Alicia Jo Rabins DIVINITY SCHOOL Launch

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This coming Tuesday, January 26th at 7 PM, Unnameable Books in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn will host a night of reading and celebration by and for various Augury authors as well as a launch for Alicia Jo Rabins‘ Divinity School. Among the authors present will be Joe Pan, Frances Justine Post, and Augury’s founding editor Kate Angus. Join us for what will surely be a night of wonderful prose and great company.

Alicia Jo Rabins is a poet, composer, musician, and Torah scholar. She was born in Oregon and grew up in Baltimore and New York City. Alicia’s poems appear in Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, 6×6, The Boston Review, and elsewhere. She teaches ancient Jewish texts to children and adults and performs internationally as a violinist and singer. Alicia lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, daughter, and son.

Joe Pan is the author of two collections of poetry, Hiccups (Augury Books) and Autobiomythography & Gallery (BAP). He is the publisher and managing editor of Brooklyn Arts Press, serves as the poetry editor for the arts magazine Hyperallergic and small press editor for Boog City, and is the founder of the services-oriented activist group Brooklyn Artists Helping. His piece “Ode to the MQ-9 Reaper,” a hybrid work about drones, was excerpted and praised in The New York Times. In 2015 Joe participated in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Process Space artist residency program on Governors Island. Joe attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, grew up along the Space Coast of Florida, and now lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Frances Justine Post is the recipient of the “Discovery” / Boston Review Poetry Prize, the Inprint Paul Verlaine Poetry Prize, and the Amy Award from Poets & Writers. Her poems have appeared in American Letters & Commentary, Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, The Kenyon Review Online, The Massachusetts Review, Pleiades, Western Humanities Review, and others. Originally from Sullivan’s Island, SC, she received her MFA from Columbia University and her PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. She lives in the Hudson Valley of NY.

Kate Angus is a founding editor of Augury Books. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in a number of literary journals and anthologies, including Indiana Review, Subtropics, Court Green, Verse Daily, The Awl, The Rumpus, Best New Poets 2 and Best New Poets 2014. She is a recipient of the “Orlando” prize from the A Room of Her Own Foundation, as well as Southeastern Review’s Narrative Nonfiction prize and American Literary Review’s award for Creative Nonfiction. A former Writer in Residence at Interlochen Arts Academy, she has also received residencies from the Writer’s Room at the Betsy Hotel in South Beach, the Wildfjords trail in Westfjords, Iceland, and the BAU Institute in Otranto, Italy. She is a Creative Writing Advisory Board Member for the Mayapple Center for Arts and Humanities and a Guest Literary Arts Curator for the nonprofit arts organization Pen and Brush, where she curates the “Pen and Brush Presents…” reading series. Her collection, So Late to the Party, is forthcoming in Spring 2016 from Negative Capability Press.

PICS: Joe Pan and Carey McHugh’s Launch Party in Review

Last Wednesday, Augury Books hosted a launch party for Joe Pan’s Hiccups and Carey McHugh’s American Gramophone. The turnout at Berl’s Brooklyn Poetry Shop was great, and we are thankful to all who came. As you can see, there was barely any room left to stand!

Debora Kuan and an amazing crowd! Photo: Ian Lloyd

Our first reader of the evening was Debbie Kuan. She shared with us a selection of her poems, telling the story of the pigeons in her building, and her perpetually blue toe. She then introduced Joe Pan, telling us she had been a fan of his since the moment they met, and how she had found out he took his last name from his wife.

Joe Pan reading from Hiccups. Photo: Ian Lloyd

Joe Pan then read to us from his new book Hiccups. He took us with him on his journey around the country and around the world, demonstrating the lighthearted wit of his poems.

Karen Russell reading her essay on beepers and introducing Carey McHugh. Photo: Ian Lloyd

Following Pan was Karen Russell. She read to us from her essay Beeper World, originally published in Harper’s, a funny and poignant look at growing up in Miami in the nineties. She then introduced her dear friend Carey McHugh, saying “Each time Carey McHugh writes a poem, a Dodge in the desert bursts into flame.”

