Poetry

Five poems and ten vispo published in Otoliths 63

A new issue of Otoliths is always an event. The quarterly online literary and arts journal presents an encyclopedic cross section of current avant garde literary and visual experiments from a host of international contributors. It’s a one stop shop for a view of the contemporary experimental scene. Otoliths #63, the “Southern Spring issue” was released yesterday, and it is no exception. Essential reading and viewing.

I’m pleased to be represented in this issue with a selection of visual and text poems from my most recent work. There are ten pieces of vispo composed from a treasure trove of junk I found on the street over decades of scrounging. They can be viewed here. This series can be considered “junk asemic” visual poems, but I really need to come up with a better title for it. The text pieces are part of a large stash of my newest poetry, much more fragmentary in style. These include “If you’re there,” “What awesome was,” “told best,” “Nowhere and Whittaker,” and “recall this dimmer.” You read them here.

“Sea of Shadows” published in Rat’s Ass Review

Fresh off the digital press, the Winter 2021 issue of Rat’s Ass Review is once again full of great poetry. I’m pleased to be included once again with my poem “Sea of Shadows.” This piece is sort of “mermaid horror” in a darker and more formal style than I usually work in. You can read the full piece here. The pieces are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name.

“All the World’s an ATM” (featuring Ouija) published in Mad Swirl

My poem “All the World’s an ATM” appeared in the online lit journal Mad Swirl yesterday. Just in time for Halloween, the piece is part of a series featuring Ouija as a character, contemplating the world through the vagaries of language. You can read it here. I also have a poetry page on the Mad Swirl site which contains all my poems they’ve published.

“Tomb of a New Religion” and “Swimming to Shangri-La” published in BlazeVox

An “online journal of voice,” BlazeVox just published its Fall 2021 issue (being #21 in a series), featuring contemporary poetry, vispo, fiction and nonfiction. The issue includes two of my poems from the Civilization’s Lost series: “Tomb of a New Religion” and “Swimming to Shangri-La.” These are the last pieces from that series to be published. You can read them here.

“Tomb of a New Religion” is loosely based on a legend of the native people of Pohnpei, in Micronesia, which goes back to the time of the sunken city of Nan Madol. This island culture is known for megalithic constructions build from massive volcanic basalt columns.

“Milking an Elephant for Toothpaste in the Jungle” and one other poem published in Datura

A bilingual literary journal (texts in French or English) with outsider leanings, Datura just released its 12th issue today featuring poetry, rants, a book review, and interesting collages by Claudio Parentela. In France it’s available in print, online for rest of the world. The issue also includes two of my poems: “Milking an Elephant for Toothpaste in the Jungle” and “Sucking Soap on a Rope.” You can read them here.

“The Joys of Serf Culture” published in Mad Swirl

Mad Swirl is an online poetry and art journal based in Dallas, TX, showcasing lots of fun and funky writing and imagery. I’m pleased to be included again with my poem “The Joys of Serf Culture,” which was just released today. You can check it out here.

I’m also a contributing poet on the Mad Swirl site; you can find my page and the other poems they’ve published here.

“Asemic Epitaph” and three other poems published in Datura

Datura is a print and online literary journal “of deviant and defiant work” published in French and English. Datura issue 11, dated March 2021, was just released. Full contents below:

• Docteur Burz: editorial
• Jeff Bagato: Asemic Epitaph, March of the Antelops, Toothpast Comes to Town, and Lullaby for Ouija (poetry)
• Alain Lasverne: Adoption en cours (récit)
• John Tustin: Another Box, Dying in a Place, I Ease into my Seat, There will Never Be Peace upon the Streets of my Heart, and Wings Clipped (poetry)
• Stéphane Casenobe: CE QUI PERDURE POUR NOUS PERDRE, LA FACE INCONNAISSABLE DU JOUR, ET DEVIER LA MAIN QUI ECRIT !, SIGNE DE MAIN ET DEPART ?, TOUT M’EST DÛ CAR JE SUIS PAUVRE ! et DE LÁ J’HESITE ? (poésie)
• Christopher Barnes : What the Street Remembers 11 to 15 (poetry)
• Léonel Houssam: extrait de Notre République (roman)

I’m pleased to be represented with four poems: “Asemic Epitaph,” “March of the Antelopes,” “Toothpaste Comes to Town,” and “Lullabye for Ouija.” You can read them on Issu here.

“A Rattle of Hooves” and four other poems published in Synchronized Chaos

Online literary magazine Synchronized Chaos released its February issue yesterday, this one with the theme “Polish and Refine.” According to editor Christina Deptula, “This month, each of our many and varied contributors takes some sort of thought or experience and turns it over in their mind, rendering it into a piece of craft.” There’s a variety of interesting work here: poetry, visuals, short fiction.

I’m pleased to be included with five poems, which the editor notes exhibit “our human strength and nature’s resilience”: “Rattle of Hooves,” “The Dead No Longer Know,” “The Fuel That Silenced Suns,” “Towel Museum,” and “Backhoe Theory.” You can read them here.