Pamela Anderson reviews Rattle and Numb for Tinderbox Poetry Journal

 

I just received one heck of a holiday gift! Immense gratitude to Pamela R. Anderson and Tinderbox Poetry Journal for a lovely review of my book, Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019.

Read it at https://tinderboxpoetry.com/rattle-numb-by-john-burroughs.

 

Book publisher: Venetian Spider Press.

Cover painting by Cleveland artist Emma Anderson.

 

Charlotte Morgan interviews Judith Mansour for FreshWater Cleveland

I am so grateful to Charlotte Morgan and FreshWater Cleveland for this fine interview with Judith Mansour, the author of Kan Zaman.

Read it here: https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/street-level/MansourMemoir122122.aspx.

Buy Mansour's Kan Zaman here: http://ccpress.blogspot.com/2022/10/mansour.html.

Richard Brautigan with a Switchblade: A Review of John Dorsey’s Poetry

— by Nelson Gary:

 

The hoo-ya! energy of the here and now streams as John Dorsey’s lines in Triple Threat and Afterlife Karaoke. The insights in these books are sharp and funny. Dorsey is Richard Brautigan with a switchblade. The moves of Outlaw Poetics are here in terms of subversion, but as is frequently the case in this movement, there are elements of academia, the establishment. In terms of line arrangement, indentation, Vladimir Mayakovsky haunts a significant number of the lines of Triple Threat and Afterlife Karaoke. The variable foot of William Carlos Williams is certainly in step in these volumes. The well-read Alec Silverman told me he thought Dorsey’s poetry was reminiscent of Robert Frost’s. While he might be right in his analysis, I myself entirely disagree. Dorsey may be Richard Brautigan with a switchblade, but unlike Frost, he never chased his family around with an ax for making too much noise when he was writing. 

 

I know John a little, not well, but well enough to know he never did or would do anything like what Frost did. One thing that Dorsey and Frost share in common is they are all-in all the time (or as much possible) to write poetry. For all these luminous names mentioned, Dorsey’s poetry is most informed by Todd Moore and Charles Bukowski, the godfathers of present-day Outlaw Poetry. Moore, whose father ran with Dillinger, never earned an MFA in Creative Writing, but he spent his working life as a librarian and teacher; he had a life of books: God rest his soul with his guts to be read in his books. I was fortunate enough to write the essay about Moore for The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.

 

I got to know Moore after he gave a glowing review of my award-winning Cinema. It was the first I had ever heard of Moore, The Chiron Review, and Mayakovsky (Todd mentioned him in writing about my work). Over the years, I developed a friendship with the Outlaw Poetry godfather, and we remained tight until he died. There is a considerable amount of material in Pharmacy Psalms and Half-Life Hymns—for Nothing (Mystic Boxing Commission), my upcoming book, about him. After ordering the Dorsey books from poet-publisher John Burroughs’ Crisis Chronicles Press, I communicated with Dorsey on a great many subjects. One of them was Todd Moore. He said that Moore was a “father figure” to him. Because I knew Moore well, what I can say, with neither doubt nor reservation, was that Todd would have loved these books by Dorsey, been proud of them as the godfather of present-day Outlaw Poetics.

 

There are more than a few standout poems in both of Dorsey’s volumes. “I Want to Murder the Moon” from Triple Threat is a howl against nature for allowing divinity to touch the skin in transcendental experiences. At the end of this poem, Dorsey remarks, “The night is slow / like bloody murder.” These lines inform much of the terrain both books cover. Dorsey writes about the slowness of life that can be violently stultifying internally relatively often in the pages of these volumes. There are lines that jump out at you with the humor of Brautigan, such as the following: “Alice was a finger fucking champion” in the poem “The Rabbit Hole Conspiracy.” “Jimi Hendrix of New Paltz, New York” conjures images of a hustler in a simultaneously cruel and empathic way: “Stars burn / for your albino eyed street hustle / like a Hudson Valley rent boy.” In these poems from Triple Threat, there are mentions of sex, violence, and drugs, even if the violence is only toward that “punk,” the moon, “for bringing divinity / on our skin.”

