It's been more than 2yrs since I've posted anything to this blog.

Yesterday was kind of a witchy day for me.
It was a new moon last night, which means the moon will now be waxing.
A waxing moon is a good time for renewal, for rebirth, for implementing plans.

Additionally, I pulled as my Rune of the Day: "berkano" or "berkanan" or "bjarken"
which seemed important, given the fact that "berkano"
(according to the information sheet included in my purchase of the handcrafted runes)
is a "Birch Goddess," a "tree," and a symbol for "rebirth;"
the image of the Rune itself is supposed to bring to mind "breasts,"
life-giving, sexual organs: that is, by providing milk,
the breasts provide the chance for a new life (i.e. an infant) to thrive, to survive.

Breasts, of course , are a natural symbol of fertility
and are associated with the Moon: both are round and inspire art.
Furthermore, I am a Cancer, and the Cancer's ruling planet is the Moon,
so it seemed like a convergence of sorts when:

1) the Moon was going to be a New Moon;
2) my Rune for the Day was "Berkano," which represents &/or symbolizes:
          a "Birch Goddess," a "tree," "rebirth," and "breasts;"
3) therefore, it was a feminine day of renewal,
          a chance for recommitting myself to my aspirations.

As such, I'm viewing today as a chance to begin
recommitting myself to literary endeavors, which means
1) revising and editing poems;
2) compiling and refining chapbooks and collections; &
3) seeking out and submitting to various publishing presses and houses.

The burden is mine to accomplish these goals; yet,
given the good omen I witnessed and interpreted yesterday,
I will succeed in properly utilizing this period of Moon-waxing.

Bootstraps & Best Practices - Joshua Jarrett

Joshua Jarrett is a Georgian artist and student. While experienced and dabbled in painting, drawing, sketching, writing, collage-making, etc., Joshua's most accomplished/substantial/graspable works are his comics. Indeed, these comics are the convergence of his many talents. They are equal parts sketches, drawings, & paintings, poetry, prose, & thoughtful musings, all mixed into mosaic-like art. His first three professionally self-released comics ("Love Poems for Nobody," "Dear Victor," & "Diary") are available to download for free or donation at his Gumroad account, which can be accessed via Facebook or Gumroad itself; additionally, I have reviewed these three comics here. In Joshua's two most recently released comics, "Bootstraps" and "Best Practices," creative visual beauty meets philosophic thought and meditative musings. "Bootstraps," also available on Gumroad, and "Best Practices," available to read on his website here, both delve into autobiographical territories of introspection, philosophy, and peace of mind through creativity.



Bootstraps (2014):

Available on his Gumroad account here, "Bootstraps" is Jarrett at his most thoughtful, intellectual, and philosophic while still, by turns, spending time to examine the self and interpret personal information. Compiled from writings and drawings, which are gleaned from experiences spanning the course of several months, this comic is a prime example of Joshua's mosaic, collage-esque style, for each section is in its own right a distinct work of art. However, when cinched together with an expert eye for detail, "Bootstraps" becomes, not merely a gathering of thoughts, observations, and associated drawings, but a wholly fulfilled story arc, which gains a converging momentum as the pages turn. In this way, the comic's story and thought process is elliptical, tying together the various, seemingly unrelated strands from the beginning and middle into a beautiful braid by the end. This braid is one of self-discovery, self-acceptance, self-actualization. Like the Gordian Knot which much be solved, not through the knot itself, but by means outside of the knot, so, too, must one, such as this comic's narrator, seek to gain an understanding of himself, not through what has happened to him, but how he reacts to what has happened to him--how he reverberates, bounces back, "pulls [himself] up 'by the bootstraps'." If this convergence of theme and subject is not at once clear, give Joshua's comic a second reading, and a third, and a fourth... On a first reading, the final page of the comic may seem to drop suddenly and, as such, could be viewed as just another strand, separate and unrelated to that which has come before it. But this interpretation, I suggest, is trying to understand the comic in terms of the knot itself. To solve the knot, one must think outside the box; to understand "Bootstraps," one must read it repeatedly to see how the strands come together.

