NEWS & EVENTS

November 29, 2023 • 6:30 PM

Fairview Library Poetry Festival. Fairview, NC. A great evening of poetry with Keith Flynn, Kathy Ackerman, Caleb Beissert, Pat Reviere-Seel, Greg Lobas, and myself. Reception, book signings, and harp music(!) follow. Free! Save the date! Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

October 3, 2023

Woman Laying on Her Right Cheek. Published today online by The Ekphrastic Review. I was going down various internet rabbit holes when I stumbled upon the "Gwion Gwion Figures, Bradshaw rock paintings in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, taken at a site off Kalumburu Road near the King Edward River, Western Australia, 10,000 BC." (Wikimedia Commons.) The artist wants us to see the dancers in the painting, but I also see the larger figure: a woman laying on her right cheek, which is so clear to me I have to think it was intentional, and the artist was having fun with us. One of art's earliest examples of abstract impressionism.figure

September 2023

Interview by Evening Magic's Robert McReady. Zoomed in September 2023.

August 2023

UK's "Church Times" Podcast. I was delighted to be interviewed by novelist Sarah Meyrick for this podcast for the UK's "Church Times."

May 26, 2023 • 5:00 PM

Book Shelf Bookstore. Tryon, NC.

May 7, 2023 • 4:30 PM

Malaprop's Bookstore. Asheville, NC. Attend virtually or in person!

April 27, 2023 • 7:00 PM

Womrath Bookshop. Bronxville, NY.

April 20, 2023 • 6:30 PM

Lanier Library. Tryon, NC.

April 15, 2023 • 1:00-4:00 PM

Barnes & Noble. Biltmore Park Town Square, Asheville, NC.

March 29, 2023 • 7:00 PM

United Kingdom National Poetry Prize • Guardian Article: "Poem of ‘beauty, wit and grace’ about fathers and sons wins National Poetry Competition" • "My Dead Father's General Store in the Middle of a Desert" • BBC "Front Row" Interview with Tom Sutcliffe • BBC "Sounds" Interview with Jumoké Fashola

March 24, 2023 • 5:00 PM

Book Shelf Bookstore. Tryon, NC.

February 1, 2023

Wildacres Retreat Center. I'm wildly excited to be accepted for a week-long retreat to write at Wildacres. No Wi-Fi. No cell phone reception. No internet. Thank you, wonderful Wildacres.

January 18, 2023

Twins. I'm pleased that my poem, Twins, was published by The Ekphrastic Review, one of my favorite publications. The poem addresses and marries two separate paintings by the incomparable Margaret Curtis, both of which paintings live in our home. Thank you, Margaret, for assenting to make the poem public. Thank you, Ekphrastic Review and its wonderful publisher Lorette C. Luzajic.

Tryon Fine Arts Center: An Evening with Lee Stockdale and Gorilla. An extended evening of readings from Gorilla with emphasis, as requested, on my father's relationship with John F. Kennedy. I'll draw from family anecdotes: how JFK named his book Profiles in Courage; President Kennedy's calling my father to tell him to go down to Homestead Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis; JFK telling my father to pretend he was crying while in the back seat of the car with John John; etc. Q&A and book signing follow. Purchase tickets here.

January 18, 2023 • 6:00 PM

Trinity Episcopal Church. I'll read from and talk about Gorilla with Reverend Amy Peterson. 60 Church Street, Asheville, NC. Wine and cheese. Book signing. Free and open to the public.

December 20, 2022

NPR. I was pleased to be interviewed by Blue Ridge Public Radio regarding Gorilla. Listen here.

December 1, 2022 • 5:30 PM

Tales from the Journey Home—An Evening of Dinner & Poetry.

November 17, 2022 • 5:30 PM

SOLD OUT! Tales from the Journey Home—An Evening of Dinner & Poetry Food plus wine plus Greg Lobas and me at the Garden Cafe in Rutherfordton, NC. Come out for an enjoyable evening Thursday, November 17th, 5:30 to 7 pm.

October 29, 2022 • 3:00 PM

City Lights Bookstore Gorilla Reading and Book Signing. Join Andrew Clark and me in conversation at City Lights Bookstore on Saturday, October 29, at 3 PM, 3 East Jackson Street, Sylva, NC. Take a drive through the most beautiful fall leaves in the country. I'll be reading from Gorilla and hope to see you there.

September 28, 2022 • 8:00 PM

Reading at Sovereign Kava! September 28th.