 

What I loved most about Afterlife Karaoke, which is dedicated to poet Jack Hirschman, is the “Trailer Park Songs” that unify the poem cycle and the elegy for Scott Wannberg, an Outlaw Poet I may have known even better than Todd Moore. I strongly recommend both these books of John Dorsey’s, mostly, of course, for the poetry, but also for the beautifully assembled layout and design by John Burroughs’ Crisis Chronicles Press. The front cover art of Afterlife Karaoke by Steven B. Smith is positively magnetic. What I love most about Dorsey’s work (and these are not the first books of his I’ve read), is its Nirvana-like energy, a band he refers to more than once in these volumes, and his ingenious black humor and and meaningful empathy about the “quiet desperation” (Thoreau) of the multitudes.

 

Buy John Dorsey's Afterlife Karaoke.

Buy John Dorsey's Triple Threat.

Buy both together and save:

Buy Both and Save

In the USA $16.00 USD Elsewhere $28.00 USD

 

 * * * * *

Nelson Gary's works include XXX (Dance of the Iguana Press), Cinema (Sacred Beverage Press), A Wonderful Life in Our Lives: Sketches of a Honeymoon in Mexico (Low Profile Press), and Twin Volumes (Ethelrod Press). His Pharmacy Psalms and Half-Life Hymns—for Nothing will be published by Rose of Sharon Press in 2021. Gary's poems and prose have been published in numerous journals, magazines, anthologies, and newspapers, including The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder's Mouth Press), Los Angeles Times, and Desert Sun. Gary, a former professional tennis player and instructor, was the Sports Editor at the Santa Monica Mirror. He read at Lollapalooza in 1994, had a residency with Ivan Neville's All-Star Band at The Mint, recorded his poetry with Elliott Smith ("Coast to Coast") on the latter's album From a Basement on the Hill. At Heroin Times, his journalism helped thousands, if not millions, of people addicted to opioids and their loved ones find recovery. Gary is a Beyond Baroque Fellow and has facilitated two writing workshops there. He has a bachelor's degree in English from California State University of Northridge and a master's degree in Forensic Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Kristi Yamaguchi, Michael Jordan and Me

I am extremely grateful to Heidi Blakeslee and GAS: Poetry, Art & Music for such a kind and generous review of my book Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019. "The manic exuberance of pure genius"? Comparisons to two of the greatest athletes of my lifetime? I feel a bit speechless and undeserving, but nonetheless delighted.

You can read the whole review here: https://gaspoertyartandmusic.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-review-of-john-burroughs-rattle-and.html. 

Book published by Venetian Spider Press.

Cover art by Emma Anderson.

Other New Books I've Picked Up in Early January 2021 (and a review)

Memorabilia by A.S. Coomer [2019, 11:11 Press]

Orange Alert: essays on poetry, art, and the architecture of silence by Kazim Ali [2010, University of Michigan Press]

The Invisible Waterhole by Joe Kidd [2020, JKSB Media]

The Prettiest Girl at the Dance by John Dorsey [2020, Blue Horse Press]

The Far Mosque by Kazim Ali [2005, Alice James Books]

Wooroloo by Frieda Hughes [1998, Harper Flamingo]
 

The first of these I've finished reading is John Dorsey's. I left this brief review of it on Goodreads:

Victor Clevenger, in his introduction to this wonderful new collection of poetic vignettes, calls it "quite possibly [John Dorsey's] greatest work to date." I have to agree. That's saying a lot when you consider we've read a stack of Dorsey books and loved his work for years. Boy or girl, I'm pretty sure you're gonna love taking a spin or two (or more) around the ballroom floor with The Prettiest Girl at the Dance.

Loring Wirbel reviews Ode to Horatio and Other Saviors

We are grateful to Loring Wirbel for the following review he posted on Goodreads:

Carolyn Srygley-Moore's poetry collections are known for taking orthogonal pie slices through precise locations, times, and emotions for a unique specificity of images, even when steeped in surreality. Here, she takes us to a few brief months in 2012 surrounding the euthanasia of a beloved pitbull Evy. The fact that the poems all date from this period do not make them seem far away in time in the slightest, nor does the fact that she is working for animal rescue make this collection the slightest bit partisan or didactic. The simple thing to say is that this collection contains some of her strongest poems, but then again, we could say that about any of her works.

