poems

Six Haiku/Senryu by Susan N Aassahde

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1

fallen leaves
ramble on crisp snow
for hills of March

2

early blossom
clang on ivory frost
for bobbles of turtles

3

fresh dew
talons on rose pulps
for crops of spring

4

tweak fleece
centipedes on lost rain
for drifts of pebbles

5

harvest sap
bees on nimble fuchsia
for stream of hops

6

cauliflower flock
ruffage of flint hyenas
for skips of peat
 
 
 
Susan N Aassahde

Bio:
 
Susan N Aassahde graduated from university in 2014, her interests lay in the creation of the art of haiku, relatively new Susan N Aassahde has a small collection published with Plum Tree Tavern, Down in the Dirt and Dreich magazine after a concentration of experimental verse which are published with Eskimo Pie and M58 she has progressed to her connection with nature.
 
 
 

Robin Ouzman Hislop is Editor of Poetry Life and Times at Artvilla.com ; You may visit Aquillrelle.com/Author Robin Ouzman Hislop about author & https://poetrylifeandtimes.com See Robin performing his work Performance (University of Leeds)

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Learning Curve. 3 Poems by Gary Beck

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‘Learning Curve’ is an unpublished collection concerned with the decline of Western civilization: Gary Beck


(i.)

Urban Reaches

Alone in a great city
strangers pass,
intent on jobs, crime,
shopping, terror.
I know not what.
They all look remote,
don’t say ‘good morning’,
don’t meet my gaze,
except the hostiles,
when I quickly look away.
I cannot tell
who is good, kind, normal,
smart enough to build a future.
Temporarily marooned
in a vast enclosure
I do not know what to do
to establish an identity.

(ii.)

Homeless VIII

They robbed my cans
for the second time
in a week.
I hustled my ass off
getting those cans
and got nothing for it.
At least they didn’t beat me.
Maybe I’ll get me a knife
and cut them good
if they try to rob me again.

(iii.)

Conflict

Armies march in many lands.
Rebels attack in many lands.
Conflicts simmer across the globe,
	boil over,
	  erupt
in deadly violence,
destroying lives,
     property,
     eradicating
aspirations for stability,
      disallowing
      normal pursuits,
	education,
      home building,
      raising children,
	hoping
tomorrow will be better
than the savagery today.

 


 

Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director and worked as an art dealer when he couldn’t earn a living in the theater. He has also been a tennis pro, a ditch digger and a salvage diver. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and his published books include 26 poetry collections, 10 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 1 collection of one-act plays. Published poetry books include: Dawn in Cities, Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk, Civilized Ways, Displays, Perceptions, Fault Lines, Tremors, Perturbations, Rude Awakenings, The Remission of Order, Contusions and Desperate Seeker (Winter Goose Publishing. Forthcoming: Learning Curve and Ignition Point). Earth Links, Too Harsh For Pastels, Severance, Redemption Value and Fractional Disorder (Cyberwit Publishing). His novels include a series ‘Stand to Arms, Marines’: Call to Valor, Crumbling Ramparts and Raise High the Walls (Gnome on Pig Productions) and Extreme Change (Winter Goose Publishing). Wavelength (Cyberwit Publishing). His short story collections include: A Glimpse of Youth (Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories (Winter Goose Publishing) and Dogs Don’t Send Flowers and other stories (Wordcatcher Publishing). The Republic of Dreams and other essays (Gnome on Pig Productions). The Big Match and other one act plays (Wordcatcher Publishing). Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume 1 (Cyberwit Publishing. Forthcoming: Plays of Aristophanes translated, then directed by Gary Beck). Gary lives in New York City. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGaryBeck
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Robin Ouzman Hislop is Editor of Poetry Life and Times at Artvilla.com ; his publications include
 
All the Babble of the Souk , Cartoon Molecules, Next Arrivals and Moon Selected Audio Textual Poems, collected poems, as well as translation of Guadalupe Grande´s La llave de niebla, as Key of Mist and the recently published Tesserae , a translation of Carmen Crespo´s Teselas.
 
