My poem “Creatures Who Survived” now appears at the delightfully grim Black Poppy Review, which describes itself as a journal focusing on “dilapidated, mossy grounds…hidden paths and nooks which lead to words that linger and haunt--poems of abandonment, flora & fauna, folklore, ghosts, memories, nature, night, solitude, weathering, wonder, and the otherwise forgotten.” My piece certainly fits into that mold. It’s one of the post-apocalyptic poems I wrote pre-pandemic that I’m working into a future chapbook of similar pieces, so stay tuned for that. Thanks to Sandy Benitez for accepting this piece and for publishing such a cool review!
Strange Gods of the Prairie Anthology
The Gasconade Review puts out an annual poetry anthology (among many other individual collections) and this year they titled their anthology after one of the three poems of mine they selected for inclusion, “Strange Gods of the Prairie.” The other two poems they accepted are “A Dying Orchid on Fire” and “Two Chairs on the Front Patio,” and I’m thrilled to be included alongside the likes of John Dorsey, Linnet Phoenix, William Taylor Jr, Shawn Pavey, Zara Lisbon, Tim Heerdink, Holly Day, Ace Bogges, and many others. The cover art is pretty cool and you can find copies online for $15. It’s a big one so it’s worth your money. My thanks to the editors and congrats to all who made it into the anthology!
"Umbra" Now Appears in Pine Hills Review
My poem “Umbra” now appears in the always fantastic Pine Hills Review, the literary magazine of The College of Saint Rose, a small liberal arts college in my hometown of Albany, NY, and located just a few blocks away from where I’m typing this now. They’ve published a poem of mine before (“How to Watch John Ashbury Read Poetry”) and it’s always an honor. This new poem is from a series I wrote based on some of my favorite words and the connotations that come to mind with each, and they also have an audio version of the poem that I recorded for their site. I hope you enjoy!
Poetry Audiobooks Now Available at Bandcamp
Three of my poetry collections are now available in audiobook form at Bandcamp, including We Are All Terminal But This Exit Is Mine, Feral Kingdom, and my half of the split-collection Vacancy (the great Kevin Ridgeway wrote the other half). The files are available to stream for free at the site or on the Bandcamp app, and they’re only a few dollars each if you wish to download them. In the coming months I’ll be working to create and post more poetry audiobooks, then turn to my short story collections, and eventually longer fiction if people are interested in that too. Thanks for all of your support, and as always, signed copies of the books are always available. Just drop me a line!
A Review of Curtiz at Drunk Monkeys
Like many people, Casablanca is my favorite movie, but the story behind the film has just as much intrigue and suspense as the movie itself. The Hungarian film Curtiz (in English and available on Netflix) highlights the director Michael Curtiz and his struggle to get the movie made, and made correctly, while wresting his career and family from the grips of hyper-Americanism at home and fascism overseas. My 100 word review is now over at the fantastic film and literary website Drunk Monkeys, and you’ll find a few more of my reviews there too, mostly focusing on film noir. I hope you enjoy the review, and the film as well. Thanks!
Two Poems in New Dreamscape Anthology
Open Skies Quarterly is a print and digital journal that recently teamed up with Shrouded Eye Press to create a series of anthologies, and their most recent is called Dreamscape, in which all poetry touches on the themes of dreams, nightmares, daydreams, etc. The collection includes two of my poems, “The Ghosts of Flat Tires and Dead Flowers” and “The Cold Northern Edge of Your Rope.” The latter is somewhat apocalyptic and political while also being one of the more calming and peaceful poems I’ve written in a while. The former is about daydreaming in my living room and appears in my latest book, Beyond the Wounded Horizon, a split collection with J Lester Allen. You can download the Dreamscapes Anthology for free, or purchase a copy in print form. Thanks for reading!
"Derelict" in Redshift 4 Anthology
My poem “Derelict” now appears in the fourth edition of the Redshift anthology, published by Arroyo Seco Press. The publisher, Thomas R. Thomas, teamed up with guest editor and prolific L.A. poet Kevin Ridgeway to sift through all the submissions to put together the final lineup, which features an absolute landslide of fantastic poets, including a bunch I previously published in Hobo Camp Review. It was great to see so many familiar names, such as Rob Plath, John Dorsey, Wendy Rainey, Jennifer Lemming, Gabriel Ricard, Jason Ryberg, Jeanette Powers, Alexis Rhone Fancher, John Grochalski, William Taylor, Jr., and many many others. I had a great time reading through and seeing the works of so many writer aquaintences I admire, and I highly entourage you to give this collective a shot. The anthology is now available online. Thanks!