Since Srygley-Moore rarely gives us prose poems, it's interesting to see her open the collection with a powerful and distilled prose work, "A Place Like Brooklyn, Like Stonehenge." This is followed by the poem that gives the book its title, and the two works together set the stage for the passionate and unblinking works to follow. Three stunning poems serve as memorials to her father, a challenging figure in her life, and one whom she carries to safety in the heartbreaking "PTSD Hushabye."

Two poems in particular serve as memorials to both Horatio and Evy, "Dark, & Darker" and "Scattered Petals." There are several here that could provide a reader's favorite line, such as "Every homeland owns its slaughterhouse" in "An Angry Sad Poem," or "an idea in God's throat" in "Loves, Non-Loves, Anti-Loves." But don't let me steer you to particulars. As in her previous poetry collections, Carolyn Srygley-Moore astonishes the most when her work is swallowed in wholistic fashion. Do not worry about the book serving as a clarion call for animal rights, though that's important too. Accept the gift as just an unceasing marvel.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Ode to Horatio and Other Saviors by Carolyn Srygley-Moore was published in late 2020 by Crisis Chronicles Press. 

U.S. or Elsewhere?

United States $12.00 USD Elsewhere $16.00 USD

Two new reviews of Ode to Horatio and Other Saviors by Carolyn Srygley-Moore

Five stars each, recently posted to Amazon:

"Ms. Srygley-Moore's ability to capture moments of just how jarring random events are to a creature that doesn't comprehend, yet still remains loyal to those who have varying degrees of concern, from love to just something else to be processed, capture the heartbreak and confusion that must have been felt by Horatio, Evy and the others. The empathy shown at times make the tragedy of "if only" even more acute. We share so much with them and denying that identification makes for the sadness - and anger - that fuel the poet."

— Christopher Wetmore

"Here is a realistic poetry book about our world, parts of of it seen through a dog lover's bond with a pitbull named Evy, who has to be euthanized when Evy bites the author's 13 year old daughter's friend. The pitbull was a rescue and all efforts of love are made to avoid the kill shelter. Carolyn Srygley Moore finds through strong imagery that we are our own saviors. The power of her own heart rides deep into both her own childhood themes, past relationships and themes that correspond to her advocacy to save dogs from murder who are genuinely adoptable. The author will hit your heart. Expect to drop a tear or two on these pages."

— Paul Cordeiro  

U.S. or Elsewhere?

United States $12.00 USD Elsewhere $16.00 USD

For more information about Ode to Horatio and Other Saviors by Carolyn Srygley-Moore, please visit http://ccpress.blogspot.com/2020/10/112horatio.html.

 

Elizabeth Marino reviews Rattle and Numb

I am super grateful to Elizabeth Marino for her kind review of my recent book, Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems, 1992-2019 [Venetian Spider Press] on Goodreads:

"There is always the challenge to readers of poems heard in strong live performance to challenge the page work as print poems rather than transcriptions. This collection does not disappoint. Burroughs brings a strong understanding of structure to his work; there are many fully crafted pieces, and should not be seen as 'mere' beat musings. These are heartbeat poems, which have their own life on the page. Whimsy and rage, like the proverbial lion and lamb, find their places together here. Much cool stuff. Snap." 

—Elizabeth Marino, author of Ceremonies, Debris, and the just released Asylum.

Buy Rattle and Numb from my favorite independent bookstore, or your own.

Nelson Gary reviews Rattle and Numb

Rattle and Numb [2019, Venetian Spider Press]
Cover art by Emma Anderson

Written by Nelson Gary:

Rattle and Numb: Selected and New Poems 1992-2019 by John Burroughs, Ohio State Beat Poet Laureate, is a collection filled with the poet's powerful, pervasive energy. With it, he rebels against conformity to middle-class values while also showing the poet's medals and wounds as a result of that war. After World War II, especially taking the Holocaust into consideration, how poetry could be written at all, let alone with rhymes, was taken into major critical consideration on a moral and an ethical basis. How could the human soul be responsible for so much death and so much inhumane death at that? The very question of the existence of soul after the destruction of civilization, which was World War II, came into question.

