A couple of new publications to post...
My poem "On the Levee, Greenville, MS" will be in the next issue of You Must Be This Tall to Ride, http://youmustbethistalltoride.net/
My poem "Crop Dusting: Late Season" will be in the 2011 issue of Louisiana Review.
Oct 4, 2010
Aug 24, 2010
New Poem at Rougarou
My poem "Jugs on the Shelf" is in the new issue of Rougarou.
http://english.louisiana.edu/rougarou/currentIssue/jbFuller.html
http://english.louisiana.edu/rougarou/currentIssue/jbFuller.html
McNeese MFA Blog
My program has started a new blog, check it out...
http://www.mcneesemfa.blogspot.com/
http://www.mcneesemfa.blogspot.com/
Jul 21, 2010
Blog Tour 2010 - #3
My next blog tour stop is over at William Lusk Coppage's blog. We recently made a trip to Mississippi for a poetry reading at the Southern Writers Conference at Ole Miss. These are my thoughts on what turned out to be an epic journey.
Taking the Long Way 'Round: A Reading with William Lusk Coppage
Taking the Long Way 'Round: A Reading with William Lusk Coppage
Jun 30, 2010
Blog Tour 2010 - #2
My next stop on the blog tour is over at Beyond Acadia, which is writer Jan Rider Newman's blog. I gathered my thoughts on how social networking can benefit writers and be used to grow their readership. Thanks to Jan for the soap box...
Blog Tour 2010 - #2
"A Writer's Newest Tools - Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook"
http://janridernewman.blogspot.com/2010/06/writers-newest-tools-blogs-twitter-and.html
Blog Tour 2010 - #2
"A Writer's Newest Tools - Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook"
http://janridernewman.blogspot.com/2010/06/writers-newest-tools-blogs-twitter-and.html
Jun 29, 2010
When the Levee Breaks - Levees, Literature, and Symbolism of the South, by William Lusk Coppage
My good friend and classmate William Lusk Coppage has answered my call to trade posts during my summer blog tour. The following post is his view on levees and southern poetry, among other things... J
When the Levee Breaks – Levees, Literature, and Symbolism of the South
by William Lusk Coppage
I came over to check out J Bruce’s blog, and I noticed one very
important characteristic. Both him and I have a picture of a body of
water. His picture portrays Lake Pontchartrain, and my picture shows
the Mississippi River Bridge (old and new) between Greenville, MS and
Lake Village, AR. Each of these bodies of water has levees around
them. I would like to think that is more than a coincidence. This
made me start thinking about the symbolic power of the levee. Since
both J Bruce and I are from the south, he being from the New Orleans
region and myself from the Mississippi Delta region, we both have
close ties with the Mississippi River and its levee system.
It is safe to say that the levee that surrounds the stained coffee
brown water of the Mississippi represents security, but in writing
what is its higher function? Many poems that both J Bruce and I write
use the levee as an image. And while we might attack the image from
different ways, I believe the core imagery is there. The levee
represents power, but this power has many different faces.
Many of J Bruce’s poems deal with the 1927 flood. When the levee
broke, the remnants of Southern farming/way of life at the time were
in jeopardy. The breaking of the levee introduced a new angle to the
power struggle of the farmers and their “workers.” Horror stories
exist of levee camps built on the little land that existed on the
levee tops. The farmers were afraid there workers would leave the
delta and not return; therefore, against the workers will, they were
held to stay and put the land back together. So looking at the
levee’s imagery shows a tension of slave/master, but it also goes
beyond and represents not only the struggle, but almost as a totem of
achievement.
The levees are the power of the South. Without the levees, the land
would be washed away and uninhabitable. Therefore, they also
symbolize control and order. The river that runs right next to them
is a demon. The current is rough, whirlpools are visible and the
water is a dense murky fog of anger. The levees keep a watchful eye
and keep order.
One aspect that the levees represent in my own work is the safety of
experience. Growing up right next to a levee and in a port town, the
levees allowed the “uncontrolled” youth of the area to congregate.
These were the days of testing boundaries, and while I am blessed that
I survived, the levee provided a mystic atmosphere. For those that do
completely not understand this, think of whatever “Strip” you drove down as a
teenager. The levee was outside the city limits and
allowed us to think we were adults and exude reckless power for a
brief moment.
And in that same vein, the levee offers escape. Growing up, and still
to this day, driving on the levee clears the head, just like a
meditation or a walk. In high school, the levee was “home base” where
I could get away from everyone. When I visit home now, within the
first hour, I am in the passenger seat on my father’s truck. We drive
the levee to our hunting land. He points out the changes in the land,
and we get to pause from the rest of the world and talk.
The levee is a multi-faced beast that holds so many meanings. I want
to take a moment and show what others have said about the levee.
