New Pages Mention

The good folks at New Pages have singled out my poem “Creation Myth” for mention in their new review of Prairie Schooner‘s Fall 2013 Issue (Vol. 83 Issue 3). Here are the kind words that reviewer Kenneth Nichols has to say:

Christopher Citro’s poem “Creation Myth” includes a number of powerful images. The narrator begins by describing a rural scene: “Overgrown weeds had hidden the car until / the brushfire revealed it. Once the doors cooled, / neighborhood kids came to investigate . . .” The car is occupied by a man and woman in formalwear. Those children receive a potent lesson in a few different kinds of “creation.” Citro’s poem distinguishes itself with the strength of the imagery and the interesting way in which Citro allows the reader to slide into the perspective of Timmy, one of the children whose understanding of the world is being changed by what he sees.

You can read the rest of the review HERE, along with reviews of current issues of Ploughshares, The MacGuffin,  Green Mountains Review, Indiana Review, Willows Springs, and more.

You can read the whole poem, which Prairie Schooner made available online, HERE.

Thank you Kenneth Nichols and New Pages!

Trees: Symbols of Powerful Experiences

Two of my poems have been chosen to be part of the juried visual art and poetry show Trees: Symbols of Powerful Experience in the gallery at The Tech Garden here in Syracuse, NY. The show is curated by artist-in-residence Maria Rizzo.

My chosen poems are “Our Apple Trees” (first published as a broadside by Thrush Press) and “Kindling Me” (first published in Salamander).

The opening ceremony, including food, live music and awards, will be from 5-8 pm on November 21, 2013. The full exhibition runs from November 14 to December 31, 2013, Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm.

Thank you Maria Rizzo and Poetry Juror Lindsey Bellosa!

Event Info

Article at Syracuse.com, November 5, 2013

Prairie Schooner

My verse poem “Creation Myth” has just been published in the fall 2013 issue of Prairie Schooner.

The issue isn’t available online yet, but when it is you can order a copy for just 9 bucks HERE and get yourself some poetry, fiction, and essays by the likes of Nikki Giovanni, Floyd Skloot, Barry Lopez, Lisa Gornick, Marvin Bell, and many others.

Thank you editors of Prairie Schooner!

Essay in the Colorado Review

A personal essay I wrote this spring just got accepted by the Colorado Review today for their spring 2014 issue. Four hours after I got that acceptance, and agreed to it, (before I even had time to withdraw it from other journals) I got an email from another amazing journal also accepting it. Two acceptances for the same piece in the same day. That is a new one for me, and I’m still floored.

This is my first full essay acceptance, and that it was from the Colorado Review is a dream come true.

Every River on Earth: Writing from Appalachian Ohio

I recently received happy news of developments in the anthology of southern Ohio literature, edited by poet Neil Carpathios, which will contain three of my poems (two unpublished and one previously published in The Cincinnati Review). The anthology now has a title, Every River on Earth: Writing from Appalachian Ohio, a publisher, Ohio University Press (from my alma mater!), and a publication date of fall 2014.

This will be the first time my writing will be included in an anthology, and I am honored and extremely excited.

Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing 2013

The Classroom

I’ve recently returned from a week on Martha’s Vineyard where I was an instructor in the the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. This was my third year working as an instructor for the institute. This year’s session, the institute’s fourth, was the best of all, with an amazing selection of poetry and fiction instructors and a group of truly inspiring and inspired students all working together in the elegant surroundings of this beautiful island.

West Chop Lighthouse, Vineyard Haven Harbor

If you are interested in attending as a student, I encourage you to keep an eye on the institute’s website early next year as details for the 2014 session become available. In the meantime, here are some of my snapshots of this year’s teaching faculty. [NB: We didn’t actually spend all of our time at the beach, despite how these pictures may appear.]

Institute Director & Fiction Instructor Alexander Weinstein

Fiction Instructors Michael Martone & Phong Nguyen

Poetry & Translation Instructor Rebecca Gayle Howell

Poetry Instructor Keith Leonard

Poetry Instructor & Yours Truly Christopher Citro

Gay Head Lighthouse, Aquinnah