On the dust jacket of Burroughs's collection, A.W. Graves writes that he does not like modern poetry much because it is "lifeless and soulless" as well as lacking "originality and intimacy." He goes on to say that he likes Burroughs's work because it is full of what most modern poetry lacks. I wholly agree with Graves about Burroughs's work as it pertains to certain poets today who have no motive, will, or design in depicting the "lifeless and soulless," other than sometimes imitating examples in terms of form (design) of preexisting works, be it under a teacher of a workshop or from the shelves of a library or university bookstore. What makes Burroughs's form lively and soulful is its rhythm, rhyme, and wordplay, which do, at times, come across as comedic, but it is comedic in a layered way that is akin to the moral outrage of Lenny Bruce and his brand of black humor: insightful, disturbing, and heartbreaking, if not tragic, not to mention, of course, funny. Intimacy on the page is created by the conversational tone of even the most philosophically profound poems in Rattle and Numb, and there are more than a decent number of them.

One could make an argument that Burroughs's free verse rhymes are anchored in a unique sense of the variable foot, and this would be an excellent argument, one which I would not deny the validity of, but it is really a surface point, though one necessary to make. One must consider the history and nature of rhyme, excluding off-rhyme, from the assessment. Rhyme has such a long and prolific use that the current value of it is not mainly the sight and sound of it at the end of lines or even in the middle of them, internally. The power of it is in how and why it connects thought, emotion, idea, image, alliteration, and rhythm. While it is much more difficult to make this connection (consistently at the end of lines) in accentual or syllabic verse and maintain intelligibility at the very least, it is difficult to make rhyme work on a technical basis in free verse, especially to do so and be taken at all seriously as a poet. Burroughs, a poet worthy of all taking seriously, makes rhyme work in a unique and visceral way through sheer instinct. I do not know his deeper reasons for doing this, but what it results in is an experience of body and soul, the at times excruciating and at times ecstatic dislocation and connection between them. Bob Dylan said that the best people carry themselves like boxers, and in this highly autobiographical work, this is how John Burroughs carries himself page after page.

Burroughs's style is inordinately powerful, elevating the work to a higher place than either comedy or tragedy: tragicomedy. His regular form, consisting of wordplay, rhythm, and rhyme, meets what is central to the best of Rattle and Numb's content at times in a discordant way, other times in a harmonious one, but in a way, that is altogether fulfilling to this reader. The centerpiece of this collection is "Identity Crisis." Ultimately, what Burroughs's work shows is the relationship between the one and the other in terms of the one's formation of identity in an in inimitable and memorable way.

* * * * *

Nelson Gary's works include XXX (Dance of the Iguana Press), Cinema (Sacred Beverage Press), A Wonderful Life in Our Lives: Sketches of a Honeymoon in Mexico (Low Profile Press), and Twin Volumes (Ethelrod Press). His Pharmacy Psalms and Half-Life Hymns—for Nothing will be published by Rose of Sharon Press in 2021. Gary's poems and prose have been published in numerous journals, magazines, anthologies, and newspapers, including The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry (Thunder's Mouth Press), Los Angeles Times, and Desert Sun. Gary, a former professional tennis player and instructor, was the Sports Editor at the Santa Monica Mirror. He read at Lollapalooza in 1994, had a residency with Ivan Neville's All-Star Band at The Mint, recorded his poetry with Elliott Smith ("Coast to Coast") on the latter's album From a Basement on the Hill. At Heroin Times, his journalism helped thousands, if not millions, of people addicted to opioids and their loved ones find recovery. Gary is a Beyond Baroque Fellow and has facilitated two writing workshops there. He has a bachelor's degree in English from California State University of Northridge and a master's degree in Forensic Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Kristen Scott reviews my Rattle and Numb in Knot Magazine

Something to smile about today! Many thanks to Kristen D. Scott and Knot Magazine for reviewing my latest book, Rattle and Numb [from Venetian Spider Press] in their new Spring 2020 issue.

Read the review at https://www.knotliteraturemagazine.com/kristen-d-scott-john-burroughs-revi.

Read the entire issue at https://www.knotliteraturemagazine.com.

