New Amarillo Bay Issue Out Now!

Check out: http://www.amarillobay.org/contents/contents.htm. Here you'll find two of my poems written while in the midwest.

As a taste, "Idaho, Moments After Sunset":

Lamps unsure if they've longer to wait
before darkness completes itself
and I unsure if their volleys
of flickering and hesitation
is the sought sign — when to know
if I'm ready to leave?

Ah the comfort, rejuvenation
smiling children impress on the crazy.
But upon that russet,
sallow cusp of horizon
day has broken
into glass shards lining the highway
and the children,
horders of all things
reflecting even the scantest light,
have skived their curious fingers
and retreated.

Stars like grains of white sand
emerge from a desert newly black,
Lilliputian divinities
who too age one more night
but will live to see another.

People enjoy imparting lessons
without awakening first in prison
or in heaven
and define bad water
as all rivers never crossed

and I who claim to be different
still cannot identify
which of the uninterrupted voices
scalding this desolate summer road
will find me the land
where music is no longer necessary.

Lullaby of the Spider

More good news! Red Wheelbarrow, a print publication of DeAnza College, will be publishing my poem Lullaby of the Spider in their 2009 national issue. This poem, slightly bittersweet, is an imagistic comment on memory. They've also included some very complimentary comments from their readers, which is both rare and truly lifted my spirits (as if one's spirits can be low late Spring, 90 degrees, preparing for a cross country move and new life!). Their notes:

One of our readers wrote:
"I felt like the convoluted and sometimes archaic syntax had an interesting effect in Williams' poems, creating a voice of detachment that complemented his imagery of the West. I especially liked how the sense of desperation in the beginning of Driving Nebraska gave way to a reluctant acceptance of loneliness. I also liked the haunting imagery in Lullaby of the Spider, and the way the poem slowly unraveled much like the strand of spiderweb it described."



They're still considering another poem, Driving Nebraska, for this issue too.

New chapbook near completion!

I'm in the midst of completing compilation of a new chapbook, The House We Live In, to submit to contests. The gist, if one can be so arbitrary, is a mix of...well...here's the blurb I'll be including on cover letters:

At its heart a single question struggling to use language to clarify and answer itself, The House We Live In exposes an ongoing conversation about God, politics, otherness, and our attempts to place a period at the end of any sentence. From appreciation of Hafiz, Kabir, Rilke, and the dreams we forget upon waking, The House funnels personal conundrums and uncertainties through experiences accrued worldwide, from Damascus to Reykjavik, and through everything newspapers say and do not say. The House spans 26 poems over 35 pages, broken into two books, each focusing on a different attempt to answer the question that, by the end, continues to struggle with its own definition.

Wish me luck! I've some confidence in this piece...

Desert Voices- Two Poems

The Spring 2009 Desert Voices just came out both in print and online. Two of my poems, In the Western Night and Preparing for Fire, both written during my cross-country adventure two summers ago, are within its pages. The pdf version of the print issue is: http://pages.paloverde.edu/staff/desertvoices/desertvoices.pdf.

Or, to make it that much easier:

Preparing for Fire

The juniper attacked us from behind
as a lover might, silk-handed,
and off-guard we swaggered drunkenly
back to campfire, as if facing the smell
would dull its charms
and return our distracted conversation
to things mighty, abstract, and unseen
waiting for us over the next sandstone wall.

Each twig we cast sparked infinitesimal fireworks
like dying candle spit
like fireflies adding themselves to the sun,
and the light did not war against the darkness
but lifted us with it
to where, though unseen,
it could still be felt.

Dreams of junipers began to trickle over
the faint of heart, those simple enough
to gaze upon a fire and be warm,
leaving me alone
just outside its perfect halo
boasting brashly to a gathering of stones,
geckos, and broken ceramic pots
that though smaller than a juniper spark
I’d not be taken quietly,
fondling my words like a sword, distracted-
savage Ares speculating aloud to statues of himself
where the blood goes in peacetime.


In the Western Night

Blue sparks raining from the sky
as if from two great metals clashing,
and a scream swallowing itself.
A half-dead mare, the half that bears its soul.
If argued correctly, the other half, they claim,
cannot also suffer.
Flies gather round its groin.
Metals clash, blue sparks,
and the shoe slips on, unnoticed.

And in my heart German shepherds
tempering the prairie wind
by gnashing their teeth
and pouncing upon the slightest sound.
And every sound a distinct fear,
every barn door rusting out, creaking,

and yet there is comfort
in condensing all life into a moment
and waiting for the next,
which this time will be it- it
and yet nothing like it-
like being the author and the poem
and fearing which will longer endure.

In the western night without illusion
the landscape crawled under my shirt
to die.
I still hear the rusting of hinges
and pounce upon every sound,
and still her eyes aglow beside me
spark blue and fall to the sheets,
heavy metals.
We’re awaiting another scream
that can swallow itself.