You may visit Aquillrelle.com/Author Robin Ouzman Hislop about author. See Robin performing his work Performance (University of Leeds)

 

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The Unpublishable Podcast Episode 4 Featuring Kaustuv Ghosh. Chiara Cozzilino. Robin Ouzman Hislop and Eve Gore

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Kristen (twitter @inhinzsight,)
 
Editor’s note: These podcasts are performed by Kristen (twitter @inhinzsight,) who is also the publisher & editor of the Unpublishabe Ezine online magazine. https://theunpublishablezine.wordpress.com. They were originally presented in their written text https://theunpublishablezine.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/five-poems-by-robin-ouzman-hislop/ but for the other poets represented here in this podcast, you will need to scroll down accordinlgy from the ezine link provide.
 

 
 
 
 
 
Robin Ouzman Hislop is Editor of Poetry Life and Times at Artvilla.com ; his publications include
 
All the Babble of the Souk , Cartoon Molecules, Next Arrivals and Moon Selected Audio Textual Poems, collected poems, as well as translation of Guadalupe Grande´s La llave de niebla, as Key of Mist and the recently published Tesserae , a translation of Carmen Crespo´s Teselas.
 
You may visit Aquillrelle.com/Author Robin Ouzman Hislop about author. See Robin performing his work Performance (University of Leeds)

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The Truth about Snails. Collected Poems by JD DeHart.

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Editors Note: About the Author
 
In 2014, over the course of some snow days, I put together a collection that would become The Truth About Snails. At the time, most of the writing I was getting to was speculative and science fictional (I guess that’s a word) in nature. So the first collection of poetry I put together reflected this.
 
Poems were inspired by years as a comic book reader and sci-fi fan. They were not fan fiction, really, but reflected larger themes of science fiction and fantasy that I enjoyed.
 
This is the text that appears on the back of the book:
 
“Ordinary objects take on a new form, and myths become real and move next door in the verses contained in this collection. Whether it is a recasting of the myth of Sisyphus, or the titular truth about the origin of our shell-bearing planet dwellers, each poem offers a new view of an old friend. Much of the writing was inspired by the comic books and science fiction, and on concepts beyond the scope of the real world, and cast firmly in the supernatural.”
 
My hope is that this book can be the first of many. I am already at work on a second collection, which is out for review now, as well as a variety of articles, reviews, and prose works. I reprint some of my favorite poems at jddehartfeaturepoems.blogspot., write reviews and post them at http://dehartreadingandlitresources.blogspot.com/, and tweet @jd_dehart.
 
Whether you check out this chapbook collection, a future book, or just read my work around the web, I appreciate the read!
 
The Truth About Snails is now available both on Amazon and Red Dashboard, the publisher’s website at http://cms.reddashboard.com/j-d-dehart/
 
 
Vigilante
 
 
Pardon me for attempting to be
some kind of hero or otherwise
savior figure. My mistake.
Pardon the garish appearance
of the costume I crafted (it was
a last minute low budget choice)
and pardon my lack of sophisticated
intelligence, weaponry, or astounding
martial arts skills. I am just a guy
who used to read comics, wanted to be
somebody’s emblem, and now find
the feeling of this cape rather awkward.
 
 

 
 
Bio:
JD DeHart is a writer and teacher. His poems have recently appeared in Dime Show Review and Cacti Fur.

 
 
Cartoon-Molecules/paperback/Robin Ouzman Hislop
 
www.facebook.com/PoetryLifeTimes
 
robin@artvilla.com

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En el Oído del Viento. Collected Poems. Amparo Arrospide. Reviewed by Jose Antonio Pamies

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Su antigua música el desdecir diciéndose
el vértice del miedo y su pregunta
al filo de un abismo
como si de prestado no viviésemos miedo
 
Ah no lo desconoces alguna vez de niño lo sentiste
bajo sábanas amargas o dichosas
de pronto alargar su dedo oscuro
 
el miedo amigo el miedo cómplice
restregando los flancos de otro día
barrenando certezas preguntándose aquí
cómo decirles nada cómo decir si aprietan
 
Otros imponen establecen recaudan
otros castigan evalúan deciden
otros deciden miedo
 
o nadie en absoluto ni una sola persona
y sin embargo sabes
frente al espejo sabes
callar lo sabes lo has aprendido al fin
 
Di qué pronto la costumbre nos arropa
qué pronto está debajo el escondite
y las vasijas frías del llorar
 
y el miedo nos sonríe tiritando
entrechocando dientes
cubiertos para un ya mudo comensal
tan yerto como tú que le prometes
vivir, seguir viviendo en miedo como siempre.
 
