These photographs from the opening reading at the Frank Stanford Festival aren’t doing any good sitting on my hard drive, so here they are in all their glory. The reading offered a fantastic introduction to sixteen or seventeen different small press poets, most of whom were unfamiliar to me. Being exposed to so many new voices in a single night was both overwhelming and exhilarating. Congrats and thanks to Matt and Katy at Cannibal Books, who put the festival together.

Oh, and a special thanks to Abraham Smith, Maureen Alsop, Tony Tost, Adam Clay, and Ralph Adamo for recording poems for future updates of Linebreak. Abraham’s reading of Emma Bolden’s Testimony was posted on Tuesday.

Any omissions or inaccuracies in the photo captions should be posted to editors@linebreak.org.

A hearty congratulations to Linebreak contributor Carolyn Guinzio on the release of Quarry, her second book. Carolyn’s reading Friday during the Frank Stanford Festival was one of the high points of the evening, which is saying a lot, considering the company.

Just a reminder: The Frank Stanford Festival begins tonight at 7:00 with a reading at The Garden Room here in lovely Fayetteville, and at least two of the Linebreak crew will be in attendance. Be sure to say hi if you see me or Ashley milling about. Just look for a tall, devastatingly handsome dude accompanied by a svelte, coquettish blonde. Failing that, the foul language and empty whiskey bottle should be a good clue.

Oh, and I’ll have my camera. You can’t miss the camera.

The full schedule is available at the festival’s official site.