Off The Bricks

Welcome to Off the Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This week, part two of our guest poet Donald Plat,t as interviewed by Joyce Brinkman. Donald Platt's ninth book of poetry, Tender Voyeur, will be published by Grid Books in the fall. https://www.grid-books.org/donald-platt

Welcome to Off the Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This week, Donald Platt as interviewed by Joyce Brinkman. Keep an ear out for part two next month! Donald Platt's ninth book of poetry, Tender Voyeur, will be published by Grid Books in the fall.

Welcome to Off The Bricks Poets and Poetry Lovers. This week, we have Dr. Lucy Park and Dale Ho Kim, who are featured in the Polaris Trilogy: Poems for the Moon. Join us for an episode of translation and Sijo/Sejong poetic form, a Korean style of poetry. The Firefly Blue Ghost lander is now on the moon!

Welcome to Off the Bricks, poets and poetry lovers. Today we welcome back to the program Norbert Krapf who, in honor of black history month, is reading from his 2024 project, Ida Hagan of the Pinnkston Freedom Settlement. 14 years in the making Krapf, details in narrative poetry the bilingual, trailblazing life of Indianapolis local Ida Hagan. You can find more information about the project as well as links to purchase at krapfpoetry.net and additional historical information from The Dubois County Free Press .

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and Poetry lovers, today's episode features Robert "Bob" Okaji and his new chapbook In The Garden of Wind's Delight. Learn about the Japanese bamboo flute - Shakuhachi which offers both challenge and inspiration through the path of learning Suizen, the practice of playing the Shakuhachi. As published by Illuminated Press, available for preorder now.

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! Today we have an interview with Alessandra Lynch regarding her fifth book of poetry, Wish Ave, published by Alice James Books in 2024. She is the author of four other poetry collections: Pretty Tripwire, Daylily Called It a Dangerous Moment, It was a terrible cloud at twilight, and Sails the Wind Left Behind. Her work has appeared in the American Poetry Review, The New England Review, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and other journals. Alessandra serves as Butler University's poet in residence where she teaches in the undergraduate and MFA programs. you can find her books and other information on her website. www.alessandralynch.com

Welcome to Off The Bricks Poets and Poetry Lovers. This week, we have PART 2 of our interview with George Kalamaras. The poet laureate of Indiana from 2014 to 2016 and professor emeritus at Purdue University Fort Wayne shares with us today his newest book, To Sleep in the Horse's Belly. You can find further information about Kalamaras's work at the ⁠Dos Madres website.⁠

Welcome to Off The Bricks Poets and Poetry lovers. This week we have PART 1 of our interview with George Kalamaras. The poet laureate of Indiana from 2014 to 2016 and professor emeritus at Purdue University Fort Wayne shares with us today his newest book, To Sleep in the Horse's Belly. You can find further information about Kalamaras's work at the Dos Madres website.

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month we welcome poet Nancy Chen Long to the program. Nancy Chen Long is the author of Wider than the Sky, selected for the Diode Editions Book Award (Diode Editions, 2020) and Light into Bodies, winner of the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry (University of Tampa Press, 2017), as well as the chapbook Clouds as Inkblots for the War Prone (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2013). Today in conversation with Joyce Brinkman, Nancy Chen Long discusses her poetry inspired by memory and its curious nature and challenges. You can learn more about her work on her website linked here.

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! Today's show brings back our publishers' series with Natalie Solmer the founder and editor-in-chief of The Indianapolis Review. With a background in award-winning teaching at Ivy Tech for English, Solmer and Joyce Brinkman discuss the ins and outs of the vibrant Indianapolis Review how it all started, and what to know to have your best chance for submissions! https://theindianapolisreview.com/submit/

Welcome to Off the Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we are proud to feature the poetic works of our Brick Street Poetry - poetry night participants who met for a live recording this past 4th of July. On the 1st Thursday of each month, Brick Street Poetry hosts enriching programming at the Sullivan Munce in Zionsville, Indiana. Today's episode showcases a diverse interpretation of the concept and celebration of Freedom. Please consider joining us next month, Off The Bricks