Coming Soon: Beyond the Wounded Horizon
Our impending split-book of poetry Beyond the Wounded Horizon, co-authored by myself and J Lester Allen, is important to me on so many levels. Not only does this collection contain some of my absolute favorites of our work, but I have wanted to publish Lester (as many of us knew him way back when) for years, ever since he worked so hard on my 2009 release Maybe A Bird Will Sing through his then publishing house Bird War Press. He added so many wonderful details to the now out-of-print book: special bands to hold together the bundles of saddle-stitched copies, bookmarks, stylized watermark art on the cover and back. I was so impressed and so grateful, and it feels like I fulfilled a bucket list item by attempting to return the favor in some small way with Beyond the Wounded Horizon, which should drop in early summer.
We met back in those heady days of MySpace when it felt like artists and poets could connect with so much more openness and ease, mostly because all our pages came with blogs, readily stocked with new work we could browse as we got to know each other. I met so many writers in that period that I still communicate with daily and weekly, but the camaraderie and connection I made with Joe (as many of us know him by these days) felt different. Even though we didn’t speak as often as I did with other writer friends, getting to catch up over a quick chat, a phone call, a beer at his place or on the road, it felt like talking to an old friend from another life, someone I didn’t need to impress or entertain, and each conversation was a comfort.
Some of the poems in this book speak to those moments of ease and fun (the cover photo is even from our first hangout at Bleecker Street Bar in NYC), and many more speak to that whole era of life when he and I were on the move, crossing the country on separate journeys, zig-zagging bars and highways all through California, Texas, NYC, the Midwest, and the small towns of Pennsylvania and western New York state. Some of the poems come from that chapbook of mine Joe published, and some come from a chap he released back in 2010 as well. But many poems are new, many are reflective, and there are poems that show where our separate journeys have taken us, to somewhat steadier lives where work and love and peace are still punctured by strangeness, by nights of music and nostalgia, and by an eagerness for more, more of the lives we left behind along those dark highways, but also more of the quiet goodness we’ve found along the way.
And we’re not finished, not in any sense, but I admit that this book is one I would be proud to leave as a capstone, a collection that combines the past and the present in such a meaningful way. But I’m sure it’s not the end. The itch to write, to hit the road, and to track down friends for another neon race through the bars and diners of some distant city will call once again, someday, but for now I’m very proud to offer you all this book of new and selected poetry, one we wrote in honor of those old days of burgeoning friendships and madness, and one that tips the hat to the many more nights of wonder to come. Thanks for all of your support over the years, and we hope you enjoy this book.
New Poem in the Spring Issue of Black Coffee Review
My poem “Phone Booth in Tujunga, CA” now appears in the Spring Issue of Black Coffee Review, alongside some excellent poets like Kevin Ridgeway, Alexis Rhone Fancher, Bunkong Tuon, Julianne King, and Alan Catlin, and many others. My thanks to David Taylor for accepting the piece and putting this issue together.
This poem is a throwback about a visit to California in my mid-20s, and the piece also appears in one of my recent poetry collections, Feral Kingdom (Kung Fu Treachery Press), which includes a number of poems from the last ten years or so that have to do with the time spent between “lives,” the gulf between those places and periods where things feel settled…until they’re not again. The book is available for $15 and supports not just myself but a great small press. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading this poem!
New Interview With Albany Poets
Last month, Rebecca Schumejda took a few minutes to interview me about one of my latest books (Feral Kingdom), my online literary journal Hobo Camp Review, my bookshop review blog The Bookshop Hunter, and other projects I have coming up with poets Kevin Ridgeway and J Lester Allen. The interview is now posted over at Albany Poets, the best website for finding out what’s going on in the literary world in upstate New York. They do a lot of great things for the community and I hope you’ll check them out. Thanks for reading!
New Story Published in Red Fez
My short story “The Poison and the Pain” now appears in the latest issue of Red Fez. The story is a mix of grit, desolation, and fantasy, and it originally appeared in my collection of stories called Nights Without Rain. This book has 50 short stories and is going for about $10 on Amazon. I’m happy the tale found a home at red Fez, which has been a big supporter of my work in the past, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks!
