The Woman in the Window
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/
Dear Mr. Simic
I should have written this letter years ago, not today after reading of your death in The New York Times. And though you will never read my words, I still need to write how much I learned from you and what’s more, how important it was for me that such a person as you existed. …
Tracks in the Surf
Can you read this? Most days, my words look more like tracks of a sandpiper skittering along the edge of the sea. But I see them clearly now—o blessed words! There’s so much I want to say before they leave me again and I must go back to that inarticulate cell, as memories play out …
Sex Shop Sestina
I chose to write this poem in an unusual and complex French form called a sestina. You may notice that throughout the poem there are six words that occur at the end of each of the first six stanzas. And as if that isn’t difficult enough, these six words must be used in a precisely …
“Hopper’s People” Video
Hi All, For those of you who didn’t have the chance to attend my recent reading or watch the entire video, here’s a short clip of me reading “Hopper’s People,” accompanied by images of Edward Hopper’s paintings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFNgDszGF4&ab_channel=GeneTwaronite This poem is part of my latest poetry collection (my fourth!) Shopping Cart Dreams, available from Kelsay Books …
How to Stuff a Rhino
A long time ago, I wrote this children’s story about a boy’s imaginary trip to Africa. It was published in my short story collection Dragon Daily News. I was recently asked my Robert Topp, of the website Read Me a Story, Ink (https://readmeastoryink.com/) if he could record the story and set it to music. You …
Better to Own a House
I was going over some older poems of mine for my reading tomorrow here in Tucson, and in light of today’s disturbing Supreme Court ruling I thought I’d post this poem. It cannot be said enough. Women’s reproductive rights are human rights. And none of us are truly free when women are forced to give …
Shopping Cart Dreams – Live!
I am excited to announce that I’ve been invited to perform an in-person reading (my first in three years!) from my new collection Shopping Cart Dreams. This live event will be at Woods Memorial Library in Tucson (3455 N. First Ave.) on Saturday, June 25, at 2 p.m. My reading will be 40-45 minutes, then open …
Advance Reviews for Shopping Cart Dreams
Here are two more reviews of my newest poetry collection Shopping Cart Dreams. “Gene’s craft is so airtight his poetry seems to effortlessly reveal the deeper truths that we thirst for, and they contain a gravity that our hearts simply cannot escape. He creates a complicated view of our existence, and we love how this fully engages …
Shopping Cart Dreams: Available Now
I am pleased to annouce that my fourth poetry book Shopping Cart Dreams has just been published by Kelsay Books. A full-length collection offering an eclectic range of poems ranging from serious to quirky and absurd, this is my most ambitious work yet. Though mostly free verse, it includes a number of prose, ekphrastic, and …