Tag Archives: Raw Paw

Mind Maze & Novel Night at Malvern Books

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We have a couple of fantastic literary happenings to share with y’all! Last Wednesday the splendid Raw Paw crew returned to our stage for their fifth Mind Maze chapbook release. This month it was a brand-new title from Montsho Jarreau Thoth, who gave a moving, meditative reading. Montsho was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia around Christmas, and many of the poems in his chapbook were finished while he was in hospital undergoing treatment. (If you’d like to help support his speedy recovery, Raw Paw also has a benefit coming up.) Montsho was joined by spoken word poet Joe Brundidge (aka Element615) and Ash Smith (who will also be W. Joe’s guest for his next poetry corner), and the evening was ably hosted, as always, by Wade Martin and A.R Rogers.

And last Thursday we turned our attention to all things prose, with the second installment in our Novel Night series, featuring debut novelists Howard A. Schwartz and Ernie Wood. We also heard from Malvernite Schandra, who introduced us to The Passion According to G.H. by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (stay tuned till the end of Schandra’s talk to see how Ms. Lispector forms a puzzle). And our open mic-er, a middle-school teacher, read an excerpt that gave us an insightful account of eighth-grade life. Check out the footage below, and be sure to join us for next month’s Novel Night on March 12th.

Tremendous Trifectas at Malvern Books

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We’ve been a very spoiled bookstore over the past few nights, with our lovely stage playing host to two trios of poetic perfection. On Friday night we welcomed poets Katy Chrisler, Stephanie Goehring, and Paula Cisewski. Katy’s poetry was greeted with a hearty howl from a young member of the audience (a howl of delight and anticipation, one assumes); Stephanie improved dramatically upon Craigslist Missed Connections during her reading; and Paula’s “The Clouds” gave us the best type of chills…

And this month’s Raw Paw reading was a little different… the Raw Paw crew are busy preparing a few new Mind Maze titles to release over the months ahead, so last night, rather than introducing a new chapbook, hosts Wade Martin and A.R Rogers introduced us to three wonderful poets instead: Carie Juettner, Tina Posner, and Jack Brannon… check out their brilliant readings below. And if you’re a fan of all things Paw, please note that from next month our Raw Paw events will be held on a Wednesday night.

Mind Maze: Postcard Habitats & More

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Ready for something Raw and a-maze-ing? Tuesday night at Malvern Books saw the return of the fantastic Raw Paw crew, who were debuting their fourth Mind Maze title: Postcard Habitats by Jonathan Lowell.

Mind Maze 4

Each monthly Mind Maze showcases twenty poems from one of Austin’s best poets… and is launched in fine style at Malvern Books (under the gaze of a somewhat suspicious pirate). This month’s poet, Jonathan (above, center), was joined on our stage by (from left to right) new hosts A.R. Rogers and Wade Martin, and fellow readers Jesse Bertron and Paula Starche.

Jonathan is a graduate student in Geography at UT Austin, who, fortunately for us, still finds time to write brilliant poetry. Here’s what he had to say about his new book:

Postcard Habitats grew out of pondering the relationships between movement and place: the pains and pleasures of each, the way our bodies and identities shift and change as we constantly remake our habitats in this world. For a while these poems were journeys, constantly in motion and swirling around me. Now that they are fixed and bound to a page, they are, for me at least, a place. I feel both pain and relief for that.

If you’d like to hear more from Jonathan, and enjoy poetry and prose from Jesse and Paula, check out the videos below (and for previous Raw Paw readings, have a browse of our Mind Maze playlist).

Raw Paw Returns

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The third time’s a charm for our Raw Paw reading series (although the first and second times were pretty great, too). On Tuesday night we were thrilled to welcome the Raw Paw team back for the launch of Ed Buffaloe’s Stuck in the Future, the latest title in their Mind Maze poetry series. (For those of you not familiar with Mind Maze, it’s Raw Paw’s fantastic new poetry imprint. They release a title every month, and each edition showcases twenty poems by one of Austin’s finest poets—all wrapped in a lovely screen-printed cover by Nicole Carleton.)

Raw Paw mingling

Raw Paw Crew

After some affable mingling, we got down to the business of book-launching. Ed Buffaloe (above, far right) was joined by (left to right) Wade Martin, Josh Boyd, MC David Jewell, and Jim Redmond. They treated the crowd to some splendid poetry—and you can see for yourself by checking out the videos below (there’s also footage from past Mind Maze launches on our YouTube channel). We’ll be back next month for more from the Paw… see you then!

The Raw Paw Debut

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Malvern Books is no stranger to fabulous reading series—Everything is Bigger returns on September 16th, and W. Joe’s Poetry Corner returns on September 24th—but we figured there’s room in our calendar for another recurring wingding! And so on Tuesday night we took great delight in hosting the inaugural Raw Paw Reading…

Raw Paw If you’re an Austin lit lover, you’re probably already familiar with Raw Paw. They describe themselves as “a digitally-educated, analog-obsessed media-mob brewing somewhere between counter-culture and pop culture.” They first set up shop as a zine in 2010, and have since expanded into a print and music publishing house.

Raw Paw’s well-attended Malvern debut was a celebration of something rather special: their new poetry imprint, Mind Maze. Each monthly Mind Maze will showcase twenty poems from one of Austin’s best poets (and come complete with a stylish screen-printed cover designed by Nicole Carleton). The first book of the series, Bluenote, features revered local poet David Jewell (pictured above). David was joined on our stage by five supremely gifted writers and future Mind Maze subjects: Ed Buffaloe, A.R., Jonathan Lowell, and Paula Mendoza. Hearty thanks to David and this talented quartet for kicking off the new series in such fine style! You can check out their readings below—and be sure to keep an eye on our calendar (and the Raw Paw Facebook page) for more details on the future return of Raw Paw!