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month we have with us Curtis L Crisler the current Indiana Poet Laureate! Crisler was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. He received a BA in English, with a minor in Theatre, from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW, now PFW), and he received his MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. You can learn more about Curtis at his website, and find the works featured in this episode for purchase at C&R Press.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we have with us, Tracy Mishkin! Mishkin recently published her first full-length book of poetry, The Way The Salt Falls, with Main Street Rag Publishing Company. Tracy is also the author of three chapbooks, I Almost Didn't Make It to McDonald's (Finishing Line Press, 2014), The Night I Quit Flossing (Five Oaks Press, 2016), and This is Still Life (Brain Mill Press, 2018). A graduate of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Butler University, she lives in Indianapolis with her family and fewer than ten cats and dogs. You can read some of her poems on her website, www.tracymishkin.com, as well as her Amazon Sellers Page.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! In this episode, we discuss selections from the collaborative works of Lylanne Musselman and Mary Sexson, who have both previously been featured on the pod, (Ep. 36 & 10!). Today we are discussing their works, Marriage Maps and Driven Destinies and Company of Women. If you enjoyed today's program consider joining Brick Street Poetry's Monthly in-person poetry events hosted by today's guest, Mary Sexson! We are at the Sullivan Munce Cultural Center in Zionsville, Indiana on the first Thursday of each month, see our Facebook page for more details.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! On this episode, Brick Street Poetry Board Member Joyce Brinkman interviews Marjory Wentworth to celebrate the upcoming total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th. to find Marjory's work click here.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! On this episode, Brick Street Poetry Board Member Thomas Kneeland interviews Indianapolis poet Dr. Adam Henze. Adam is a researcher, educator, and spoken word artist, and has shared his work in over 30 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Canada, England, and Ireland. He is the co-founder and former director of Slam Camp, a summer writing academy for teenage poets, and was the director of The Power of a Sentence, a writing workshop series at a women's prison in Indianapolis. He currently contributes his talents to Flanner House's community programming.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and Poetry lovers! Our first podcast of 2024 features the new book "Homecomings: A Writer's Memoir".  In it, poet Norbert Krapf shares poems from the book and talks with host Joyce Brinkman about the three areas that have influenced his work over his long career. A prolific writer Norbert writes from the influences of his Franconian German ancestry, his long career teaching and living in New York, and his 'homecoming" to his birth state where he served as its second, official poet laureate. The memoir, published by the Indiana Historical Society Press, may be purchased HERE

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month we have a special episode for you featuring our very own members! This episode is a live recording of Brick Street Poetry's in-person poetry reading/ open mic held on the first Thursday of each month. Thank you for joining us, Off The Bricks!

Welcome to Off the Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we have poet and physicist Samuel Peralta with us to share his astronomically themed poetry. We have linked Peralta's Amazon page here . This week's natural moment poem is The Freedom of the Moon by Robert Frost.

Welcome to Off the Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month's guest is Patricia Clark. Patricia is the author of six volumes of poetry, including The Canopy and, before that, Sunday Rising. She has also published three chapbooks: Deadlifts (New Michigan Press), Wreath for the Red Admiral and Given the Trees. Her work has been featured on Poetry Daily and Verse Daily, and has appeared in The Atlantic, Gettysburg Review, Poetry, Slate, and Stand. She was a scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and has completed residencies at The MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Tyrone Guthrie Center (in County Monaghan (Ireland), and the Ragdale Colony. Awards for her work include a Creative Artist Grant in Michigan, the Mississippi Review Prize, the Gwendolyn Brooks Prize, and co-winner of the Lucille Medwick Prize from the Poetry Society of America. From 2005-2007 she was honored to serve as the poet laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was Poet-in-Residence and Professor in the Department of Writing at Grand Valley State University in Michigan where she worked for thirty years. you can find her contact info at www.patriciafclark.com. Our Natural moment poem today is The Milky Way, by Kathryn Sadakierski

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and Poetry lovers! This week we have a special program hosted by Joyce Brinkman. The Poet's Path is a guided poetry hike through Pokagon State Park including poetry from notable Indiana poets and prompts to inspire your own poetry. Bring a notebook and pen as you complete this guided program anytime during the year! While we suggest you take this opportunity to get outdoors with your poetry, this poet's path can be enjoyed indoors too if you have a bit of imagination. We hope to see you, Off The Bricks!

