Recently Published Interview & Inclusion in an Anthology

Hello All! Two quick things.

One:

I was recently interviewed by Thom James, a UK-based artist/person. He has started a project called Interviews with Strangers, which will seek to interview people from across the internet, in order to attempt to present a picture of the person behind the screen and not the words that the person behind the screen uses to create a picture of themselves. idk if i'm justly summarizing Thom's project, but maybe you get the gist of it.
Anyway, here is a link to my interview for Thom of Interviews with Strangers. I believe this interview is the first interview of the project, so I'm very honored to help Thom kick off his project and I think I did did a decent job of helping. (Furthermore, the drawing of me is good, just plain good! Just look at it, please. Thom's artist friend, Grace Millard, drew this badass image of me based upon a pic and the answers i gave during the interview.)
At any rate, thank you to Thom James for taking a chance on me and having me be the first interview of Interviews with Strangers.



Two:

I was even more recently included in an anthology, a real book! Kool Kids Press are good poetry people and they have very generously included some of my poems in their first anthology, JunkYard Kool.
I'm so thrilled to be included in this inaugural anthology and, also, to help kick off this anthology series by gracious acceptance as a contributor. Please take the time to read this anthology, which you can download for free or can be bought, if you financial means, as a physical book. Follow the link to Kool Kids Press' JunkYard Kool.
Thank you to Kool Kids Press, I am honored and thrilled to be included!




And that's it, for now. Thank you for reading, for listening, and I wish you have a very happy  and a prosperous 2015. Good fortune to all!

Love,
dom.

Megaphone Heart - Manuel Arturo Abreu

 I received my copy of Manuel Arturo Abreu's "Megaphone Heart" from Austin Islam, in person. Austin is the founder of SLAM DANCE XXXX, a chapbook press, which aims to make beautiful/powerful/interesting echapbooks into beautiful/powerful/interesting physical chapbooks. Abreu's "Megaphone Heart" from SLAM DANCE XXXX is a true work of art, both in the final physical product and, (perhaps) more importantly, the content: Abreu's poetry.

Currently, one can read several of the poems from "Megaphone Heart" online, but only some. As such, the physical copy is necessary as an expansion upon that which is available digitally. At the time of this writing, the physical copy is on sale, for $5, which is altogether reasonable for an art object filled with subtle beauties, muted emotions, and matter-of-factly stated observations. Example(s) from Abreu's next-to-last poem: "that time during my 1st year in private school some1 said to me / during lunch "you make eating into an art" &i start starving myself" and "that time in 9th grade i'd lost 60lbs and someone said "you look like / a cancer patient, wow, you look great" & i felt validated"

Of course, nuanced and/or matter-of-fact statements which downplay emotions is a common contemporary convention of the online writing communities. But Abreu handles this convention masterfully. Whether covering love, death, or even more uncomfortable territory (see: lowkey observations re: minority issues), Abreu has strained the emotions from these poems. To be clear, these poems are not merely devoid of statements regarding feelings akin to 'I'm sad' or 'I'm happy'; they have, on the contrary, squeezed out all emotional connotations from the words (except when expressly stated by individuals). This effect is purposeful for, interestingly, the emotions evidently lacking in the words and lines are conjured within the reader. It is the reader, therefore, and not the poems, who becomes the sole entity keeping the emotional weight of Abreu's poetry, such as aforementioned eating disorders and the deaths of friends and family members. Abreu knows a poem cannot function properly by simply emoting; rather, in order for the poem to succeed, the reader must be made to feel the emotional consequences of QUOTE/UNQUOTE --fucked up-- events in order to truly empathize, sympathize, understand, and (hopefully) make meaningful life changes. In this regard, SLAM DANCE XXXX's print version of "Megaphone Heart" is a resounding success.

One poem in particular, "transcription of a story my nepali friend told me," is perhaps the 'heaviest' poem in the chapbook, precisely because it masterfully employs Abreu's technique of strained emotion. Indeed, "transcription of a story my nepali friend told me" is one of the finer examples of Abreu's emotionless-esque method. Abreu's masterful employment of this technique is achieved, in part, due to the nature of the poem, the format in which it exists; namely, it presents itself as a transcription, a translation, which, as anyone who has used internet-based translators knows, tend to suck emotions from the statements being translated. In this regard, "transcription of a story my nepali friend told me" is doubleplus emotionless and, thus, is the most powerful poem in the chapbook, for it forces, as described above, the emotions to present themselves, not in the lines or words, but in the consciousness of the reader, fully formed and consequential. The reader must infer the emotions of the persons on the bus in this poem, since these emotions are not at all present in the telling of the story or within the poem itself. Thus, it is the reader's inference that forces the emotions to come forth, not abstractly with names, but wholly as mental complexities and physical feelings.