• It was a special place along the Mississippi (River) behind the
levee where everyone went to have fun. –John Magnie
• Our worst fears came true. The levee will breach if we keep on the
path we are on right now, which will fill the area that was flooded
earlier. –Barry Guidry
• We need this levee. We respect it. –Gerard Roper
• The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering
skill can persuade it to do otherwise... –Mark Twain in Eruption
I want to leave you with a verse from the song “When the Levee Breaks”
by Kansas Joe McCloy and Memphis Minnie. The song was also
popularized by Led Zeppelin.
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to lose
William Lusk Coppage’s poetry has appeared in Blue Earth Review and
Mikrokosmos. He was raised in the Mississippi Delta, but was lucky
enough to travel the globe in the United States Air Force. Currently,
Coppage is back in the South completing his MFA in poetry at McNeese
States University in Lake Charles, LA. For more information, please
visit him at http://williamluskcoppage.blogspot.com. You can also
follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WilliamLCoppage.
When the Levee Breaks – Levees, Literature, and Symbolism of the South
by William Lusk Coppage
I came over to check out J Bruce’s blog, and I noticed one very
important characteristic. Both him and I have a picture of a body of
water. His picture portrays Lake Pontchartrain, and my picture shows
the Mississippi River Bridge (old and new) between Greenville, MS and
Lake Village, AR. Each of these bodies of water has levees around
them. I would like to think that is more than a coincidence. This
made me start thinking about the symbolic power of the levee. Since
both J Bruce and I are from the south, he being from the New Orleans
region and myself from the Mississippi Delta region, we both have
close ties with the Mississippi River and its levee system.
It is safe to say that the levee that surrounds the stained coffee
brown water of the Mississippi represents security, but in writing
what is its higher function? Many poems that both J Bruce and I write
use the levee as an image. And while we might attack the image from
different ways, I believe the core imagery is there. The levee
represents power, but this power has many different faces.
Many of J Bruce’s poems deal with the 1927 flood. When the levee
broke, the remnants of Southern farming/way of life at the time were
in jeopardy. The breaking of the levee introduced a new angle to the
power struggle of the farmers and their “workers.” Horror stories
exist of levee camps built on the little land that existed on the
levee tops. The farmers were afraid there workers would leave the
delta and not return; therefore, against the workers will, they were
held to stay and put the land back together. So looking at the
levee’s imagery shows a tension of slave/master, but it also goes
beyond and represents not only the struggle, but almost as a totem of
achievement.
The levees are the power of the South. Without the levees, the land
would be washed away and uninhabitable. Therefore, they also
symbolize control and order. The river that runs right next to them
is a demon. The current is rough, whirlpools are visible and the
water is a dense murky fog of anger. The levees keep a watchful eye
and keep order.
One aspect that the levees represent in my own work is the safety of
experience. Growing up right next to a levee and in a port town, the
levees allowed the “uncontrolled” youth of the area to congregate.
These were the days of testing boundaries, and while I am blessed that
I survived, the levee provided a mystic atmosphere. For those that do
completely not understand this, think of whatever “Strip” you drove down as a
teenager. The levee was outside the city limits and
allowed us to think we were adults and exude reckless power for a
brief moment.
And in that same vein, the levee offers escape. Growing up, and still
to this day, driving on the levee clears the head, just like a
meditation or a walk. In high school, the levee was “home base” where
I could get away from everyone. When I visit home now, within the
first hour, I am in the passenger seat on my father’s truck. We drive
the levee to our hunting land. He points out the changes in the land,
and we get to pause from the rest of the world and talk.
The levee is a multi-faced beast that holds so many meanings. I want
to take a moment and show what others have said about the levee.
• It was a special place along the Mississippi (River) behind the
levee where everyone went to have fun. –John Magnie
• Our worst fears came true. The levee will breach if we keep on the
path we are on right now, which will fill the area that was flooded
earlier. –Barry Guidry
• We need this levee. We respect it. –Gerard Roper
• The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering
skill can persuade it to do otherwise... –Mark Twain in Eruption
I want to leave you with a verse from the song “When the Levee Breaks”
by Kansas Joe McCloy and Memphis Minnie. The song was also
popularized by Led Zeppelin.
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good
Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to lose
William Lusk Coppage’s poetry has appeared in Blue Earth Review and
Mikrokosmos. He was raised in the Mississippi Delta, but was lucky
enough to travel the globe in the United States Air Force. Currently,
Coppage is back in the South completing his MFA in poetry at McNeese
States University in Lake Charles, LA. For more information, please
visit him at http://williamluskcoppage.blogspot.com. You can also
follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WilliamLCoppage.
Jun 26, 2010
Blog Tour 2010 - The First Stop
Okay, so technically this wasn't part of the "tour" but it did just recently come out and is a nice starting point for my blog tour. I recently did an interview with Jess Ferguson on her blog and it is still available to read.
Blog Tour 2010 - #1
Jess Ferguson interviews me for Louisiana Saturday Night.
http://jessyferguson.blogspot.com/2010/06/louisiana-saturday-night-with-poet-j.html
Blog Tour 2010 - #1
Jess Ferguson interviews me for Louisiana Saturday Night.
http://jessyferguson.blogspot.com/2010/06/louisiana-saturday-night-with-poet-j.html
Blog Tour 2010
Prompted (and educated) by my friend D.B. Grady, I have begun to plan for a blog tour. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a blog tour is a series of posts on other people's blogs which helps bring new readers to both the writer and the host blog. D.B. Grady wrote an informative article on blog tours here: http://bayouwritersgroup.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-blog-book-tours-blog-tours-are-all.html
So for the remainder of the summer I will attempt to write for as many blogs as I can. I am not making any hard and fast goals, but I will hopefully be able to do at least a half dozen. I am also offering my blog as a soap box to any of you who want to trade posts. The first such offering will be a post by the poet William Lusk Coppage.
So for the remainder of the summer I will attempt to write for as many blogs as I can. I am not making any hard and fast goals, but I will hopefully be able to do at least a half dozen. I am also offering my blog as a soap box to any of you who want to trade posts. The first such offering will be a post by the poet William Lusk Coppage.
Singapore Anthology
I have had two poems, "Roses and Heat" & "A Case Study in Tectonic Boundaries," accepted to an anthology of poetry that will be released in Singapore later this year. I will post more information when I get it.
Jun 19, 2010
Interview with Louisiana Saturday Night
I did an interview with Jessy Ferguson's blog,Louisiana Saturday Night. Go HERE to read it...
May 19, 2010
The Joy Scantlebury Award
I have recently received the third place prize in this year's Joy Scantlebury Award for Poetry at McNeese State University. The contest was judged this year by the poet Cody Walker, so thanks to him.
Apr 22, 2010
Yankee Pot Roast
Two of my poems, "Andy and the Puma" & "Hippies, Hair Metal, and How I Learned to Stop Watching Television," are now up at Yankee Pot Roast... http://www.yankeepotroast.org/archives/2010/04/poems.html
Tipton Poetry Journal
My poem "Counting Dust Devils: Early Season" will be published in the Tipton Poetry Journal, #17.
Mar 30, 2010
JMWW Anthology IV out now...
The JMWW Anthology Vol. 4 Issue 1 is now available and has my poem "The Dirty Side" in it. Buy one! www.jmww.150m.com
Mar 29, 2010
New Publication
I just heard back on a submission I sent to A Handful of Stones. This is a sweet online journal that publishes some killer short poetry. They will be publishing a haiku of mine on May 22nd. The poem is called "they dance in the cool."
Mar 24, 2010
28 Backbirds blurb...
Author Michael Arnzen had this to say about the chapbook:
"28 Blackbirds at the End of the World is an instant classic..."
Thanks Mike!
"28 Blackbirds at the End of the World is an instant classic..."
Thanks Mike!
Feb 28, 2010
New Poems at Yankee Pot Roast
Yankee Pot Roast will be publishing two poems from me in the near future, "Andy and the Puma" & "Hippies, Hair Metal, and How I Learned to Stop Watching Television."
Feb 18, 2010
28 Blackbirds at the End of the World ... OUT NOW!!!!
My first chapbook, 28 Blackbirds at the End of the World published by Bandersnatch Books, is now officially available. I am very proud of the book, and can't thank Rich and Scott and everyone at Bandersnatch enough for putting this together.
The book is for sale at the Bandersnatch Bookstore here...http://bandersnatchbooks.com/bookstore.php
28 Blackbirds review
Charles Gramlich has posted a review of 28 Blackbirds at the End of the World at Goodreads.com. It's reposted below...
I originally read this collection in manuscript form and enjoyed it very much. I gave the author a blurb, which appears on the back cover. Here's what the blurb says:
"J. Bruce Fuller's "28 Blackbirds" is to haiku what Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is to apocalyptic novels. A masterpiece."
I stand by that.
The printed version has a great cover, as seen above, and contains a short introduction by the author. If you like haiku, especially connected haiku on the same theme, you will surely enjoy this book. All the haiku revolve around the theme of blackbirds surviving, and sometimes dying, at world's end.
Here's one of my favorites:
world burned black
the hearts of men are black
blackbird's eye is black
Jan 31, 2010
"The Dirty Side" Anthologized
My poem "The Dirty Side," which was published this year by JMWW, has been selected for the JMWW IV anthology. The anthology will be out in a couple of months, and features the best work published by the journal this year.
JMWW site
JMWW site
Bayou Writers Group
I have been asked to speak at an upcoming Bayou Writers Group meeting this summer, probably in June or July. http://bayouwritersgroup.org/default.htm
More info to come...
More info to come...
Pre-Orders Sent
Pre-orders for 28 Blackbirds at the End of the World have been sent out. The publisher will have the book for sale soon, I'll let you know as soon as they are officially released.
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