As a kid, I never imagined that I'd author an actual book so it comes as somewhat of a surprise to find that I've got five to my credit -- four from the last six years. The first, Publick Spanking, was published years ago by Future Tense in Portland, Oregon. 1996, to be exact. I think it was a modest batch of maybe 500 copies. But I have no idea as to how many copies have been printed of my subsequent books. What I do know is how many libraries are carrying each, thanks to the website WorldCat, an online catalog that aggregates the holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide. Because of WorldCat, I now know there's a copy of Infinity Standing Up at the Zentralbibliothek in Zurich, Switzerland and a copy of You're Pretty Gay at the University of British Columbia Library in Vancouver, Canada. As you might rightly assume though most of my books are at U.S. libraries. Here's a breakdown of how many libraries carry each book according to WorldCat as of January 2025.
Fassbinder: His Movies, My Poems (2024): 12 libraries
Periodic Boyfriends (2023): 54 libraries
You're Pretty Gay (2021): 54 libraries
Infinity Standing Up (2019): 77 libraries
Publick Spanking (1996): 16 libraries
Additionally, three libraries even carry my self-published chapbook Untitled and Other Poems which came out in 1994. For the record, I'm not especially alarmed at the drop in copies between my two most recent books. WorldCat takes awhile to update its records and libraries take awhile to acquire new titles. Is the library near you carrying any books of mine? Do tell!
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