October 18: David Buuck, Juliana Spahr, Katy Bohinc, Mark Johnson

GENERAL IDEA #13 is coming up!

On Friday October 18 at 7PM at Brickbat Books, come to hear David Buuck, Juliana Spahr, Katy Bohinc, and Mark Johnson.

Juliana Spahr edits with Jena Osman the book series Chain Links, with nineteen other poets she edits of the collectively funded Subpress, and with Joshua Clover and Jasper Bernes she will begin editing Commune Editions. With David Buuck she wrote Army of Lovers, a book about two friends who are writers in a time of war and ecological collapse (forthcoming from City Lights). She has edited with Stephanie Young A Megaphone: Some Enactments, Some Numbers, and Some Essays about the Continued Usefulness of Crotchless-pants-and-a-machine-gun Feminism (Chain Links, 2011), with Joan Retallack Poetry & Pedagogy: the Challenge of the Contemporary (Palgrave, 2006), and with Claudia Rankine American Women Poets in the 21st Century (Wesleyan U P, 2002). And several times she has organized free schools with Joshua Clover: the 95 cent Skool (summer of 2010) and the Durruti Free Skool (summer of 2011).

David Buuck is a writer who lives in Oakland, CA. He is the founder of BARGE, the Bay Area Research Group in Enviro-aesthetics, and co-founder and editor of Tripwire, a journal of poetics. An Army of Lovers, co-written with Juliana Spahr, is just out from City Lights, and SITE CITE CITY will be published by Futurepoem in 2014.

 

Katy Bohinc is a poet and digital media strategist for the Democractic Party of China.  She co-edits COYDUP a poetry pamphlet decidated to hand-to-hand distribution at and around Occupy events with Meg Ronan.  Work has recently appeared in Armed Cell, and is forthcoming in Poor Claudia, Apartment, & Open Letters Monthly.  She has a background in math, comp litt, China, France & Buenos Aires.  She lives in Manhattan.

Mark Johnson lives in Philadelphia, where he runs Hiding Place, a record / book shop / reading space. His latest book is DREAM OF A LIKE PLACE, a chap published by SUS, the new press operated by Eddie Hopely and Astrid Lorange.

GI 12: Joe Hall, Stephanie Barber, Scott Garson

GENERAL IDEA returns in the fall with series # 12!

On Saturday September 28 at 7PM at Brickbat Books, come to hear Joe Hall, Stephanie Barber and Scott Garson read from their new books!

Stephanie Barber is a writer and artist living in Baltimore, MD. Her chapbook poems was published by Bronze Skull Press in 2006 and her book these here separated… was reprinted in 2010 by Publishing Genius Press who have also just published her recent book Night Moves. Her videos are distributed by Video Data Bank and her films are distributed by Canyon Cinema and Fandor.com. More can be learned at her website http://www.stephaniebarber.com/

Joe Hall is the author of The Devotional Poems (Black Ocean 2013), Pigafetta Is My Wife, and, with Chad Hardy, The Container Store Vols. I &II. His poems, fiction, book reviews, and essays have appeared in Gulf Coast, Octopus, Puerto Del Sol, HTMLGiant, The Colorado Review, and elsewhere. He lives with the poet Cheryl Quimba in Buffalo, NY.

Scott Garson is the author of IS THAT YOU, JOHN WAYNE?--a collection of stories--and AMERICAN GYMNOPEDIES, a book of microfictions. His fiction has won awards from Playboy, The Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation and Dzanc Books, and he has work in or coming from Kenyon Review, American Short Fiction, Hobart, Conjunctions, New York Tyrant and others. He edits the Pushcart-Prize-winning journal of very short fiction, Wigleaf.

March 17: Marion Bell, Brandon Holmquest, Carlos Soto-Roman

GENERAL IDEA 11 is coming up w/ co-host Ryan Eckes!

On Sunday March 17 at 4PM at Brickbat Books, come and hear poetry by Marion Bell, Brandon Holmquest, and Carlos Soto-Roman!

Carlos Soto-Román was born in Valparaíso, Chile. He is the author of Philadelphia's Notebooks (Otoliths, 2011). He curates the cooperative anthology of contemporary u.s. poetry Elective Affinities. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Brandon Holmquest will just show up unannounced in your town like it's no big deal and leave just as nonchalantly. When not living out his childhood dream of being a suspicious drifter, he writes and translates poems, rolls cigarettes and wonders what his problem is, exactly.

Marion Bell is a poet who lives in Philadelphia. She has a chapbook called The Abjector from con/crescent press. Recent interests include Marxist and trans feminisms, prison abolition movements, and the uses of anger. She also likes folk songs, cats and coffee. She’s working on a manuscript tentatively titled Hey High Lonesome or Queer Theory for Losers or You People. She was selected for a 2012 grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Foundation.

February 9: Rauan Klassnik, Tony Mancus, Jaime Fountaine, Paul Cunningham

GENERAL IDEA 10 is coming up w/ co-host Ryan Eckes!

On Saturday February 9 at 7PM at Brickbat Books, come and hear poetry by Rauan Klassnik, Tony Mancus, and Paul Cunningham, and fiction by Jaime Fountaine.

Tony Mancus is the author of two chapbooks, Bye Land (Greying Ghost) and Bye Sea (forthcoming from Tree Lights). He and Sommer Browning founded Flying Guillotine Press in 2008. He currently lives in northern Virginia with his wife Shannon and their two cats. 

Jaime Fountaine is a liar.  Her work has appeared in PANK, Pear Noir!, Monkeybicycle, and elsewhere.

Rauan Klassnik lives in Kirkland, WA, home of Costco, etc. His 2nd book of poetry, The Moon's Jaw, releases Jan 21st from Black Ocean. He invites you to check out the video trailer (by Paul Cunningham) for it.

Paul Cunningham is the author of two e-chapbooks of poetry: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Pangur Ban Party, 2010) and Foamghast (NAP, 2012). He is the managing editor of the online journal and press, Radioactive Moat, and his writing has appeared in publications including A Capella Zoo, DIAGRAM, Aesthetix, Shampoo, H_NGM_N, and The Destroyer. 

January 19: Ian Davisson, Kate Greenstreet, Stan Mir

GENERAL IDEA 9 is coming up w/ co-host Ryan Eckes!

On Saturday January 19 at 7PM at Brickbat Books, come and hear poetry by Iain Davisson, Kate Greenstreet, and Stan Mir.

Stan Mir is the author of two books, The Lacustrine Suite (Pavement Saw, 2011) and Song & Glass (Subito, 2010). He lives in Philadelphia where he co-organizes the Chapter & Verse reading series with Ryan Eckes.

Kate Greenstreet's new book Young Tambling is just out from Ahsahta Press. Her other books are case sensitive and The Last 4 Things. Find out more at kickingwind.com.

Ian Davisson has recent work in Tenderloin and Little Red Leaves. He's glad that the pit of despair known as the year 2012 has come to an end, but values all the poems that came out of that pit--some of which he will be reading on Jan 19.