Summer News from Empty Bowl
July 31, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
Since we last wrote, we’ve been busy with new titles that we’re eager to share, plus we have exciting news about several of our authors. We invite you to read on…
Be Broken to Be Whole, a posthumous collection of work by Oregon poet Tom Crawford, is launching this Saturday, August 3, with a reading in Portland at Passages Bookshop—see the Empty Bowl website for details. Our thanks to Tom’s partner Mary A. Judge and fellow poet and friend Gary Thompson for bringing this book to us—and to writer David James Duncan for his moving foreword. We’re grateful to play a role in keeping Tom’s wry, wise words in the world.
Next up: Plum Blossom Wine . . . this noteworthy collection of poems by Li Qingzhao, a female poet of the Song dynasty, is translated by two women: Seattle writer Sibyl James and Kang Xuepei, a Chinese writer. We’ll be launching the book the evening of September 14 at the Friends Meeting House in Port Townsend—see our website for details. Gratitude to Sibyl, who contributed to an edition of one of the first Empty Bowl publications, Dalmo’ma, in the late 1970s, for bringing this book to us.
Also slated for release in August/September is the seventh (and likely last) issue of The Madrona Project. This Machine Is Made for Earth presents Diego Rivera’s mural “Detroit Industry” on the cover, and the thought-provoking art, poems, and essays inside focus on the ubiquitous, complex, and often controversial role of machines and other technology in our lives. Stay tuned for news on readings this fall.
September reading on Bainbridge Island
Here's an event to put on your September calendar: Anna Linzer, author of the poetry collection Season Unleashed, will give a reading, followed by a conversation with copublisher Holly J. Hughes, on Monday, September 23, at 7 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, as part of their Curated Conversation series.
Forthcoming this fall
We’re honored to announce that forthcoming this fall is a collection of poetry by acclaimed poet, translator, essay writer, and anthology editor Andrew Schelling, author of more than twenty collections of poetry and translations, among them Old Tale Road, published by Empty Bowl in 2008. We’ll be releasing Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers in November and hope to arrange a visit by the author to the Northwest for the book launch!
Author news
Tele Aadsen’s moving essay collection about her decades trolling for salmon in Southeast Alaska, What Water Holds, recently received a Nautilus Silver award for essays. Not only does this collection offer a vivid depiction of life on a salmon troller, it includes reflections on gender, community, social justice, and deeper philosophical questions.
In July, poet, essayist, and artist John Brandi was honored with a Lifetime Poetry Award from the New Mexico Literary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the state where he’s made his home for many decades. His most recent collection of haiku from Empty Bowl is The Rain Sweeps Through, which came out last fall.
More recently, we received the thrilling news that Shin Yu Pai, author of No Neutral and Virga from Empty Bowl, as well as other titles, was awarded the prestigious 2024 Shelley Award from the Poetry Society of America. Shin Yu is just finishing her tenure as Seattle’s Civic Poet and is also the producer of the award-winning podcast Ten Thousand Things.
Last weekend, Red Pine traveled to Olympia for the dedication of the new, traditionally built Japanese teahouse at Open Gate Zendo, named in his honor: Red Pine Hut. You can see more photos here.
Big congratulations to all! We’re proud to be publishing the good work of all our authors—and you can help by telling your friends, posting a short review on Amazon or Goodreads, or gifting copies to friends or family.
Thanks, as always, for being part of the Empty Bowl community—we couldn’t do this without you.
Holly & John