self-driving

Happy publication day to self-driving, winner of the 2024 Autumn House Poetry Prize. People in marketing have suggested that it's of great importance to show a photo of my face along with the book, it being tied to me. Maybe looking at my face, having the idea of a human being along for the ride, brings some comfort. I'm not sure what people are looking for exactly, if they want to find me in the words, the pages, they certainly can. In my experience though, what readers get out of books has very little to do with their authors and everything to do with themselves. I don't think people are looking for me in the text, they're usually just looking for themselves. One of my least favorite things about writing is trying to explain myself or feeling I have to console people who've determined that I've written something about them. Usually it's my number one reader, my mother, who likes to ask, Is that about me? That's about me isn't it? It's not about you, Ma, I promise.

If anyone besides my mother reads this blog, I'm interested in sharing the work and am available for readings. I didn't get it together to organize a book party yet, but I do love this book and hope to celebrate it properly sometime down the line.

I fell in love with the cover image by my friend Sara Shapouri as soon as I saw it. I love it for so many reasons, one of them is because it reminds me very much of an illustration of the LiDAR (light detection and ranging) tech that makes self-driving cars possible.

All of us out here, moving through space, radiating our energies, frequencies. So fun!!

Self-driving is now available for purchase from Autumn House or any independent bookstore. You can also support writers by requesting books at your local public library and engaging with the work by writing reviews and sharing with friends. I think I have a press release around here, do people post those onto the internet? Here it is as a download: