Between Starshine & Clay

Hello, hello, my friends. I write from MacDowell, from my studio where two of my heroes—James Baldwin and Louise Bogan—were in residence long ago. It’s mine for a few weeks, and it’s inspiring, and yes, a bit intimidating, but I’m trying to roll with whatever comes.

Some of what’s about to roll is my third book, Ambergris! It took a LONG time to get this baby out in the world, but it’s coming your way, soon, so I thought I’d start putting out the word, and show you the gorgeous cover I had the great good luck to find, really, stumble upon.

The cover art is a piece by Shelley Kirkwood, a photographer I met quite by accident, at a book party for a Perugia Press author, Hollie Carroll. The party was in Shelley’s studio and as I listened, I looked at the wall where Shelley had some of her work and was struck by one of the images from her series, “The Luminous Margin.”

Shelley’s piece is perfect for the book title and themes—it’s sea glass, not ambergris, but close enough! I’ll talk more about ambergris—the why and what, the who and when–in my next post, but for now, please enjoy the mystery and the beauty…

(It feels a little weird to share good news when we’re bombarded by so much that’s criminally terrible, but to borrow from the brilliant Lucille Clifton, I hope you’ll “…celebrate with me/…here on this bridge between/starshine and clay…”)