That said, my proof copy of Wilde magazine was in my in-box this evening, and I was really excited to see that Bryan Borland is included in this issue as well. Bryan is the founder of Sibling Rivalry Press, which recently made the leap to a non-profit foundation focused on supporting independent presses and preserving poetry. He is also the editor of Assaracus (though his last issue in that role is coming out soon before he passes the reins to a new editor so he can attend to the mission of the foundation). He is the first editor to ever publish any of my work, way back in issue 8 of the journal. So much has grown out of that--connections to new poets on social media, the chance to participate in a panel reading at the 2013 OutWrite Book Fair in Washington DC, meeting fellow SRP poets from the magazine and who have published full-length books--that it is difficult for me to envision making it as far as I have at this point without that first notice.
Bryan is also the author of two excellent books of poetry: My Life as Adam and Less Fortunate Pirates. These books were two of the first queer-themed collections I ever read, and their ability to blend the narrative of gay life and its overlap with family and loss were incredible models for me. They are both compelling reads that serve as a great example of how modern narrative poetry can build upon themes and narrative strings over the course of a full-length collection to create a larger picture from the individual pieces contained between the covers.
I feel very honored to see my poems in the same issue of a magazine as Bryan, and I encourage anyone interested in seeing the evolution of a talented poet into a true force of nature to read both of his books. It's a master class in and of itself.
The erotica issue of Wilde will be coming in the next month or so. I will post details for how to order it when they are available.