Carey McHugh reading from American Gramophone. Photo: Ian Lloyd

Rounding out the night was Carey McHugh, reading selections from her new book American Gramophone. We shared in her excitement as she saw her book, and we got to hear the story of the hog (not a pig!) gracing the cover, as well as her experience in Greenpoint seeing her own death.

We are very grateful to our readers Debora Kuan, Joe Pan, Karen Russell, and Carey McHugh, and to Berl’s Brooklyn Poetry Shop for hosting the event. And, most importantly, to everyone who made it out to support Joe, Carey, and Augury Books! Our extended thanks, and we look forward to seeing you all at the next one!

Photo: Ian Lloyd

From left to right: Carey Wladis, Kimberly Steele, Mike Miller, cover designer of American Gramophone and Randall Horton’s Hook (forthcoming!), and Kate Angus. Photo: Ian Lloyd

Joe Pan, Debora Kuan, Kate Angus, Carey McHugh, Karen Russell, Kimberly Steele, Nicolas Amara, and Ian Lloyd. Photo: Carey Wladis

Join Our Launch Party Next Wednesday, 10/07, at Berl’s Poetry Shop

Come join Augury Books next Wednesday to help us celebrate the launch of our two latest poetry titles: American Gramophone by Carey McHugh, and Hiccups by Joe Pan. Guest readers Karen Russell (Swamplandia!) and Debbie Kuan (Xing) will help us ring in these two new books alongside McHugh and Pan. The launch will take place October 7th at Berl’s Brooklyn Poetry Shop from 7 to 9 PM. Berl’s is located at 126A Front Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Please join us to have a drink, pick up a book, and be generally merry!

For updates and information check out the event’s listing!

VIDEO: Frances Justine Post and Kate Angus Visit ‘The Casserole’ Online Reading Series

BEAST author Frances Justine Post stopped by The Side Dish, part of the online reading series, The Casserole, to read from her new book (available here) and talk with series runner Chelsea Kurnick about the imagery of the book, its narrative arc, and writing “creepy poetry.”

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Also check out Augury Books editor Kate Angus’ reading on The Casserole:

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The Casserole is a weekly online reading series hosted by Chelsea Kurnick and featuring poetry and prose writers every Sunday. Writers hang out with Chelsea on Google Hangouts and the result is aired live on Youtube. The Casserole goes live at 6:30pm until 7:30pm PDT each week. If you miss an episode, you can come back any time to watch the recordings.

Submit your manuscript to Augury Books — Our reading period is open!

PICS: 2014 Launch Party for BEAST and THE FAMILY CANNON at Berl’s Poetry Shop

A sincere and enthusiastic thank you to everyone who came out on Friday night, despite bitter cold and hazardous ice, to celebrate the launch of Augury Books’ 2014 poetry collection, BEAST, by Frances Justine Post, and debut fiction book, THE FAMILY CANNON, by Halina Duraj.

A special thank you to Berl’s Poetry Shop for an ideal venue, friends and family who traveled far, photographer Dave Bledsoe, and guest readers Timothy Donnelly and Ely Shipley, who added their considerable talents to a wonderful evening.

Enjoy the pics! THE FAMILY CANNON and BEAST are both currently available on Amazon.

 

THE FAMILY CANNON author Halina Duraj  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

BEAST author Frances Justine Post  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Frances Justine Post signs copies of her book  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Halina Duraj signs copies of her book  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Ely Shipley reads and introduces friend Halina Duraj  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Timothy Donnelly reads before introducing friend Frances Justine Post  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Frances Justine Post reads from BEAST  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Halina Duraj reads from THE FAMILY CANNON  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Frances Justine Post, Ely Shipley, Timothy Donnelly, Kate Angus, Kimberly Steele, Halina Duraj  /  Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

Berl’s Poetry Shop / Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

 

This Friday, Jan 24 — Launch Party for BEAST and THE FAMILY CANNON

Photo by Dave Bledsoe of FreeVerse Photography

You’ve saved the date, you’ve told your friends.

