An exciting reading on Wednesday October 26th!

These days I've been working hard on my novels and awaiting word on a few other projects, but in the meantime I'm very excited about this new reading. See below for more info!



a COLLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS reading

Six LGBT writers get together to read from the anthology COLLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS, a first-ever collection of LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Questioning) writings on faith, religion and spirituality.

The writers--Oliver Bendorf, James Cihlar, Brent Goodman, Raymond Luczak, John Medeiros, and William Reichard--will also read from their own books.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
7 p.m.
University Baptist Church
1219 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-331-1768

The event is free and ASL-interpreted. (Raymond Luczak, the Deaf writer, will be voiced for those who don't know ASL. For more information, please contact Raymond directly at eod2eod2@gmail.com.)

To learn more about the anthology COLLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS, please check out this link.

Hope to see y'all there!

Time to play catch-up!

Whoa. Almost THREE months has gone by without my dropping a single line on here?!? Time to play catch-up!

It's been a crazy, busy, and amazing summer so far. I've fallen in love with a wonderful guy, and he was sweet enough to alert me to our third-month anniversary recently. (I can imagine you going, "Awwww.") And I've just finished the fourth draft of a new novel that I've been working on and off for a year and half.

But seriously, a few things about yours truly have popped up online in the last few months. Marion Gomez wrote a strong piece about accessibility and the literary community ("Who Has the Key?") for A VIEW FROM THE LOFT. Check out this link!

Then the writer Kathi Wolfe quoted yours truly in her opinion piece ("Two Minority Groups with a Lot in Common") for THE WASHINGTON BLADE. Read this link and ponder.

In the September 2011 issue of SCENE, the Twin Cities LGBT guide, I wrote about why I chose Minneapolis. Unfortunately the link doesn't take you to the actual page, so you'll have to flip through the pages at this link. (At least I've made it to the front cover in the lower right-hand corner! Yayyy.)

I will also appear in a few new anthologies this fall, but I'll write about those when I return from a little getaway with my handsome boyfriend ...

Toodles!

The Same Difference: Writers with Disabilities Reading

This reading features some of Minnesota's most accomplished writers with disabilities. Featured artists are John Lee Clark, Tara Arlene Innmon, Raymond Luczak, and Lynne Nerenberg. ASL and voice interpreting, open captioning, assistive listening devices, and Braille will be provided, as well as a Q & A and art show featuring members of People Incorporated’s Artability program. Reception to follow.

June 3, 2011 @ 7 p.m.
The Loft Literary Center
1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55415
http://www.loft.org/
612-215-2575

John Lee Clark was born deaf and became blind in adolescence. His poetry has appeared in many publications, including the Hollins Critic, Pif, Poetry, and the Seneca Review. His chapbook of poems is Suddenly Slow (Handtype Press, 2008) and he edited the anthology Deaf American Poetry (Gallaudet University Press, 2009). He is married to the deaf cartoonist Adrean Clark; they run a small press called Clerc Scar that publishes signing community literature. They live in Minnesota with their three sons.

As a young person, Tara Arlene Innmon loved writing almost as much as she loved drawing. She kept an extensive diary. When she started going blind she asked herself, "What will I do when I can't draw anymore?" The answer came down like a bolt of lightning. "You will write." She could have guessed. In 2000, she was a finalist for the SASE Jerome Foundation Fellowship grant. She went to Hamline University, graduating with an MFA in creative writing in 2008. She has published poetry and short prose pieces in numerous literary journals, including Verve, River Image, and Wordgathering. She is writing a childhood memoir.

Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of more than ten books, including Road Work Ahead: Poems (Sibling Rivalry Press) and Mute: Poems (A Midsummer Night's Press). His website is www.raymondluczak.com.

Lynne Nerenberg is a Saint Paul native, holds an MA in media studies from the New School of Social Research, and is a former journalist. She won first place for her creative nonfiction at Artability's 2010 Art Show and attends People Incorporated's Apollo program for people with mental illness and/or brain injury.

Again, the entire event will be VOICE- and ASL-INTERPRETED along with Braille and open captioning for those who need information accessibility!

