Theories of Falling Reviewed

Theories of Falling by Sandra Beasley has been reviewed by Andrew Kozma for Zoland Poetry. A taste: "[The first section] embodies a world of deception, where things don’t shift form, they shift interpretation. The poems here show a mastery of metaphorical narrative, all the poems fitting together tightly towards a single goal even though the poems themselves tackle widely varying subjects." Read the whole review here.

Theories of Falling, winner of the 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize, was released in the spring of 2008. It just sold out of its first edition and will be reprinted.

Happy New Year from New Issues

2009 was a fantastic year for New Issues and our authors. We started off 2009 by announcing that Malinda Markham won the 2009 Green Rose Prize and that Marvin Bell picked Judy Halebsky's Sky=Empty as the winner of our first book prize. These books are at the printer and will be released this spring, just in time for the 2010 AWP Bookfair in Denver.


We published seven books of poetry and one novel:

• Zero at the Bone by Stacie Cassarino
• A Million in Prizes by Justin Marks, Winner of the 2008 New Issues Poetry Prize
• Dirt Angels by Donald Platt
• Hilarity by Patty Seyburn, Winner of the 2008 Green Rose Prize
• Talking Diamonds by Linda Nemec Foster
• Missing Her by Claudia Keelan
• Beauty Breaks In by Mary Ann Samyn
• We Agreed to Meet Just Here by Scott Blackwood, Winner of the 2007 AWP Award for the Novel

Here are some of the highlights of 2009:

Myronn Hardy’s The Headless Saints won the 2009 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award from the The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation.

Jericho Brown's book Please continues to heap up honors. Most recently, he was named a winner of the 30th Annual American Book Awards, a rare if not exceptional accomplishment for a writer of a first book, placing him this year alongside such national treasures as Jack Spicer and Linda Gregg. Jericho Brown also received the 2009 Whiting Writers’ Award. Please, released in October of 2008, has become a New Issues best seller, needing to be reprinted twice already.

Katie Peterson (This One Tree, 2007) and Jericho Brown (Please, 2008) each were awarded a Bunting Fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and are spending the 2009/2010 academic year at Harvard working on their poetry.

Justin Mark’s A Million in Prizes (Winner of the 2008 New Issues Poetry Prize) was featured in Poets & Writers’ fifth annual Debut Poets Roundup.

Sandra Beasley, whose debut poetry collection Theories of Falling won our 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize, had her second book of poetry (I Was the Jukebox, Norton, April 2010) chosen by Joy Harjo as the winner of the 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize and her memoir (Don't Kill the Birthday Girl) purchased by Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, for a 2010 publication.

Our first annual Fundraiser Gala exceed our expectations. The Eccentric Café of Kalamazoo’s own Bell’s Brewery hosted the event, which brought many of our authors, friends, and supporters together for an afternoon of music, poetry, and art auctions.

On Deck for 2010:

In a few weeks we expect to announce the winner of the 2010 Green Rose Prize. In April, judge Linda Gregerson will pick a first book to win our 2010 New Issues Poetry Prize.

February: Toads’ Museum of Freaks and Wonders by Goldie Goldbloom will be released. This novel, winner of the 2008 AWP Award for the Novel, selected by Joanna Scott, is set in the Australian outback during WWII and introduces us to the character of Gin Toad, a truly original voice.

We'll see everyone in April at the 2010 AWP Conference and Bookfair. Come by our table for book signings and to see three newly released poetry books:

• Sky=Empty by Judy Halebsky
• Having Cut the Sparrow’s Heart by Malinda Markham
• Tocqueville by Khaled Mattawa

In the fall of 2010, New Issues will publish the following poetry collections:

• Vivisect by Lisa Lewis
• Reliquary Fever: Selected & New Poems by Beckian Fritz Goldberg
• Pima Road Notebook by Keith Ekiss

And check our website soon to see a complete redesign. It's almost done, I swear!

