Poems and Whiskey

Hey y'all.Last week was somethin, huh? Yeah. Me too. 🫀The Hiatus Zone will soft launch next time. In this episode, I needed to share things that helped me find a foothold in the fallout and make something...well just make something, really. I needed to push back. A few dear friends offered what they had to give too. I'm scared but I'm also resourceful, creative, and brave. And so are you. You are not alone.I love you.Friends:KimmieKate: You are Who I Love, Aracelis GirmayK Weber: You'd Sing Too, Leonard Cohen and The Clearest Joy, Marge PiercyJaime: Václav Havel , Ursula K Le Guin , Alexandra RowlandGregI read:Howard Zinn: How We Stay InvolvedEllen Bass: The Big PictureTim Blunk: [for comrades who ask]Denise Levertov: "I have a small grain..."Misha Collins: I Wish for ThisKurt Vonnegut: at Clowes Hall, 2007Here's the Resource Link Page I mentioned.(Y'all may have noticed I usually title the episodes with song lyrics. This time I'm going way, way back to my childhood. The lyrics are from One Little Star written by Jeff Moss and featured on Follow That Bird. The lore says, that I wore out the cassette of the album when I was a proto-me. This song is for you too.)

Happy Halloween Y'all! Trick or Treat!What is the maddest thing a man can do? No. Not die. It's releasing an unedited podcast episode! Duh. The Horror!!! This special is even more chaotic than usual, if you can imagine. It is 3 hours of pure, undiluted, unedited poetical puddle jumping but I don't think we actually got around to talking about poetry. We are pretty funny. Figures lol I guess the Spotify Genre Sibyls were right about me after all. I do cry at the end, so you have that to look forward to. (If you happen to notice similarities in my sappy speech to a certain trenchcoated angel's final words, do not be alarmed. I'm only a thief.)Thank you for letting me do this. I regret to inform you it will happen again. Happy Halloween y'all! You've changed my life for the better.My Victims:Jason O'TooleClaire ConroyGreg GlenJohn ComptonJaime LilleyEliseo(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 BombsRandom Acts Natural Disaster Recovery**Hey hey, btw, all those do gooders I link to? They have no idea who I am and have nothing to do with me. I just think they're neat.

We've got work to do! Make a plan!It is tempting to identify with what we make, but what we produce is not the sum of our parts. We must to allow what galvanizes, to strike and use it for what we will. We are the "imperfect blessings" of creator and creature locked in the same body. Every creative act does something terrible and wonderful and it is up to us to decide what that means.This is the last interview of Season 2 and I could not be more grateful to Addie Tsai for being the perfect person to close this out. Regular interviews will return in 2025. After the Halloween Special, something beyond the 3rd Dimension will be unlocked...Mentions:William and MaryWarren WilsonJohn GreenMetonymyImagist PoetEzra PoundH.D.Kobayashi IssaDominic WalshCamille ClaudelElectric Lit(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 BombsRandom Acts Natural Disaster Recovery**Hey hey, btw, all those do gooders I link to? They have no idea who I am and have nothing to do with me. I just think they're neat.

Make a plan to vote!--> We've got work to do! <--It comes as no real surprise that the theme of this episode, and indeed the show, is self acceptance. There are as many ways to being an artist, as there are artists. Sure, it sounds trite and maybe it is. But Okay then. Trite things also get to be helpful and true. Funny, that. Anyone who's telling you there is only one way to do the thing, is just scared they're doing it wrong too. When it comes to what moves us, we're the one's who make the rules, babies.Kimberly Wolf sits with me and while we wait for the dime to hit the bottom of the yeah yeah yeah's, we make lovely castles in the mud.Y'all should know how to find me by now.Mentions:Carl Yung : “What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.”Sir Arthur Conan Doyle : Mycroft Holmes: “What do we say about coincidences?” Sherlock Holmes: “The universe is rarely so lazy.”Tom Snarsky : Reclaimed WaterStardew Valley**AnimorphsTwin PeaksThomas C. Foster : How to Read Poetry Like a ProfessorSam Sax : PigVictoria Chang : ObitCarl Phillips: Scattered Snows to the NorthIlya Kaminksy : The Deaf RepublicNocturne Magazine(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 BombsRandom Acts Natural Disaster RecoveryCheers 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.**About Harvey, Dear Listener, I married him. He hasn't started asking me for children...yet.

Register to vote!--> We've got work to do! <--In fairy tales orphaned children often must attempt a task multiple times until they get it just right to get the magic to let them go. The children must be tested though, or they won't be strong enough to actually break the spell. Which is just a long way of saying, to every time there is a season. Which is just a snotty way of saying, chill, you're fine. This is how it goes. Richard and I talk about our creations and how they earn their way through the forest of the subconscious to become what we hope them to be and we get into his book a little too!Y'all should know how to find me by now.Richard's Links: SITE TWITTER INSTAMentions:Madeleine L'EngleBeverly ClearyLloyd AlexanderJenny Offill(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.

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!