Free Shakespeare App

Surprisingly useful, Readdle's free Shakespeare app for iPhone, iPod, and iPad includes the complete works--that's 41 plays, 154 sonnets, and 6 poems (even doubtful works). Perfect, on-the-go information for teachers or fans! I've even whipped out my iPhone in class, when I couldn't remember a detail about King Lear or Hamlet. How many lines are in Antony & Cleopatra? 3573. Which came first, Two Gentlemen of Verona, or Titus Andronicus? Two Gentlemen, 1592. Of course, you can upgrade to the Pro Edition for $9.99 if you like, but I haven't found it necessary yet (and I teach Shakespeare), as there are a ton of free goodies besides the works: a search feature, scene-by-scene breakdown, glossary, quotes, bio, chronology, and more. There's even a section on Elizabethan Theater. Version 3.2.2 is available, with optimization for iOS 5, and it's gotten great reviews.  In fact, I've never had a loading problem or bug. You can download it for free at iTunes, at the link below. Enjoy!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shakespeare/id285035416?mt=8

Fire Diner

New from Magic Trash Press, and available on Amazon.com, is Zack Kopp's awesome collection of poems and shorts, Fire Diner, of which I was honored to pen a blurb for recently, along with Gerald Locklin and Jon Cone.  Fire Diner is "Poetry and brief prose by a young man who eats fire, sets his head on fire and speaks fire. Charles Bukowski crossed with Gregory Corso crossed with Lewis Carroll crossed with Iggy Pop", and it's even more than that, so much more. As I wrote in my blurb, it's "the flashlight work of roving private eye, Zack Kopp, illuminating our modern existence on 'the banks of a giant strange world'.  It is man among the elements, and on the edge of this squawking, discordant, ecologically-catastrophic, numb-suffering, flying metal planet, hungry for nature and love during the pre-apocalypse. Catching the 'eerie screaming cackle' of our consciousness under a dying sun, the static-electric-cold whoosh of planets, cars, televisions, and time, with a foot in the city and a heart in the cornfield, these poems are full of star-fire, organic energy, shadows and light, and the yearning of 'us green-faced fools' in an 'empty hungry lonely night'.  Quite simply, I adore this book, and I know you will too.

You can purchase Fire Diner for $8.00 (plus S&H), at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Diner-shorts-Zack-Kopp/dp/0615778224/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362589269&sr=1-2&keywords=Zack+Kopp

Also available is Kopp's newest novel, Sorehead, of which I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet, but I'm betting it's just as wild and juicy as Fire Diner.

It's available for $10.00 (plus S&H), at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/Sorehead-Zack-Kopp/dp/061577752X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362348606&sr=1-1&keywords=Zack+Kopp

Kopp, as his bio notes, is "founding editor of a webzine called Doggerel (formerly MightyMercury) specializing in short fiction, verse, art, photography and commentary from the anti-famous (from V. Vale to Rennie Sparks to Paul Krassner to Jenny Abel and others). Kopp has been a creative artist of one kind or another from ever since.  His vision is a vital blend of social and political themes with raw, wild soul from the bottom of the can.  He received an MFA in Writing (fiction) from Vermont College of Fine Arts in January of 2008, that magic year."  I say, do yourself a favor, and order one or both of these books--I guarantee you'll become the latest in a long line of Zack Kopp fans.

The Especial Visit

Wanted to share this link to author Idiong Divine's new book, The Especial Visit, of which I wrote the foreword to recently.  Idiong, a Nigerian poet and writer, offers up his latest delicious treat, a collection of children's stories/fairytales, which take place in his homeland, to Amazon.com readers.  Whimsically illustrated by his brother, Imeh Friday Idiong, the traditional folkloric stories will delight readers of all ages.  Believe me, these stories are as divine as only Idiong Divine can be!  You can order it for $5.89 (plus S&H) at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Especial-Visit-Idiong-Divine/dp/1481951963#reader_1481951963

Also, check out his Amazon.com author page, and a list of his other books, here:

http://www.amazon.com/Idiong-Divine/e/B009W2NCHK

Still Here!

I've been a very bad girl, ignoring this blog for the past nine months. I'm still here though, and I'm still writing--it's just that I've been so busy (yes, that non-excuse excuse) with teaching classes and travelling about, that the blog kind of took a back seat.  Plus, I've been concentrating my writing these past months into a full-length manuscript of China-specific poems, and haven't been willing to break them up and send them out for publication--it's such a cohesive thing, you know?  Anyway, I'm back now, and I'll try to keep this thing updated!

Speaking of travelling, I've visited some amazing places recently, and had some wild adventures.  Last summer, Gerard and I toured through China's Yunnan Province with our backpacks, and even hiked into a remote village in the Eastern Himalayas, along the border with Tibet.  We even went to Shangri La, which I fell deeply in love with, and actually consider to be "the home of my soul".  We've been to Thailand, gone into the Golden Triangle, and even popped into Laos. I've ridden an elephant, fed wild monkeys, been cormorant fishing, scaled some incredibly high mountains, gotten a bamboo tattoo, wandered around gold-encrusted Buddhist temples, gone midnight skinnydipping in the Andaman Sea, and battled food poisoning, among other things.  This June, we'll be heading West--to Scotland, Italy, and Turkey--before returning to China.  All of these experiences are what fuels my writing, so I'm grateful for all that life has served up of late!  I thought I'd share some photos here, of some of the travel highlights of the last nine months.  You can view the entire slideshow I put together, here:

https://plus.google.com/100398854199437100473/posts

Ah, it's good to be back... 

With some cute local kids.  Baishui Tai, Yunnan, China.

At the Three Pagodas.  Dali, Yunnan, China.

Window frame.  Dali, Yunnan, China.

Amid the prayer flags.  Songzanlin Monastery, Shangri La, China.

Elephant safari.  Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Beautiful Wat Rong Khun.  Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Happy Monk.  Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand.

Along the Chao Phraya River.  Bangkok, Thailand.

Contemplative monkey.  Railay, Thailand.

Sunset.  Railay, Thailand.

Poem in Hobble Creek Review

My poem, "Chinese Pastoral", now up in Issue 2, Vol. 6 of Hobble Creek Review, available at the link below.  Check out all the great work in this lit mag if you have some time.  A big thank you to editor Justin Evans!

http://www.hobblecreekreview.net/issue16/lauren_tivey.html

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Hobble Creek Review has officially closed down, as of spring, 2014. A copy of "Chinese Pastoral" is available here on my blog, at this link:

http://laurentivey.blogspot.com/2014/05/chinese-pastoral.html

Poem in Boston Lit Magazine

My poem, "Hitching Post of the Sun", now up in the summer issue of Boston Literary Magazine, available at the link below.  Check out this great mag of poetry and fiction.  A big thank you to editor Robin Stratton!

http://www.bostonliterarymagazine.com/sum12poetry.html