Shivani Mehta publishes her first book.

Congratulations to Shivani Mehta. Her book "Useful Information for the Soon-to-be-Beheaded" will be in just a few weeks, in time for AWP.  Read the about it here.

One day prose poem workshop this Saturday

This Saturday, Oct 20th, I'm teaching a one day prose poem workshop for UCLA Extension. It's not too late to enroll. It'll be fun. Hope to see you there.

Here's the class description:

Writing that Fine Line: A Prose Poem 1-Day Workshop 
What's the difference between the prose poem and a piece of short fiction? When should the poetic line give way to the poetic sentence? These are just some of the questions that are answered in this workshop on the prose poem. Other topics include imagery, metaphor, repetition, rhyme (yes, there could be rhyme in a prose poem), surrealism, and prose poem as fable. These give you a new understanding of the prose poem and a toolkit to draw upon for continued writing. Throughout the day, you put your new insights into action as you receive writing prompts from which to write your own prose poems in class. Practitioners of the art are discussed: Charles Baudelaire, Charles Simic, Nin Andrews, Pierre Reverdy, Peter Johnson, and Russell Edson, to name a few. You also receive a bibliography of prose poem books to guide your continued engagement in the form.

The Southern Review

I have two poems in the current new issue of The Southern Review. They're also putting up a recording of me reading the poems on their Audio Gallery. Take listen if you have a minute, just click here.

An intervew!

I answered some questions about poetry and writing for Martin Ott. Take a look at his bog.

Writer's Program Publication Party

I'll be reading tonight at the UCLA Extension Publication Party, It's at the Skirball Center. Doors open at seven, reading starts at seven thirty. Hope to see you there.

Intermediate Poetry Workshop

My Intermediate Poetry Workshop starts next month. Hope to see you there. Click here for info and to sign up.

Death Obscura book review

There's a review of my book, Death Obscura, up on the current issue of

The Innisfree Poetry Journal.

Take a look if you're so inclined.
"The first poem ("The Mandolin") in Rick Bursky's comic, tender, elegiac, and surreal second collection, Death Obscura, begins "This was the night the police chased the musicians from the roof . . . ."

And we're off on a romp through Bursky's fecund imagination, as if swept away with the Beatles from their 1969 rooftop concert. ..."