Best Practices (2014):

Not really available for download and certainly not (yet) in print, Joshua's most recent comic, "Best Practices," can be read for free on his website, here. This is his shortest comic to date, but is arguably his lushest and most visually beautiful. While his four previous works often exist with lots of empty space, sometimes utilizing said empty space creatively (see: "Love Poems for Nobody"), "Best Practices," in its current form, doesn't even waste time with a title page, evidenced by the opening page to the left. There's too much to express, too much to show for there to be empty space or time spent reiterating facts with a title page. But there is a tradeoff because the writing of this comic is sparse, restricted to the barest of essential "do good" thoughts, which are themselves like steamy wisps of evaporating dew in the sun's morning light: seen, noted, gone. In previous works, Jarrett's drawings and writings complimented each other, but "Best Practices" seems to go a step further. Images lead into the written thoughts or observations and often times these partially expressed words are completed, and fulfilled, by images, surroundings. Furthermore, the images themselves and the words both convey the same story of a life lived quietly, removed from the stresses and fast-paced realities of college life and city-dwelling. One panel reads, "Take Your Time," and is framed by feet standing in bathwater, bathwater which is clear, calm, non-turbulent. In essence, "Best Practices" gently reminds, not just the subject of the comic, but also the reader to stop and smell the roses, to enjoy life, to be content, serene. Thus, Joshua's most recent comic juxtaposes "Bootstraps" stylistically, thematically, and intellectually. While "Bootstraps" is heavy with written thought and mental inquiry, making direct reference to the birthplace of modern-day philosophy (i.e. ancient Greece [see: Gordian Knot]), "Best Practices" is visual, meditative, and, we can therefore conclude, taking us somewhere distinctly Zen.

Cruisin to the Finish Line: Acceleration - Pt Cruiser USA

PT Cruiser USA has written another hilarious book with "Cruisin to the Finish Line: Acceleration;" but this time, we are given more personal flourishes of her life as her popularity has increased. While this third book is still written in her boisterous voice, "Acceleration" is like a combination of her first and second books, "Speed Secrets" and "Ambitions of a Rider," respectively. Beginning with a few short pieces, which serve to establish her unique and distinct brand (bizarre real life happenings, love of hot R&B/soul/hip hop men, being a car, and working in a retail store that seems to have been plucked from a sitcom plot), PT Cruiser USA's "Acceleration" takes the reader into greater detail of her life and some real life, personal experiences, both at work and with friends outside of work.

In terms of her brand, I will admit I rolled my eyes when she once again had a list of hot guys. For an instant, I became indignant and felt like, 'Is she really going to have this same list a third time, but just a little bit different??' Yes; yes, she did. But this indignation was short-lived because I accepted the fact that she had included the list a third time. After all, she has staked her personal brand as being a lover of VH1 Soul and the men who are artists within that world, so was I really surprised about this? No, not really. And while I still don't "love" the fact that she has included basically the same list in all three of her books, I enjoy that she's staying true to herself, if and only if because: from book to book, this list, while basically the same, has changed, if ever so slightly, which implies progress of a sort. Or, another way to put it: PT Cruiser USA does not take this list lightly; on the contrary, PT Cruiser USA takes her list of hot men VERY seriously, so much so that she is willing to update and change the list and inform us of those changes.

One very nice, new addition to this third book was the inclusion of four "Car Facts" scattered throughout. The first of these appears immediately after "List of Hot Guys with Additional Hot Guys Added in Bold," which was incredibly refreshing after having gotten through a list I've read several times before. But more importantly, these "Car Facts" seemed to be sort of like the "What Things Mean" chapter at the end of her first book, "Speed Secrets." In that chapter, she explained the meanings and origins of some of the phrases she continually tweets. But with the four "Car Facts," PT Cruiser USA has spaced these little tidbits out, which interestingly divides the book up. It is akin to when a long poem is followed by a short poem, or when a long, run-on sentence is followed by a short, snappy sentence(-fragment). As such, the placements of the four "Car Facts" were timely breaths of fresh air.

"Hangover" was fucking hilarious! While I'm sure it was a horrible experience for PT Cruiser USA, I was thankful she shared this story with us. I read the first half of "Acceleration" (in which this chapter is included) in the breakroom at my work and laughed aloud several times during this story. Some of the guys who work in the produce department looked over at me, but I didn't care because PT Cruiser USA's story was too 'on point'. I mean, getting drunk from maybe about half of one beer and then being hungover, but having that hangover triggered by Bruno Mars on the radio at work...utterly hilarious! I also felt connected to her when she got a nosebleed on her way home, as I myself used to be prone to nosebleeds and, thus, understand the awkwardness of having to deal with a nosebleed in public. Her comedic timing in the telling of this tale was handled well and I also liked the car allusions she made towards the end of the chapter (because, of course, she's a car *beep*).