Dear Mr. Mulvaney ...

Just wanted everyone to know about this letter that I wrote and appeared in my column "Off the Red Carpet" in the latest print edition of SIGNews. Please pass it on to everyone you know!

Thanks.

===

Dear Mr. Mulvaney:

For those who savor movies on DVD and Blu-Ray (BD), Criterion stands high above everyone else when it comes to giving movies deluxe treatments, right down to achieving the most color- and sound-accurate transfer. (For those who’ve never heard of Criterion, they should check out criterion.com.) I know that when I buy a Criterion title, I know I won’t be disappointed. There’s almost always an insightful print essay or two by film critics who truly know the movie in question and its historical and social context. Thanks to Criterion, I’ve learned a great deal about the literature of cinema. Over the years I’ve bought your laserdiscs, DVDs, and BDs so you could say that I’m a huge fan of Criterion.

Until recently. I’ve realized that I had been too willing to put up with less for too long.

Please allow me to explain what happened that’s left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Last Saturday I watched Orson Welles’s delightfully twisty “essay film” (or “pseudo-documentary”?) F FOR FAKE, about two men in the profession of forgery. I don’t think it’s captioned elsewhere, so as a big fan of Orson Welles’s work as a filmmaker, I forked over money for a two-disc set that cost $49. At the time I didn’t realize that the second disc had a ton of enviable extras that were not subtitled (I quote directly from your web site): ORSON WELLES: A ONE-MAN BAND, an 88-minute documentary from 1995 about Welles’s unfinished projects; ALMOST TRUE: THE NOBLE ART OF FORGERY, a 52-minute documentary from 1997 about art forger Elmyr de Hory; a 2000 60 MINUTES interview with Clifford Irving about his Howard Hughes autobiography hoax; and a 1972 Hughes press conference exposing Irving’s hoax. Imagine my deep disappointment to find that *none* of these substantial extras were made accessible to the Deaf and hard of hearing viewers!

Oh, you do a fantastic job in providing English subtitles for the Deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) for your main features, but considering how expensive your DVD and BD titles are to begin with (usually ranging from $39 and above), the fact that none of the extras spoken in English are subtitled is a very cheap slap in the face to some 28 million Americans who have hearing problems. Such is the stink that pervades what would’ve made for an extravagant box of chocolates.

Please do not be as cheap as other home video distributors. I’ve already paid a fortune for your movie titles over the years. It’s time that I stop deluding myself. Your titles command premium prices. You simply do not want to spend any more money on the extras. I understand that you want to make a profit, but has it ever occurred to you that in an age of movies increasingly streamed online, the very existence of extras is what keeps drawing people to buy DVDs and BDs?

I’m afraid that as long as your extras aren’t subtitled, I’ll have to boycott your Criterion titles. The older I get, I find just the movie-only approach becoming more and more an insult as it says a lot about how you view us. (The number of late-deafened viewers will climb quite dramatically as the baby boom generation hits retirement age. Hearing loss is going to be a huge issue. Hearing aid manufacturers are going to be perversely happy.) I will also encourage Deaf movie lovers everywhere to boycott your titles until Criterion posts a policy online stating their intent to make all of their contents going forward will be accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing viewers, and be consistent in providing subtitles for all content on DVD and BD going forward. I’ll also encourage hearing DVD and BD reviewers to state in their reviews whether the movie and the extras are subtitled. Of course, I won’t object when others online forward this letter to others. I’ll give out your email address (mulvaney@criterion.com) to anyone who wants to chime in.

Mr. Mulvaney, if I were to make a movie about Criterion, I’d call it C FOR CHEAP. I’d have it narrated only in American Sign Language (ASL) without voiceover or subtitles; of course, you’d probably never understand a word of what we’re signing. How else can you truly understand how frustrated we Deaf film connoisseurs are when it comes to your lack of subtitles for extras spoken in English?

Respectfully,

Raymond Luczak
Minneapolis, MN

Oh, no! I'm interviewed again!

Hi all ...