I am jazzed to be the featured poet at Sovereign Kava, Asheville's longest running open mic. I've been reading at Caleb Beisert's open mics for years—at Sovereign Kava, The Block off Biltmore, The North Carolina Stage Company and, during the pandemic, virtually. Consistently voted the #1 Open Mic in Asheville in Mountain Xpress polls, come out for a fun night at 268 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville.

September 23, 2022 • 6:00 PM

Gorilla Book Launch! September 13th at Asheville's Pack Memorial Library. I'm tremendously excited that Gorilla will launch from Asheville's downtown Pack Memorial Library, in Lord Auditorium, on September 13th at 6:00 PM. I'll read from Gorilla, follow with Q&A, and sign books that will be there for sale, as well as books pre-ordered and brought to the reading. Please come! Content Warning: Discussion of Suicide.

August 28, 2022 • 5:00 PM

WordPlay! Asheville 103.3 FM—Reading from Gorilla and "In Conversation" with Jeff Davis and Lockie Hunter. Live Radio! I'll be on WordPlay, Sunday night, August 28th, reading from and talking about my new book, Gorilla. Showtime 5:00 pm. Please join me with hosts extraordinaire Jeff Davis and Lockie Hunter at http://www.ashevillefm.org/wordplay and WSFM-LP 103.3. You can also listen to the recorded program if you can't listen live.

July 2022

The Ekphrastic Review published both Unaware and New Stepfather this month, on July 12th and 27th respectively.

July 2022

Getting to the Bottom of It Published in North Carolina Poetry Society's Pinesong: Anthology of Winning Poems for 2022. The poem also appears in my book, Gorilla, forthcoming September 1st, 2022, from Main Street Rag Publishing Company.

June 11, 2022

Gorilla Video. Main Street Rag has published a video for Gorilla. Pre-order Gorilla now and get a fabulous pre-publication discount -- $8.50 versus $14.00 after it comes out in September. Buy my book! Thank you, The Management!

June 4, 2022

Iconic at St. Andrew's-Sewanee. I was honored to read my poem, Iconic, at the Alumni Awards Ceremony at St. Andrew's-Sewanee. We convened on The Mountain to celebrate our 50th high school reunion from Sewanee Military Academy -- "a school so incredible it no longer exists" (from Iconic).

May 24, 2022 • 7:00 PM EDT

Poetry Under the Stars at The Tryon Fine Arts Center. I'll host an evening of Poetry Under the Stars at the Tryon Fine Arts Center with six wonderful poets; seven including me. Tickets $10. Beer and wine available. Please join us.

May 21, 2022 • 1:00 PM EDT

Getting to the Bottom of It Awarded Honorable Mention in Poetry of Courage Contest

The North Carolina Poetry Society awarded my poem Getting to the Bottom of It an Honorable Mention in their Poetry of Courage Contest. Please tune in as I read the poem on Zoom May 21st at 1:00 PM.

Coming Fall 2022!

Gorilla, debut poetry book, from Main Street Rag Publishing Company! I'm excited to have just signed a contract with Main Street Rag Publishing Company for Gorilla, forthcoming in the Fall of 2022.

December 3, 2021 • 6:00 PM

Euphemism, Illinois State University's Creative Arts Journal--Issue Launch. Live event! I'll read my poems Fiancée Arcade and You Have Won a New Car, which appear in the new issue. Join us on campus in Stevenson Hall, Friday, December 3rd, 2021, at 6:00 PM, in Normal, Illinois.

Fall, 2021

BlazeVOX publishes Washing Machine, Smashing Glasses, and George Washington at Walmart

June, 2021

Unforeseen Consequences of Cremation published in Reed Magazine's first ever stand-alone poetry chapbook. A novel offering from Reed Magazine featuring a letterpress cover and hand-sewn pages.

June 7, 2021 • 7:30 PM

Carl Jung NC Prize-Winning Poems, Live and Free. Please tune in as I read my poem Movie Theater which won Honorable Mention in the JungNC Poetry Contest. Go to JungNC.org for info.

November 12, 2020 • 7:00 PM

@CarolinaPoets, Virtual Facebook Reading #PoetryGoesViral. I'll be one of three featured poets.

September 22, 2020

From Cork, Ireland's, The Echo

Heartache, death, and joy, all encapsulated in this one photo ... sent to me by my sister, Annie.

February 17, 2020 • 8:00 PM

The BLOCK off Biltmore, Asheville, NC

Tomb of the Unknown Father, Presidents’ Day Poetry

October 15, 2019 • 7:00 PM

Tryon Fine Arts Center, Tryon, NC

In Their Own Words, Carolina poets presented by the Stage Door Series