I was also interested to see that there is a greater emphasis on dates and times in this third book, which is important. PT Cruiser USA has always said she aspires to be internet famous and Twitter famous. Since the launch of her Twitter account and the release of her books, PT Cruiser USA's fame has increased. But what is a celebrity without a fame-timeline? Indeed, increased popularity will lead to more happenings both online and irl, which means she will relay these stories to us via Twitter and, possibly, future books, which will in turn continue to promote her fame and popularity. (It's the circle of Fame.) Thus, the emphasis on dates and times in this book functions as a way to track her heightening popularity, as well as revealing maturity and development within her as an internet celebrity/humorous storyteller. And while on the subject of development as a storyteller, I will quickly note that PT Cruiser USA's use of punctuation has improved, often (correctly) for heightened dramatic/comedic effect. Lastly, on the subject of popularity, I liked that PT Cruiser USA included a list of people from Twitter she hopes to meet, which shows further aspirations. But, very interestingly, she included notable alt lit-personality Heiko Julien in the list; in fact, he's the second on the list, which means, apart from Miguel, Heiko Julien is/was probably one of the first people to come to PT Cruiser USA's mind when she began to conceive of this list. And I say it is very interesting because PT Cruiser USA is, I suppose, a member of "weird twitter," which is like the Twitter-cousin of alt lit, which is a little like a bastard descendent of indie lit, a realm out of which both PT Cruiser USA's and Heiko Julien's books originate. So, I guess it seemed to me like when one artistic person gives a nod of recognition to another artistic person in the same sort of way that Stanley Kubrick gave a nod to David Lynch when Kubrick made the entire cast and crew of "The Shining" watch Lynch's "Eraserhead" on the first day of production and then told them, "I want ["The Shining"] to feel like ["Eraserhead"]." Or something...

Some of my favorite passages in "Acceleration" involve things that happen while PT Cruiser USA is at work; notably, whenever PT Cruiser USA interacts with Maria, the dumb manager, the Pygmy UPS Guy, stupid customers, and/or The Diva, which is, to me, a new addition to the cavalcade of sitcom-like characters who make regular appearances in PT Cruiser USA's life via capitalistically-informed economic institutions/places of business. That is, I often see tweets about these people, but it's hilarious to get more information and longer stories about them in chapters. However, The Diva is an exception: I hadn't known that The Diva was a person because I, personally, had never seen mentions of The Diva in tweets/other books. Nevertheless, The Diva's chapter made her, in my mind, fit right in with the bizarre world of PT Cruiser USA's workplace. Additionally, in her previous two books, PT Cruiser USA has seldom mentioned customers, but that's not the case with "Acceleration." Several sections/stories involve or are directly concerned about customer interaction, which I liked very much. Working in customer service as I myself do, I often deal with the ignorance/flat-out bizarreness of customers, so I felt solidarity with PT Cruiser USA when she relayed encounters with certain customers, such as the customer from the "Chingy" story.

One section I took a bit of issue with was "Dumb Manager *part 2*," particularly since I read this book after the Janey Smith/Stephen Trull and peterbd "We're Fucked!" controversy. While there are issues from that, I speak mainly about the controversy behind using real peoples' names in works of art without asking for their consent. Although PT Cruiser USA does not use the name of her "dumb manager," she does take real Facebook status updates posted by her "dumb manager" and puts those status updates in her book. Now, I can only assume this, but I'd be willing to bet that PT Cruiser USA did not ask and, thus, did not receive explicit permission to use those status updates. Of course, for the sake of art, all things are permissible, but people were hurt by the release of "We're Fucked!", so this is an important issue to consider. In PT Cruiser USA's case, there may be the possibility of a similar situation: someone could get hurt. Or maybe not: probably the "dumb manager" will never know about or read this book. Or, if she does, maybe the "dumb manager" is so dumb, she would actually like the fact that she's been included in PT Cruiser USA's book and not 'get' that she's sort of being poked fun at. Who knows? But at the same time, this book was written and released June 9, 2014 (lol, 69!), months before the "We're Fucked!" scandal occurred (as well as the other subsequent scandals late Sept./early Oct.), so the blurred lines of consent were probably nowhere near anyone's first thoughts. But now, I wonder: where do the lines of consent and artistic expression lie? Is it true, as I just sarcastically implied, that all things are permissible for the sake of art, or must we re-evaluate our notions of artistic expression and non-artist-persons' consent to be used for the artist's art? I don't have answers, but I can hope that anyone who reads this review will give consideration to these questions.

Now in the opposite case, PT Cruiser USA includes a story about @ashleyjizzzdale involving a dildo and an unexpected/scary trip to the emergency room. This is an extremely personal story, which happened to ashleyjizzzdale, but since PT Cruiser USA and ashleyjizzzdale are friends, both online and irl, one can probably correctly assume that this incredibly personal experience was given permission to be relayed in "Acceleration." In fact, the story itself, while stylized like a PT Cruiser USA story, seems to be written in a slightly different tone and, I believe, was actually written by ashleyjizzzdale herself. Whether or not this true, the point remains: explicit permission was given from ashleyjizzzdale to PT Cruiser USA to include this story in "Acceleration"--was, possibly, penned by the person to whom it occurred: ashleyjizzzdale. As such, an interesting work of art was created, and *not* weakened from having been granted consent.