Amparo Arróspide, a poem from En el oído del viento (Baile del Sol, 2016)
 
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
 
 
Amparo Arróspide (Argentina) has published five poetry collections: Presencia en el Misterio, Mosaicos bajo la hiedra, Alucinación en dos actos y algunos poemas, Pañuelos de usar y tirar and En el oído del viento, as well as poems, short stories and articles on literature and films in anthologies and international magazines. She has translated authors such as Francisca Aguirre, Javier Díaz Gil, Luis Fores and José Antonio Pamies into English, together with Robin Ouzman Hislop, who she worked with for a period as co-editor of Poetry Life and Times, a Webzine. Her translations into Spanish of Margaret Atwood (Morning in the Burned House), James Stephens (Irish Fairy Tales) and Mia Couto (Vinte e Zinco) are in the course of being published, as well as her two poetry collections Hormigas en diáspora and Jacuzzi. She takes part in festivals, recently Transforming with Poetry (Leeds) and Centro de Poesía José Hierro (Getafe).
 
 

(EN EL OÍDO DEL VIENTO, Baile del Sol, 2016)
Amparo Arróspide
 
 
En el oído del viento es el último libro de poemas publicado por Amparo Arróspide, filóloga, traductora y poeta nacida en Argentina y radicada desde hace años en Europa. En esta colección de poemas nos ofrece un trabajo singular, innovador, sorprendente, coloreado por diversos registros y voces corales, sin perder el hilo conductor de una voz afianzada: “Y a salvo yo, lectora de la vida, esto que se mueve y me sucede, donde sucedo y no hay respuestas, ni siquiera búsqueda de respuestas, un afán inútil, donde presto mi oído atento al runrún de lo que pasa y va pasando.”
 
La realidad resuena en este oído y se nos ofrece traducida con distorsión, juegos del lenguaje y toques de ironía, quizá una de las mejores formas de poner de manifiesto la situación social que atravesamos sin caer en la queja panfletaria o el lamento repetitivo.
 
Y es que lo cierto y verdad es que “Hemos descreído del género mayor, ese rumiante ante la caja de los panegíricos con olor a violeta y forma de billete bancario.”
 
El libro está dividido en tres partes: “en el oído del viento”, “el mundo en fuga” y una tercera parte “a modo de epílogo”. Encontramos en muchos de estos poemas una poesía crítica con esa realidad exterior que sutilmente nos ha ido imponiendo su dictadura de lo políticamente correcto. Es tarea de la poesía desvelar los resortes de esas trampas para acceder a la verdad, a la esencia de una realidad que a menudo difiere bastante de las apariencias: “¿Ustedes nunca fueron vendidas compradas construídas/ paseadas por los medios de incomunicación?”
 
Los poemas se enfrentan a esa labor a través de ingeniosos mecanismos que denotan un buen trabajo con el lenguaje y con la semántica, dejando apreciar el valor textual de los poemas, a la vez que encuentran diversos tipos de paralelismos con la realidad exterior a la que refieren. En esa relación de contexto los versos se abren paso significando distorsionadamente, tratando con divertimento crítico acontecimientos que nos conciernen a todos los ciudadanos.
 
Una innovadora fusión de poéticas se nos revela aquí. Por un lado, encontramos preocupaciones y motivos de fondo que podrían resumirse en estas palabras de Enrique Falcón: “Mi verdadero conflicto: que me muerden mis versos, que no tengo país.” Y por otro lado, el magnífico trabajo con el lenguaje se acerca formalmente a una poesía conceptual, cercana a los concretistas y a algunas obras de Martín Gubbins o Ignacio Miranda en su tratamiento del lenguaje administrativo y burocrático, convertido en obra de arte mediante el talento poético.
 
Esta labor a que nos referimos se aprecia en una serie de poemas que ofrecen variaciones a referencias legislativas como en “Real Decreto 624/2014” o a discursos políticos como en “Investidura MMXI” donde se alude al discurso de investidura del presidente de Gobierno actual en España. Hay en ellos un contraste de la estructura opaca, propia de ese tipo de discursos políticos, con esa magia poética que nace de los nuevos sentidos que ofrece el texto distorsionado. Ecos surrealistas de una voz que se distancia de la realidad para denunciarla mejor mediante la deformación de los significantes, el realismo de ese lenguaje político resulta tan grisáceo que en su temerario engaño no es capaz de ofrecer ni siquiera un vocabulario seductor. Esta poesía seduce y divierte, pero a su vez contiene el poso amargo de la verdad ineludible, de la corrupción, del paro, de los recortes, de las mentiras que duelen:
 
“Habrá pañoles, todos punibles, todos fungibles, todos cocodrilos,/ dignos de esputo, todos capaces de trincar en la estafeta común.”
 
