PM
Every Monday: Easy Paradise Open Mic at KGB Red Room, 8 PM, sign up in advance, 21+, 2 drink min
First Tuesdays: First Tuesdays Series, Espresso 77 Cafe, Jackson Heights, 6:40 Sign up, 7 PM open begins, feature follows, $5 purchase
First Tuesdays: Poetry At Book and Mortar 157 N Country Rd Mount Sinai, NY 11766 7 PM (open mic sign up 6:30), jeweliasdad@aol.com for info
First Tuesdays: Calling All Writers Spoken Word Open Mic, Urban Coffee, 101 Broadway, Greenlawn, NY, 7-8 PM, 5 minute limit, kindness required
Fourth Tuesdays: Caffe Lena Poetry Open Mic, Saratoga Springs, NY
Every Wednesday: Wednesday Night Poetry, Kollective Coffee and Tea, Hot Springs, AZ, 6:30-9 PM
First Wednesdays: The Platform, Madison Community Arts Center 10 Kings Rd Madison NH, 8 PM
Second Wednesdays: Poetry: It's a Shore Thing!, Long Beach Library (NY), 6 PM
Second Wednesdays/Thursdays: The Muse at Neirs Tavern, Queens, 7 PM
Fourth Wednesdays: Risk of Discovery at QED Astoria, 7:30-9 PM
First Thursdays: BVAC at Jack Jacks, Babylon, 7 PM First Thursdays: Poetry Circle Open Mic, Living Room Café, Ardmore, PA, 6:30 PM
First Thursdays: Lowell Writers Open Mic, lalabooks, Market St, Lowell, MA, 6:30-8PM
Third Thursdays: Poetry Pairs Series, Literature Repository Reading, Bohemia, 7 PM
Third Thursdays: NeuroNautic Institute Presents open mic with features, Otto’s Shrunken Head, NYC, 7-9 PM
Third Thursdays: At Brookline Booksmith, MA, 7 PM
Third Thursdays: SAFTA Reading Series, Pretentious Beer Co, Old City Knoxville, TN
Third Thursdays: Poetry At The Pub, Public House Brewing, Rolla, MO
Last Thursdays: Poetry Nights with Bluestone Poets, Inquiring Minds, Saugerties, NY
Every Friday: Fridays: Seed Café Open Mic, 250 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI, 6:30 PM
First Fridays: Revolutionary Poetry Nights, Grounds Books and Coffee, Tuscon, AZ
First Fridays: Maryland Writers’ Association, 7 PM EST, online
Second Fridays: Open Mic at Deja Brew Café, 102nd&Jamaica Ave Queens, 7:30-9 PM, hosted by Michael Alpiner
Third Fridays: Hudson Valley Writers Center in person and online, 7 PM
Last Fridays: Northport Arts Coalition Poetry Reading, Northport and online, 7:30 PM EST
Last Fridays: Friday Night Fire, Teatro Yerbabruja Second Avenue Fire House, Bay Shore, NY, 7 PM
Last Fridays: Redmond Association of Spoken Word, Centro Cultural Mexicano Redmond, WA, 7-9 PM
Every Saturday: Astoria Music Collective Saturday Songwriters at The Local Bar, 3 PM,
Every Saturday: Cultivating Voices Live, online, 3 PM EST
Biweekly Saturdays: Lip Balm, online, 5 PM EST
First Saturdays: PPA East Meadow Library, 1-3 PM, hosted by J R Turek and Margarette Wahl
Third Saturdays: PPA Levittown Town Hall, 1-3 PM, hosted by J R Turek
Various Saturdays: It’s Poetry Baby!, Oceanside Library, NY, 2 PM
Last Saturdays: Poetry Street On The Road at Riverhead Library and online, Riverhead NY, 2 – 4 PM
Various monthly: Ludy Café and Hudson Valley Poetry, Irvington, NY, ludycafe.com
Congrats! You've made it to the end! As always, this newsletter is gratis. If you wish to at any time, you can feel free to buy me a tea (or a coffee).