Poems and Whiskey

Register to vote!--> We've got work to do! <--Process, process, process, pro-cess. (I do hope you're getting all this down. It will be on the quiz.) Francesca and I dig into the tender, wet, smelly, underbelly of creation and poke at it until it squeals. (Which is how writing is made, children.) You have to have a special sort of courage (or dumbassery) to create anything real for yourself, much less create something real for other people. You have to be willing to puncture...you know what? This metaphor's getting too gross.Let's pivot into love, similarly tender and unctuous. When you were a kid, what did you love doing more than anything? How did you play? Where do you get to play now? Did you know you're still allowed?Francesca's Links: Insta Site Her Perfect Chap Y'all should know how to find me by now.Mentions:Paragraph PlanetDorianne LauxKim Addonizio: The Poet's CompanionDiane SuessAlice MonroeVladimir NabokovNorman MailerCharles BukowskiGabriel García MárquezLouise ErdrichYukio MishimaJack GilbertStanchion: Jeff Bogle(My first chapbook, Yellow Rose Effigy, is out now!)Good people doing good things ---> INARA Cease Fire Today, MAP, Islamic Relief for Palestine, The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundDemine the Ukraine, Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders, UNHCR, Food Not BombsCheers y'all!*kind reminder, all the nifty do gooders I link to, have no idea who I am and are NOT affiliated with me. I just think they're neat.

**Do not be alarmed. There is a transmission from The Hiatus Zone before the show. Regularly scheduled programming will resume after the transmission.**We've got work to do!Willie Carver Jr. said it best, "I don't want anybody picking up this food and not knowing that I made it because I love them."You are loved. You belong. Poetry is community.Y'all should know how to find me by now.Names and Mentions:Anne Sexton, This is How I Want to DieGhost City ReviewSilas HouseRobert GipeCrystal WilkinsonJason O'TooleFenton JohnsonAppalachian Futures(My first chapbook, Yellow Rose Effigy, is out now!)Good people doing good things ---> INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundDemine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCR Food Not BombsCheers y'all!*kind reminder, all the nifty do gooders I link to, have no idea who I am and are NOT affiliated with me. I just think they're neat.

This winter, step outside and through with me, into The Hiatus Zone.👁🤚🏻🚪When I break from interviewing this winter, I still want to create something with all y'all. Enter The Hiatus Zone!What do you need to do to join? Simple! Pick horror, spec, or surrealist poetry or flash fiction you like, or that you've written, record yourself reading it (or send me the text and I'll happily read it for you) and I'll edit them together into 15 to 30 minute episodes. Clearly this is based on the Twilight Zone so use that for your base if you're unclear about themes.(I'm trusting y'all to be so cool right now lol)I make it real damn easy to find me.I'll put up your socials and the like and the shows will go out every other Wednesday as typical.If you have questions, I'm happy to help. Hit me up!I'm really looking forward to this project!Cheers y'all!

There's a short-ish ad for my winter project, The Hiatus Zone before the episode AND I have an announcement!INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundDemine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCRHere's your VERY OBVIOUS LINK I tackle the last two chapters from my Dell edition of Slaughter-House 5 and a tiny section that I could NOT for the source for. So if you know, please let me know too! Don't gatekeep lol.I of course own nothing and make none profit with left beef from this little venture. In fact, I lose money every month on this road to no where, so put that in your pipe and smoke it. Which I would do too, if I had anything to show for it. lolKurt Vonnegut Jr. Museum and Library The Website™️and then there's me...sorry bit of a let down after Kurt but hey...The bird is a red-winged blackbird and I snagged the call here***Third Wednesdays with Kurt pod cover is based on Carin Goldberg's stunning designs, in particular my own cover of Slaughterhouse-Five by Dell.