Los recursos del lenguaje poético son mucho más bellos y entretenidos que ese lenguaje de los burócratas, pero desvelan también una verdad más cruda. El esperpento se hace necesario para poder afrontar el tratamiento de cuestiones que tanto nos afectan: apela a la función lúdica de la literatura a la vez que despierta el pensamiento crítico, señalándonos la realidad que tenemos que afrontar cada día.
 
“Esta es mi puesta, Luñorías./ Es una oferta de bergamota porque se sustenta en la micción/ de que contamos con miedos, meigas y vergas para salir adelante.”
 
En En el oído del viento también hay ráfagas de un registro más íntimo con poemas que apuntan a preocupaciones esenciales como el paso del tiempo, la naturaleza o el amor con ecos de César Vallejo y referencias a otras tradiciones culturales. Y también a la utilidad de la poesía, al lugar del poeta en este mundo, si es que tiene cabida más allá de infinitos interrogantes: “¿Todos los poetas no pueden…/ obtener un doctorado en sinestesia/ por la universidad de Columbia en Nueva York? /¿Trabajar de catedráticos de ciencias púnicas/ trabajar de maestras jardineras,/ trabajar?” “¿No pueden desdoblarse transmutarse / no pueden extrañarse balbucearse / y enmudecer al fin?”
 
En el contexto actual no podemos permitirnos el lujo de que este tipo de obras pasen de puntillas por las estanterías, estamos ante una apuesta innovadora y vitalista que tiende puentes y abre caminos en el marco de la poesía contemporánea. A pesar de tantas necesarias cuestiones, esta poesía no enmudecerá.
 
Cerrando el libro, a modo de epílogo, encontramos un magnífico diálogo que no podría ser más necesario: “Por su bien y por el mío, ciudadano paciente, lo engranaré en la maquinaria de la rutina social. Afortunado usted: de haberlo atendido otro (hay dos escuelas, la dura y la inflexible), dada su mórbida atracción por Sogas y Vigas ya estaría colgando. Podría hacer otro chiste fácil con los empalmes del ahorcamiento pero no lo haré. Alégrese, hombre, tiene usted permiso. ¡Pero hable, calle, alégrese!”
 
Por su bien y por el mío, ciudadano paciente, le recomiendo que se acerque a la poesía que Amparo Arróspide nos ofrece en esta obra.
 
José Antonio Pamies
 
En el oído del viento is only sold at http://www.latiendadebailedelsol.org/ Amparo Arróspide En el Oído del Viento.html
 
 
jose pamies
 
 

José Antonio Pamies (Alicante, 1981―) Finalista del III Premio internacional de poesía 
Andrés Salom 2005 y del II Premio de la editorial poesia Eres Tu 2010 con Las Ruinas 
de la Aurora. Ha publicado Campos de hielo (Babilonia, Pliegos de la palabra nº 3, 2012) 
y Afonías (finalista del XXVI Premio Gerardo Diego de Poesía), así como poemas en revistas 
y numerosas antologías. Reside en Madrid, donde realiza estudia Teoría de la Literatura y 
Literatura Comparada.
 
 

José Antonio Pamies (Alicante, 1981―) His early poetry collection Las Ruinas de la Aurora was a runner up at the III Andres Salom International Poetry Award in 2005 and the II poesia Eres Tu Publisher Award in 2010. He has published Campos de hielo (Babilonia, Pliegos de la palabra nº 3) and Afonías― a runner up at the XXVI Gerardo Diego Poetry Award. He currently lives in Madrid, pursuing studies in Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature.

