Category Archives: uncategorized

State Of The Art, May 2023

A life update.

On Sundays I do editing and transfer of the week’s writing from here to word-processing files.

This week, I added 5 poems for YTD total of 114 posted, including 1 exclusive for patrons that doesn’t appear on the Dark Matter blog. On pace to at least equal last year’s total poems posted. Coulda fooled me until I checked it this AM. I feel far behind that.

Quality is another matter entirely. I generally have a moment in spring where things feel way off. I need some distance between the poems and me before I can assess the state of the Work.

I’m still trying to figure out a way to make more $ with this work, to have it be more self-sustaining. The hustle is hard and I’m bad at it. (No more GoFundMe! I want to work for it.)

I’ve got two workshops (same course, two different sessions) coming in August; still trying to make Patreon work — it’s good, I think, but I seem to have hit a wall on new subscribers and I’ve lost a few, too. Hit me up if you want more info on any of that.

Still working my training consulting business, of course, but we are getting toward summer which is the slow season for training sessions as they frequently conflict with vacations, etc. I’ve already had two work proposals delayed indefinitely for even confirming, and I know that’s part of the issue with at least one.

Bills don’t stop though.

I’m also spending more time with my mother right now. Sister’s own health problems are keeping her from doing a lot of caregiver work consistently and I’m filling in the holes. Spending a lot of time down there at the house, which fucks with my mood and energy.

Happy Mother’s Day to those in the mood for it; take care of yourselves if it’s a hard day for you.


Patreon and Workshop info

If you like what I do here, you have a couple of options to support the Work. 

First off, there’s always the Patreon site where I host exclusive readings and offer eBooks, recordings, and videos of and about the Work. As little as $1 a month will get you there. Any amount is appreciated. 

https://www.patreon.com/TonyBrown

Second, I periodically run workshops for both Patrons and the general public. Here’s a workshop I’m running to close out National Poetry Month…

https://www.facebook.com/events/616902663639634

I hope you’ll consider becoming a part of one or both. I’m working very hard to make my poetry a larger part of my life and a bigger part of my support income.  If you like what I do, these are ways to help make it all happen. 

Thanks,
Tony


Repeating info on Patreon, Workshops, etc.

I know I’ve posted all this before but I’m trying to consolidate info into one post and keep it current. So…here we go.  

(Includes a new payment option for the workshops.)  

1.
I’ll be releasing an initially exclusive album of poems and music to Patrons subscribed at the $25/month tier on my site whenever I reach the goal of $1000/month in contributions (less than $200 to go now).

If you join or upgrade to the $15 dollar/month or above level by end of Saturday, tomorrow, April 1 — you’ll get it too. Little incentive for all.

Link to join: https://www.patreon.com/TonyBrown 

2.
I’m running Zoom workshops on: April 16 (The Poetry Of Place) and April 30 (Voice, Craft, and the Line)
that will be free to patrons of the site at the $10/month level and up.

Time for both: Sundays, 5 to 7 PM EDT.

I need payment for this first workshop by Saturday, April 15. Zoom link will be sent upon payment.

If you want to attend without being a Patron, it’s $35 for one, $50 for both, payable through PayPal or Venmo. Links to both are now available and will be sent upon payment.

PayPal: tony.w.brown@gmail.com
Venmo: @Anthony-Brown-95
CashApp: $DuendeProj

Thanks in advance.

T


Taking a break

I hate to do this to you all in the middle of National Poetry Month, but I feel that for my mental and physical health, I need to step away briefly from the practice of writing daily. 

Extreme financial, hard emotional, and low-grade-getting-stronger physical stress are making it hard for me to focus on anything other than getting solvent and feeling better. It’s very hard to write right now.

I’m a little surprised that this is the thing that needs to be set aside right now. But I do feel like it’s the right thing. I feel like my entire being is saying “enough for now.”  I’m going to listen to it.

I’ll be back. As it is, I’m doing a feature reading this week and running two poetry workshops via Zoom (on the 16th and 30th), so I’m not abandoning poetry work completely. (Contact me if you want more information on any of that.)

Until I see you again, be well. 

T


Patreon goals, new poetry/music album, and poetry workshops

I know I’ve posted all this before but I’m trying to consolidate info into one post and keep it current. So…here we go.  Includes a new payment option for the workshops.  

1.
I’ll be releasing an initially exclusive album of poems and music to Patrons subscribed at the $25/month tier on my site whenever I reach the goal of $1000/month in contributions (less than $200 to go now).

If you join or upgrade to the $15 dollar/month or above level by end of Saturday, tomorrow, April 1 — you’ll get it too. Little incentive for all.

Link to join: https://www.patreon.com/TonyBrown 

2.
I’m running Zoom workshops on: April 16 (The Poetry Of Place) and April 30 (Voice, Craft, and the Line)
that will be free to patrons of the site at the $10/month level and up.

