It’s just about one year since Ellis’ book, the first Old Scratch Press book, was released.
Here are a few poems for you to dip your toes into:
Gosh, this is such a lovely collection. And right now it is FREE for the month of July, 2024!
Get your free copy (eBook, or audiobook) HERE.
Congratulations Ellis on one year! And thanks for all your contributions to Old Scratch Press.
Big shoutout to Morgan Golladay! Her short story “Under the Rhododendrons,” featured in HALLOWEEN PARTY ’23 (Gravelight Press), snagged second place in the National Federation of Press Women’s national short story competition.
Morgan also just wrote, illustrated, and released her first poetry book, THE SONG OF NORTH MOUNTAIN, which is up for a National Book Award!
The good news just keeps rolling in for Morgan!
Want to know how she does what she does? Check out her blog, FB, and don’t miss this in-depth interview with her.
Way to go, Morgan! We’re so thrilled for your success!
Causey Mansion in Milford Delaware is a beautiful spot to meet and greet poet/artist Morgan Golladay, author of the Song of North Mountain. Learn more about the historic mansion here. The event will be held in the gardens from 1-3 p.m.. Purchase your copies in advance online or purchase one at the event. Either way, Morgan will be there to autograph! The location is 2 Causey Avenue, Milford Delaware 19463
Editorial praise is just beginning. Here are a few samples:
“Sometimes stark, but always beautiful, these free verse celebrations of North Mountain introduce a seasonal sense of environmental transitions to the observer and reader’s eye, with time’s passage changing everything and nothing…Aside from a personal visit to North Mountain, there is no better way of appreciating its beauty, impact, and presence over the eons than through The Song of North Mountain.”
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
5.0 out of 5 stars Mountain Mary OliverReviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
This book is a praise-song of poetry and art for Golladay’s beloved mountains. With an eye for detail and ease of language, her poems revere and embrace the elements and seasons of nature. Accompanying her poetry, her art further conjures the scenes we are taken to. From Vincents Wood to the Devils Throne, the writer takes us along, like all good poetry, until we feel as if we, too, have been there. I think I’d do well to heed what the writer says:
Look too soon
and you miss the mystery
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful poetic love song to where she grew up, “the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.”Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024
Morgan Golladay’s The Song of North Mountain is a wonderful love song to where she grew up, “to the hills, rivers, and ridges of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.” And Golladay is the perfect guide for this voyage, perceptive, kind, and empathic. I urge you to purchase her fine book that also contains her own fine original artwork: sit back in a comfortable chair and travel with her to this most beautiful part of our country. As Golladay invites the reader to accompany her and writes in “Back in the Woods” (p. 69),
I experienced the magic and awe of
a creation larger than I could imagine.
“Rest with us,” whispered the granite.
“Breathe with us,” crooned the breeze.
“Stay with us,” encouraged the trees.
Learn more about Morgan and her poetry here. And don’t forget to follow Old Scratch Press on Facebook. Thank you for reading.
Hello Friends,
If you’re in the Berkely (California) area please join us at Pegasus Books Downtown on Thursday, June 27th for an evening of music, text, and storytelling with me, Alan Bern, Berkeley-based storyteller, performer, author of IN THE PACE OF THE PATH. Bern’s reading will be accompanied by music from cellist Gael Alcock. Recently released by UnCollected Press, IN THE PACE OF THE PATH is a hybrid work of poetry, prose, and photos that charts my life in my hometown of Berkeley and my career at the Berkeley Public Library.
From 6:30-7pm, browse books and enjoy Bach’s Cello Suite #4 performed by Alcock, in memory of Larry Bensky, host of KPFA’s ‘Sunday Salon’ and ‘Piano’.” Reading and conversation with me will follow, at 7pm. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the reading.
Alan Bern’s IN THE PACE OF THE PATH walks the border between poetry and prose, between the surreal and the realism where surrealism spawns, between the past and future which is the pace of the moment by moment of a life. I have learned from Bern’s clarity in poetry and prose to walk the edges of my homeland and step out into the unknown, while carrying the life I have lived within me. This is such an important work to read now and reread as we move through our lives.
—Rusty Morrison, Co-Publisher of Omnidawn—
Enjoy a video by L. Scott Jones of Wrapped in Ruins, a gallery piece and the most recent performance of PACES: dance & poetry fit to the space, a collaboration with other artists of dancer/choreographer Lucinda Weaver and me:
I will also present an art piece near the end of:
FREE LIVE EVENT: INSTANT NOODLES LAUNCH AND LIVE AUTHOR READING.
DATE: June 20, 2024
TIME: 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET
Join us in celebrating the release of the newest issue of INSTANT NOODLES, the online literary magazine that features original poetry, art, and short fiction. Meet the authors and listen in as they perform their work live. This online event is open to the public. Click below to register.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUlfumprTgsE93vS-zfSLwlM-Mf-Vvyy-KU#/registration
There is wonderful writing in this issue of Instant Noodles, and I hope you can attend!