 
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Key of Mist. Guadalupe Grande.Translated.Amparo Arróspide.Robin Ouzman Hislop
 
goodreads.com/author/show/Robin Ouzman Hislop
http://www.aquillrelle.com/authorrobin.htm
http://www.amazon.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
www.lulu.com. All the Babble of the Souk. Robin Ouzman Hislop
https://www.amazon.com/author/robinouzmanhislop
http://www.innerchildpress.com/robin-ouzman-hislop.All the Babble of the Souk

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“Now” & “Silent Habitation” Poems. “Scavenger–Holding the Earth” by Johnston, Anowe & Kaminski

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Melissa D Johnston-scavenger-150 ppi
 
“Scavenger–Holding the Earth” Melissa D Johnston
 
 
 
Now
 
in a wry humorous light
i grow older than i was
a pinch of a breath ago
 
the preciousness of every day
fades with each passing thought
with every coming and going
of a crow cawing at my broken window
 
farther and farther i drift into eternity
drift through the fallow fog
that has hidden my share
of existence and identity
 
there’s a despair standing astride
the threshold of my soul
what ceremony of words or deeds
like a daunted wind could blow
this bodily heap of tragedy…
 
God
’tis your hand that owns
the knife and cocoyam
 
–JK Anowe
 
 
Silent Habitation
 
’tis your hand that owns
the flesh i now inhabit
bones and skin
 
sometimes seem more
like an affliction, body
a weight upon the spirit
instead of habitation
 
why does my soul
insist on traveling these
roads alone, where trees
are bare of blossom
bare of leaves
 
empty of chameleons
of birds and birdsong
 
God
’tis your hand that strums
the small notes from their
throats
 
–Laura M Kaminski (Halima Ayuba)
 
 
JK Anowe was born in Nigeria in 1994. He’s presently a degree student of the department of foreign languages in the University of Benin, Nigeria. He speaks English, Igbo and French. He is finalizing his first full-length poetry manuscript.
 
 
Laura M Kaminski grew up in Nigeria, went to school in New Orleans, and currently lives in rural Missouri. Her most recent interview, at THE STRONG LETTERS, can be read at https://waleowoade.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/laura-m-kaminski/
 
 
Melissa D. Johnston is an artist, writer, and recovering academic. You can see more of her work at http://melissadjohnston.com/
 
 
 
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Press Release. The Poetic Bond 111. 2013-1

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PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

 

THE POETIC BOND III, ISBN 978-1492384199, published  5.October 2013

 

Poetry of the MOMENT, from across the PLANET, poetry of our WORLD

 

Poetry that documents the Contemporary Zeitgeist

 

Poetry that explores, illuminates and examines the Human Condition

 

POETRY THAT BONDS US

 

Poetry from

 

Brazil, Canada, China, Eire, France, Grenada, India, Israel,

 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, UK, US,

 

 

Thirty-seven poets from 13 countries were selected through a submission process in which there were no restrictions on form, style, length of subject; instead the choices made were on the basis of emergent themes and congruency in the pool of work; a snapshot of the poetry of new media NOW, seeking to capture the zeitgeist of the moment.

 

 

“Poetry, both reveals and shares our humanity”

 

(Trevor Maynard, editor The Poetic Bond Series)

 

 

Editors’ Notes

 

1. FOR A PDF PRESS COPY OF THE POETIC BOND III, contact Trevor Maynard at poetry@trevormaynard.com on 0 44 7966 079968 or by snail mail at Willowdown Books, 105 Crockford Park Road, Addletone, Surrey, UK, KT 15 2LP

 

2. Trevor Maynard, UK based poet and writer, manager of Poetry, Review and Discuss Group, a major poetry group on LinkedIn. His new poetry collection is KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (was published November 27 2012). He is also the author of several plays. Further information at http://www.trevormaynard.com/

 

4. The Poets of The POETIC BOND III (2013) are; Christine Anderes (US), Graham Bates (New Zealand), Rebecca Behar (France), Mark Beechill (UK), Nikki Bennett (UK), Rosalind Brenner (US), BJ Brown (US), Ian Colville (UK), Clark Cook (Canada), William DiBenedetto (US), Sam Doctors (US), Belinda Dupret (UK), Sumita Dutta (India), Gilbert A. Frank (US), Nina Floreteng (Sweden), Louise Francois (Grenada), GK Grieve (Europe), Seamus Harrington (Eire), Scott Hastie (UK), James Higgins (US), Robin Ouzman Hislop (UK), Diane Jardel (UK), Mark L. Levinson (Israel), Carey Link (US), Trevor Maynard (UK), Mermie (France), Simon Miller (UK), Linda Mills (US), Marli Merker Moreira (Brazil), Christine Pearson (US), RH Peat (US), Bonnie Roberts (US), Niek Satijn (Netherlands), Sharla Lee Shults (US), Peter Alan Soron (UK), Charles Thielman (US), Cigeng Zhang (China).

 

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE

 

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