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we feature Indiana poet Lylanne Musselman. Author of six chapbooks as well as a set of long-form poetry, today we focus on her newest chapbook Staring Dementia in the Face. Which explores the day-to-day realities of caring for her mother with dementia.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we feature Indianapolis poet Bonnie Maurer, reading from her new book, "The Poem Stands on its Head by the Window", which she began as a creative renewal fellow, through the Indy Arts Council with funding from the Lilly endowment. This fellowship granted her the opportunity to study in Poland. you can find her book for purchase here at the finishinglinepress.com.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! This month we feature Karen George. George is the author of five chapbooks, most recently the collaborative ekphrastic Frame and Mount the Sky, and three collections from Dos Madres Press: Swim Your Way Back (2014), A Map and One Year (2018), and Where Wind Tastes Like Pears (2021). She's been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and won Slippery Elm's 2022 poetry contest. Her short story collection, How We Fracture, which won the Rosemary Daniell Fiction Prize, is forthcoming from Minerva Rising Press in Fall 2023. Her poetry appears in Tipton Poetry Journal, Indianapolis Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Ekphrastic Poetry Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, Cultural Daily, and Poet Lore. Her website is linked here. Today we hear selections of Karen's works including a cento, found poems, and dream poems.

Welcome to a special episode of Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! In this episode, we feature Thomas Kneeland, Editor-in-Chief of The Elevation Review. The Elevation Review is an internationally-recognized, biannual journal of poetry. This month's episode focuses on tips from the editor on getting your poetry published as well as beating writer's block! Click here for The Elevation Review submittable link. https://theelevationreview.submittable.com/submit

Welcome, to Off the Bricks poets and poetry lovers! In this episode guest poet, Jessica Thompson reads poems from her nature-filled book of narrative poetry, "Daybreak and Deep". Jessica uses her connections with nature to examine experiences of loss and grief and as inspiration for being in a state of wakefulness about life. Click here to find Daybreak and Deep for sale.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, Poets and Poetry lovers! Today we explore the Tupelo Press' 30/30 project with Kirsten Miles. This is one of our special interviews that feature someone from a press other than Brick Street Poetry to help our listeners hear tips for engaging with programs, journals, and contests that would help them on their poetic journey.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, Poets, and Poetry lovers! This week we are featuring the geological poetry of Katy Didden! Didden focuses her newest work on the perspective of Icelandic lava flows, and their destructive and creative powers. Didden allows the source materials of various Icelandic texts and refrences to be revealed through that which the lava covers in her gorgeous new book, Ore Choir: The Lava on Iceland. Featured first, her poem in the cold open references an interview of Bjork conducted by Mathias Augustynaik and Michael Amzalg to be featured in Interview Magazine from 2009.

Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! Today's program features David Allan Evans, the former Poet Laureate of South Dakota. David is a longtime, stalwart voice of midwestern poetry. David shares poems that trace his writing from his earliest work about sports through his experiences with Asian poetry teaching in China to ekphrastic collaborations with a visual artist. Learn more about Mr. Evans' work here.

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month we have a Holiday special episode for listeners young and young at heart, featuring poetry read by some of the poets from Brick Street Poetry's new children's book, What I See I Can Be! A book for children to explore occupations that might be of interest to them as they think about what they want to do when they are a grownup! Thank you for joining us, Off The Bricks!

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! Today Hiromi Yoshida joins us to discuss her works in her book Epicanthus. Yoshida seeks to generate cultural, and ethnic understanding through her poetry through the use of culturally pervasive symbols, as well as process the traumatic experiences of her childhood and synthesizes her immigration experience. You can find Yoshida's work on Amazon and Facebook. Thank you for joining us, Off The Bricks!

Today we welcome J.L. Kato, who was recently honored by Indiana Humanities, as the first Glick Literary Champion Award recipient. J.L. shares his experience as a Japanese American, and the experience of his fellow creatives through the expression of his poetry. You can find J.L. on Facebook and learn more about his recent award by clicking here. In addition to his recent award, Kato has served as the past president of Etheridge knight Inc. and Brick Street Poetry, as well as serving as the cofounder and curator of Poetry in Free Motion, a project that combined quilting and poetry. His moderation and participation in the Poetry Salon encouraged community poets to improve their writing and critique skills. Although currently out of print, you can refer to this link for limited copies of J.L.'s work at Tim & Company's Another Fine Mess.

Welcome to Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This month, we welcome poet Mark Neely as he shares his multidimensional poetry. His latest book of poetry, Ticker, explores the continuity of life and features a dynamic formatting style. Neely's poetry is available for purchase on his personal website, as well as at your local bookstore. Additionally, Neely will be reading at Poetry on Brick Street at The Sullivan Munce Cultural Center, in Zionsville, Indiana on November 3rd at 7 pm. We hope to see you there poets and poetry lovers!

