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About Jesus Crisis
John Burroughs,
a.k.a. Jesus Crisis, is a pacifist, poet, playwright, musician, composer, bibliophile, and seeker in Elyria, Ohio.
Co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of the monthly Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza and the annual winter wordfest known as Snoetry, John is also the founding editor and publisher for Crisis Chronicles Press and a regular contributor to the Cleveland Poetics and Ohio Poetry Association blogs. Since 2011 he has served as the OPA's webmaster pro tem.
John founded a loose association called Poets of Lorain County, under whose auspices he's hosted regular open mic and featured poet events at the Avon Lake Public Library and the Lorain Arts Council's 737 Gallery, as well as the PoetryElyria series at Jim's Coffeehouse and Diner, the Scott M. Duncan Photography studio and other venues in his hometown.
John's work has appeared on stages in four states, as well as in numerous journals, and he is the author of four poetry chapbooks:
Electric Company (Writing Knights Press, 2011)
6/9: Improvisations in Dependence by Jesus Crisis (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2009)
Identity Crises by Doug Manson, JC and Bree (Green Panda Press, 2009)
Bloggerel by JC (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2008)
Two broadsides featuring his work, For Change Is and Low Kay Shun, are available from NightBallet Press. His fifth chapbook, Water Works, is forthcoming in 2012 from Recycled Karma Press.
Visit the Crisis Chronicles home page or his Crisis Blog to learn more about John.Subscribe Via Feed
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can't be two places at once, but can be at one
Writing Knights Press Presents: Thirty Years of Knight — 7 p.m. at bela dubby, 13321 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio — will feature poetry and music by Heather Ann Schmidt and more.
Poetry Back in the Woods — 7 p.m. at the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Library, 20600 Fayette Road in Shaker Heights, Ohio — will feature poetry by J.E. Stanley and more.
Click any link for more details;
Make it to one of these gigs without fail.
Celebrate the 1-year anniversary of Snoetry 2: A World Record Winter Wordfest on February 8th 2012 at Mac's Backs Books on Coventry
T.M. Göttl — A Hurricane of Moths [NightBallet Press]
J.E. Stanley — Rapid Eye Movement [Crisis Chronicles Press]
Terry Provost — An Uncountable Infinity of Orgasms [NightBallet Press]
An open mic will follow the featured poets! Thanks to NightBallet publisher Dianne Borsenik and Mac's Backs proprietor Suzanne DeGaetano for bringing this very special event to life.
Mac's Backs Books on Coventry
1820 Coventry Road.
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
(216) 321-2665
www.macsbacks.com
Half Write
said poetry
is not
a career.
He was only
half right.
It's not
a car
but it is
an ear.
True Life is Online
Get More: True Life, Full Episodes
Join Me at Playtime This Wednesday with Writing Knights
For about six of my eleven years in prison, I lived and breathed theater. It was my primary creative output, sometimes consuming 60-70 hours of my week. The last play I wrote and produced at Marion Correctional Institution was Easter 2001's Is This The King? (click here to hear a song from it). My friend Bill Hamann talked me into returning to the Ministry for a few months in 2002 to write songs for, serve as musical director for and (the real draw) play Judas Iscariot in his Easter play In Remembrance. But by that time I was feeling burned out with the politics and long hours required to get it done well (and, of course, the requirement that every play be somewhat Christian in nature). Plus, I was hopeful that I would be getting released in the next couple of years, so I wanted to spend more time focusing on that (and some other things).
Since 2002 I've not been involved in anything strictly theater related, until now — getting my feet wet this Wednesday (1/18), our usual Lix and Kix night, during Writing Knights Press Presents: Playwriting Knights I. I'll be giving voice to two characters (Smokey and Don, a hippie and a thug) in a staged reading of Dru Brumbaugh's play Break a Leg at bela dubby art gallery and beer cafe in Lakewood (also our usual Lix and Kix venue). The event begins promptly at 8 p.m. and will also serve as a 30th birthday celebration for Writing Knights publisher Azriel Johnson. Apparently there will be verbal stage directions and we won't be off-book, so this is a step or two shy of a full blown production, but I'm gonna have a lot of fun with the script and I'm certain it'll be even more fun if you are present.
bela dubby
13321 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-221-4479
Writing Knights on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/writingknights
Green Goes Stanley Chap
Follow Scott Green's notes on poetry markets and more at http://greengenrepoetry.blogspot.com.
I Want My MTV: "I'm a Sex Offender"
I haven't watched MTV since the early 1990s. But if we still had cable, I'd watch this. 
These facts may not be mentioned during the program, but these young men are not only officially "ineligible" to use Facebook because of their status, they're also ineligible to particpate in programs funded by Department of Labor grants "to help former offenders gain career skills and rejoin community life." But Charles Manson and Mark David Chapman, when they're released, will be eligible.
