Shepherding an elderly parent through illness and death is a stark, unglamorous journey that demands clear vision and directness, and (especially if you’re a Jewish New Yorker) a fair amount of gallows humor. These qualities abound in Lesléa Newman’s latest poetry collection, I Wish My Father (Headmistress Press, 2021). Dedicated to Edward Newman (1927-2017), a
Lesléa Newman’s “I Wish My Father” Is a Tragicomic Elegy Read More »
As February is Black History Month, let’s start our links roundup with a nod to 20th-century African-American historian Edgar Toppin (1928-2004), who persuaded President Ford to institute this official commemoration in 1976. Never heard of him? Well, that shows why we need to teach more Black history! I discovered his story at the progressive politics
February Links Roundup: Exorcising America Read More »
Today being the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, I thought I’d share a poem on the topic by The Poet Spiel, inspired by the Renaissance artwork below. The second poem returns to a topic that Spiel and I both ruminate upon frequently, the complex feelings we have toward our abusive mothers. The Baptism re:
“The Baptism” and “Touching” by The Poet Spiel Read More »
First things first, “Butt Trumpet” is the name of a delightfully bonkers parody punk rock band that my best friend and I found in the $3 bin at Turn It Up! Records in 2009. Enjoy this video of him as Cyril the Rat Puppet playing air guitar to Butt Trumpet’s “Flannel in Seattle”. The website
January Bonus Links: Butt Trumpets Read More »
Shortly after my post yesterday celebrating the Democrats’ Senate wins, white supremacist terrorists invaded the US Capitol to try to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. I’m with those who believe there’s more than simple incompetence behind the security failure. Fascism has made significant inroads in American police departments. Baptist minister Candace Simpson, who
January Links Roundup: Greetings from the Failed State Read More »
Happy 2021, readers! And happy Feast of the Epiphany, too. As of this writing, it appears that both Democratic candidates for Senate have won their runoff elections in Georgia, giving us the slimmest majority in the new administration (51-50 with VP Harris’ tiebreaking vote). Big thanks to Stacey Abrams, the NAACP, Movement Voter Project, Swing
100 Georgia Postcards Make a Poem Read More »
Your humble transmasculine fashion influencer has had an intense year. As have we all. Greatest accomplishment: Staying alive. Other greatest accomplishment: Finished a draft of Origin Story, my second novel about butts and sadness. Currently writing: Poems about dinosaur masturbation and vat-grown human flesh steaks for my third collection in progress, Made Man. Soundtrack of my
Reiter’s Block Year in Review: 2020 Read More »
Violinist Peter Campbell-Kelly of Worcestershire (UK) contacted us at Winning Writers to share this exquisite contemplative video of himself playing Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber‘s Mystery Sonata #16 “Passacaglia” in a 12th-century church in Warwickshire. He writes, “It is a sort of musical prayer, intended somehow for the well-being of all of us in this desperately
Music and Poetry by Peter Campbell-Kelly: “Passacaglia” Read More »
Will 2020 end? It’s possible! As we ride out another frightening virus surge, with a vaccine in sight, let’s light the winter darkness by looking at some small good things. I was going to give my readers a break from “WHRT Radio: all transgender, all the time” but then this happened. Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated
December Links Roundup: What’s Not Wrong Read More »
Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a fan of The Poet Spiel, a/k/a the artist Tom Taylor, whose eight-decade career includes both exotic pastorals and furious satires of bigotry and militarism. These poems on dementia show a more understated and gentle, but no less powerful, side of Spiel. Leaving When I cannot know
The Poet Spiel on Dementia Read More »