So I've Had a Little Luck With Some Poems...

Over the last few months I’ve had more than a little good luck when it came to placing new poems into some great journals, some of which are old favorites and others are brand spankin’ new, literally the first issue ever in one case. There are a bunch more poetry publications coming soon, but I’ve added the more recent releases below and included links when applicable. The editors of these journals have my deepest thanks. It’s always an honor when someone else grabs your work out of a bustling inbox and says, “This is the one!” Or two, for that matter! And of course, my thanks to you for reading!

“A Splinter” now appears in Trampoline

“Picturesque” now appears in Viva Brevis

“Saint Michael” now appears in Book of Matches

“Both Ways Home” now appears in San Pedro River Review

“Ode to Madison Avenue at 6:15 PM" and "Topo-Chico” now appear in Day Job Journal

“And the party never ends” and “Riverwalk” now appear in The Rye Whiskey Review

“Wednesday Night South Main Avenue” and “May the Moon Shine On” now appear in Roadside Raven Review

New Poetry Collection Coming Soon from Gutter Snob Books

Later this year, probably late summer or early autumn, Gutter Snob Books is planning to release my next poetry collection, Proper Etiquette in the Slaughterhouse Line. It’s a chapbook focusing on work life and the office “grind” culture in modern America and how destructive it is, and as the poems go on the story evolves into a tale of our impending apocalyptic end as a human society and how even down to the very last minutes on the punch clock, the corporate machine churns on and spits us out like used cogs, replaced by bones and nuclear winter. So yeah, cheery uplifting stuff! But I’m thrilled editor Michele McDannold selected the collection for the Gutter Snob Books 2022 lineup, and I’ll post more details and the cover when it all comes together. Thanks very much, and stay tuned for even more publication news soon!

New Poem in Black Poppy Review

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!

New Poem in The Mantle, Issue 14

My poem “Fugue” now appears in The Mantle, Issue 14, alongside the works of Emily Scudder, Elise Houcek, Blue Nguyen, and other writers who are definitely worth checking out. It’s a small lineup but editor James Croal Jackson picked a great slate of folks, and I feel very fortune to appear alongside them. The poem itself is about the cyclical nature of life and fate, and what is lost will be found again, only to fade back into the night. I hope you enjoy!