Part of what I like about PT Cruiser USA's books so much is that we're given a deeper perspective on her life and the characters who populate that life. One such character, who I have seen mentioned in her Twitter feed but knew next to nothing about, was the Pygmy UPS Guy. After reading the chapter devoted to him, I now have a greater context for who he is and what he is like, so that now I can be "in on the joke" whenever she tweets about him. However, there is a little bit of uncomfortableness about her description of his physical appearance. When she describes his appearance, there is almost an implied negative-jokey approach to it. I'm not saying she does, in fact, joke about his physical appearance because, in fact, she does not. But she begins her description of the Pygmy UPS Guy with his physical appearance because his physical stature is necessary to know in order to see the humor in the sort of personality he has, which is bro-like and over-confident, male ego-centric. His personality, while humorous on it's own, is made, I suppose, more laughable when one understands his physicality. So, the best way to think of him, I'd say, is as a swaggering braggart, but short in stature, which gives him a bit of a Napoleon complex, which is pretty funny.

There are more Maria shenanigans, more retail happenings, and more school stories, all of which humorously show PT Cruiser USA's ability to neutrally exist and observe the chaos and quirkiness of the world around her. Sharing these bizarre occurrences on Twitter and more deeply in her books, PT Cruiser USA shows us a car's perspective in a human's world. Humans can be forgetful, can lack common sense, can be rather stupid at times; PT Cruiser USA, on the other hand (as a car), is level-headed and observant, documenting these people and their actions. But not all people fit into these stereotypes. Some humans are good and/or friends with PT Cruiser USA, notably those listed in the book's last chapter, "top 10 people to follow on Twitter," which functions as both a shout out to those ten people and shows us examples of people who are good, kind, and deserving of special attention in the exact opposite ways as PT Cruiser USA's retail coworkers, her grade school school bus driver, and Keyshia Cole. I would highly recommend buying and reading "Cruisin to the Finish Line: Acceleration" because it shows us that there are good people and bad people through the eyes of a car. And with that being said: "BYE GOING!"

Two Recent Publications

Hello, all!

I have recently been published at two awesome, beautiful zines/lit journals, both of which are just starting out and need your support and attention, i feel.

The first is We're Here We're Queer Zine! I submitted 3 poems and they very kindly accepted all three. This elegantly captures writing and art, all of it seeming to fuze together seamlessly. My poems close/finish out the 1st issue, but everyone's work is fabulous; please read:
http://issuu.com/whwqzine/docs/whwqzine3

The second is Occult Geometry! I submitted some poems and they accepted one of them, "[titlething 8]". My scatterbrained poem is kinda in the middle. But everyone's writing/art in the issue is beautiful and heartfelt. I felt very honored to be included in their 1st issue and I am grateful to be featured alongside such stunning work; please read this also:
http://occultgeometry.weebly.com/issue-1-seasonal-transitions.html

That's about all for now, in terms of updates.
Thanks!

dom.

3 by Joshua Jarrett: Love Poems for Nobody, Dear Victor, & Diary

Joshua Jarrett is a young Georgian lover of drawing, writing, and other artistic endeavors. His work combines poetry and text with drawings/sketches, thus creating comics/zines/ebooks/something beautiful for others to experience/engage with/treasure and love. His first three releases ("Love Poems for Nobody," "Dear Victor,," & "Diary") delve into the personal and intimate, making his work autobiographically distinct, regardless of whether the subject he addresses is a(n unattainable) lover, a friend, an enemy, or simply himself. All three zines reviewed below can be found and downloaded for free (or a kind donation) at Jarrett's Gumroad account, which can be accessed via Facebook or not. NOTE: While Jarrett's work is extremely intimate/personal/autobiographical, I have chosen for the purposes of this review to treat the narrator/voice in each zine as though he were an entity separate from Joshua Jarrett, the Georgian lover of art.

