I just heard from my old friend Paul Perry from my U. of Miami days. Paul has a new baby, Bláithín, and in November he had a new collection of poetry, The Orchid Keeper, out with Dedalus Press. You can hear Paul reading some of the poems from the collection here.

Another U. of Miami pal, Les Kay, edits the excellent newish journal Ward 6 Review.

And I’ve been wondering for years about Aina Abiodun. The delectable Aina left U of M. to pursue a film career. A quick search just now of IMDB revealed that she’s currently working on a film called Fast Company, directed by Christopher Mason Johnson and scheduled for release in 2007. In 2006 she produced La Primavera, and in 2004 she directed the short film Seventy-Seven Below.

Others in my MFA class at U of M included Terrence Cheng, who wrote the very well-received novel Sons of Heaven, and Allison Eir Jenks, author of the poetry collection Palace of Bones.

The director of the program while I was there was John Balaban, whose most recent book, Path Crooked Path, received a starred review from Booklist, among other accolades.