Welcome to our new monthly newsletter. There’s so much going on. We’re all taking a deep breath and hope you are, too!
We Turn Six! And Five! Which Makes Us…
It’s October, which means a couple of things here at SWWIM. This is the month we found(ed) ourselves, so our reading series is now six years old and SWWIM Every Day is five. We’re deep in the process of becoming a 501(c)3, thanks to our new Director of Development and Editor, Mary Block (welcome, Mary!), and some other angels she brought along with her. More news on that when it happens! SWWIM has always been a self-funded institution, backed by the one-and-only The Besty Hotel-South Beach, which so generously supplies our residencies and reading space. We couldn’t be more thankful for them and look forward to being able to apply for some grants to help out the big picture. Until then, if you’re in the giving mood, we graciously accept donations here. You can also click on the “donate” button on our website.
Miami Book Fair
This is our third year partnering with the Miami Book Fair, an institution near and dear to our literature-loving hearts. Starting on October 15, we’ll be running 30 authors who are presenting at the MBF (November 13-20) this year. For the first time ever, given the quantity—not to mention the quality, which is astounding!—we’ll also be publishing poems on the weekends. Watch for the kickoff with the ultra-fabulous Paul Tran and Jenny Xie, then keep reading throughout the month to catch poems from Sun Yung Shin, Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, Sandra Cisneros, Zeina Hashem Beck, Victoria Chang, and Ada Limón, among so many talented others. If you haven’t subscribed to this newsletter and you’re getting it via a friend, you can oh-so-conveniently sign up now.
More Miami Book Fair!
Speaking of the Miami Book Fair, don’t miss our own editor and National Poetry Series winner Alexandra Lytton Regalado presenting her book, Reliquenda (Beacon Press, 2022). She debuts at Books & Books on Wednesday, October 12 (of course, we’ll all be there to cheer her on). You can register and/or buy your copy online here.
She’ll also be at the Book Fair presenting virtually with Reginald Dwayne Betts on November 16 and live on Sunday, November 20 at noon with Anuradha Bhowmik, Rio Cortez, and Jasmine Mendez. Watch our site (and/or subscribe) for their poems!
Even More Book Fair!
Also at the Book Fair, our editor Caridad Moro-Gronlier will be moderating “Meditations on Motherhood,” a panel with poets Allison Blevins and Raina J. León on Sunday, November 20 at 4:30 p.m. Both poets have been previously published by SWWIM Every Day and will have poems released in our October/November special edition as well.
Readings
Well, the opening reading was a wash. That’s because Hurricane Ian decided to intrude. This is not the first time a hurricane has disrupted the launch of our season; back in 2017, Irma almost trapped Allison Joseph here. Thankfully, she was not yet on the plane when we found her in the airport and advised her to turn around and go home. This time, January Gill O’Neill was already here enjoying her residency but left a day early to get out of Ian’s path. Smart decision, that. We look forward to rescheduling her and local poet Susan L. Leary sometime in the future.
Meanwhile, our second reading only a week later was phenomenal. Both Nicole Tallman, our local poet, and Nicole Sealey, our poet-in-residence, had the audience weeping. Or maybe that was just our reaction. But we found their work profoundly affecting.
Next up, on November 16, we host local poet Rita Maria Martinez and poet-in-residence Jessica Cuello at 7:30 in The Library at The Betsy Hotel-South Beach. The following day, we have a Meet the Artist chat with Jessica at 5:30 in the same venue.
If you can’t be with us in person, the readings go live synchronously on Instagram and Facebook. Follow us so you’ll get the notifications when they begin! You can find out more about our readings and events here.
Shout Outs!
Are you a SWWIMmer? Don’t forget to send your good news to swwimmiami@gmail.com. This isn’t just lip service; we mean it. We want to hear about your journal and book publications, interviews, honors, and awards. If you haven’t seen our Friday shouts outs on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, thanks to our new Social Media Manager, Megan McKinley (welcome, Megan!), you can follow along @SWWIMmiami to get an idea. It’s always special for us to see our poets accomplish their goals. Our mission is to raise the voices of our writers, and that means long after we publish them.
It’s also a real treat for us to see the poems we publish at SWWIM Every Day picked up for republication in places like The Slowdown. Big congrats to Richelle Buccilli for her turn on the podcast with her poem, “Cut Apple,” which first appeared on SWWIM Every Day on March 23, 2022.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to our fantastic team of readers: Jude Marr, Catherine Hodges, Debby Bacharach, Julia Wisell, M. B. McLatchey, Rebecca Brock, and Elizabeth Sylvia. We couldn’t do any of this without them.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? We’d love to hear them. Complaints? Not so much. LOL!
Until next month~