Welcome to my website, a place where you can read some of my poems, listen to some of my music, and find out what readings and musical events are on the horizon, as well as other news.

You will also find here some links I think you might find interesting or important.

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POETRY NEWS

John has poetry in the current issue of Seneca Review. His poem, Beans, which appeared in the 2010 winter issue of Rattle as a recipient of an Honorable Mention in their annual award contest, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Other honors under the “close-but-no-cigar” category are his shortlistings for the Patricia Bibby and Gerald Cable book awards. This spring John’s poetry was released in the anthology on the Obama presidency, Starting Today: Poems for the First 100 Days, available from University of Iowa Press. You can hear John read some of  his poems at the Rattle website, Rattle.com.

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MUSIC NEWS

John’s song, North By North, was the number one song in France!

Renaud, a popular French singer and recording artist, adapted North By North and retitled it Vagabonds and released it as a single and on his new CD album, Molly Malone. In December  2009, Vagabonds went to number one on the charts in France.

~Check out Renaud’s website and instrumental adaptation~

~Listen to the hit single on YouTube~

North By North, a song about workers and their families displaced by deindustrialization and capital flight, was originally released in 1987 on the album Daniel Shays’ Highway, performed by Shays’ Rebellion, John’s singing group at the time. The song was later recorded by a Scottish folksinger named Arthur Johnstone. In the late 90s, the popular Irish band, the Fureys, recorded it on their album Winds of Change.

North By North is available now on John’s CD re-release, Songs for Our Times.