poems

New work in Otoliths #69: text, asemic vispo, asemic video

The penultimate issue of Otoliths was released over the weekend; this one is number 69 for Southern Autumn 2023. As usual, it ranges widely across a variety of literary and artistic genres and hybrids from a huge cast of international contributors. One can but go to the contents page and begin selecting works to view for an encyclopedic snapshot of the artistic “avant garde.”

I’m pleased to be represented in this issue with text, vispo and video works. The five text pieces include: “Is It Ever This,” “untitled [better the day of/tomorrow],” “In case of,” “issue tote,” and “Past Ratchet.” The vispo are still images pulled from a video I made a few weeks ago, called “Hieroglyphic Avalanche,” because that’s pretty much what you get: a moving script of asemic ideograms or hieroglyphs rushing by in relentlessly kaleidoscopic neon metamorphosis. There are 20 stills pulled to demonstrate some of the individual characters.

My goal with recent video work has been to create works with asemic images and soundtracks that use “asemic vocalizations.” I had wanted to do a long form piece, and at just over 17 minutes, “Hieroglyphic Avalanche” gets the job done on all counts. (I must apologize if YouTube includes advertisements before and during playback; that’s not by my choice, I don’t know why they are there, and I’m receiving no remuneration for these intrusions.)

You can check out my text pieces here. The vispo and video link can be found here.

New work published in Otoliths #68: 5 text pieces, 5 vispo, 1 video

Otoliths #68, the Southern Summer 2023 issue, was released today. As always, crammed with text, vispo, mixed media and unclassifiable works from across the international literary avant garde. Follow the linked text to the contents for full details. Hours of great reading/viewing.

I’m pleased to be represented in this issue by an array of work, including five text pieces from my most recent explorations, plus the short asemic video “Codex Null” and five still images taken from the video. You can check out the poems here, and the vispo here. The poems are “Bird Lessons,” “Magnified Channels,” “leak allusion,” “more so,” and “Later Mages.”

“Hold This Moment in Stone” published in the Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume IX: Virginia

I’m very pleased to be part of the Virginia focused issue of The Southern Poetry Anthology (Volume IX in a series), which includes poets from across the state. My poem “Hold This Moment in Stone” was selected almost two years ago (back when I was still a resident in my native state) to be part of the book. So it’s been a long wait! The anthology is available in print and ebook versions. Publication and ordering info here. (Also available on Amazon, etc.)

According to the back cover blurb, ‘This collection includes well-known, established, and celebrated poets such as Charles Wright, Claudia Emerson, Gregory Orr, Ellen Bryant Voigt, R. T. Smith, Forrest Gander, and Rita Dove, and the editors have dedicated equal focus on newer, diverse poets who continue to broaden and enrich the literary legacy of this beautiful state.” Although I’m not familiar with most of those “well-known” poets, I was happy to see my friends Mel Nichols and Rod Smith represented with generous samplings of their work.

“Hold This Moment in Stone” is part of my “Civilization’s Lost” series, and ironically it was one of the last of those pieces to be published. After I sent it to the Southern Poetry Anthology, Futures Trading accepted it–although editor Caleb Puckett suggested an edit, saying the poem “has a lot of potential. However, it does feel slightly rambling–like it could use a tighter focus as you move from stanza to stanza.” So I did change one stanza, the second to the last one on the page above, and he took it. The Southern Poetry Anthology was open to previously published work, so this wasn’t a problem. But I never changed the version I sent to the anthology, and they took it as is! I kind of think the poem is stronger with the edit, but it goes to show you never know what editors will like or dislike about a piece. You can read the edited version in Futures Trading here. No matter what, I’m pleased that two places accepted the work, and I think both versions work well. When it comes time to publishing the “Civilization’s Lost” series as a book, I’m not sure which version of the poem I’ll use.

Ten asemic video stills, asemic music video, and five text pieces published in Otoliths 67

Otoliths #67, the Southern Spring 2022 issue, dropped on October 31 just in time for Halloween. Puns about the issue being filled with both tricks and treats aside, it’s another encyclopedic view of the international literary avant garde with visual poetry, art work, text pieces, essays and hybrid forms from around the world. Check out the contents here.

I’m pleased to be represented by a selection of visual and text pieces, including an asemic video called “Silent Letters,” which includes some of my original experimental electronic music, and ten stills from the video. These are asemic vispo in themselves. Five text pieces of recent vintage round off my contributions: “Glass Ladder,” “Game On,” “What We Did,” “din dings,” and “those who repeat it.” You can check out the vispo here and the text works here.

Ten asemic junk vispo and five text poems published in Otoliths #66

The Southern Winter 2022 issue of Otoliths was released today, being #66 and including the usually encyclopedic assortment of avant gardists and work in a variety of modes including text, visual, and hybrid. I’m pleased to be represented once again with a selection of ten works of asemic vispo composed of junk I accumulated over decades of collecting from the street and other random places. Also five poems from the most recent batch of pieces, which have been fermenting for a while. You can check out the vispo here and the text work here.

