**One of my stories, My First Love, in three confessional parts, was published on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association website

One of my mainstream stories, My  First Love, in three confessional parts, was published on the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (ERWA) website.

This briefly sexual, sometimes romantic, always blunt piece charts thirteen roller coaster years of a guy, as self-inflicted loss and eventual forgiveness evolves him from an emotional f**ktard into a somewhat responsible man.

My First Love is part of the loosely linked First Love series, which includes the poems Beyond a fearful door,  The long-ago dreamt and Marker (asterisk edit), published on the Leaves of Ink site last month.

My First Love will appear on the ERWA site until the end of August 2015.

Big thanks to Daddy X (ERWA) and  E.S. Wynn (Leaves) for publishing these works!

**One of my poems, Northward, (not so) thrilling, was published on the Leaves of Ink site

One of my mainstream poems, Northward, (not so) thrilling, was published on the Leaves of Ink site.

This autobiographical versework sketches out a long, dead-of-night and creepily tactile walk down a long road.

(Again, many thanks to editor E.S. Wynn for publishing the poems, which are set to appear in my 2016 follow-up book to Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.)

Rash Door by E.S. Wynn

(pb; 2012: poetry anthology)

Overall review:

Rash is an excellent poetry anthology, whose images, themes and works not only complement each other, but flow and weave themselves in a natural-order rhythm that deepened the sense of immersion I got while reading it.

Most of the poems revolve around addiction, loss (of one's self, of a romantic partner), Nature, regret and the process of recreation, whether it's through accepting one's flaws and darkish history, romance or writing. 

What's striking about this collection is that even the relatively few poems (out of an impressive sixty) that didn't grab me were appreciable, in the sense that I could see why they were included in Rash: not only were they solid or good, they also contributed to the aforementioned thematic-flow of the overall work. (In an anthology of this size, it's a near-impossibility -- at least for this reader -- for every poem to become a personal favorite.)

Rash is a superb, worth-owning verseworks collection. If you're interested in purchasing it, here's a link where you can do so.


Standout poems:

1.)  "AA": Emotive and highly visual work about breaking one's addiction, self-wounding and -- hopefully -- the renewal of being. Excellent piece.


2.)  "A Weekend": Relatable versework about the discombobulation one encounters (and slow-and-swift polarities) with the passing of two weekly days.


3.)  "Kissing a Smoker": Flavor- and sensory-intensive poem that aptly describes its titular experience.


4.)  "Hangover Morning": Liquid spirits, history, mythology and literature run in celebratory and long-lined fashion before an inevitable, oh-too-relatable finish. Delightful and wise piece.


5.)  "Sh*t in the Shower": Nightmarish, short and sharp work that details a necessary transformation. It put me in the mindset of David Cronenberg's body dismorphic films (Rabid, Shivers [a.k.a. They Came From Within], Videodrome and others). Yes, that is meant in a complimentary way.


6.)  "Dream Blindness": A strong visual sense of yearning forms this poem, with its desperate, driving flow and rhythms.


7.)  "Seawitch": Stark, stellar and startling work about different multi-layered things. Great end-line, one of my favorite poems in this collection. Part of it reads:

"Mom's van

Ancient maritime mistress

Dull blue, gull grey

Primer and seashells

 

Mermaids and Playa dust 

Greasy drippings under tattered mylar

Musty inside,

Like a forgotten seaside cabin. . .

 

A place to rest, to lay your head

And wait out the long cold night. . ."

8.)  "Rash Door": Horrific, darkly funny (with its end-lines) piece that reads like a companion piece to the desperate, sketchy "Sh*t in the Shower".


9.)  "Sterilize the Dance": Chilling, stark work revolving around lust, interpersonal evolution, terror and innocence. This is another favorite in the bunch poem.


10.)  "Colors": The ghost-hues of an old relationship impel a man to question his present leanings and choices with women. Especially good poem.


11.)  "Visionaries": The wild, imaginative-soar second half of this versework is wow-good.


12.)  "All Is Folly": Especially dark and effective work that succeeds on multiple reading levels.


13.)  "A Moment in Memory": Beautiful, Nature-appreciative piece, this: serene, wonderful.


14.)  "Midnight Rain": Urban, noir-drenched and femme-fatale-as-a-frame-theme poem that is especially striking.


15.)  "Only Silence": A strong sense of personal nothingness suffuses this -- excellent work.


16.)  "The Sculptor": I love this one, a piece about the making of a truly-alive being.


17.)  "Tattoo": Stark, short and sharp-stanza'd versework. This is an especially effective follow-up/counterpart piece to "The Sculptor".


18.)  "Must": Relatable (for a lot of guys, I'm guessing), blunt poem about women and their curious, sometimes (unintentionally) insulting choices.


19.)  "Rage II": Macho attitudes and overall dumbness, along with break-up-inspired bitterness, suffuse this oh-so-GRRRR piece.


20.)  "Visitation": Urban life and its resultant noises form this versework. This is a fitting companion piece to "Midnight Rain".


21.)  "American Wishes": Another woman-as-a-car poem. Especially good, effective read.


22.)  "My Pen Is A Prophet": Relatable-for-writers, theme- and image-tight piece.


23.)  "The Best Soil": Excellent versework with a biting, heart-ouch end stanza. One of my favorite poems in this collection.


24.)  "Artifice Of A (real) Poem": Cut-to-it poem that nails what's wrong and right about writing stanza'd works. Again, excellent.

