Delays Flights Disturbances Delights

  Ruminations Over Iron City Beers This book is dedicated to two dear friends, Mary Tomasso, and David Ely, both of whom are natives of Pittsburgh, home to Iron City Beer. The three of us, at different times over the past few decades, have spent more than a minute in various ruminations. In the spirit of those times, that commiseration and friendship, and as a way to honor them, I put together this collection of poems, many of which have been pubished in a variety of small magazines. You can find the book here on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruminations-Over-Iron-City-Beers-ebook/dp/B0CJJN6JMF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YBL4P67GRBTP&keywords=John+michael+flynn+ruminations&qid=1695546467&s=books&sprefix=john+michael+flynn+ruminations%2Cstripbooks%2C74&sr=1-1 I shot the photo on the cover on a rooftop in Manhattan back in 2009. It was part of a larger and quite impressive art installation and this particular piece, titled  Figures Walking , was created by the late Polish sc

Some good news. My short story, Tallulah, which was published originally in Stylus Lit magazine out of Australia, has been included in this anthology Hard To Find , edited by Meredith Janning, an editorial assistant at Stephen F. Austin State University Press.  Meredith earned her BA in Mass Communication from SFA in May of 2021 and is set to receive her MA in Publishing in May of 2023. Hard to Find: An Anthology of New Southern Gothic is the result of her love of the Southern Gothic and is particularly inspired by Flannery O’Connor’s work. Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press ISBN: 9781622889457. Number of pages: 160. Dimensions: 229 x 152 mm Here is a link to the book from Waterstones:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/hard-to-find/meredith-janning/9781622889457 Here is a link to it from Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Find-Anthology-Southern-Gothic/dp/1622889452 And here is a link to it from Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hard-to-find-meredith

Anyone who has been part of the poetry scene in Boston and Cambridge and Newton for the past five (or maybe six?) decades has likely met, read with, been reviewed by Doug Holder in his Off The Shelf column in  The Somerville Times , or published by Doug and the staff at Ibbetson Street Press .  In my opinion, Doug is something of a legend of the small press publishing scene in Boston, and I was really pleased to learn in 2020 that Big Table Publishing brought out  The Essential Doug Holder: New And Selected Poems.   Here is a link to a review by Ravi Teja Yelamanchili:  https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/103367 Doug has not only been giving readings, but he's interviewed, promoted, reviewed and brought into print the work of many other fine poets. I've liked all of Doug's books, and I continue to appreciate and enjoy his writing. 

Tireless, dedicated, unselfish and generous are just some of the words that come to mind when I think about Maria Mazziotti Gillan. My wife Angela and I had the privilege of meeting and speaking at length with Maria afer hearing her give a reading in Cambridge at the house of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  https://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm A year or so later, I joined about twenty other apsiring writers to work with her for a couple of days at a writer's retreat in Morristown, New Jersey.  It was a thrill for me to give my late mother signed and inscribed copies of Maria's books, Things My Mother Told Me , and Italian Women In Black Dresses . My mother read both of them with zeal, tears and much enjoyment. Like Maria, she had been raised as the daughter of hard-working first generation Italian immigrants, and had dealt with all of the trials that entailed. When my mother died, I made a point of finding those two books and passing them along to my sister.    Here is a link to Mar

The Fifteenth Century Bookshop, Lewes, England The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading in order to write. A man will turn over half a library in order to make a book. Samuel Johnson The things that we love tell us what we are. Thomas Aquinas The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers. Thomas Jefferson I love people, but I love the thought and memory of them just as much. Stevie Smith E canchis amnia. Everything from shells. Erasmus Darwin Let me be content with being happy, without sighing that I am not distinguished. Anna Seward Book burnings. Always the forerunners. Heralds of the stakes, the ovens, the mass graves. Geraldine Brooks There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. Joseph Brodksy People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory. Franklin D. Roosevelt

GLORIA MINDOCK For decades now, Gloria Mindock, known to her friends as Glo, has been publishing he own books of poems, giving public readings, and hosting public readings, as well. She's also the founder of Cervena Barva Press http://www.cervenabarvapress.com/ which has championed the works of poets from countries around the world.  From its web site, here is the press's mission statement. ČERVENÁ BARVA PRESS was founded in April of 2005. The press solicits poetry, fiction, and plays from various writers around the world, and holds open contests regularly for its chapbooks, postcards, broadsides and full-length books. I (Gloria) look for work that has a strong voice, is unique, and that takes risks with language. Please see submission guidelines for current information. I encourage queries from Central and Eastern Europe. Here is a link to Gloria's web site:  https://www.gloriamindock.com/ To quote directly from her site:  Gloria is the founding editor and Publisher of Čer