Cat Russell Book Launch and Review

From the Akron Beacon Journal (3/20/2019):

Everyday life is the source for the poetry in Cat Russell’s collection Soul Picked Clean. The provocative title of her opening poem “Why I Can’t Tell You About My First Time” refers to her first library visit, which Russell can’t recall but which instilled in her a lifelong love of reading, leading to visits to high school and college libraries. The delicate “Urn” depicts the poet’s mother seated in her “tastefully decorated office” selecting a cloisonné urn to contain the ashes of her husband, to keep him close by.

“Panic” ably describes the uncontrollability of a panic attack and how it feeds on itself, and “Gathering” the prosaic childhood memory of Russell’s father and his friends relaxing poolside with beer and chips.

Some of the poems were previously published.

Soul Picked Clean (89 pages, softcover) costs $12 from Crisis Chronicles Press, 3431 George Ave., Parma 44134.

Cat Russell will be joined by Pittsburgh poets Jen Ashburn (The Light on the Wall) and Jason Irwin (A Blister of Stars) at 7 p.m. Saturday [3/30/2019] at Mac’s Backs, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights.

https://www.ohio.com/entertainmentlife/20190320/local-books-stories-of-world-war-ii-poetry-about-everyday-life-events-and-signings

Reviews of recent Crisis Chronicles books in Pudding

Many thanks to Pudding Magazine: The Journal of Applied Poetry and editor Connie Everett for recommending two recent Crisis Chronicles Press books in their latest issue. Subscribe to Pudding at puddingmagazine.com.

About Rikki Santer's Dodge, Tuck, Roll, they say:

"There is plenty of heft and whimsy in the poems of Rikki Santer. Besides her obvious love of language and its play, she ruminates over failed relationships, environmental peril, internet addiction, health scares, and death. But there is also a well-balanced celebration of music, art, and nature to appreciate. Betty Boop is reconsidered as only a feminist might. A food and art mashup with appearances by Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Stephen Hawking and abstractions of culinary possibilities leave the reader dizzy. Reading Santer's poems is an experience of synesthesia as she navigates the 'thin membrane between apocalypse & carnival.' Dodge, Tuck, Roll is a book to be savored."

About Kari Gunter-Seymour's Serving, they say: 

"After decades of war, many of us don't know any who have served or their families. Gunter-Seymour gives an emotionally honest portrayal of what service and sacrifice look like for military families. A sense of home, of place, offer context for what we protect and why. A book of heartbreak, but most of all, love."

Order Rikki's and Kari's books together and save!

Barton Smock reflects on Kari Gunter-Seymour's Serving

Read here: https://isacoustic.com/2018/08/11/serving-poetry-kari-gunter-seymour/

Buy the book here: http://ccpress.blogspot.com/2018/03/CC97KariGS.html

I Misc You Again

Here are a few of the things I wanted to blog about in recent months but never did.

I have poems forthcoming in three places:
Pudding Magazine: The Journal of Applied Poetry #67
Missouri is a Ghost-Shaped Thing: Gasconade Review 2
BEAT-itude: National Beat Poetry Festival 10-Year Anthology

On April 2nd, Marcia Epstein interviewed me for her Talk with ME podcast.

In May, I was interviewed on video for Sundress Publications' CookBook project.

My poem "Unfounded" was a finalist (3rd place) in Goodreads' June 2018 poetry contest.

There are new reviews of my 2018 chapbook Loss and Foundering [Nightballet Press] here and here.

And Diane Kendig recently wrote a clerihew about me.

More soon, including a video clip from my performance at the National Beat Poetry Festival on June 2nd in New Hartford, Connecticut.  Stay tuned....

DeWitt Clinton reviews two recent Crisis Chronicles Press books at The Café Review

Click here to read DeWitt Clinton's reviews
of Hourglass Studies by Krysia Jopek and
Inquiry into Loneliness by Meg Harris

Order both books together and get free postage.

New Reviews of Recent Crisis Chronicles Press Publications

It's been about 6 months since I shared links to new Crisis Chronicles Press book reviews on this, my personal blog, so here are a number of reviews and other accolades that have come to light since that time. I feel extremely grateful to be associated with such wonderful authors and books, and am especially grateful to the kind souls who not only enjoyed these books but have gone the extra mile to share their thoughts about them publicly.