Welcome to Off The Bricks!, poets and poetry lovers. Today we continue our series on publishing your poetry which started with Ep. 20 Barry Harris (scroll on down to give that episode a listen while you're here today!) Our guest this month is Mary Brown, Poetry Editor of The Flying Island Journal! join us today as we discuss what to avoid and what you should be sure to do before submitting your poetry to any journal for publication. you can learn more about the publication by clicking Here.

Join us today, poets and poetry lovers to hear a selection of ecologically themed poetry from Jessica Reed. In her chapbook, Still Recongnizeable Forms, Reed takes on the responsibility of discussing environmentalism, without the typical doom and gloom that the topic is usually weighed down by. Our conversation explores environmental experiences within the Midwest and Appalachia and the importance of not losing sight of what we are fighting for, and who we are fighting with, in our efforts to reduce our impact on the world. Reed's limited edition chapbook can be purchased by emailing tlr@mwmissouri.edu.

Join us today poets and poetry lovers, for an intimate conversation with Alessandra Lynch as we discuss running, how Covid-19 has impacted interpersonal connection, and other challenging topics related to the human condition. Lynch's acclaimed work, Daylily Called It a Dangerous Moment, is available on Amazon, and according to Lynch herself, "Let your fingers fly, or let your hands steer a wheel, and you will find my book somewhere!". Particularly in local book stores, in-person and online, as well as at your local library.

Join us today to discuss translation in poetry, the delicate art of balancing rhythm, meaning, and rhyme. Today's episode features Karen Kovacik, a former Indiana poet laureate specializing in the translation of contemporary Polish poetry. To learn more about Karen and her work, click here to visit her personal site. Kovacik's works can be found for purchase online Metropolis Burning, Beyond the Velvet Curtain.

Join us today for a special mini-episode, recorded during a live reading of Haiku for Hikers. Today, our featured poets are M.A. Dubbs, Janine Harrison, and Nancy Kay Peterson. This episode is more casual than our regularly scheduled programming. If you like what you hear, let us know on Facebook @poetryonbrickstreet, there you can also look for more online events like this live reading, and get the latest updates on the podcast and other in-person events with Brick Street Poetry! you can find a copy of Haiku for Hikers here on amazon, and we'll see you, Off The Bricks!

Welcome to a special episode of Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! In this episode, we feature Barry Harris, Editor of the Tipton Poetry Journal. This month's episode focuses on tips from the editor on getting your poetry published! This Episode features the poetic works of Bilal Moin (Papercut), and Jeanine Stevens (Sunchokes). This Month's Natural Moment Poem is Wish, by Joseph Heithaus. To buy the Tipton Poetry Journal online click here. To submit to the Journal click here.

Welcome to a special episode of Off The Bricks poets and poetry lovers! This episode, hosted by Off The Bricks, features a recording of a poetry reading of Catena Poetica, as read by Flor Aguilera, Joyce Brinkman, Gabriele Glang, and Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda. Catena Poetica is an international, collaborative effort that explores the themes of color, spice, and water among others. Catena Poetica is available for purchase at Black Dog Books in Zionsville.

Today we welcome poet Kevin McKelvey who joins us to share his ecological, biological, and geological poetry. McKelvey is a place-based poet, writer, designer, and social practice artist. He teaches at the University of Indianapolis and directs the MA in Social Practice Art. His first book, Dream Wilderness Poems, is a poetic trail guide for the Deam Wilderness Area near Bloomington that represents years of exploration in the Hoosier National Forest. Other poems are collected in Indiana Nocturnes, a collaboration on Indiana's urban and rural divide with another native Hoosier, Curtis L. Crisler. McKelvey has been a writer-in-residence in the Long-Term Ecological Reflections program at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon and at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. This inspired him to bring this model to Indiana, working with local land trusts to create annual, centuries-long creative and scientific reflections on natural areas, including NICHES Land Trust and ACRES Land Trust. His work in novels, essays, social practice, and placemaking continues to explore the intersections of art, writing, ecology, gardening, food, and farming. McKelvey attended DePauw University in Greencastle and completed his MFA in Poetry and Creative Writing at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Today we welcome poet Marianne Boruch who joins us to share her multidimensional and densely vibrant poetry which celebrates the unique animal life of Australia! Boruch reads from her new book Bestiary Dark, and shares her experiences from her time in Australia as a Fulbright Scholar. Boruch Earned her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, And went on to teach at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and at the University of Maine in Farmington. Today, she is a Professor Emeritus at Purdue University after developing and bringing to life the MFA program of creative writing there. You can find Boruch's publications for sale here as well as learn more about her work, on the Copper Canyon Press website.