Time for both: Sundays, 5 to 7 PM EDT.

If you want to attend without being a Patron, it’s $35 for one, $50 for both, payable through PayPal or Venmo. Links to both are now available and will be sent upon payment.

PayPal: tony.w.brown@gmail.com
Venmo: @Anthony-Brown-95
CashApp: $DuendeProj

Thanks in advance.

T


Urgent Clarification!!!!

The Rip Up Reading I’ve been touting is next Thursday and the date is February 23rd.  I’ve been screwing it up in announcements.

My apologies. 

T


Rip up reading: full explanation

Link to a full explanation of what’s coming up…

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0zAipVPeUxyVoKFPz4gz3FT8BQW3qr97tkvn864AK47D95Sgp4PvxqcJFmjrDxLQal&id=734760525


Yesterday’s workshop…

Yesterday’s Zoom workshop on “The Poetry Of Place” had twelve participants and was, I thought, pretty successful. I’ll likely do it again in the summer or fall, with some tweaks to timing of activities (and maybe some prework…) but overall I thought the conversion of a live session into a Webinar was OK.  

Next time I’ll include the use of a couple of interactive tools I use in my corporate work to gain some more immediacy in practice sessions. I wanted to keep things simple this time around.

Thanks to those who attended, and I’m certainly going to add more topics to the menu over time.  If you have any ideas you’d like to see, you can put them in the comments…

T


Last day to join is today, Jan 20, for Sunday…

“The Poetry Of Place” will be held via Zoom on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at from 2 PM to 4PM EST.

In this workshop, we will look at how incorporating vivid, arresting sensory imagery can stimulate and energize your writing. We’ll look at examples of such poems and at some ideas about why this kind of effort is vital to The Work regardless of genre. (While we’ll be focused on poetry, you can use this information in long fiction, short fiction, etc., just as easily.)

Although the workshop will include some writing exercises and opportunities to share, it’s not primarily designed to be a generative session; I hope that instead you’ll leave with some ideas and a sense of what is possible when you “ground” your own Work in a strong sense of place.

For the record? I’ve got 30+ years of experience as a trainer and workshop facilitator for various corporations, non-profits, and government agencies, but this will be the first time I’ll use those skills for a personally developed topic. It likely won’t be the last…

The cost to the general public* is $35.00 for the session, payable through:

Venmo:
@Anthony-Brown-95
(if asked for a # after that, it’s 4124)

or

Paypal:
tony.w.brown@gmail.com

Last day to join up is Friday, January 20. **

I’d love to see you there. Drop me a line through here or at the above email address with any questions.

T

*Patrons of my Patreon site in the $10/month or higher tiers may attend for free.

** For security reasons and to help prevent Zoom bombing, I will send participants the Zoom link once payment is made or (for Patrons) once a confirmation message is sent to me on the site.


Once again…

“The Poetry Of Place” will be held via Zoom on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at from 2 PM to 4PM EST.

In this workshop, we will look at how incorporating vivid, arresting sensory imagery can stimulate and energize your writing. We’ll look at examples of such poems and at some ideas about why this kind of effort is vital to The Work regardless of genre. (While we’ll be focused on poetry, you can use this information in long fiction, short fiction, etc., just as easily.)

Although the workshop will include some writing exercises and opportunities to share, it’s not primarily designed to be a generative session; I hope that instead you’ll leave with some ideas and a sense of what is possible when you “ground” your own Work in a strong sense of place.

 

For the record? I’ve got 30+ years of experience as a trainer and workshop facilitator for various corporations, non-profits, and government agencies, but this will be the first time I’ll use those skills for a personally developed topic. It likely won’t be the last…

The cost to the general public* is $35.00 for the session, payable through:

Venmo:
@Anthony-Brown-95
(if asked for a # after that, it’s 4124)

or

Paypal:
tony.w.brown@gmail.com

Last day to join up is Friday, January 20. **

I’d love to see you there. Drop me a line through here or at the above email address with any questions.

T

*Patrons of my Patreon site in the $10/month or higher tiers may attend for free.

** For security reasons and to help prevent Zoom bombing, I will send participants the Zoom link once payment is made or (for Patrons) once a confirmation message is sent to me on the site.


Yes, I’m posting it again…

“The Poetry Of Place” will be held via Zoom on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at from 2 PM to 4PM EST.

In this workshop, we will look at how incorporating vivid, arresting sensory imagery can stimulate and energize your writing. We’ll look at examples of such poems and at some ideas about why this kind of effort is vital to The Work regardless of genre. (While we’ll be focused on poetry, you can use this information in long fiction, short fiction, etc., just as easily.)

