The Palace of Contemplating Departure was just nominated for a 2013 Northern California Book Award! The awards will be announced on Sun, April 27th in San Francisco.
April readings!
Photo by Andre Yang
Upcoming readings, celebrating National Poetry Month: Gillis Library in Fresno, on April 19th, LitSlam on April 21st (Mission District, SF), Word Performances on April 23rd (also in the Mission) and the Berkeley Poetry Slam on May 7th. Come one, come all.
Reflections on the first book
I wrote a short piece on the first book for the Red Hen Press blog. "If writing is an act of solitude—a wildly lonely feat—then the book has been a boat, a way of carrying my solitude into the wider world." Read on here.
The Palace is reviewed by NewPages
Thank you, NewPages and Theresé Samson Wenham for posting a review of The Palace of Contemplating Departure. "In her debut collection, Brynn Saito carries uncertainties and measures them out against the known and the unknown. Saito finds an enthralling voice for complex emotions about race, war, identity, scars, ghosts, family, and suffering." Read on at NewPages.
Thank you, Wendy Chin-Tanner, for a lively conversation!
Thank you to Wendy and Lantern Review for a wonderful conversation. As I note in the interview, "both my experience in the Kundiman fellowship and my friendship with Traci Brimhall have taught me that being a good literary citizen is about cultivating authentic connections and caring about one another. It’s about believing in and championing one another’s work. It’s a model that goes against the individualism so prevalent in a competitive, capitalistic North American social framework."
"Bright Power" and "The Palace" make 2013 staff pick lists
Thanks to Vandana Khanna and Wendy Chin-Tanner at the Lantern Review for recommending Bright Power, Dark Peace and The Palace of Contemplating Departure as top poetry books published in 2013!
Kundiman Writer-In-Residence, Sierra Nevada College
Through Jan 31st, I'll be near Lake Tahoe, at Sierra Nevada College, as the Kundiman Writer-in-Residence. Very grateful for this opportunity. Let the writing begin...
Rounding out the year in So Cal...
Three upcoming readings in Southern California! Nov 16th at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Nov 17th at Moonday West, & Dec 8th at the Bluebird Reading Series. Details here.
A new review, by Tyler Mills
Thank you, Tyler Mills and The Collagist, for a new review of The Palace of Contemplating Departure. "The voices in this collection will stay in your head; they are voices that refuse what is easy for what is real, and they create beauty out of illusion—as devastating, and necessary, as that illusion is." Read the full review here.
Fall Readings...
On Sat, Sept 21: A celebration party for Tess Taylor's The Forage House, feat. Kate Gale, Camille Dungy, and this moi (111 Minna Gallery on Minna near Mission and 2nd). Portland on Sept 26; SF's Lit Crawl on Oct 19; and LA on Nov 16, 17, and Dec 8. Come one, come all. Details here.
The Blood-Jet Writing Hour - New Interview
Thanks to the fabulous poet and radio host, Rachelle Cruz, for having me on The Blood-Jet Writing Hour today. Listen to the 30-minute interview here.
A Slew of Bay Area July Readings
Thanks to Lyrics & Dirges, Litquake, Poetry Flash, Poetry Tuesday at Yerba Buena Gardens, and poet Anhvu Buchanan, I'll be participating in a handful of readings in the Bay Area this July. 7/13 in SF, 7/14 in Oakland, 7/16 in SF, 7/17 in Berkeley, and 7/19 back in SF. Check out the reading schedule for details.
Radio interview with J.P. Dancing Bear on "Out of Our Minds"
Here's a podcast interview with the poet, J.P. Dancing Bear, who's been hosting "Out of Our Minds," the second longest continuous poetry radio show in America, on KKUP in Cupertino, CA.
A new review in HINGED: Journal of Converging Arts
Garrett Bryant reviews The Palace of Contemplating Departure in HINGED. "Ultimately Saito leaves the reader with the tools to overcome the hardships of love and loss. Her tenacious voice and emotionally charged words give the reader grounding for our own troubles. She teaches the reader to have the courage and strength to move on." Read on.
Citizens of San Diego! A reading on 5/15
I'll be reading at the New Alchemy Series at The Upstart Crow in San Diego's Seaport Village on Wed, May 15 @ 7pm. Open mic to follow. The Upstart Crow is at 835C West Harbor Drive.
Poems on Verse Daily and Poets.org
Thanks to the editors of Verse Daily and Poets.org for posting "Shape of Fire" and "Like Any Good American" on their daily poetry feeds.
Review of "The Palace" in TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics
"At times transparent and vulnerable, at others, sinuous with history and the breath of the supernatural, the heart of Brynn Saito’s first full-length collection beats dangerously, exhilaratingly, close to the surface." Continuing reading Iris Law's review of The Palace of Contemplating Departure, published today in TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics.
Readings at Eastwind Books and UJCC
Two upcoming April readings: Eastwind Books in Berkeley on 4/13 and the United Japanese Christian Church in Clovis, CA on 4/14. More info here.
New poem, in Tongue
Tongue, Issue No. 2
Very proud to have new work in issue no. 2 of Tongue, "an assemblage of original poetry, essays, and images that aspires to challenge comfortable gestures and distinctions. Tongue embraces translations, polyphonic exchanges across all conceivable borders." Thank you, editors!
Army of Monk: An essay in the magazine, Killing the Buddha
Statue of monk, Golgulsa Temple
A new essay on monks, meditation and martial arts in South Korea, now up on Killing the Buddha's website. "Sometimes it’s the case that monks form an army and fight," the piece begins. "This has happened periodically on the Korean peninsula, over the course of the last six centuries, as Buddhist monks emerged as soldiers, fighting invaders from nearby kingdoms or foreign aggressors from China and Japan." Read on here.