Now all you have to do is show up at 7 pm on Friday, Jan 24, to Augury Books’ 2014 launch party for our new books: Frances Justine Post’s BEAST, and Halina Duraj’s THE FAMILY CANNON, Augury’s first fiction publication. Enjoy the friends, the wine, and the readings by Post, Duraj, Timothy Donnelly, and Ely Shipley. Then come join us after for drinks down the street.

Details

What:  2014 launch party for Augury’s new books! Complete with readings, drinks, and irresistible new books for sale.

Who:  Augury Books’ new authors, Frances Justine Post and Halina Duraj, as well as special guests Timothy Donnelly (The Cloud Corporation) and Ely Shipley (Boy with Flowers).

When:  7:00 p.m. — Friday, January 24, 2014; Join us after the event for drinks in the neighborhood.

Where:  Berl’s Poetry Shop — 126A Front Street / Brooklyn, NY 11201 (next to Superfine in D.U.M.B.O.)

Why:  Because we all love new poetry, new fiction, wine, and each other.

How:  Take the F to York Street or the A/C to High Street. And you can RSVP to this event on Facebook.

Secure your copies of THE FAMILY CANNON and BEAST now by pre-ordering!

Halina Duraj Preview: Read Excerpt from THE FAMILY CANNON Then Pre-Order!

Photo and THE FAMILY CANNON Cover Art by Dave Bledsoe, FreeVerse Photography

From “Tenants,” THE FAMILY CANNON by Halina Duraj

My mother scrubbed the blood all evening. She dipped the hard-bristled brush in a bucket of ammonia while my father ate pork chops and sauerkraut at the kitchen table. She came downstairs to make him a cup of tea—he’d never made one for himself—and she turned on the TV for him while he put his feet up on the coffee table. Then she went back upstairs to paint. She painted that same night so the room could be advertised the next day. I didn’t have to sleep in the trundle that night, because she never came to bed. I crept up the stairs, and at the top, I rested my chin on the banister. On the other side of the wall, I heard the slap of the brush against the plaster and my mother crying. A strip of light appeared under Don the Barber’s door, and then I heard bedsprings and floorboards and I turned and went down the stairs. From the darkness at the bottom, I watched him cross the hall, and I heard murmurings and mumblings and then my mother’s voice a little louder, a little firmer, then a shushing noise. ‘Please,’ I heard my mother say. ‘Don’t.’

And then Don the Barber walked back across the hall, shut the door. His light didn’t go off, but I went to bed anyway. I woke up at six o’clock when my mother came downstairs and made my father breakfast and packed his lunch and carried it out to his car and went down to the Tribune to place a new ad: Room for rent. Just painted. Please inquire.

In the afternoon, she painted a second coat, and then you almost couldn’t see the stains.”

Don’t forget our launch party with a reading by Halina Duraj, on January 24, 2014 — RSVP now or simply save the date. We will see you there!

Order Now on Amazon — Look for it new from seller Augury Books

Thank you!

Announcing Augury’s 2014 Launch Party: Friday, January 24th at Berl’s Poetry Shop

Hamlet’s terrace, Kronborg, Denmark

Hello friends! It’s almost time to celebrate the launch of Augury’s 2014 catalogue: Frances Justine Post‘s poetry book, Beast, and Halina Duraj‘s book of short fiction, The Family Cannon

Help us celebrate putting these two books out into the world. At the same time, enjoy readings by Augury’s debut authors, Frances Justine Post and Halina Duraj, as well as guest readings by Timothy Donnelly and Ely Shipley.

Details

Who: Augury Books’ new authors, Frances Justine Post and Halina Duraj, as well as poets Timothy Donnelly (The Cloud Corporation) and Ely Shipley (Boy with Flowers).

What:  2014 launch party for Augury’s new books! Complete with readings, drinks, and irresistible new books for sale.

When:  7:00 p.m. — Friday, January 24, 2014; Join us after the event for drinks in the neighborhood.

Where:  Berl’s Poetry Shop — 126A Front Street / Brooklyn, NY 11201 (next to Superfine in D.U.M.B.O.)

Why:  Because we all love new poetry, new fiction, wine, and each other.

How:  Take the F to York Street or the A/C to High Street. Also, please RSVP to this event on Facebook.

Secure your copies of The Family Cannon and Beast now by pre-ordering!