The shoe slips on unnoticed

And Then Like a Saber

Parts of And Then Like a Saber, a multi-sectioned poem, have just been accepted by Glass: A Journal of Poetry. Scheduled for publication August 2009 at http://www.glass-poetry.com.

The Oklamahoma Review Spring 2009 Out!

Please check out The Oklamahoma Review's Spring 2009 issue at http://www.cameron.edu/okreview/vol10_1/10_1.pdf. My poem about Texas, South Texas Shadow, is on page 37.

Nibble- Issue 7 Out Now!

Nibble Issue 7 was just released! Hardcopies are available via http://nibblepoems.wordpress.com, where they can also be viewed. Look for me on page 3...

The Evansville Review Vol. XIX 2009 Out Now!

I'm excited to announce the 2009 issue of The Evansville Review is now in stores, where my poem Et Cetera is amongst some of the finest voices in America, like John Updike, and international translation, like Borges and Bertolt Brecht.

I Dream a Horse...

In addition to below posting of Poem of the Week at Illogical Muse, they have also accepted I Dream a Horse, a poem about language's fragility and flexibility, for an upcoming issue. Find it soon at http://www.geocities.com/illogicalmuse!!

Poem of the Week!

As Summer Sinks Over Erlauf Lake is now Illogical Muse's Poem of the Week! They discovered it at Verdad (http://verdadmagazine.org/vol5/contents.html) and apparently they choose one poem a week after extensive online research, and this little ditty about beauty and fragile love in Austria will be up in their pages soon (http://www.geocities.com/illogicalmuse/poem_of_the_week.html)...

Garcia Lorca x3

Wow, I'm happily surprised to say For Federico Garcia Lorca, previously published in Barnwood International and Language and Culture, has now also been accepted by Poetic Diversity, for publication Aug. 2009 at poeticdiversity.org. I've been previously published years ago at this site and am excited to find my work in its pages again.

Poetry Extravaganza in Portland tonight!

As hoped, I've found an open mic while here in Portland, OR. I'll be reading tonight sometime after 7pm at Poetry Extravaganza at the Someday Lounge on 125 NW 5th Avenue, Downtown. Looking forward to hearing some Northwestern voices!!

"In the Wilderness Between"

"In the Wilderness Between" has just been accepted for publication in June 2009 at www.linesandstars.com. It's somewhat of a love poem, part of the Maelstrom half of an ongoing book of love poems split between the beauty (Illumination) and terror (Maelstrom) of love beyond reversal and recourse- ie, that self-destructive, almost mythical, but very real...true love...

Big 5 0 ...Paradigm publication!

A weary 3:30am preparing for a flight and yet I'm lucky enough to find Paradigm Journal has accepted "Still the World" for publication in their upcoming May 2009 issue. Including fiction, that finally makes 50 journals that have published my work! Very excited as things have truly been pulling together these last months. Now it's time for that book deal, yes?

Amarillo Bay Publishes Two Poems!! May 2009 Issue

Hours before my flight, I am pleased to find out Amarillo Bay has accepted two of my poems for their May 2009 issue. "Stillborn Calf" and "Idaho, Moments After Sunset" can be found the third Monday of May at http://www.amarillobay.org. As I'll soon be driving cross country again, I'm particularly pleased these two poems, written during just such an adventure, have found a home. What a nice sendoff!

Off to Portland!!

Hopping a plane early Friday morning bound for Portland, OR, soon to be home sweet home. I'm hoping to attend a few open mics and readings while there but will be unable to post them here as I'll be computerless. Fingers crossed to meet some like-minded poets and artists in my week's visit.

Miranda poems now available online!

Check out http://mirandamagazine.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=27 to find a few of my poems in Miranda's Spring 2009 issue. The print version is still in the making but should be available next week. Also, they'll be creating a Miranda video channel of poet's readings, so hopefully I'll be able to post some live feed up there soon!

River Oak Review Winter 2009 issue out!

The Winter 2009 River Oak Review just hit the shelves! It contains "Winter Sequence, Santorini" in its pages. Check it out!!

Poetry is Dead, Says the Poet

My poem "Poetry is Dead, Says the Poet", my little proletariat daydream of working in a factory and spouting revolutionary poetry to the machines and myself, has just been accepted and is being displayed by The November Third Club! The website is www.november3rdclub.com.

For Federico Garcia Lorca's second time around/ Language and Culture.net acceptance

My poem For Federico Garcia Lorca, previously published by Barnwood International, has now been accepted at languageandculture.net for their Winter 2010 edition due out December 2009.

The Streak Continues/Affirmation/nibble accepts a poem

nibble (http://nibblepoems.wordpress.com) has just accepted my poem "Winter" for their upcoming print edition, Issue 7, though it can also be found at the above address soon.

nibble is a paper and staple poetry magazine that focuses on the best in short poetry. Editor: jeff fleming.