Stephen Mills, who has been doing a series of interviews with LGBT poets, asked me to discuss all sorts of things, mostly related to poetry and which poet I'd love to sleep with. (Got your attention now? Good. Head over to this and enjoy!)

When's my next appearance? I'll be doing a joint reading with three other writers, including John Lee Clark, at the Literary Loft Center on June 3rd. More information to come as soon as details are finalized.

Like almost everyone in Minnesota, we're all waiting for winter to stop playing games with spring. Hope your spring has a lot of spring in its step!

Ta-dah.

Raymond

My, my, my! I'll be on the road for ROAD WORK AHEAD ...

Hello all:

Six weeks ago I'd announced the publication of my fourth poetry collection ROAD WORK AHEAD from Sibling Rivalry Press and released a subtitled trailer in which I'd talked about the book. Over on Deaf Echo, I also talked about the peculiar challenges of marketing a book that has nothing to do with my deafness and yet here I am, signing with my hands and not using my voice. (The piece was called "If You're a Deaf Writer, How the Heck Can You Get More 'Famous'?")

To celebrate the official publication of ROAD WORK AHEAD on March 1st, I'd uploaded a YouTube clip of yours truly performing his poem "Jules" from ROAD WORK AHEAD. Please check it out if you haven't already! It was shot outside Marshall, Texas last October. The grungy background of abandoned road signs was a most unexpected find on my friend's lot, so I had to use it.

As I'll be giving readings in New York City (more details are below) and classroom talks in Washington, D.C., I've just uploaded my next clip from ROAD WORK AHEAD. The poem is called "Dupont Circle, 3 A.M."

Not even three weeks old, ROAD WORK AHEAD has already earned two raves--one from Amos Lassen on his reviews blog, and one from Grady Harp via Amazon. Sibling Rivalry Press and I are waiting to hear what other critics have to say. In the meantime, please help support Sibling Rivalry Press in their mission to provide superlative poetry to the masses by buying a copy of my book at this link. You can download a free PDF sampler from the book on SRP's site if you like.

My previous poetry collection MUTE still continues to get attention more than a year after its publication. Moving Poems, a web site focusing on video renditions of poems, chose to feature my poem "Orphans" on their home page a few days ago. I was most surprised and delighted.

Now what's this about my coming to New York this week to give two readings from my books ROAD WORK AHEAD and MUTE? Details are below. Both events will be VOICE-interpreted for those who don't know American Sign Language (ASL).

Wednesday March 23rd
7 p.m.
Bluestockings
172 Allen Street (Lower East Side)
New York, NY 10002
212.777.6028

Saturday March 26th
2 p.m.
Rainbow Book Fair
208 West 13th Street (Greenwich Village)
New York, NY 10014

Rainbow Book Fair is the largest book festival for the LGBT community in America, and the admission is FREE. If you're in need of ASL interpreters, there will be a pair available all afternoon. Please check out Rainbow Book Fair's web site where they list readings and panel discussions in the right-hand column, and then email me directly (eod2eod2 >at< gmail com). That way I can be sure to forward your request to the interpreters, and they'll contact you to confirm.

Golly. I'm so psyched. Can't wait to come back to New York and catch up with old friends as well as make new friends! Hope to see y'all there! (And yes, my service dog Rocky will be tagging along. That's HIM below, alright!)

Best,

Raymond

P.S. Yes, I'm officially on Twitter: my handle is @deafwoof.
P.P.S. I'm so glad that spring is nipping at my heels! This winter has gone on a wee too long. (Right, Rocky?)

Yowzah!!! A brand-new book trailer on YouTube!

Hello all:

Yep. You're looking at the cover of my latest book ROAD WORK AHEAD, which comes out on March 1st, 2011! I'm very, very excited about this book, and thrilled that everyone can now view my book trailer on YouTube. (Although I "speak" in ASL, it's subtitled in English with a beautiful classical guitar duet composed by Shanan Estreicher!)

More exciting news to come.

Have a great February, all!

Raymond

P.S. You can preorder your copy here. (Free shipping on domestic orders, and they ship on February 26th.) Thanks again!