Today we welcome former Indiana Poet Laureate, Shari Wagner who joins us to share her nature-rich persona poetry for the 17th episode of Off The Bricks! Wagner brings inspiration from her experience in rural communities and her time in Africa as a child together in her poetry while also incorporating fact-based research. Wagner, who has an MFA in creative writing from Indiana University, spent her time as Poet Laureate focused on drawing inspiration from nature and the parks. Today's poetry came from her publications, The Farm Wife's Almanac, The Harmonist At Nightfall: Poems of Indiana, and Evening Chore. You can access Wagner's websites to learn more about her projects here, as well as her page Through The Sycamores. Additionally, the following links show where Wagner's work can be purchased. Evening Chore, The Farm Wife's Almanac, The Harmonist at Nightfall: Poems of Indiana

Today Gabriele Glang joins us for the 16th episode of Off The Bricks! Listen in as Glang discusses her experience with grief from the loss of her husband. Glang is a Bilingual poet who writes in both German and English, and among her multiple publications has also been teaching creative writing in English at the University of Applied Sciences at Esslingen. You can visit Glang's website here. Today's natural moment poem can be found in Haiku for Hikers, and was written by Alessio Zanelli

Today we welcome Elise Paschen as she joins us for the fifteenth episode of Off The Bricks! Listen in as Elise reads selected poems from her newest long poem sequence that celebrates her Osage heritage in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Hailing from Chicago with ancestral ties to Fairfax, Oklahoma, Elise brings the history and landscape of the Osage reservation into vibrant resolution in her currently in-progress manuscript, Heritage of The Blood Wolf Moon. Her website is available here. The music featured in today's natural moment is Warrior Flute by Tommy Wildcat at the Smithsonian's Cherokee Days (2017) available in full here.

Today we are featuring our very own Joyce Brinkman as she debuts her most recent international collaboration, Catena Poetica. This collaborative effort was created in part by Flor Aguilera, Joyce Brinkman, Gabriele Glang, and Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda. Today's discussion centers on the form of the chapbook, the art of collaboration, and the creation of international poetry. Our Natural Moment poem for the month is a haiku by Tony Brewer and can be found in Haiku for Hikers. You can find the Catena Poetica chapbook for preorder by clicking here.

Today we are featuring a delightful discussion between American Poet Dr. Norbert Krapf and German Poet Dr. Helmut Haberkamm concerning dialect poetry. Krapf is a Fulbright Fellow in American Poetry at the Universities of Freiburg and Erlangen-Nuremberg, where he met our second guest Helmut Haberkamm. Dr. Haberkamm writes extensively in the Franconian dialectic. The conversation touches on subjects from James Whitcomb Riley to Bob Dylan with lots in between. www.krapfpoetry.net Our Natural Moment poem for the month is Reverence by Pheonix Cole.

Today Dr. Eric Kreuter joins us for the 12th episode of Off the Bricks! Listen in as Dr. Kreuter discusses his work with recovering drug addicts as he allows them to process their emotions around addiction via poetry writing as an alternative to traditional therapies. This episode features the work of a recovering addict by the name of Rammell S.

Today Linda Neal Rising joins us for the 11th episode of Off The Bricks! Listen in as Rising discusses her poetry and how it has been informed by her experiences growing up a member of the Western Cherokee Nation, as well as the personal experiences of her parents which inform her political affiliations and activism. Rising has published multiple books of poetry including The Keeping which are available for sale on Amazon here.

Today Mary Sexson joins us for the 10th episode of Off The Bricks! Listen in as Sexson discusses her experiences with her daughter's addiction and shares the poetry that she wrote to manage her emotions during the course of her recovery. Sexson has been published multiple times and most recently has released work on the pandemic that was published through the Indianapolis Writers Center publication What Was and Will Be, with her poem, “Close”, being choreographed by Dance Kaleidoscope (November 2020). Some of Sexson's work is available for purchase on Amazon here and her personal website can be found here.

Today Katie Hesterman joins us for our 9th episode of Off The Bricks! Young poets all around should listen in as Katie reads poetry from her new book, A Round of Robins, an informational and playful collection of poems about robins. Our special guest interviewer today is Sammy the interviewing Toucan, a local bird who is excited to learn all about her cousins the robins today. Katie's website can be found at katiehesterman.com, and to plan a visit to the Indiana Young Readers Center go to www.in.gov/library/iyrc/