New Poem in San Pedro River Review
My poem “A Sunday Like This” now appears in San Pedro River Review’s latest issue, alongside the poetry of such writers as John Dorsey, Ann Howells, Kevin Ridgeway, Ken Meisel, Megan Merchant, Justin Hamm, and Mela Blust, among many, many others. This particular poem is one from a series of semi-apocalyptic poems I’m putting together for a small collection I’m hoping to shop around next year, and I’m glad this early piece found a home. San Pedro River Review is one of my favorite publications of all time run by the incredible Jeff and Tobi Alfier, and I haven’t taken a shot at submitting with them in a while, so I’m doubly honored to appear there once again. Thanks for reading and for your support!
New Essay in Blue Mountain Review
My essay “Giving Stray Poems a New Home” now appears in the Blue Mountain Review Issue 15, which includes poetry, fiction, essays, and interviews with such writers and artists as Tim Suermondt, Laura Page, Hope Jordan, Ashley Hamilton, Ellen Malphrus, Tim Gavin, and many others. The essay appears on page 68 and details how poets can compile older pieces that don’t have a home, pieces that may seem disparate at first, but putting them together, you may be able to find an unforeseen theme, and then refine them with fresh pieces to create something new, something I did to create my last poetry collection, Feral Kingdom (available from Kung Fu Treachery Press). My deepest thanks to the editors for letting me include the essay. I hope you enjoy!
"Feast" now appears at Winedrunk Sidewalk
My poem “Feast” recently appeared in the online journal Winedrunk Sidewalk, a blog that posts poetry, photos, and artwork about life under the 45th president. Not all of it is about 45; most focuses on the world and society in general over the last few years. They’ve published a few of my pieces in the past and this is a newer one that I’m including in a chapbook I’m putting together, which I’ll be shopping around soon. Thanks for reading, and be sure to send them your own work about your experiences of being “shipwrecked in Trumpland,” as Winedrunk editor John Grochalski puts it.
Feral Kingdom is Now Available
My latest collection of poetry, Feral Kingdom, is now available from Kung Fu Treachery Press, and you can find copies at either Barnes & Noble or at Amazon. A small number of signed copies will be available at future readings and free reviewer PDFs are always an email away, just ask! The collection features poems about that wild and lonely landscape between old lives that have fallen away and the new ones we have yet to find, a place of raw nerves and awkward nights, of bars drenched in neon and highways promising something better. There’s a feral kingdom out there, and all of us have to walk through it, live it, survive it, one way or another. For samples of the kind of poetry you’ll find within, check out “Spiders at Night” from Up The River, “West Texas Skyway” from Punch Drunk Press, or “My Ex’s Father” from Foliate Oak Literary Magazine. My deepest thanks to Kung Fu Treachery Press and to all of you for your support!
New Poetry Collection, Feral Kingdom, Coming Soon
My latest collection of poetry, Feral Kingdom, is coming soon from Kung Fu Treachery Press. The collection features poems abandoned and cut loose, crawling through the holes in the back fence, running beyond the town line, and disappearing down sprawling country roads into a world unknown. Between the lives we lead, the loves and jobs and homes we claim, there is a place of raw nerves and lonely nights, of bars drenched in neon and highways promising something better. There’s a feral kingdom out there, and all of us have to walk through it, live it, survive it, one way or another.
More details are on the way, including an exact release date and information about reviewer copies and PDFs. For samples of the kind of poetry you’ll find within, feel free to check out “Spiders at Night” from Up The River, “West Texas Skyway” from Punch Drunk Press, or “My Ex’s Father” from Foliate Oak Literary Magazine. But the collection will mostly feature unpublished poetry, and readings and signings will follow upon its release. Thanks for all of your support!
New Poem in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine
My poem “My Ex’s Father” now appears in the April 2019 edition of Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, an online journal published by University of Arkansas-Monticello. It’s an older poem that I recently unburied and revised, and to me the poem speaks to the idea that when we break up with someone, the greatest loss isn't always that person, but the others we no longer get to call a part of our circle. My Ex’s Father” will also appear in my upcoming poetry collection titled Feral Kingdom (from Kung Fu Treachery Press, date TBD) alongside other similar pieces, and I will post more details as soon as the book is available. Thanks for taking a look, and I appreciate all of your support over the years.
New Poem Posted in Trailer Park Quarterly, Volume 9
My poem “an unordered list of things that remain” is now up in Trailer Park Quarterly, Volume 9, a magazine I’m very fortunate to have appeared in before now and I’m extremely honored to be in there again. The issue features a bunch of other writers I respect, such as John Dorsey, Tobi Alfier, Kevin Ridgeway, Jason Ryberg, Wendy Rainey, and many others. This particular poem is about the passing of our family dog, Rocky, and it means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy it.