A Thousand Voices, some inspired by Lorain County
Muddy Tinfoil Me
To buy the new Tinfoildresses in paperback, visit http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/tinfoildresses-2012/18809254
New and probably temporary Facebook account
It's http://facebook.com/lorcalives
No, I'm not calling myself Lorca. This was an old, neglected d.a. levy and then Lorca "fan" page of sorts that I've repurposed and changed to reflect my real name (but Facebook won't let me change the URL).
I've also recreated the Crisis Chronicles Press page on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/crisischroniclespress
But the best place to find me is still here. My promised new year website changes have been delayed but are still coming as soon as I can find the time. Meanwhile, in my relatively new role as the Ohio Poetry Association's webmaster pro tem, I've remade the OPA blog page: http://ohiopoetryassn.blogspot.com
Hope to see you at one or all of the above!
Broadsided by NightBallet
Though NightBallet Press has been in existence for less than a year, it is already setting high standards in poetry publishing, having produced gorgeous new chapbooks by Jack McGuane, Chansonette Buck, Ralph La Charity, Terry Provost, George Wallace and T.M. Göttl — in addition to its acclaimed 2011 broadside series. I'm pleased to announce that on December 29th, NightBallet published a broadside of my poem "Low Kay Shun":
"Low Kay Shun" is one of my favorite pieces to perform, and editor Dianne Borsenik did a lovely job on this publication. For the cover she chose a photo I took earlier this year on a trip to Detroit. I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out.
This is actually my second NightBallet broadside, the first being "For Change Is," published in September to give away at our 100 Thousand Poets for Change event in Elyria. In all, the press has published ten poetry broadsides so far. The other eight feature poems by Alex Gildzen, Heather Ann Schmidt, Tim Murray, Dianne Borsenik, Jack McGuane, Steve Brightman, John Dorsey and Dan Smith.
While they last, NightBallet is offering its whole set of ten 2011 poetry broadsides (including my two) for only $5 (which includes postage). What would Jesus Crisis do? Buy the set.
Visit NightBallet Press at http://nightballetpress.blogspot.com — and don't forget to check out the aformentioned chapbooks there as well.
Free Poetry from Chicago
I think I might have to borrow the "Chronic Crisis Press."
The Press of the 3rd Mind
1301 N. Dearborn Ave., Suite 1007
Chicago, IL 60610
Align in The Artistic Muses
Crisis Chronicles Press publishes Rapid Eye Movement by J.E. Stanley
Rapid Eye Movement is a collection of 17 poems by Ohio's own J.E. Stanley. This 20-page chapbook, saddle stitched and lovingly hand-assembled using high quality white and black cardstock with ivory pages, is available for only $5 US (plus $1 for shipping) from Crisis Chronicles Press.
cover foto/collage: Looking Up by Steven B. Smith
Or mail $6 in any form to John Burroughs c/o Crisis Chronicles Press, 420 Cleveland Street, Elyria, Ohio 44035.
J.E. Stanley
is an accountant and on again/off again guitarist from the grayscale
suburban wilderness of Northeastern Ohio where he is lucky enough to
hang out with the Deep Cleveland Poets and the Cleveland Speculators. He
is the author of Dark Intervals (vanZeno Press), Dissonance (Deep Cleveland Press) and co-author, with Joshua Gage, of Intrinsic Night (Sam’s Dot Publishing). His work has appeared in Amaze, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Cinema Spec, the Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Paper Crow, The Rhysling Anthology, Scifaikuest, Sein und Werden, Star*Line, Sybil’s Garage
and numerous other mainstream and genre publications. He continues to
assert that, winged or not, Man was always meant to fly; the moon and
stars were just put there as incentives.
Find the author at http://jestanley.blogspot.com.
Facebook kicks me out
The bad news: when I returned to Mom's house with her groceries this afternoon I tried to log into Facebook and got this message: "Upon investigation, we have determined that you are ineligible to use Facebook. Unfortunately, for safety and security reasons, we cannot provide additional information as to why your account was disabled. This decision is final."
No explanation, no appeal. The only possible reason I can imagine for them deeming me ineligible is the same reason MySpace deleted my personal profile in 2007: my nearly 20-year-old felony conviction. According to info on Facebook's Help page: "Convicted sex offenders are prohibited from using Facebook. Once we are able to verify a user’s status as a sex offender, we immediately disable their account and remove their account and all information associated with it." I have blogged extensively about my 11 years in prison (from 1993 to 2004), and it has never been a secret. I have been also been active on Facebook for 4 years (since December 2007) and never been a threat to anyone's safety or security.
I'm not sure what exactly to do about this. At first I was in shock. Then I began crying, feeling an incredible sense of loss. Then I became angry at the injustice. Now I'm feeling a bit numb. I'll try to write more soon. Please know that I love you.
