[John (J.D.) Smith]

1. In a small victory for formal verse, my villanelle "Carpe, Carpe" has been selected for inclusion at the end of the June Good Reads Newsletter, which can be found at the following link:
http://www.goodreads.com/newsletter/show/june2010

2. My one-act play "Dig" is being produced at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London, and my wife and I will be going to see it next week.

A positive review is here:
http://www.extraextra.org/Review_The...urve_2010.html
There are a couple of negative reviews out there as well, but I believe those are accounted for by defects in the critics' sensibilities.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Hats off for both of these fine accomplishments. If I were anywhere close, I'd attend a performance of your play, but I can't swim that far. I hope it is a great success.

[Ned Balbo]

I really enjoyed your villanelle (even though I'm sitting on a chair & not a branch). Plus...
Great news on your play! May all break a leg--and I'm glad you & Paula will get to see it in person!

[Susan McLean]

I, too, like the villanelle and hope you enjoy seeing the play. Congratulations for your versatility and ubiquity.

Susan

[Maryann Corbett]

Another vote for the villanelle, and congratulations.

[John (J.D.) Smith]

Thank you very much Janice, Ned, Susan and Maryann. I hope my ubiquity doesn't become distressing. At any rate there are no signs I can quit my day job. The reviews of the play have started to come in (1 favorable, 2 not so much), but we'll see what happens.

[Gregory Dowling]

Greatly enjoyed the villanelle, J.D., and congratulations on the play. Fingers crossed for a quick option from Spielberg or Cameron.

[Jayne Osborn]

Hi J.D.

I'm planning to pop down to London (just an hour's journey for me) to see your play on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening, if possible. I don't care about the reviews - I know what I like and prefer to make my own decisions!

It would be great to meet both the author and a fellow spherian; which night will you and your wife be there?

[FOsen]

Enjoyed the poem, J.D. Have a great time in London, and please update us on the trip.

Frank

[John (J.D.) Smith]

Thank you, Gregory, I'm very glad you enjoyed the villanelle. The play has been optioned by a young filmmaker who is working on the script about now.

Jayne, my wife Paula and I will be attending the performances on the evenings of June 23 and June 25, and the 5:30 p.m. performance on June 26. It would be lovely to meet you at any of those times.

Thank you, Frank. This should be a very good time. My first-ever visit to London was for my day job, with only limited tourism, so I'm looking forward to seeing quite a bit.