*There is a short-ish promo for The Hiatus Zone before the episode begins*INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundDemine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCRSunk cost is a vile lie. The urge to create, is inherent to humanity and you are not lost to yourself. Pam says so many good things I should just make a list and let that be the description. Here's a couple doozies for ya, "We are here to tell our stories" and "We are not here for nothing." I know, right? What a knock out! It's all about connection, babies. It's all love.Cheers y'all.Here's your VERY OBVIOUS LINK Mentions:The guy I couldn't remember at the beginning, was Raymond CarverIf you miss GISH too, Random Acts is a good place to go.Anne LamottCheryl StrayedLinda HoganShawn ColvinCurly Bear WagnerJohn LinstromVirginia WoolfMarge PiercyEmily DickinsonKahlil GibranThe Ghost and Mrs Muir (only 77 years old, r1947)Sharon OldsKrista TippettEsther PerelGhost City ReviewAnne CarsonHélène CixousKurt VonnegutCharles BaxterJulie ShoemakerLorrie MooreDenise LevertovChristopher MerrillPaul EluardPaul AusterPhillip GlassRobert MacFarlaneJohn GardnerJim WelchLouise EldritchMark ReiserKeith HaringJeanette Winterson

*There is a short-ish promo for The Hiatus Zone before the episode begins*INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundMutual Aid Diabetes Demine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCRExcuse me, waiter? I would like 10 more Greggi Glenn please. Hm? Yes, in a box. Thank you. Oh! And some breadsticks, thanks again!I could say Greg brings an element of the sacred fool to his work, I could say that his American wordplay shines like pennies at the bottom of a silty creek, I could also say that he's one of the people I feel really lucky to meet but instead I will just say, Thank you.VERY OBVIOUS LINKMentions:J.D. ScrimgeourMark StrandSamuel MacIntyreRupi KaurCharles BukowskiSylvia PlathFrank O HaraJack McCarthyJason O TooleCatch-22Pity the ReaderKurt VonnegutJames TateSam SzaboPatricia CallenMP CarverJD DebrisCatherine FaheyLeticia Priebe RochaChandler Hyde CameratoTom SnarskyWislawa SzymborskaRoss GaySteven CraneElizabeth BishopJavi AwanHoward NemerovNossrat Yassini Poetry FestivalThe Meg and Greg ShowMegan MiragliaDaniel JonesAmanda Shea*The Hiatus Zone is clearly based on Rod Serling's, The Twilight Zone. It will continue to be a blatant rip off. You know, for fun!**Also good to remember that those official people and orgs I link to, they have nothing to do with me. They don't know me. I just think they're trying to be good humans.

INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundMutual Aid Diabetes Demine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCRIn Caroline's shining return we hit the themes of death and rebirth on a creative level hard. It would be fair to call it the theme of this episode. The snake is forever eating their tail, the least someone could do is give 'em some ketchup. Maybe some A1? Mustard even, c'mon! Maybe that's what all this creative work is. Garnish on Mobius-strip dinnerware. Anyhoo!Caroline reads from her new book, Shake the Atmosphere to Reclaim an Empty Moment , and we get into keeling of the highs and lows that come with reaching your dreams. If this isn't nice, what is?Mentions and drops:John ComptonStark PoetryKai CogginCynthia AtkinsAldo AmparanTupelo QuarterlyLet everything happen to you...Chola Needles Art & LiteraryPS: The links to organizations up there at the tippy top, aren't affiliated with me, I'm no one and nobody, but they aren't. Look for the helpers, babies.Free Palestine. From the river to the sea.

INARA Cease Fire Today MAP Islamic Relief for Palestine The Ghassan Abu Sittah Children's FundMutual Aid Diabetes Demine the Ukraine Legacy of War FoundationDoctors without Borders UNHCRTerrel Hale is one of the real ones, guys. We talk about letting go of the illusion of power, about poetry communicating first without need for understanding, and the effects of the transformative nature of the creative act on the inner and outer world perspectives. Desire can often be a gateway to inspiration and vision, and managing your intensity is something that is a practice, not a prefect. A poem is something to be made and the poet is the maker.Cheers y'all.Language PoetryCalifornia College of the ArtsRichard DiebenkornT.S. EliotNathan OliveiraJames JoyceLe Morte d'ArthurThomas BernhardEdith WartonSamuel BeckettSusan HoweEdgar Allen PoeCharles BaudelaireBernadette MayerKaveh AkbarJohn AshberyLeslie Marmon SilkoLarry McMurtryRoy Coffee PhotographyMadeline MillerEmily WilsonHerman HesseThomas MonFire in the HeadMont-Saint MichelE.M. ForsterThe Archetypical Artist