Thanks so much for your interest in the work of the authors of Old Scratch Press!
—Alan
Hi All~
Today we celebrated the launch of Gabby Gilliam’s book: NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT with a reading on Zoom by Gabby and Robert and Alan.
I am going to guess that many of the guests were friends/family of the authors, and I am so grateful for their kindness as we navigated our first live event since 2020, in a different house, on different equipment, and on the opposite coast. I’m not going to say we were a well-oiled machine, but our hearts were in the right place. 😉
Within the coming week we will create a nice video of the event and post it here, as well as send it to the participants.
If you attended, or if you missed, please consider coming to future events. It meant so much to me to hear the authors read the books live that Dave and I often work on alone, in silence. I tend to read the books we publish a few times, but this is a whole different and rich experience.
So, if you were able to attend, I thank you for doing so, and being such a gracious guest.
If you were unable to attend, not to worry, as we will be posting the event here ASAP.
And don’t forget to visit the catalogue page and see what OSP books are available! The OSP authors keep 100% of their royalties, so help them earn a little coin at this writing game.
Also, next week, if you’re feeling game and supportive, join us again for the live reading of INSTANT NOODLES… VOLUME 4 (has it been 4 years???) ISSUE 1.
The writing for this issue, chosen by Gabby Gilliam, Anthony Doyle, Nadja Maril, and with visuals chosen by Robert Fleming and Alan Bern, is not to be missed!
Thank you for supporting indie authors.
Much love~
🌟 Get ready for an unforgettable evening! 🌟
Join us for an electrifying book reading event as the talented Gabby Gilliam unveils her latest masterpiece, No Ocean Spit Me Out!
But that’s not all! Friends and fellow literary stars Robert Fleming and Alan Bern will also be captivating us with their powerful readings. 🌟✨
Don’t miss this extraordinary event—it’s FREE and open to everyone! 🎉📚Register here for the ZOOM link.
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hours minutes seconds
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“NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT” IS LIVE!
No Ocean Spit Me Out. Gabby Gilliam’s first chapbook of poems, published by Old Scratch Press, is now available for purchase. Shipments will begin on September 15th. Recently I had the opportunity to ask Gabby a few questions about her work and her newest book.
The poems in Gabby Gilliam’s new book, No Ocean Spit Me Out, explore the dynamics and evolution of family relationships.
A live reading zoom event is coming up, JUNE 15tth and you can register to hear Gabby read from her new book as well as hear poets Alan Bern and Robert Fleming read from their work as well. To register click here.
What do you like best about writing poetry?
I love that you can use poetry to describe things in new ways––to make the familiar fresh and universal at the same time. It’s one of the things I like best about reading poetry as well.
Which is your favorite poem in this collection and why?
I think my favorite poem might be the one that gives the book its title, No Ocean Spit Me Out. It’s a tribute to my dad. In this poem, I compare my dad to the god Zeus, and Zeus fails to measure up. Since my dad passed away, most of my poems about him are darker and focus more on my grief. I like this poem because it focuses on some of the things that made me love him so much.
What would you like readers to know about you in connection to your work?
Many of my poems focus on aspects of family connection. From dealing with addiction to witnessing my dad’s complicated relationship with his faith (which had an influence on my own struggle with religion and faith), the poems in this collection are a collage of my childhood and gradual self-acceptance. I hope readers can connect with my personal experiences by reflecting on the nuances of their own familial relationships and the impact they have on shaping our identities. I think the power of shared experiences is what make poetry so resonant, and I hope readers find that within the pages of this collection.
More about Gabby
Fellow collective member Gabby Gilliam is a writer, an aspiring teacher, and a mom. Gabby’s poetry has appeared in One Art, Anti-Heroin Chic, Plant-Human Quarterly, The Ekphrastic Review, Vermillion, Deep Overstock, and Spank the Carp.
Not only is she a poet, but Gabby pens the Drumming for the Cure series of novels. Two thus far, Trouble in Tomsk and Chasing the Cure have been published by Black Hare Press. She lives in the DC metro area with her husband and son.
To purchase your own copy of No Ocean Spit Me Out, click here. Please remember to leave a review if you like it because customer rankings count. And please follow Old Scratch Press on Facebook.
Come hear Gabby read from her new book!
Friends Robert Fleming and Alan Bern will also read!
Free and open to the public!
Register here for the ZOOM link.
days
hours minutes seconds
until
~NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT~ IS LIVE!
This cherry has a heart, and, like most hearts, it appears to be a bit banged up.
Currently this might be my favorite banged-up-heart poem:
from the most recent issue of INSTANT NOODLES.
What’s your favorite banged-up-heart poem? Let us know in the comments!
OLD SCRATCH PRESS 