More information here.

Here’s the arts program that aired the piece on me tonight on NJ public TV. Zip to 3:32 to see the interview.

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I’m taking a short hiatus from book-related events to recharge and tend to some commercial projects (we need to keep the lights on around here). Some new events are listed on the Events page, and more are coming. Stay tuned.

My whirlwind tour of independent bookshops in Brooklyn yesterday ended at Brooklyn Bridge Park, where NYU professor Karen Karbiener has been hosting an annual marathon reading of “Song of Myself” for the past eleven years. I want to thank her for so graciously including me: I was honored. Some truly wonderful readings took place yesterday. As people read, I could see the corresponding image from my book, which was a curious experience.

Here’s a list of Brooklyn independent booksellers who have signed copies of Whitman Illuminated for sale: Spoonbill and Sugartown, Greenlight, and Bookcourt.

The fantastic folks at Word in Greenpoint (hi Katie and Jenn!) are currently out of copies, but they will be restocking soon–and they are the only shop that had my tee shirts and book bags on display for sale. (The guys at Word have been such huge supporters of my book. I’m going to do my best to come back to sign their copies, if I can. Besides, I really like Greenpoint: it’s like a cross between Port Richmond and Eagle Rock.)

My thanks to Katie and Jenn at Word, Susan at Spoonbill, Jarrod and Sam at Greenlight, and Sarah and Lauren at Bookcourt.

Brooklyn types: Between 4-6pm tomorrow (Sunday), I will be participating in the marathon reading of “Song of Myself” at Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 1, at the Granite Overlook).

If you bring copies of my book, I’ll gladly sign them!

My feet have blisters this evening: today, I ran all over Manhattan, dropping by as many independent booksellers as I could and signing their copies of Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself. I wasn’t sure what kind of reception I would get (people are busy, after all), but I can’t thank Blake, Emily, Landon, Rachel, Davi, and everyone else enough for being so generous, welcoming, and helpful.

Here are the independent booksellers in Manhattan who now have signed copies of my book for sale: Strand Book Store, McNally Jackson, Bluestockings, The Corner Bookstore, and Crawford Doyle Booksellers.

But Brooklynites: despair not, for I will reprise my role as Mercury in your fair borough this Sunday! I will be stopping by the following independent bookshops, in this order: Spoonbill & Sugartown, Word, Greenlight, and Bookcourt. (I hope to arrive at my first destination by noon.)

After I’ve completed this mighty feat, I will be racing over to Brooklyn Bridge Park to participate in this year’s Song of Myself Marathon Reading. Hope to see you there–and support your independent bookstores!

Here’s Friday’s rough itinerary for the Manhattan leg of my flash book tour! I hope to arrive at my first stop, Strand Bookstore, around 11AM (828 Broadway). I’ll then zip into Forbidden Planet next door, then bop over to McNally Jackson (52 Prince St). If I have time, I might whoosh over to Bluestockings on Allen St, and maybe even careen uptown to Crawford Doyle. We’ll see. Hope some of you might be able to catch up with me; if not, my apologies. At least I’ll be leaving signed copies of my book at these shops for you guys. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to polish my golden boots (wind resistance is a killer).

To express my appreciation of the independent book stores of the NY metro area for their support of my book, I’ll be conducting a lightning-fast “flash tour” (blame me for the awful term, but it gets to the point) of Manhattan on Friday, June 6th, and Brooklyn on Sunday, June 8th–after which I’ll be attending the Brooklyn Bridge Park marathon reading of “Song of Myself”.

I’ll be dropping into select New York bookshops to sign their copies of my book, express my thanks to the staff, and then bugger off so they can get on with their lives. (If you see a debonair but tragically short man defacing a copy of “Whitman Illuminated” at your local bookshop, please say hello.)

I appreciate the business of indie bookstores as much as they appreciate yours, so kindly support them!

Contribute Your Barbaric Yawp to the 11th Annual Marathon Reading of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”

Sunday, June 8, 2014, 4-6PM at the Granite Prospect in Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier One)

Creator and Organizer: Karen Karbiener
Special Guest: Martín Espada

For more information, click here.

There are still a few openings left for treaders, so send an email if you’d like to participate!
songofmyselfmarathon@gmail.com

See you there.