Sandra Beasley Wins 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize

Barnard College announced today that writer Joy Harjo has chosen Sandra Beasley's I Was the Jukebox as the winner of the 2009 Barnard Women Poets Prize for the best second collection of poems by an American woman poet. Beasley's first book, Theories of Falling, won the 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize.
www.barnard.edu/newnews/news041209

Gently Read Literature Review: Caroline Klocksiem on Sandra Beasley’s Theories of Falling

Check out the internet journal Gently Read Literature for a new review: "Risks and Expanse: Caroline Klocksiem on Sandra Beasley’s Theories of Falling"

"Beasley does not grasp her poems too tightly. They are not owned, but shared moments of language. What is true is the experience of the language, the breathtaking effect of a sharp-focused lens."

March is Small Press Month

Happy Small Press Month! Here at New Issues we're very proud of our writers, and our writers have all been very busy lately. Here are just a few examples of the awards and attention our writers have received recently:

Jennifer Perrine, author of The Body is No Machine (New Issues, 2007) won the 2008 Ledge Poetry Award for “A Transparent Man Is Hard to Find.” She received $1,000, and her poem will be published in the Ledge.

Marc Sheehan of Grand Haven, MI, author of Greatest Hits (New Issues, 1998) won the 2008 Richard Snyder Publication Prize for his poetry collection Field Guide to the Native Emotions of Michigan. He received $1,000 and publication of his book by Ashland Poetry Press. Elton Glaser judged.

Katie Peterson, author of This One Tree (New Issues, 2006), and Jericho Brown, author of Please (New Issues, 2008), have both received a Bunting Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

Sandra Beasley's memoir Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life was taken by Crown. Poet and American Scholar editor Beasley is the author of the poetry collection Theories of Falling (New Issues, 2008). Crown's pub date is late 2010.

Lewis Horton, a contributor to the Art of the One-Act anthology, just released his novel, The Writing Class, published by Aberdeen Bay Books.

Elaine Sexton's Causeway (New Issues, 2008) has been named a finalist for the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. Jericho Brown's Please (New Issues, 2008) has been named a finalist for the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry. The Publishing Triangle hands out both awards.

New Issues Poets Read in New York City

Happy Small Press Month! If you're on the East Coast, take a trip to the city for two great poetry readings in New York City.

Sunday, March 29th, 6 pm
New Issues Poets Reading
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia Street, NYC

Sandra Beasley - Theories of Falling
Myronn Hardy - Approaching the Center - The Headless Saints
Alexander Long - Vigil
Elaine Sexton - Sleuth - Causeway
Matthew Thorburn - Subject to Change

McNally Jackson Features New Issues in their Indie Press Series:

Tuesday, March 31st, 7 pm
New Issues Poets/Indie Press Series - McNally Jackson, 52 Prince Street, NYC

Sandra Beasley - Theories of Falling
Myronn Hardy - Approaching the Center - The Headless Saints
Alexander Long - Vigil
Martha Rhodes - Perfect Disappearance
Elaine Sexton - Sleuth - Causeway

You Heard It Here First: A Poetry Reading

Sat. March 21st, 2009 2:00 PM

Enjoy standout debut collections with Sandra Beasley (Theories of Falling), Joseph O. Legaspi (Imago), Elizabeth Hadaway (Fire Baton), and Philip White (The Clearing).

Gravity Lounge
103 S. First Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Theories of Falling Reviewed on Blackbird

Check out a review by Susan Settlemyre Williams in the Fall 2008 edition of Blackbird. A sample: "If there is throughout Theories of Falling the sense of a toxic stain, it is nowhere so apparent as in the long sequence 'Allergy Girl.' This suite begins, if not innocuously, at least in a frightening but familiar experience as young parents cope with their infant’s terrible allergies: 'No breast / is safe, no cowgoatsoy milk.' 'They cradle me in Benadryl.' Their mantra is 'Don’t break the baby.'" Read the whole review at www.blackbird.vcu.edu.

RATTLE e-reviews: Hardy and Beasley

RATTLE has posted two new e-reviews of New Issues titles: Theories of Falling by Sandra Beasley and The Headless Saints by Myronn Hardy.

