Poet, Writer, Editor, Bookshop Reviewer
My poem "Slaves of Some Strange God" now appears in Yellow Chair Review #4 alongside some excellent work by the likes of Alan Britt, Lisa M. Cole, Howie Good, Cathy Porter, Randi Ward, and many others. My thanks goes to Sarah Frances Moran and the staff over at Yellow Chair Review for accepting this poem, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Thanks for reading!
"Berlin Night" by Mia Avramut
My poem "Exposed Brick in Candlelight" now appears in the new issue of Up The Staircase Quarterly, an excellent collection of poetry, art, and book reviews. Editor April Michelle Bratten always puts together a beautiful menagerie of artists and writers, and I feel very lucky to be included in yet another issue. I'm especially lucky to have my poetry paired with the wonderful artistry of Mia Avramut, who created a piece titled "Berlin Night" -- a beautiful pairing, as I wrote the poem in Berlin! Thanks for taking a look at my poem, and consider submitting your own work!
My poem "Poetry Boneyard" now appears in Revolution John as part of an end-of-month feature from guest editor Savannah Sipple. I'm really excited to be part of a feature that contains work from some fantastic writers, including Ally Malinenko, John Swain, Howie Good, and more. Take a look, and consider sending Revolution John some of your own work!
My new poetry chapbook Berlin (from Maverick Duck Press) is flying out the door, and I thought I'd throw up a sample poem for anyone who would like to see what the chap is all about. The poems were all written during a week in Berlin, Germany in 2010 and contain plenty of noir sentiments: streelamps, trains, sidewalks, corner cafes, nighttime skylines, hotel ghosts, and more. You can order copies for $6 via the publisher or by emailing me at jhdwriting@hotmail.com. If you already own a copy, you can leave a review and rating at Goodreads.com. Thanks!
Six to the End
out go the lights
six to the end like empty chambers
of a smoking gun dead
broken heels running in the night
up the wet street, up the wet sky
blonde hair gracing the face of the moon
every dream has a hole
and every hole pours red hope
into pools of abrupt sermon songs
there isn’t a street without a crack
and there isn’t woman without a spine
to hold up her coat, or feathered summation
the women, they reload quick
and then men, they hurry for knives
every villain eager for a hero
every heart beaten to a pulp
and the empty shells slip from the gun
clatter onto the glass table
roll across Venetian blinds like mice
in the alleys there are tigers
in Macau there are fires
in morgues there are long dreams of masculine fear
all down the potter’s lane, cemeteries in a row
six to the end like waiting chambers
six to the end like autumn lovers gone
My new road poem "Men of Karma" now appears at Carcinogenic Poetry, an online literary journal that has published some of my favorite poems over the years. A big thank you goes to editor Michael Aaron Casares for accepting the piece!
My new poetry chapbook Berlin is inching closer to its release in early December, and Kendall A. Bell, the editor over at Maverick Duck Press, sent me the cover image last night, and here it is (both front and back are seen here):
I'm really impressed, and a major thank you goes to artist Ryan W. Bradley for putting it together, as well as to the entire staff at MDP for all their work. I can't wait for the book release reading on Dec. 5th at the Daily Grind Coffee Shop in Mount Holly, NJ. All are welcome to come along and join the open mic portion, or just hang out and listen, and I'll be reading from Berlin and some other books as well. I'll post details on where you can purchase a copy of Berlin as soon as I can. Until then, thanks for the support!
I have so many new writing updates that I'll present them to you in lightning-round format. Ready? Let's go!
1. What Lies In Wait will be the title of my upcoming collection of short stories, and I'm aiming for a mid-2015 release. I'm extremely happy that all fifteen stories are now finished, or finished enough for beta readers to finally give them a look. There's still tweaking and proofing to do, but the final lineup is set and it feels like a relief. All fifteen tales share elements of apprehension, fear, and a challenge to face, whether it's something out there in the dark or something within that must be put down. Half are straight-up horror, while others blend mystery, noir, and survival tropes into tales that fall between literary and genre-driven stories. I'm looking forward to feedback, and I'm always open to new test readers!
