“Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough” Six-Month Anniversary

a photo of KTM/Guante (in a bookstore, wearing a mask) holding up a copy of his book, "not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough"

First and foremost, THANK YOU to everyone who has picked up a copy of my little anti-authoritarian sci-fi poetry book. A whole lot of work and love and dread and intentionality went into it, so it means so much to see people engaging with it.

I just wanted to put a post together gathering some of the videos and other book-related content that we’ve released already, especially for anyone just hearing it about it for the first time now.

IN-STUDIO PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

Button Poetry has released other videos featuring my work this year (find them all here), but here are the ones that are from the new book (more on the way!):

Poem for the First Day of the Poetry Unit in Language Arts Class

Hen March Outlaws Cops

Ten Responses to the Proposal to Overcome the Current Plague by Challenging it to a Duel

Why Do You Write Poems When Death Is All Around Us?

A Hundred People Died on First Hill

Hour-Long Book Preview Event

“THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST IN TIMES OF AUTHORITARIAN BRUTALITY: A PANEL DISCUSSION”

This isn’t a poem, but might be my favorite piece of writing in the book. Read the whole thing here!

ART FROM THE BOOK (BY CASPER PHAM)

Casper Pham was such a thoughtful, talented collaborator. Here are just a few images pulled from the book:

A FEW OTHER BOOK-RELATED LINKS

We had a virtual release event back in April; here’s a post with some links to stuff I talked about, as well as some ways that you can help support/spread the word about the book.
Poet Ollie Schminkey and I had a fantastic conversation about our books; read the whole thing here.
In terms of press and reviews, this website’s book landing page collects some of that, including a great conversations with The Poetry Question and Back to the City MPLS, write-ups in MinnPost, the MN Daily, and beyond.
An IG post with some of my quotes (from the book and otherwise) for use by artists, designers, and other troublemakers.

A PERSONAL REQUEST: LEAVE A REVIEW

A quick and easy way you can help the book along on its journey is to leave a review, even if it’s just a sentence or two. You can do it on the Button Poetry store page, on Goodreads, and/or even informally, like posting about the book on any social media platform. Word-of-mouth is incredibly valuable, and your words are very much appreciated.

WHAT’S NEXT? TC BOOK FESTIVAL + ZINE RELAUNCH

a copy of the book "not a lot of reasons to sing, but enough" in the background. In the foreground are two Lego minifigs representing the characters Gyre and Nary; Gyre is a short robot, and Nary is a taller, green-skinned human.

Because we launched this book during a global pandemic (that is not over, by the way), I didn’t want to put together any kind of big promotional tour. I knew the lack of a launch tour would impact the book’s reach, since my work has always been driven by face-to-face engagements and live performances more than poetry community buzz or whatever, but it’s definitely a decision I stand by.

All that being said: even though I’m not putting together a tour, I am still available for general booking. My next local appearance will be at the 2022 Twin Cities Book Festival (masked and boosted, of course) on October 15. I’ll also be guest-hosting and featuring at TruArtSpeaks’ ReVerb open mic on October 20. At both events, I’ll have copies of the book to sell (and sign, if you want), as well as a bunch of free stuff, including some redesigned and updated (free) zines.

Thanks again. More on the way.