"One Day in Drapes R Us"
Bending Genres seeks thrilling, fanciful, oddball, unusual, stunning fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction pieces. Think Olympics on a case of Red Bull. Think October in April. Think Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.
(Who doesn't love Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey?)
You can read my flash fiction "One Day in Drapes R Us" here in issue 42. I read it recently at Red Light Lit Austin: The Veil & the Flame. So cool to see it also published.
"Love Poems Are Changelings"
Finalist for Best of the Net 2024
The Best of the Net Anthology was created to gather communities of online literary magazines, journals, and individuals that do the work of creating our digital literary landscape. They hold digital publishing in high regards as a medium that creates access to a greater array of voices than the traditional publishing climate has allowed.
Best of the Net chose from 565 journals and thousands of writer nominees, and selected my piece, "Love Poems Are Changelings," from the Quilled Ink Review's inaugural issue: Ode to Love, as a finalist.
Two poems as a featured
poet of the week (as a judge)
Poetry Super Highway's 2024 Poetry Contest has wrapped for this year.
Be sure to submit next year!
You can read two of my poems featured in July: "When I Write I Feel Close to You and When I Write I Feel You Close" and "Son of a Gun," along with the poems from the other two judges: Nicole Adabunu and Victoria Melekian. You can watch us discuss poetry and the judging process here. Poetry Super Highway has nominated "Son of a Gun" for a Pushcart prize. Lana Ayers has chosen "When I Write I Feel Close to You and When I Write I Feel You Close" to present as an example of a cento in her class. Thank you!
Upcoming
My flash fiction manuscript The Beginners won The 2023 Digging Press Chapbook Contest. We're working on publishing the chapbook in the late summer/fall of 2025.
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Elliot Harmon's poetry manuscript Gray and Something is in the publishing process. Though Elliot passed away in 2021, we hope to get his poems out in the world.
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My poetry manuscript The Bullet Takes Forever has been chosen for publication by Mouthfeel Press. We're working on publishing the book in the fall of 2025.
Other Publications
Fiction
Ghosts Are Hungry
Digging Press is an independent publisher with a strong commitment to fostering experimentation and cultural inclusion in the realms of literature and visual arts. Founder Gessy Alvarez is a delight and wonderful to work with.
Read the flash fiction "Ghosts Are Hungry" in volume #9 here.
A Small Death
The Waterwheel Review is an online literary journal that prefers literature without labels. They celebrate what flows by, no matter its form. They showcase pieces initially with a few companion writings and art/music/video, for a beautiful reading experience.
Read the flash fiction "A Small Death" in issue #20 here.
A Grief That Shatters Oceans
The Raw Art Review is a journal of storm and urge.
The story is on page 105 of the Summer/Fall 2021 issue.
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print, published April 7, 2022
Buy it here.
Robot You
Ab Terra is a sci-fi journal. Brain Mill Press especially encourages stories that explore ideas of embodiment, time, and language. Read my story in Issue 5 here.
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The Last Pioneers
The Racket is an online literary journal that likes a little grit in their submissions—something that’ll stick in your teeth long after you’re done reading it.
Read my story in Issue 56 here.
Conversation
Meat for Tea is an award-winning print literary journal that leaves people "contemplating definitions of genre" and has people "re-see what's possible in poetry, prose, and nonfiction." --New Pages
The story is on page 114 in Volume 13, issue 4: Bard.
print, published 2019
Buy it here.
Another Night
Spires is the student-run literary journal at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. They publish a print journal every spring, and have a digital companion as of 2011.
print, published 1999
Poetry
The Bullet Cures
Sappho's Torque is the blog of author Angélique Jamail, where she celebrates poetry and poets, among other writerly things. My poem "The Bullet Cures" was featured for April 2024's poetry month. Read it here.
The Bullet Cures
Poetry Super Highway's mission is to expose as many people to as many other people’s poetry as possible. Read poems, submit your poetry for publication, enter their annual poetry contest, and peruse their directory of thousands of poetry and writing websites. The judges chose my poem as the winner of the PSH 2023 Poetry Contest. Read "The Bullet Cures" here. (Oct 2023)
Love Poems Are Changelings
The Quilled Ink Review's Adiela Akoo writes, "...the language of Love, in all its shades, remains the same. It begs you to pause for a moment, reflect, and bathe in its beauty. It begs you to see that poetry in itself is an act of Love, an act of healing, and that the stories too urge you to dance despite the darkness."
Buy the anthology of fabulous writers here. (Dec 2023)
Pull-Push
The Passionfruit Review seeks work which engages with love in the broadest possible sense: writing which seeks love out or runs screaming from it; which delights in, is bored of, resents, yearns for, abhors, or denies love.
Read the poem "Pull-Push" in issue #1 here. (2023)
Current and Never Events
The Human Room Open Voice is a new free speech platform created by C.C. Arshagra, based on benevolence and 9 principles of involvement.
The stellar T.A. Niles created a video of one of my poems you can watch here. (summer 2022)
T.A.'s poem-video is also a beautiful reaction: "A Moment-Us Decision."
T.A.'s blog is full of wonder, thoughts, and resources for writers and poets. Check out T.A.'s mind here.
This Is Poetry
Poem in the anthology Once Upon a Poem. It is the second Pisces Publishing/Creative Juices Anthology, in celebration of National Poetry Month and in tribute to the wonderful poet Sharon Smith-Knight. (April 2022)
Contact me to buy a copy.
Water Is the Body
Beautiful poetry broadside created by Rick Lupert in The Cobalt Cafe (2021). If you're not aware of Rick and all he's done for poetry—and the Poetry Super Highway, then go there. Then read the poem here.
Will It;
Running in the Same Place
Poetry in Issue 18 of Monday Night Lit online. (2018)
Read it here.
Nonfiction
"Barrelhouse Reviews: A Rupture in the Interiors by Valerie Witte"
Barrelhouse is produced by writers for readers who are looking for quality writing with an edge and a sense of humor. Barrelhouse bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture.
(April 2024)
Read my book review of the poetry collection here.
Heidi Kasa: Expanding in Every Direction
Heidi Fiedler's Nebula Notebook is a place to meet kindred spirits, get inspired, and learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process, even when life is bananas. Heidi interviews mothers for the section "Mothers Who Make Mondays." (January 2024)
Read my interview here.
One Day This Book: A Review of Miah Jeffra's The Fabulous Ekphrastic Fantastic!
Ruminate: The Waking asks for art that is beautiful or strange, but that feels true.
(May 2022)
Read my review of the book here.
What People Are Saying
nominated, 2024/5
Pushcart
finalist, 2024
Best of the Net
"stunning"
"lush"
"healing"
"weird, in the best possible way"
winner, 2024 Plaza Prose Poetry contest
winner, 2023 Digging Press Chapbook contest
winner, 2023 Poetry Super Highway Poetry contest
finalist, 2024 Crossroads contest
2 stories as semifinalists, 2022 Screw Turn Flash Fiction contest
shortlisted, 2021 Fractured Lit Flash Fiction contest
finalist, 2019 Black River Chapbook contest by Black Lawrence Press
"so powerful it gave me chills"
"damn near made me break my chair"
"writes like a painter"
"beautiful and wise"
"striking"
"brilliant, visceral writing"
"I'll be thinking about it for a long time"
"captivating in its engaging style and distinctiveness"
"nothing else like it"
"it's hard to imagine a man could have written this"
"a gift to my heart"
"It really really resonates with me; I absolutely love it. Such a creative and powerful way to say the things we feel."