The Week Goes On/2 Poems Accepted by Verdad!!

Rounding off the most productive week of acceptances in my journey so far, I just received word that two poems will soon be published by Verdad. "As Summer Sinks Over Erlauf Lake" and "Hostel Room on Sofokleous Street" can both be found soon at verdadmagazine.org. The former was composed in a rural area of northern Austria, quite a calming location; the latter in Athens city center, while staying at a tight, nightmarish hostel in 110 degree heat while the noises of the city, mostly motorbikes and stray cats, reminded me the night belongs to more than crickets...but i'm excited they'll be shown side by side, a balance, contradictory experiences...life, no?

In My Darkest

In My Darkest
In Autumn, yours is the last
flower still clinging to color

A flower

writhing in death’s arid wind
as dirt flesh parches, raises,
and cracks
but with crippled fight

your rooted moisture infuses
yellow sun
green pine
well into frost

-previously published by Amperstand

Danube

Danube
I.

From here you run,
a fistful of dirt to a dying tree,
tasting of washed socks
left too long on the line.
The sun below opening its hidden door.
The sand raining down from empty skies.

In that the swans avoid you, I hear
your innate stillness, the silence
of a thousand bodies, your eyes
blackened by history. None were your
conquests. None your blood.
But you smell of both,
allowing me to swim
your ample inheritance.

Each stroke, my arms strike stone,
cold thousand-eyed alabaster.
My once-powerful legs churn
your sorrow. I live the moment
between your poetries
and am liberated by the dawns
that have passed you over.

Perhaps the next sun will dry you
to grain or wheat, so exultantly
you can extinguish
this vast world light.

II.

You carry the city I call upon
to replant my roots. I am grateful
for the way you hush violins
and squeeze between the shadows,
unnoticed. The green song of air
tooted from the hundred green hills.
The blue song of penitence
beaten into the streets. The red and gold
banners of daybreak. The sly vermilion grin
of twilight.

In your deftness and blindness I huddle,
saturated, a mangy alley cat
or any small animal
wounded by ego, shuddering
at my hands of water.

Touching but my flesh, you cannot crack me.
My master’s hands are stars
I name for the dead
and clouds painting the faces
I have been blessed to erase.

But you wash me like a bird’s wings until almost
I am alone. Like you.
Bypassing yesterdays, celebrating silence,
testifying to nothing.

O haggard, hallowed river, mighty for a time.
The many names history crowns you
are broken bells. They will not ring
tomorrow. Their voice is already crackling.

-previously published by Hot Metal Press

What a week!/4th Acceptance/Southwestern American Literature

What a week! Finally received my acceptance to Portland State University's MA in Book Publishing program, began planning my first visit next month, and now received my fourth acceptance...all since Monday. Breaking all sorts of records. 10 poems published in one week. Six rejections within two days. The world balances itself so perfectly...

Southwestern American Literature, out of Texas State University, has accepted "Escalante Bat Hymn" for their Fall 2009 print edition. The poem was written on a rather strange night in Escalante, Utah two summers ago, while bats danced and cut paths through the descending evening, and I'm excited it's finally found a home. Sometimes the path a poem takes, from inspiration to words to publication, resembles just such a dance...or "hymn"...

Fingers crossed for tomorrow's mail!

What a week!/Persistance pays off/White Whale Review accepts 3 poems!

A few hours after hearing great news about my Miranda Literary Magazine acceptance, I just received word that White Whale Review will be publishing three of my poems in their upcoming second issue. "A Kind of Loss", "Songs and Visions", and "Rainy Season" will soon be available at http://www.whitewhalereview.com.

What a week!!

Miranda Literary Magazine acceptance- 4 poems!

Just a few days after the last acceptance and blog posting, I just received word that Miranda Literary Magazine will be publishing four poems of mine in their Spring 2009 issue."Strangers on a Beach", "Between the Sand and the Wooden Planks", "An Incomplete Picture of Weather", and "An Experience With Metals" can be found soon at http://mirandamagazine.com. They were each composed in a different location and about a different location, from Santorini to Glouchester to Prague, and I am excited Miranda has accepted them, in all their diversity of language and geography. Thank you, Ron!

And per above imagine, Miranda is kicking off a "The Sea" anthology series with a deadline of June 30. Info at: http://mirandamagazine.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=227&Itemid=27.

Poetry Reading- Sat. 4/18 Brockton Public Library

2-5pm. Brockton Public Library, 304 Main St., Brockton, MA, 02301, (508) 580-7890. http://gbspa.homestead.com/Home.html

I'll be reading some new work at the above venue this coming Saturday.

2 poems accepted at The Oklahoma Review

I just received word that two poems written in and about the southwest, "South Texas Shadow" and "Badlands", have been accepted by The Oklahoma Review for their Spring 2009 issue. They will be available online soon at http://www.cameron.edu/okreview/.