Tag: TerryTierney

Are You Ready for the Litquake Aftershocks?

~ twtierney ~ Leave a comment

Why Trees Stay Outside: Terry Tierney with Sophia Raday (A Litquake Aftershocks Event)

On Thursday, November 7 at 7pm, Books Inc. Berkeley proudly hosts local author Terry Tierney for a celebration of his second book of poetry, Why Trees Stay Outside!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/terry-tierney-at-books-inc-berkeley-tickets-958395866837

In Why Trees Stay Outside, voices emerge from our social, political, and natural environment, including perspectives we thought were inanimate or at least insentient, some human, some spiritual.

Through provocative imagery, they ask how we can save ourselves, find love, and find meaning given our current relationships with one another and the earth. The chorus of questions radiates with occasional remorse, but the poems also flash with redemption and humor. By exposing features of our physical and personal environments, their wealth of perspectives, and our innate desire to create and destroy, these accessible poems dare us to reconsider our assumptions and find a way forward.

Terry Tierney is the author of a poetry collection, The Poet’s Garage, and the novels Lucky Ride and The Bridge on Beer River, all published by Unsolicited Press. His poems, short stories, and reviews have appeared in numerous literary magazines. After serving in the Seabees, he completed his BA and MA at Binghamton University and a PhD in Victorian Literature at Emory University. He taught college composition and creative writing courses, and survived several Silicon Valley startups as a software engineering manager. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and literary mentor, Michaelyn Burnette, their enthusiastic Golden Retriever, and two fluffy cats. More can be learned at http://terrytierney.com

Sophia Raday is at work on a murder mystery featuring women cops going through middlescence in the Bay Area. In the meantime, she celebrates the joy and power of women of experience through her SheFlexx social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. A proud member of The Writers Grotto, she is the author of Love in Condition Yellow: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage, about her ongoing romance with her political opposite. Love In Condition Yellow was selected for the American Bookseller Association’s Indie Next List and as an Indie Hardcover Favorite. Raday’s work has also appeared in various outlets including The New York Times, Slate, and Politico.

Review of Why Trees Stay Outside in Remington Review

~ twtierney ~ Leave a comment

Thank you to the editors for this insightful review of my new poetry collection in the Fall 2024 issue of Remington Review!

I’m an avid reader of Remington Review and I’m honored that two of the poems in Why Trees Stay Outside first appeared there. Be sure to put this journal on your reading list.

https://remingtonreview.wixsite.com/remingtonreview?pgid=lnxb3ahd-d252f525-e72a-4d54-abcf-55ab028c893a

Poetry Turns on the Lights!

~ twtierney ~ Leave a comment

An hour before my book launch for Why Trees Stay Outside at A Great Good Place for Books, my friend and bookstore owner, Kathleen, called me to say their electricity had gone out. With record heat in the bay area, it was no surprise that the grid succumbed to heavy air-conditioning.

Kathleen said, “Let’s do it.”

Since my first two books came out during the pandemic, and she and I had reluctantly canceled those launches, we were determined to celebrate Why Trees Stay Outside. My conversation partner and good friend Susan was also game, so we gathered candles and camping lanterns and met at the store.

I perched outside in the gloaming light as a signal that the show would go on. Over a dozen of our stalwart friends came despite the dark block of stores, and we had a blast.

Reading by candlelight was a bit of a challenge, but the poems were familiar to me, of course. Susan asked some leading questions to get our conversation started. We squinted and joked with the audience participating like campers around a fire.

Someone requested that I read my poem “Lint”, which begins, “Once you believed in God….”

When I read that line, the lights came on!

We heard several supernatural interpretations of the event, any of which might be true. But I prefer to think of it as poetry power.

Read my Process Note “Undead Metaphor” in periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics

~ twtierney ~ Leave a comment

I was surprising ready when award-winning poet Maw Shein Win graciously asked me to contribute a process note to her regular column in periodicities : a journal of poetry and poetics.

During a recent reading and discussion with fellow Unsolicited Press authors Taylor Garcia and Rosalia Scalia, we hit on one of my favorite topics, how imagery and metaphors engage the reader. As often happens, the inspiring conversation helped me clarify my thoughts about fresh symbols and the dreaded dead metaphor.

My process note, “Undead Metaphor”, briefly describes my ongoing symbology campaign and my editing process.

Maw’s column is highly recommended–an enjoyable read and a literary education.