Love Poems for Nobody (2013):

"Love Poems for Nobody" is definitely for somebody, but as to who that somebody is, the narrator never says. This ambiguity is not done out of coyness or intentional meanness, but rather because these poems and drawings (which certainly and intentionally resemble the doodles of a lovesick person) function as scattered thoughts, images, and half-sentences running within and throughout the internal mind--in this instance, the narrator's. There's a cute, quite musing going on in the narrator's head, a musing which we are very graciously allowed to witness. While starting out as seeming superficial and "cute," the poems/drawings gain emotional weight until, collectively (and) at the end, they summon within any reader whose love has gone unrequited a broken heart in solidarity. In some of the opening poems, the references made to magic and astrology convey a longing deep enough to grasp as straws. Later poems, such as "So" and "Pasttime," mong others, show us actions and attempts made at gaining notice from "Nobody;" romantic notice, and sometimes sexual. As the zine progresses, such longings and attempts give way to reflections about (hinted at) failures/rejections, particularly in "Personal Work" and "Catalogue," the latter ending: "a home with me / Without you." The final poem, "Jasmine Buds," gave me a "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" vibe, but just because of the title and the accompanying drawing: a leafy vine with flowers. The final poem itself, while being the zine's culmination of the reflective, aloof narrator, signifies that a decision as been reached, though what has been decided is left to speculation. A quick read which will nonetheless leave the reader moved, "Love Poems for Nobody" is an intimate, clear-cut look into the thoughts and feelings, hopes and reflections, of one (and anyone's) everyday life.

Dear Victor, (2013):

"Dear Victor," is a letter to a friend in a spooky disguise. While the letter to "Victor" is not, in itself, spooky, the words, when taken abstractly and coupled with night- and/or Halloween-themed drawings, give the zine a haunted quality. Starting as any letter does, there is the ice-breakers: How are you?; I am fine. Of course the weather is then mentioned, as weather invariably is, but it is at this point that the zine's atmosphere/"mood" changes to something eerie. In Jarrett's zine, like in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," the mood or atmosphere of the outside world (in the park, on the sidewalk, through the graveyard) gets...weird. As "Joshua's" mind wonders during the writing of his letter to "Victor," the thoughts become increasingly influenced by the Halloween/autumn season. The writing gets much more spaced out, each tiny passage given its own drawing; the more spaced out the words, the more the drawings and passages--both separately and together--seem bizarre, spooky; metaphysical. This makes "Dear Victor," all the more compelling. What connection exists between writing a letter to a friend who is away during the autumn? Certainly, there is a lack within "Joshua" while "Victor" is away, a lack which seems to be reflected in the exterior world: leaves die and fall, animals take on darker shades, the moon is more mesmerizing than usual. The final page is a return to reality, but a return informed by knowledge, as though the mental journey of writing the letter has brought consolation, though for whom is left ambiguous. The final words, "I know wherever you are... / you'll always come home," are a reassurance, not for "Victor" alone, but for "Joshua" as well. A letter, a comic, a plea, a spooky journey, "Dear Victor," is a zine for anyone who misses a friend and/or anyone who is alive during autumn.

Diary (2014):

Jarrett's third effort, "Diary," is like his b-sides, which I thought immediately after finishing it for the first time. If "Love Poems for Nobody" and "Dear Victor," are his finished/polished products, "Diary" is the sketches, the drafts, the lead-ups to the previous two. "Diary" is staccato: sometimes the drawings flow and go on for a page or a few, but sometimes they're completely different and just the best of practice drawings. But this is not to imply in any way that "Diary" is an incomplete or unthoughtful work; on the contrary, "Diary" is a rather appropriate name in that the zine works as a segmented view of an individual's life, viz., Joshua's. Some of the drawings and/or text are singular per page/train of thought, like those seen in "love Poems for Nobody," but others are simply cute drawings or practiced profiles. One standout comic/poem, which I will refer to as "HOT," is moody, physically nauseating, much like the character in "HOT" feels...and who had not felt similarly after a night of wicked fun? While some of the poems/lines/thoughts/half-sentences serve almost as the titles of the drawings/comics/sketches in "Diary," the inverse is also true: said 2D art often seems to be the titles for his poems/text. Perhaps a more accurate description, though, would be that Jarrett's drawings act as the fulfillers of his words and visa versa. Interestingly, whereas Jarrett's/the narrator's previous two zines only (maybe) hint at homosexuality, "Diary," in keeping with the theme of an actual diary, is much more open and up front about his sexuality. Jarrett's "Diary" is honest, intimate, inviting; he's not afraid here to admit that he experience self-doubt, fragility. As such, pain can be associated with flowers and unfinished comics sometimes have more to say than if they had been "finished." At times, deep, very nearly philosophical themes/ideas are touched upon for reflection, but then abandoned for continued drawing/writing, for everyday life. "Diary," then, seems to exist at the intersection of one's real, everyday life and one's passion for art; trying to find the connection to retain one's passion while also trying to make sense of one's life (school, work, friendships, family, relationships, and, perhaps most importantly, alone time).