Coming Soon: Hobo Camp Review 10 Year Anniversary Anthology
I started Hobo Camp Review in 2009 thinking it would be a fun little project that might last a few years at most, a journal where I’d invite poets to a quiet little campfire in the remote corner of the internet to sit a spell, share some road stories, some dreams, some wonderments, little pieces of their own twisting narratives before heading back into the wilds of the universe. I imagined Steinbeck and McCullers, Plath and Kerouac, Li Po and Tom Waits all sitting around eating beans from a can while a train cried out in the far distance, and lo and behold, ten years passed at that fire.
So to celebrate all the wonderful poems and stories that passed through that literary hideaway, I’m creating a print edition of Hobo Camp Review that features a few of my favorite pieces from each issue we released between 2009 and 2019. Most of the selections in that span were mine, but I’d be a damn fool if I didn’t thank the wonderful Rachel Nix for her support and contributions over the last couple years, and also David M Morton for his writings and brainstorming sessions during his time by the fire before wandering off into the wild blue yonder. Here’s a toast to both of you, and to all who submitted work to us over the years.
The issue will come out in early 2019 (date TBD) as a print book (and possible digital version). All proceeds will go to The Food Pantries for the Capital District, a coalition of 50+ food pantries throughout my hometown of Albany and surrounding counties. So if you buy a copy (and I’ll make them as cheap as I can), you’ll be helping someone put hot food on their table, a yearning dream shared by every hobo traversing alongside the railroad tracks on a sunny afternoon while looking for work, rest, and a little home-cooked meal.
So who’s going to appear in the issue? I rummaged through our archives and picked poems and stories that still resonated with me and spurred a little of the eager-to-ramble magic, but just because your work didn’t appear here doesn’t mean it’s not worthy. If you made the cut at one point, you’re in the hobo family for good, but these are the ones that I felt wove the ten-year story I wanted to tell in this anthology. Thank you all.
The issue will include work by (alpha by first name!) and we might have readings planned later in 2019, so stay tuned:
Adam Perkins, Ally Malinenko, Amy Blair, Ann Howells, Anney E.J. Ryan, April Michelle Bratten, Bud Smith, Charles Clifford Brooks III, Charles O'Hay, Corey Mesler, David M Morton, Dena Rash Guzman, Destini Vaile, Don Thompson, Doug Draime, Edward Ferri, Jr., Faith Mingus, Frank Reardon, Glen Armstrong, Gloria Keeley, Hasan Jamal, Hillary Leftwich, Holly Day, Holly Holt, J.C.D. Kerwin, Jack Henry, James H Duncan, James Murdock, Jason Ryberg, Jeffrey Alfier, Jessica Dawson, Jessica Mehta, John Tustin, Joseph Jengehino, Josh Fernandez, Joshua Ryan Wood, Kami, Kate Garrett, Kathleen Sparks, Kathryn Staublin, Kevin Ridgeway, Knar Gavin, L.L. Jacobson, Lark Beltran, Lee Ann Pingle, Lili-Leader Williams, Maria Pascauly, Mary Shanley, Mathew Borczon, Mikey Sivak, Orooj-E-Zafar, Peycho Kanev, Puma Perl, R.M. Engelhardt, Rachel Nix, Raina Masters, Rebecca Kokitus, Rebecca Schumejda, Rhiannon Thorne, Rob Plath, Rogan Kelly, Sam Slaughter, Sarah Warren, Scot Young, Scott Blackwell, Seth Murray, Shahé Mankerian, Sheikha A., Siham Karami, Stan Galloway, Suzanne Allen, Taylor Copeland, Tempest Brew, Tobi Alfier, Tom Montag, Valentina Cano, Vivian Demuth, Wanda Marrow Clevenger, Wilna Panagos, Yossarian Hunter
"Widow's Watch" now appears at Lonesome October Lit
My short story, “Widow’s Watch,” now appears at one of my all-time favorite online journals, Lonesome October Lit. I’m honored that they chose my story to cap their 2018 run of fantastic eerie tales and poetry, and I assure you that a deep read through their archives will not disappoint fans of the macabre and the spooky. This story of mine, which involves a trek through a forest to an abandoned seaside estate where things are not as they seem to be and escape may not be as easy as one hopes, also appears in my latest collection of flash fiction stories, Nights Without Rain, which you can find at Amazon or order direct through me. Thank you very much for all of your support in 2018, and I hope you enjoy this spooky story!