Dear Friends, I am excited to announce that my new poetry collection, Death at the Mall, has just been published by Kelsay Books. For me, it represents a milestone in my poetic journey. It features 54 all new poems as well as 16 poems selected from my four previous books. Not only is this my […]
Death at the Mall: New and Selected Poems Read More »
My poem “Imaginary Garden” has just been published in New Myths Magazine Issue #67 https://sites.google.com/newmyths.com/newmythscomissue67b/issue-67-stories/imaginary-garden It has also been nominated for a Readers Choice Award. If you go to the home page (https://sites.google.com/newmyths.com/newmyths-com-home/home-page) you can read and rank the nominated poems and stories.
It is very unusual for a literary journal to publish a previously published poem, especially one that has appeared in another journal. I am honored to appear here in Tipton Poetry Journal (see page 20). https://issuu.com/tiptonpoetryjournal/docs/tpj59 This poem, by the way, is from my second poetry collection, The Museum of Unwearable Shoes.
After Hearing the Young Black Poet Read More »
While the world does seem like it’s going to hell, here’s a fun video I made when I published my young adult novel, My Vacation in Hell. It’s a sequel to The Family That Wasn’t, in which John, a sexual abuse victim and frequent flyer of his imagination, must find a way out of the
A Young Man’s Journey Through Hell Read More »
We walk there to escape the heator the pall of ourcoffined lives. We are a rag-tag lot,from the lithe, pony-tailed womanwho waves as she whizzes past me, to seniors with walkers and trekking poles,stepping cautiously towardwhatever future awaits, big families sprawled across the aisles,briefly trying to hold it all togetheragainst the forces spinning them apart,
I will be offering a free writing workshop on Friday, Jan. 26, from 2-3 PM, at Woods Memorial Library in Tucson. https://pima.bibliocommons.com/events/6579f6a5eb28943d007bd4ef Make writing come alive with this interactive PowerPoint presentation of selected short readings accompanied by illustrations and a discussion of the creative writing and publishing process. Fables are one of the oldest kinds
about the death of an old dogdying alone by the side of a road,growling softly as he thinks ofthat calico cat he so despisedand loved to chase,remembering the last stroke behind his earsby the homeless old womanwho lived in the underpass. My chatbot muse pauses briefly,then out pours a poemabout a quantum poochwho exists in
“Poet Gene Twaronite knows that words are powerful stuff. They can shape our experiences and relationships in ways we can’t predict—until adventure strikes. John Bazukas-O’Rielly-Geronimo-Li Choy- Echeverria, or B.O.G.G.L.E. for short, has a problematic family. If home is where the heart is, he wants a new home… and soon. It’s not easy having a Venusian
Advance Reviews for The Family That Wasn’t Read More »
The Burping Seal A lone Tupperware with sky blue lid, it lives on in my kitchen, a reminderof all it once held—loving leftovers of Mom’s greasy kugel or kielbasa,mincemeat cookies, coleslaw or apple pie. Its skin is worn soft from fifty yearsof washing and handling. Back and forthit went from her place to mine. I
I’ve decided to reissue my book The Family That Wasn’t (originally published in 2010) in a revised edition. Though I’ve tweaked the text a bit, it’s still the same great story. Originally I set out to write a short novel that would appeal to middle grade readers. All the wonderful comments I’ve received over the
I stare at the photographof a bare-chested 18-year-oldtrying to look brutish,crouching as ifready to pounce,projecting his masculinitylest the image fade. Our cells are no longer the same,but he still lives inside me,staring out fromhis secret chamber,where in one corneris a small tablewhere he praysand gazes upwardat Jesus in agony—a votive candle flickers. What would we
The Pima County Library asked me to write about my experience as a Writer in Residence. The three months went by all too fast, and I found it deeply rewarding though exhausting. And I was inspired by the many local writers I met who shared their precious work and dreams with me. Here’s my post
A Life From Writing Read More »
My two poems “Murdered” and “Could Be Lovely” were just published in Tipton Poetry Journal Issue #56 (Spring 2023). You can read them here (pages 4-5). https://issuu.com/tiptonpoetryjournal/docs/tpj56 Here I’ve used an Albert Bierstadt painting for the backdrop of “Could Be Lovely,”
I will be leading a free workshop on “Demystifying Poetry” as part of my Writer in Residence for Pima County Public Library, on Wednesday, June 7, from 2-3:30 PM, at Dusenberry-River Library in Tucson.(https://pima.bibliocommons.com/events/64484d6d73e31d2900b46643) Geared for a general audience of poets, poets-to-be, or those who simply wish to find out more about this deeply imaginative
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Playing chess with my computer,I struggle to relearnwhat, where, and how to moveand now all I see is squares—bathroom and floor tiles, crossword puzzles,the checkered blouse of the lady in front of me—as pawns plod forward in dull straight paths,rooks zoom about in their rows and columns,bishops whiz diagonally back and forth,while king steps cautiouslyone
My new poem “The Woman in the Window” was just published in the Winter 2023 issue of Sky Island Journal. You can read it here https://www.skyislandjournal.com/issues#/issue-23-winter-2023/
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It has no effect on them, the zookeeper replied,when asked about the rhino’s missing horn.Better dehorned than dead.Saw it off now before they come in the nightto murder and dethrone your crowning gloryto be ground into magical cure-all powderor carved into obscene jeweled daggersto adorn a prince’s empty existence.Just remove the profit motive.How easy it
My poem “What Survives” was just published by Panoply, a Literary Zine. A cento is a poetic form composed entirely of lines from poems by other poets. It comes from the Latin word for patchwork.
Now that we know how they signal each otherthrough root hairs and fungal threads of meaning,will we ever learn to read these signalsand know what it is they talk aboutin the dark loamy layers below? Surely there must be moreto their talk than survivalas when insects or fires threaten,just as we sapiens came to learngrunts
What Do Trees Talk About? Read More »
I have long been fascinated by science fiction and often write poetry in this genre. Here is my latest offering, which suddenly decided it wished to become a shape poem. It was just published in issue #66 of NewMyths.com, a quarterly online magazine of science fiction and fantasy. You can read it here: https://sites.google.com/newmyths.com/newmyths-com-issue-66/issue-66-stories/memory-care
Those who would pigeonhole poetry, assigning it to a more restrictive category according to what they think it should be, ignore poetry’s dynamic flux and the range of things a poem can do for us. Some think poems should always be lyrical, dealing with personal feelings and emotions, with nary a trace of narrative. Some
America, We Call Your Name Read More »