**Six of my mainstream poems were published in the second issue of Stormcloud Poets

Six of my poems, a mix of old and new works, were published in the second issue of Storm Cloud Poets magazine.  These poems are:

-Appetite for construction, a versework about a poet writing his way toward his best self;

-Loneliness (suburban 03 mix), about a restless, couch-surfing young man seeking some sense of "home" in a Pacific Northwest city;

-Orphan Andy's, a heartfelt and briefly flirty piece about two exes - now time-tested friends - hanging out in the poem-titular San Francisco diner;

-Pens, I - III*, a poem that brings together three writing-impetus microverses, penned in successive decades, 1990s - present;

-Products*, in which an adolescent combusts at the thought of submitting to his parents' ways (as well as corporatized adulthood);

and

-Shaking the northern spheres*, a work that recalls a Gothic-themed road trip with a restless friend in the early 1990s.

Not only that, this issue features superb verses by Richard Cody ("Sprite," The Job of the Poet").

Thanks, once again, to editor/author E.S. Wynn (a.k.a. Earl S. Wynn) for including my (and others') works in this poetry collection - it's an honor to work with such an accomplished and inspiring word-conjurer. 

If you have the time and are so inclined, pick up a copy of Stormcloud Poets #2 now!

#

*Pens, I - III and Shaking the northern spheres were also published in the 2014 single-author anthology Mondo febrifuge: omnibus poems.

**One of my stories, A feast of fiends, was republished in the Sweet Dreams & Night Terrors anthology

One of my mainstream stories, A feast of fiends, was republished in the anthology Sweet Dreams & Night Terrors: An Anthology of Dark Dreamscapes and Seductive Terrors, edited by Ron Koppelberger.  (Many thanks to Ron and Silent Fray, an imprint of Horrified Press, publisher of this collection.)

Not only that, Sweet Dreams also includes eight works from Earl S. Wynn (a.k.a. E.S. Wynn): Within, Beyond; Just a House; Taste of Serenity; Sky Diamond; Only For Her; Mirror-Glass Dreams; At the Boundary Between Darkness and Light and Dark Reflections.

Here's the link to purchase the book (if you're so inclined!): http://www.lulu.com/shop/silent-fray/sweet-dreams-night-terrors/paperback/product-21709824.html

#

Quick publishing history:

A feast of fiends was originally published on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association site in August 2009.

Black Magic: Shotgun Spacebabe by E.S. Wynn

(eBook; 2012, 2014)


From the back cover:

"The year is nineteen aught ninety.

"The planet: Gore Gulch.

"The shotgun: a sawed-off two gauge punt gun that specialist Black Magic calls 'The Deuce.'

"Five powerful men just pissed off the wrong woman. Five worlds are on her hit list, and even John Herbert Wilson Thomas, the President of the Republic, will find himself in her sights before her rampage is over. . ."


Review:

There's plenty of violence, gore, humor, sex and vengeance in this burn-through novel in which Black Magic tracks down and executes five politicians and scientists - as well as their weapons-wielding defenders - who are not only corrupt, but intentionally released a plague that effectively turns its victims into violent, zombie-like creatures, many of whom Black Magic must also battle to reach her targets.

Black jumps into the action from its first word and doesn't let go until its last.  It's an entertaining, bloody and fast science fiction read, one worth owning.

**One of my mainstream poems Shred, gouge, fly was republished in Leaves of Ink ezine

One of my older mainstream poems, Shred, gouge, fly, was republished in the Leaves of Ink ezine on May 7th, 2014.  (Many thanks to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This celebratory poem is about a writer whose appreciation for his current life and lover is enhanced by his acceptance and understanding about his past.  (Shred, gouge, fly was originally published in my 2011 single-author anthology Behind the wheel: selected poems.)

Check this poem out, if you're so inclined and have the time!

**One of my older poems, The return sidetrips, was published in Smashed Cat ezine

One of my older mainstream poems, The return sidetrips, was published in Smashed Cat ezine today.  (Again, gratitude goes to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This poem, which details the lysergic William S. Burroughs-esque (and hopefully brief) madness of an apartment-bound writer, has not been published anywhere else, so check it out if you're so inclined!

**One of my poems, Ephemeral, was republished in Leaves of Ink ezine

One of my older mainstream verseworks, Ephemeral, was published in the Leaves of Ink ezine today.  (Many thanks to editor Earl S. Wynn, a.k.a. E.S. Wynn, for this.)

This poem is about a man who misses hanging out with his ex-fiancée's imaginative son.  (Ephemeral was originally published in my 2011 single-author anthology Behind the wheel: selected poems under the title Ephemeral stepfather.)

Check this poem out!

**Two of my poems were published in Stormcloud Poets: First Anthology

Two of my poems - advent and 415 vista reunion - were published in Stormcloud Poets: First Anthology.  advent  is about the aftermath of a friend's death; 415 vista reunion is about the joy of hanging out with another friend after a long time apart.

Thanks, once again, to editor/author E.S. Wynn (a.k.a. Earl S. Wynn) for including my work in his 136-page poetry collection - it's an honor to work with such an accomplished and inspiring word-conjurer. 

Stormclouds Poets: First Anthology purchase links are here, for its various publishing formats - electronic and hard copy.

**One of my poems, Habit rip (Abel Ferrara mix), was republished in Smashed Cat

One of my abstract, nervier poems, Habit rip (Abel Ferrara mix), was republished on the Smashed Cat site on September 17th, 2013. (Big thanks to E.S. Wynn, who published it!)

Visually speaking, Habit rip isn't one of my better pieces, but it's different and experimental (for me, anyway) - and it was inspired by the cinematic works of director Abel Ferrara.

Check this poem out!

#

This poem originally appeared in one of my single-author anthologies, Almost there: poems (which can be purchased via Lulu and Amazon).