Just got the new issue of Chiron Review, #118 Spring 2020, in the mail, a bit in advance of the official release date. Lots of great work in this print-only poetry journal, one of the best of its kind remaining in the under-the-mainstream scene. I’m very pleased to be included with one of my poems, “Reaching for the Sun.” It’s another installment in a series about an imaginary relationship between the narrator and a woman named Billie. You can purchase copies of the issue from the Chiron Review website when it’s released.
literary journals
“Keeping It Forever” and “Holding On Tight” published in Rat’s Ass Review
Online poetry journal Rat’s Ass Review just released its Summer 2020 issue, crammed with loads of great poetry, much with that straightforward, real life focus found in the best outlaw work. I’m pleased to be represented with two poems, “Keeping It Forever” and “Holding On Tight.” These pieces are from a series about an imaginary relationship between the narrator and a girl named Billie. You can read the complete issue here.
Ten visual poems published in Utsanga
The new issue of Utsanga (#23, March 2020) was released today, packed with visual poetry, asemic writing, text work and poetics to help us while away the quarantined hours. It’s one of the the major journals documenting the international literary avant garde, and a quick glance of this one reveals interesting work by John Bennett/Texas Fontanella, Mark Young, Judith Pauly-Bender, Axel Calatayud, Francesco Aprile…well, it will take a while to check it all out. I’m pleased that the issue includes ten of my visual poems from a series incorporating tape samples (from Chinese newspapers) and asemic writing. You can check it out here.
“Feeding the Worms” published in Mad Swirl
It’s great to have a new poem in online lit journal Mad Swirl. This one’s called “Feeding the Worms.” You can read it here.
“The Kiss of Fog” published in Autumn House Journal
Very pleased to be part of Autumn House Journal with a prose poem called “The Kiss of Fog.” This poetry blog has closed.
“The Popcorn Saga” and two other poems published in Unlikely Stories
Very pleased to be back in Unlikely Stories today with three poems: “The Popcorn Saga,” “A Simple Shelter from the Gaze,” and “The Car Chase Comes Too Soon.” You can read them here.
“The Spider That Laughed at the Sea” short story published in Danse Macabre du Jour
Danse Macabre du Jour posts dark and atmospheric fiction and poetry on a daily basis as an adjunct to the periodical Danse Macabre. I’m very pleased that my short science fiction story “The Spider That Laughed at the Sea” appeared today. You can read it here.
In the story, a dysfunctional family lands on an unfamiliar planet, hoping to find a suitable place to set up a home. Their search for food leads them to a a cluster of giant spiders on the beach of a milk white sea. Lured by the temporary paradise they find there, the family becomes part of their new world.
“A Bleeding Screen of Need” and two other poems published in Synchronized Chaos
Online poetry issue just released its first issue of 2020 on New Year’s Day, including a wide variety of work centered on the theme of “Co-evolution and Adaptation.” Three of my poems appear in this one: “A Bleeding Screen of Need,” “The Pieces Fail to Fit,” and “Salamander Tides.”
The editor wrote a nice introduction to the pieces, noting: “In Jeff Bagato’s poetry, speakers resist oblivion in various ways: creating digital identities, building objects as a distraction, even lashing together sticks to form a raft in a rushing current.” You can read the poems here.
4 vispo published in Word For/Word
An online journal for experimental writing and visuals, Word For/Word has emerged with snazzy new site design for its Winter 2020 issue, number 34. Big contributor’s list with many familiar names from across the international avant garde (see above). You can view the issue here.
It’s great to be part of this one with four visual poems I created by “sampling” newspapers with cellophane tape. My favorite of that whole batch is the one in the image above. My contributions can be viewed here.
Four Gonch poems published in X-Peri
X-Peri is an online blogozine for “high experimentalism,” which seems to mean really deep space language play judging by previous installments. I’m pleased to be part of it with the journal’s last post of the year, published yesterday, Dec 23. There are four poems written in “gonch” language, which means words composed from the letters of the phrase “all gonch”: “Chac Ghanagan Colhaggach Angacalla,” “Ocanongna,” “Anga Hagna Cagacna,” and “Nallanach Choc Hanol.” Plus one image from the Gonchlog made from letters drawn from some old issue of Rhapsody magazine. You can check it all out here.