Read More
My poem “Ties” is slated to appear in the Fall/Winter issue of The Aurorean, due out in just a couple of weeks, but you can pre-order a copy for just $11 at their website right now. The Aurorean is an excellent literary journal out of New England and I’ve had the pleasure of appearing in a few of their other issues, as well as in their Favorites from the First Fifteen Years anthology, which was a finalist in the 2013 Maine Literary Awards. Pick up a copy of the upcoming issue if you have the chance and be sure to look for my poem "Ties." Many thanks to editors Cynthia Brackett-Vincent and Devin McGuire for including my work!
Two of my poems, "Flood" and "Nothing and You," now appear in Issue 7 of Work to a Calm, a striking little literary journal that is carving a nice home for itself online. If you haven't heard of it, please do check it out; it will be worth your while. Editor Nastia Lenkova has a keen eye for quality work, and I'm not just saying that because I've had a few of my own pieces in there over the years. If you like what you see there, consider my New & Selected collection of poetry, Dealing With the Devil in the Middle of the Road. The poems of mine that now appear in Work to a Calm were written during the same period as this book, and I still have signed copies available. You can also find links to purchase the book online in the Books section above. Thanks to Nastia for selecting my work, and thanks to you for reading!
My poem "Burning in the Freeze" now appears in Riverbabble #25. The poem was written during my final month in Beacon, NY, about a walk home from the local pub during the still of a chilly winter night. There are a number of other poets and writers worth checking out in this issue, including Bill Gainer, John Swain, Felice Aull, John Oliver Simon, and others. Thanks for taking a look!
My poems "Assurance," "Last Appointment of the Day," and "Three Bookmarks" now appear in Kleft Jaw #5, and I'd like to thank the staff over there for including my work for the third time. They're a real wild rumpus of a publication, and as they put it, "There is a magna-force of possibility teeming inside all of us, and that’s why we exist - to invoke the transcendental realist spirit in contemporary writing - to establish a new aesthetic, to make words dangerous again." I'm proud as hell to be a part of it.
My poem "Seasick on 46th" now appears as the 'Poem of the Week' at The Bicycle Review. It's a huge honor as they've featured quite a lot of poets I admire and read. The poem also appears in my section of Lantern Lit, Vol. 1, a split-author chapbook of poetry that also features Mat Gould and John Dorsey from Dog On A Chain Press. Copies are still available at the publishers website (he even has copies that all three authors have signed!), and I think "Seasick on 46th" offers a great sample of what you can find inside. Take a look at "Seasick…" if you get the chance. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for all of your support!
Lantern Lit, Vol. 1, which features my mini-chapbook "The Darkest Bomb," as well as the poetry of John Dorsey and Mat Gould, is now available at Powell's Books in Portland, OR. If you're in PDX, stop in and ask for it. If not, you can order it via their website. The book is also available in Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago, IL and Kulcher: Text, Art, and News in Cleveland, OH. And it's always available via the publisher, Dog On A Chain Press. Thanks for all of your support!!
** Update: It seems the book already sold out at Powell's. Granted there weren't a ton of copies, but still, that's great. The Publisher is planning to send more, but in the meanwhile you can still order the book from the publisher (link above) or try the other stores listed. Thanks! **
I'm very excited to announce that my chapbook of new poetry, Berlin, was just accepted by Maverick Duck Press, a great small press dedicated to featuring, as they put it, "cutting edge talent with an eye for detail and a powerful voice." This will be a limited-run printing, and as soon as I have a release date I'll let you all know. Between this new collection and the currently available Lantern Lit, Vol. 1, which features my mini-chapbook The Darkest Bomb, I'll have to get myself out the door to some readings this year, and I'll post details about that as well. But for now, a big thank you goes out to MDP editors Kendall Bell, Kayla Marie Middlebrook, and Bronwyn Haynes, the magnificent city of Berlin, and Marguerite Gisele for walking me down the cobblestone, lamplit streets and for helping me order beer at The Nordwind! And a thanks goes out to all of you for your support and for reading my work. It's deeply appreciated.
I'd like to thank Thick With Conviction editor Danielle Masters for nominating my work, "The Young of Stray Dogs," for the 'Best of the Net' award. Poems selected by the 'Best of the Net' committee appear in their annual anthology (produced by Sundress Publications). I've received a couple of nominations in the past, but not since my attention has shifted more toward fiction in the last couple of years, so this is much appreciated.