First Days Slated for February Release

For Immediate Release Contact: Ray Zimmerman: znaturalist@gmail.com or (423) 315-0721 Contact Ray to order of autographed copies for delivery on the release date. Ray Zimmerman is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of his chap book First Days by Finishing Line Press of Georgetown, Kentucky. First Days tells the story of Coronary Bypass Surgery and recovery. It is a journey from sickness to health, and reentry into a world strangely transformed by the joy of healing. Finishing Line Press is now accepting advance orders with release scheduled for February 1, 2013. From the Back Cover Ray Zimmerman’s new chapbook chronicles the First Days during and after heart surgery. His short, tight poems capture the strange sense of anesthesia’s mystic time travel as he stares death in the face, that dark lady in his dreams. This darkness is offset by Zimmerman’s sense of humor about pain, financial and physical stress, as he returns to the sensory world of chickadees, roses, and even his neighbor’s cigarette smoke, a blessing. His strong connection to nature helps his injured heart heal with the certain knowledge that, though death will one day come, his “atoms will forever pulse through the earth” he loves. - Bill Brown, The News Inside After a fleeting dance with “the lady in black” who says she’ll be back for him at a later date (“Anesthesia”), Zimmerman approaches life after heart surgery with wit and determination. Aware that each moment alone could leave him defenseless and in need of help, he “slept with [his] door unlocked” (“First Days”). Tackling fear and depression, and the uncertainty of a body that failed, Zimmerman allows nature to heal and inspire him through his recovery. Despite emotional and spiritual turmoil, these poems are a testament to our ability as humans to endure. - KB Ballentine, Fragments of Light About Ray Zimmerman Ray is president of the Chattanooga Writers Guild and has previously served as board member, President, and Vice President. His performance poems, including “Sign” (AKA “Mercury”), “No Hair,””Madness,””A Special Place” and “Ham and Rye” have delighted audiences and won prizes in poetry slams. He is the executive editor of Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets from Ford, Falcon, and McNeil, publishers. Southern Light was the featured topic of a panel discussion at the Southern Festival of Books, Nashville, 2011 and recently received a favorable review in the literary magazine, 2nd and Church. Jeff Biggers, Associate Editor of the Bloomsbury Review, favorably reviewed Ray’s Chapbook, Searching for Cranes, in an end of year roundup article. Ray was the subject of a feature article in the September 2008 issue of Blush magazine. Order online at http://www.finishinglinepress.com click on “PREORDER FORTHCOMING TITLES link” or send check or money order to: Finishing Line Press Post Office Box 1626 Georgetown, KY 40324

Southern Light #1

Southern Light tops Local Author List http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Southern-Light/159959427392604 Winder Binder Gallery and Bookstore (Chattanooga, TN) lists Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets as its best selling book by a local author. Their lists of best selling books at their store. reflect only sales at Winder Binder, but could give you insight into what books Chattanoogans are buying. The lists are split into books by local authors, books about Chattanooga, and books by national authors. Other books by members of the Chattanooga Writers Guild appear on two of the lists..Monessa Guilfoil of WUTC radio has published the lists on her blog, http://monessasmontage.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/winder-binder-gallery-and-books-lists-its-top-ten-local-bestsellers/comment-page-1/#comment-14 Soouthern Light also received a great review in the most recent issue of 2nd and Church, Nashville's literary magazine. http://secondandchurch.typepad.com/2nd-church/welcome-to-2nd-church-where-writers-read.html Ford, Falcon and McNeil, publishers, released Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets in April of 2011. The book is a diverse collection of works by authors connected to the southern landscape. Each poet speaks, with a unique voice, of a land illuminated by the hot southern sun. Over 180 poems celebrate both regional traditions and life in the New South. Several contributing authors have publshed books since Southern Light was released in 2011, Southern Light includes poems by: Robert Morgan, Penny Dyer, Bill Brown, Bruce Majors, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Rebecca Cook, Ray Zimmerman, E. Smith Gilbert, Helga Kidder, K. B. Ballentine, Finn Bille, and Dan Powers. Ray Zimmerman served as Executive Editor, while Bruce Majors and Ed Lindberg also served on the editorial team. Humanities Tennessee selected Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets as the topic of a panel discussion at the Southern Festival of Books, Nashville, October 14-16, 2011. Approximately 20,000 people attend the annual festival to meet their favorite writers and become familiar with talented new writers. http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/festival/current.php The Southern Light reading and discussion took place Friday, October 14 at 12:00 noon in the old Supreme Court Room, Legislative Plaza. Panelists included Robert Morgan, Bill Brown, Penny Dyer, and Ray Zimmerman. Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets was also included in Summer Showcase, an exhibition at Poets House, NYC, throughout the month of July, 2011. At the conclusion of the exhibition, a copy was archived in the Poets House library and database. http://poetshouse.org/showcase.htm