Poem and asemic vispo published in Otoliths #65

Otoliths issue #65, dated Southern Autumn 2022, was recently released. This issue marks the beginning of the seventeenth year of the journal’s existence! As usual, it contains a mix of — sometimes mixed — photographs, paintings, short stories, poetry, interviews, magazine columns, & manifestos from an international contributor list, reading like a who’s who of the literary avant garde. Check the contents link above to scan the full range of writers and artists in this issue.

I’m pleased to be represented in this issue with text and visual works. First, a poem entitled “Going Golden,” which continues a radical strain of my experiments with anticipating the dialog innovations of Artificial Intelligence transaction units. Second, a set of asemic vispo made with pieces of junk found on sidewalks and streets over many years. Check out the poem here, and the vispo here.

“Maker Taker Quaker” published in Var(2x)

Var(2x) is an online literary magazine for “extreme experimentalism” that always lives up to its stated intent. Editors Daniel Harris and Irene Koronas seek to publish the “elite of the elite” in experimental writing; this journal doesn’t just define the cutting edge, the texts usually go way over that edge for a good close look at the abyss of text and visual poetry and other language related hybrids.

I’m very pleased to make a second appearance in the journal with a text poem (?) called “Maker Taker Quaker.” This piece came out of my explorations of speculative languages that could potentially be developed by AI units. The text proceeds by triads of imaginary and real words with similar rhyming constructions and sometimes alliterative qualities. Is it a love song, a transaction, a spell, a negotiation? Only the AIs of the future will know.

The video still illustrating the piece is also my work.

You can read the text here.

“Joys of Serf Culture” published in the “Best of Mad Swirl 2021” anthology

Online lit journal Mad Swirl has published a “best of” issue for the past five years; the volume for 2021 was just released and is now available in print on Amazon. I’m very pleased to be included with my poem “The Joys of Serf Culture,” which appeared in the journal last April.

Here’s the book hype direct from Mad Swirl editor Johnny Olson:

“2021 has been yet another extraordinarily challenging year. Thru it all, Mad Swirl was there, every one of the 365 days of this twisted year. We didn’t miss a beat. Those beats are what you’ll get when you dig into this year’s collection. Get your firsthand view of one helluva of a f*cking year. The Best of Mad Swirl : v2021 is a 107-page anthology featuring 52 poets, 12 short fiction writers, and four artists hailing from 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, & North America); 15 countries (Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Montenegro, Nigeria, Romania, Singapore, Syria, & USA [20 States]). We editors reviewed the entire year’s output to ensure this collection is truly “the best” of MadSwirl.com! The works represent diverse voices and vantages which speak to all aspects of this crazy swirl we call ‘life on earth.’

“Mad Swirl is an arts and literature creative outlet. It is a platform, a showcase, and a stage for artistic expression in this mad, mad world of ours; a diverse collection of as many poets, artists, and writers we can gather from around the world; from Nepal to Ireland, from England to China, from California to New York City and all the places in between. Our Poetry Forum features works from over 170 contributing poets, our Short Story Library has over 40 participating writers and our Mad Gallery has over 50 resident artists.”

Contributors include: Artists: J Gregory Cisneros, Alan Murphy, Thomas Riesner, Bleak Teeth

Poets: Jeff Bagato, Tohm Bakelas, Jon Bennett, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Jean Biegun, Jean Bohuslav, Casey Bush, Laurie Byro, PW Covington, John Dorroh, J.K. Durick, Michael Estabrook Joseph Farley, Robert Fleming, Susie Gharib, Iulia Gherghei, KJ Hannah Greenberg, John Grey, Paul Hostovsky, Ojo Victoria Ilemobayo, Mike James, Ivan Jenson, Sally Jo, Ferris Jones, Carl Kavadlo, Vyarka Kozareva, Padmini Krishnan, Tyler Malone, Robert L. Martin, Tom Montag, Ian Mullins, Madelyn Olson, Johnny Olson, Brittany M. Ortega, Irena Pasvinter, Patty Dickson Pieczka, Timothy Pilgrim,, Randall Rogers, Madu Chibueze Romanus, Sreemani Sengupta, Beate Sigriddaughter, Susandale, David Susswein, Rp Verlaine, Isaiah Vianese, Agnes Vojta, Trier Ward, Richard Weaver, Stefan White, Stephen Jarrell Williams, Catherine Zickgraf, Milenko Županović

Fiction: Jim Bates, Glenn Bresciani, Mike Fiorito, Susie Gharib, Jeff Grimshaw, Prapti Gupta, Flora Jardine, James Lawless, Edward N. McConnell, Vivek Nath Mishra, Randall Rogers, Chuck Taylor

Guest reading on David Craig and Willard Simmons’ poetry & music album Blame it on the Gamma Ray

My friends David Craig and Willard Simmons produced an album of poetry and music, called Blame it on the Gamma Ray, which is now available on Bandcamp. There will be a tape version as well available from Unread Records of Omaha, NE. David wrote and read the poems, and Will performed the backing tracks. I have a guest appearance in the middle of the track “Wild Sudafed Head,” where I read my poem “Hot Dogs Can’t Sing.” Knowing these guys’ work as solo artists and in other musical projects (some of which I’ve been part of), I knew this would be a fun project, and hearing the whole thing confirms this. You can preview this track, and even listen to the whole album (or buy it!) here.