"Whether she is writing about allergy suffering or a philosophical analysis of American culture, Beasley insists on surprise and humor of top order. Her humor is witty, rich, and has the tone of a weary voice that has come to the conclusion that one must laugh at oneself in order to deal with the pain of life."
Theories of Falling reviewed by Jeremy Voigt.

"This is a sneaky collection in that it wrecks you incrementally, in small doses."
The Headless Saints reviewed by Casey Thayer.

Northern Michigan University Welcomes Sandra Beasley

Poet Sandra Beasley will be reading at the NMU's Women's Federated Clubhouse, 104 W. Ridge St. in Marquette, MI, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 18, 2008.

Beasley is the author of the poetry collections Theories of Falling as well as the forthcoming Bitch and Brew: Sestinas.

Sandra Beasley's Fall Poetry Readings

Monday, September 15, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Cafe Muse with Susan Settlemyre Williams (open mic to follow)
Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 South Park Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD

Sunday, October 19, 2008 - 3 p.m.
2008 Maureen Egen Exchange Award Winners :: Sandra Beasley (poetry) and Willett Thomas (fiction) Hosted by Poets & Writers magazine
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY

For a complete list of Sandra's upcoming events, visit her website: www.sandrabeasley.com.

Sandra Beasley's Writer's Digest Interview

Robert Lee Brewer posted an interview with Sandra Beasley, author of Theories of Falling, to his blog, Poetic Asides, on the Writer's Digest website.

A small sampling of the interview:

Robert: You have a very nice website and blog. What do you see as the main benefits of having these?

Sandra: Honestly? My website started because of "Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats," my internet doppelganger who is a renowned expert on alternative medicine for rodents.

Want more? And why wouldn't you? Follow this link for the full interview: Exclusive Interview with Sandra Beasley.

Sandra Beasley to Read at Washington D.C. Bookstore

Sandra Beasley, author of Theories of Falling, will be reading with Barbara Goldberg, author of The Royal Baker's Daughter, at the Washington D.C. bookstore Politics and Prose. June 22, 2008 - 1 PM

Politics and Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse / 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW / Washington, DC 20008. (Directions)

Sandra Beasley Wins the 2008 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award

Sandra Beasley, author of the newly-released Theories of Falling, has been awarded the 2008 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award. The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award, administered by Poets & Writers Magazine, introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community and dishes out an all-expenses-paid, weeklong trip to the city, during which the authors meet with literary agents, editors, publishers, and writers, and give a public reading.

Each year, a new state is chosen to participate in the program and writers from that state are invited to submit their work. For this year's award, Washington D.C. was selected. Outside judges choose one poet and one fiction writer for this prize. Willett Thomas, also of Washington D.C., won the prize for fiction.

Press Release from Poets & Writers.

Theories of Falling Unveiled at The Writer's Center

Sandra Beasley's long-awaited first book of poetry will be unveiled at her reading this Sunday, April 13. Sandra will be reading with Kyle Dargan, author of Bouquet of Hungers (University of Georgia Press) at The Writer's Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815, at 2 p.m. Find more information on their website.

Theories of Falling: New Release Date

Theories of Falling by Sandra Beasley has a new release date due to mistakes at the printer. In order to reprint the book without errors, we are pushing back the release date to April 15th. Everyone who has placed a preorder with New Issues will receive their copy as soon as we get the boxes from the printer. Those who have requested a review copy will also receive their book at that time.

Thank you for all the inquiries into Theories of Falling. We are also very excited about Sandra's new book and can't wait to share with you the completed product.

Wayne Miller and Moikom Zeqo Celebrate a New Translation with DC Reading

We're always thrilled when we see New Issues authors getting together to do something in the literary world. Sandra Beasley, author of the forthcoming and award-winning Theories of Falling hosted Wayne Miller and Moikom Zeqo at her Washington DC apartment. Wayne, author of Only the Senses Sleep, translated Zeqo's work for I Don't Believe in Ghosts, recently published by BOA Editions. For more about the reading, check out Beasley's blog. For more on I Don't Believe in Ghosts by Moikom Zeqo, visit BOA's website. (Photo: Miller, Beasley, and Zeqo (c) Mark Dawson)