Trailer: 10 Episodes of Slipping Up starts on Thursday at 7pm EST AND...I am about to send Imposing to publishers.

In this trailer:

1. The first season of Theodivergent starts on Thursday at 7pm EST and there will be 10 episodes until July 3 to discuss failure from different fields of expertise. Episodes will be available Thursdays at 7pm. I have some exciting guests lined up.

2. Also in this trailer, I did a poetry reading of 5 poems from Imposing. For more information about this book of poetry, continue reading below.

This is my first book of poetry! It feels a little terrifying (in a good way?) to invite you into the process before it's fully polished.

This collection of poems started with one piece called “In the Woods With a Bear.” The central question of that poem is pretty simple:
Would you rather encounter a bear or a man in the woods alone? What about your daughter? Your sister? Your partner?

Here are some potential book cover ideas:

I like this first one the most, but I’m curious what you think—

It’s meant to accuse in a way that holds a mirror to men. Men need to sit uncomfortably in the truth that many women don’t feel safe around them.

As it happened, I ended up with a bunch of poems centered around this question. I taught Contemporary Women’s Literature for a number of years. I ended up with a whole book of poems about power, fear, safety, silence, and complicity. But once I wrote that first one, the other poems kept arriving.

Here are the questions this book wrestles with:

• Can a man really be a feminist? Or take that further, could he be considered a womanist?

• And most importantly: Who decides?

I believe that I can’t call myself a feminist if women don’t recognize me as one.
Similarly, I can’t call myself anti-racist if Black, Indigenous, or people of color feel that I haven’t de-centered my whiteness and fail to acknowledge my privilege.
Also, I can’t call myself an ally if the LGBTQIA+ community feels erased, tokenized, or harmed by my presence.

These aren’t titles we get to give ourselves. They are relationships we have to slowly and gently build, and with accountably.

Access will be for paid members only.

If the $5/month subscription is a stretch for you right now but you’d still love to read Imposing and the older posts, I’m offering a one-month scholarship—just reach out and I’ll give you access, no questions asked. I believe in making my work accessible, but I also believe that my writing is worth paying for, and I hope you’ll find it's more than worth the price.

Here is one of the most recent ones from the collection:

Lenny’s Pink Rabbit

He’s so sorry

for not knowing

how to hold her—

someone gentle

without squeezing.

This collection includes Girl Dad, how dare i write a poem, Lotus, Trans-girl Dad, and the Museum of Feminism. I think it’s a fun and poignant collection. So I really do hope you’ll join me in making this collection great and hopefully even teachable.

Why the Paywall?

I’m sharing the draft of Imposing first with my paid subscribers here on Substack and they will also receive a print copy.
Even if you only pay for one month.
Even if you’re just here to poke around and see what I’ve been up to.

Anyone who subscribes—even at the monthly level—can receive the final, polished copy of the book when it’s published. And in exchange, I’ll ask (not require) that you consider leaving an honest Amazon review. Good, bad, or complicated—I’m not asking for flattery.

And you’ll have access to other earlier poems, stories, and essays.

I’m worth $5…right?

Thank you for reading. Thank you for trusting me with your time.

—Michael

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