Although the workshop will include some writing exercises and opportunities to share, it’s not primarily designed to be a generative session; I hope that instead you’ll leave with some ideas and a sense of what is possible when you “ground” your own Work in a strong sense of place.

 

For the record? I’ve got 30+ years of experience as a trainer and workshop facilitator for various corporations, non-profits, and government agencies, but this will be the first time I’ll use those skills for a personally developed topic. It likely won’t be the last…

The cost to the general public* is $35.00 for the session, payable through:

Venmo:
@Anthony-Brown-95
(if asked for a # after that, it’s 4124)

or

Paypal:
tony.w.brown@gmail.com

Last day to join up is Friday, January 20. **

I’d love to see you there. Drop me a line through here or at the above email address with any questions.  

T

*Patrons of my Patreon site in the $10/month or higher tiers may attend for free. 

** For security reasons and to help prevent Zoom bombing, I will send participants the Zoom link once payment is made or (for Patrons) once a confirmation message is sent to me on the site. 


Updated list of available eBooks, January 2023

I have eBooks/PDFs of my work available for sale to those who might be interested. All were previously offered as rewards to various tiers of my Patreon subscribers (a program I will be continuing there, btw). If you want access to the most recent collections as they come out, I’d go there. Just sayin’.

The titles include:
Annual “best of the year” collections. Currently available: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

“Then Play On,” a chapbook of poems about music

“Pushpins and Thumbtacks,” a volume about icons and cliches of American culture

“Noted In Passing,” a revised eBook of a chapbook from 2012 that was a limited edition written for a single feature

“White Pages,” my collection of poems related to race and its role in my life

“Decay Diary,” a collection of poems about aging

“In the Time Of Contagion,” a collection of poems about you-know-what

“The Wrong Flowers,” a prose/poetry meditation on the state of the USA in 2020

“Show Your Work,” an eBook version of an earlier, out of print chapbook.

“The Day,” a selection from 20 years of poems about 9/11/01.

“Ideation,” a short collection of poems old and new about living with depression and suicidal ideation.

“Long Winded,” a collection of longer poems.

“songs for reluctant warriors,” poems for the US political moment of early summer, 2022.

“3 Quarters” released in October 2022. Random and recent.

“Owner’s Manual” released in December of 2022. Poems in the form of directions.

Minimal # of repeats among the collections.

All are available as either PDF or ePUB formats.

If you are interested, let me know with a comment on this post. They are 1 for $5 through Paypal or Venmo, 3 for $12. We can talk about more if you want more.

Thanks.


The Poetry of Place: Formal announcement of the workshop

This will serve as the formal announcement of…my first virtual poetry workshop!

“The Poetry Of Place” will be held via Zoom on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at from 2 PM to 4PM EST.

In this workshop, we will look at how incorporating vivid, arresting sensory imagery can stimulate and energize your writing. We’ll look at examples of such poems and at some ideas about why this kind of effort is vital to The Work regardless of genre. (While we’ll be focused on poetry, you can use this information in long fiction, short fiction, etc., just as easily.)

Although the workshop will include some writing exercises and opportunities to share, it’s not primarily designed to be a generative session; I hope that instead you’ll leave with some ideas and a sense of what is possible when you “ground” your own Work in a strong sense of place.

For the record? I’ve got 30+ years of experience as a trainer and workshop facilitator for various corporations, non-profits, and government agencies, but this will be the first time I’ll use those skills for a personally developed topic. It likely won’t be the last…

The cost to the general public* is $35.00 for the session, payable through:

Venmo:
@Anthony-Brown-95
(if asked for a # after that, it’s 4124)

or

Paypal:
tony.w.brown@gmail.com

Last day to join up is Friday, January 20. **

I’d love to see you there. Drop me a line through here or at the above email address with any questions.  

T

*Patrons of my Patreon site in the $10/month or higher tiers may attend for free. 

** For security reasons and to help prevent Zoom bombing, I will send participants the Zoom link once payment is made or (for Patrons) once a confirmation message is sent to me on the site. 





Workshops…

I recently ran a live workshop on “The Poetry Of Place.” I think it went well.

Converting it to an online workshop, probably broken into two Zoom sessions.

Questions:
— Would you take it?
— What is that worth to you?
— What’s a good day/time for that (in general)?
— If I were to develop another one or two of these types of workshops, what would you like to take online from me as the facilitator?

I’ve got 30+ years of experience as a trainer/instructional designer, 4+ years of experience doing online Webinars, and reasonable amount of time as a poet with some skill.

Help me out, folks. Trying to shift gears into more kinds of work…I’ve always kept my trainer skills separate from my poet skills, and I think I’ve done myself a disservice…

TIA


COVID

My girlfriend and I are currently dealing with COVID.  She’s sick but seems to be improving; I am just getting started with it. 

Not much energy to write right now. I’m sorry about that. Hope to be back soon. 

T