Microdosing Monday 4/15/24
Fecking hell. Monday, man. I swear weeks are only five and a half days long these days. It’s like these weeks have been through the wash too many times and are snug, fraying, and no longer optimally comfortable. But fuck, it’s Monday again. Let’s microdose this bitch gently.
Last week saw my first reading of the month. We were at Wandering Bean Coffee Co. in Toledo. Lucas County Poet Laureate, Jonie McIntire, hosted. John Amen, a terrific poet from North Carolina featured, along with me, and One Single Rose®️ an award winning slam poet from Detroit. It was everything I needed right now. It was great to see some Toledo friends, and get to read poems. The Wandering Bean Coffee Co. and its partner business, Patsy Cakes, is a great little coffee shop. They sell my books there. Go support them.
This week all sense of normalcy jumps out the road-trip car window. I leave Wednesday for six straight nights of poetry out on the road. I’ll get to meet and perform with some amazing artists like PW Covington and Izzy Maxson. J.I.B. and Nikki Blankenship. Nettie Zan and Brooke Nicole Plummer. It’s looking like 3,000 miles of nothing but highway, adventure, poetry, art, and friendship.
Please, if you know friends in these cities, send them our way.
***most of these events feature open mic opportunities as well. Come join us***
4/17 - Wednesday. PW Covington and Izzy Maxson feature at the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth.
4/18 - Thursday. At InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park, KS featuring Nettie Zan, Me, J.I.B. & Nikki Blankenship.
4/19 - Friday. At the Critter Den in Indianapolis featuring Nettie Zan, Me, J.I.B. Nikki Blankenship, and Brooke Nicole Plummer.
4/20 - Saturday. At Casa de Chica Bonita in Toledo featuring Me, J.I.B. Nikki Blankenship, Brooke Nicole Plummer, and Thirdface Productions.
4/21 - Sunday. At the Spine Bookstore in St. Louis featuring Me, J.I.B. and Nikki Blankenship.
4/22 - Monday. At The Loft in Portsmouth, OH to celebrate J.I.B.’s new poetry collection American Television featuring J.I.B. Me, Nikki Blankenship, C.D. Bailey and others.
I’m taking my camcorder that the Lucas County Arts Commission gave me a grant to buy three years ago. I’m going to try to record all of the shows, and lots of road trip footage to make a documentary of the trip, and to have video recordings of all the performances. I bought external, wireless microphones for it that will hopefully give us better audio for the readings. If I can figure out how to use them.
I always end these Monday shenanigans with a positive thought and challenge. If you’ve noticed, it’s always something that I’m actively working on inside of myself, in my efforts to be a better man. This week, and month, are incredibly busy, and I’ve been working hard at prioritizing what I need to accomplish before giving my time and energy to other projects and other people. It makes me feel selfish sometimes to do this, but the longer I live, the harder I learn that if we don’t take care of ourselves no one else is going to. This used to make me feel like a terrible friend, but then I realized that an unhappy and ragged Dan ain’t even a friend to himself. Ya dig? Take care of you my friends. Do your chores first, before trying to lend a hand or heart to others. That’s not selfish. It might be self care. I don’t know. I’m not an expert. Just a writer.
Love,
Dan
Ps. If you can’t meet me out on the road, remember my books are for sale at Gathering Volumes Bookstore in Perrysburg, OH, at Wandering Bean Coffee Co. in Toledo, and at The White Rabbit Lounge in Versailles, IN.
I’m grateful these places support me, and give my books space.
From LtoR Lucas County Poet Laureate Jonie McIntire, John Amen, and One Single Rose®️ from last Thursday’s reading
My books on the shelf in the indie artist area of The White Rabbit Lounge in Versailles, IN
Some of the many tour flyers floating around for our tour this week. Notice the flyers on the bottom? I’m not that kind of artist like my other tour mates.
How many humans get to enjoy the sunrise from the comfort of their own bed? Who has it better than this?
Funniest meme of the week? If you know me close, you know this is hilarious because it’s me. My IBS is often crippling until about 3pm many days. It’s good to fucking laugh.