Promopalooza - David B. Prather

David B. Prather

Do you have an MP3 of you reading a poem? Send it along.

Your Chapbook or Book Title, Press, Where available for sale.

WE WERE BIRDS, Main Street Rag Publishing,

We Were Birds / David B. Prather

What inspired you to write this Chapbook/Book? What else should we know about it? Or just add the Blurb.

WE WERE BIRDS is not singularly thematic; however, I’ve always been inspired by our avian friends and the superstitions we place upon them. As such, many of the poems in this collection are an exploration of the psychology of those myths and misgivings, and the desire to be more than an earthbound body.

What was your journey to publication like?

After acquiring my MFA, I went through a deep distrust and disgust for publishing (even though I had been an editor and had some success with publishing work in various journals). It wasn’t until one of my writing mentors contacted me that I began to feel guilty, that I had, perhaps, let them down. It took me seventeen years to be pulled back to the larger conversation that is poetry. After a few false starts of submitting the manuscript, then having it rejected, I switched out some work to make the collection stronger. Main Street Rag Publishing contacted me after only a couple of weeks to let me know my manuscript was accepted. It took about a year to have copies in hand, but it was worth it.

Any upcoming Chapbook/Book releases? Upcoming poems in magazines?

I’ve been a little lax about sending work out recently, so I have to change that. But I do have a new manuscript completed and ready for a publisher!

Your Website and Social Media Links.

https://www.facebook.com/DavidBPrather

https://twitter.com/PratherRe (@PratherRe)

Any poets or books that inspired your writing?

WHAT WORK IS by Philip Levine

SATAN SAYS by Sharon Olds

WHEN ONE HAS LIVED A LONG TIME ALONE by Galway Kinell

WILD IRIS by Louise Glück

Who are you currently reading?

I’m rereading the books of one of my mentors, Tony Hoagland.

Pay it Forward – Promote your favorite Charity, tell us why you love it, add a link.

Though I think there are many small presses that deserve everything we can pour into them, I have to go with the Actors Guild of Parkersburg in Parkersburg, WV. I have acted and directed with them for twenty years. And in a town of little diversity, this community theater tries to be inclusive with all the talent they can get on their stage. (And I didn’t want my National Shakespeare Conservatory acting education to go to waste!)

https://www.actors-guild.com/donate.html