CC#87 - 13 Poems from the Edge of Extinction by Adrian Manning:
Review by Matthew Hall in Screaming with Brevity.
Review by John Greiner at Goodreads.

CC#88 - Scraping the Sky by Luba Gawur:
Nominated for a 2018 Ohioana Book Award.

CC#89 - The Black Between Stars by Elliot Nicely:
Review by Randy Brooks in Frogpond.
Editorial review in the inaugural issue of Scryptic.
Nominated for a 2018 Ohioana Book Award.
Nominated in its entirety for a Pushcart Prize.

CC#90 - Sandpaper Lovin' by Victor Clevenger:
"Love Letters" from this book nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

CC#91 - Turnstile Burlesque by John Greiner:
Review by Kevin Hinman at Goodreads.
Review by Carrie Crow at Goodreads.
"Jane in Her Business Suit" from this book nominated for a Pushcart Prize. 

CC#92 - Diary of a Feminist Thug, Volume I: His[tories] of Her Land by Lyz Bly:
Nominated for a 2018 Ohioana Book Award.

CC#93 - Snap by Dion Farquhar:
Review by Christina Brooks at Goodreads.

CC#94 - Inquiry into Loneliness by Meg Harris:
Review by Michelle Reale at Rag Queen Periodical.
Reviews by Marcia Trahan, Christina Brooks, Jennifer Juneau and many more at Amazon.
"Crystal" from this book nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

CC#95 - Hourglass Studies by Krysia Jopek:
Review by Michelle Reale at Rag Queen Periodical.
Review by John Sweet at The Bleeding Horse, Avenged.
Review by Chris Stroffolino at Thing.
Review by Will Mayo at Goodreads.  
Nominated in its entirety for a Pushcart Prize.

CC#96 - Oct Tongue 2 by Anderson, Bashaar, Borsenik, Cerveny, Cook, Jordan, Lifshin & Wallace:
Review by Christina Brooks at Goodreads.
George Wallace's "America, Land of the Bitter" from this book nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Happy new year, everyone!

New Reviews of Recent Crisis Chronicles Press Publications

CC#91 - Turnstile Burlesque by John Greiner
Review by Kevin Hinman at Goodreads

CC#89 - The Black Between Stars by Elliot Nicely
Editorial review in the inaugural issue of Scryptic

CC#87 - 13 Poems from the Edge of Extinction by Adrian Manning
Review by Matthew Hall in Screaming with Brevity

CC#84 - God Save Your Mad Parade by Austen Roye
Review by Emily Cornell at Goodreads

New Reviews of my Water Works and Chance

Jennifer Polhemus reviews my Water Works (The Poet's Haven, 2017): "My first read in celebration of National Poetry Month 2017...The sensual physicality of John's poetry leaves me feeling like I've taken one too many Vicodin; pleasantly spinning with just a slight annoyance of itchiness. Only some sort of orgasm will distract from the need to scratch. Delightful read!"

Jennifer Polhemus reviews my It Takes More Than Chance to Make Change (The Poet's Haven, 2013): "My second read in celebration of National Poetry Month 2017...What a frolicking good time! In respsonse to 'Tooth Telling', pg. 16, I write: 'So leave your tooth then, / beneath one of my pillows. / I promise you a quarter / moon at dawn. / Give the silver disc / to a Hobbit / hiding in the roots / of my mountain. / He knows what is precious... / the same as you.'"

Review of Green by Theresa Senato Edwards

Theresa Senato Edwards is one of my favorite living writers, and Green may be her best work yet. Having recently lost my mother, and feeling like I'm on the verge of losing someone else I love as much, I find myself returning to this chapbook as I would a good friend to share grief and fond remembrance. And though immersed in loss, I somehow find my life less wan and my loving richer.

Green is available from Finishing Line Press and Amazon.

Six Inches of Beat Attitude

Thank you so much to Charles Joseph and Five 2 One Magazine for this review of my Beat Attitude chapbook (from NightBallet Press). Comes with interview. Six Inches of Glory indeed. I appreciate you giving it to me good.