As noted, this sort of technique is not new. Far from it: a conventional "hallmark" of "alt lit"/internet-based literature is the reduction of (or an attempt at reducing) the emotions expressed in the poems or stories that have been steadily coming out of these cultures. A common question is, "What is 'Alt Lit'?" Well, a good way to find the answer to such a question is to compile a list of the genre's conventions or typical stand-out points, and the reduction of expressed emotion is one prime example of this culture's conventions. The reduction of emotions has been an established tell-tale "hallmark" of the genre since the early days of Tao Lin's popularity, but, as mentioned above, Abreu's poetry in "Megaphone Heart" has mastered this conventional technique. The poems of this SLAM DANCE XXXX chapbook have meaningfully snuffed out the feelings from the words and lines and, in so doing, Abreu has forced the reader to experience the emotions withheld from the personae(s).

Another of the chapbook's more powerful poems is "these are the tabs that are open in my head." Like "transcription of a story my nepali friend told me," this poem ceaselessly and matter-of-factly states various of the personae's memories, including the aforementioned quoted lines dealing with anorexia. Other topics in "these are the tabs that are open in my head" include murder, suicide, child abuse, cancer, alienation, drug use, police brutality, the awareness of racial differences, racism, belief systems, etc. But the magic Abreu has performed to make this poem so powerful is to actively, and successfully, withhold emotions. Like an objective video recorder, the poem shows these events without passing judgments; it is therefore upon the reader's shoulders to fill in the emotional blanks. As one 'heavy' event is paraded before the reader after another, without pause and without holding back, emotions rapidly descend upon the reader so strongly as to make one almost physically nauseated. By the poem's end, one nearly needs to come up for air.

Conversely, "my philosophy of love" does include statements of expressed emotion, but by way of the fact that the latter half of the poem is comprised of dialogue. Interestingly apart from, or perhaps in part because of, this fact, this poem is a bit humorous, though one still empathizes with and/or pities the young seventh-grader. The situation described, however, is like the most awkward scene in a film that derives its humor from awkward situational comedy. But it is the stated feelings during the dialogue, the abundant confusion, and the irony invoked throughout the situation described that injects pathos through the poem and into the reader's intellect. The irony is that the person on the phone, claiming to be a girl the seventh-grader knows, states they are embarrassed about expressing their love for the seventh-grader while the seventh-grader is, quite literally, in a physically embarrassing situation: bare-assed, shit-smeared, and half-naked in the presence of "my mom." Despite being somewhat like the opposite of the two previously discussed poems, "my philosophy of love" still causes the reader to feel, rather than read about, the emotions conveyed.

The poems in Manuel Arturo Abreu's "Megaphone Heart" makes one feel, but not in the way any good poem ought to make one feel; indeed, these poems force the reader to feel the emotions purposefully withheld from the personae(s) and the words/lines themselves. In addition to wielding this lowkey technique masterfully, Abreu covers interesting territory in both content and style. For example, "one poem" deals with meditation and possibly the most boring pornography ever committed to tape, thus acting as a commentary of the West's voyeuristic attitudes toward the East, while "exercise in perspective shift or whatever" divides a poem akin to a semicolon's functionality. Or, succinctly, Abreu's "Megaphone Heart" delivers: thematically, stylistically, and emotionally, shadowboxer-style. While the dedicated web-surfer could probably find these poems scattered through the internet, I assert the best way to take in these poems completely and wholly is to visit SLAM DANCE XXXX for a physical copy. Truly, Abreu's "Megaphone Heart" in a beautifully physical, analog format is a must in any chapbook collection.

A (semi-)Recent Publication & My Answers to the Proust Questionnaire

Hello; 2 Things:

1) This is a bit late, but earlier this month (Oct. 3), I had two poems published in Bluestockings Magazine's recent issue, which was in collaboration with Nudity in the Upspace.You can read the entire, beautiful issue here (hint: my poems, "not that that would be, nor has been, difficult to find" and "[untitled] for @Aurist" are on pages 19 and 36, respectively).

&

2) A few days ago, I took the Proust Questionnaire, courtesy of Fawzy Zablah, who is a fantastic writer and great person. He very kindly posted my replies on his blog, which you can read right here. Fawzy's written a great book, "Rarity of the Century," and he was so gracious as to invite me to answer these thought-provoking questions, popularized by French author Marcel Proust.

Okay, that's basically it for now. Thanks!

dom.

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).

"3 poems" posted by Tiny Toe Press/The Open End

The good folks over at Tiny Toe Press/The Open End published/posted 3 of my poems:
1. And so what if you receive attention?
2. thank you
3. Do not speak as though this were of no consequence

I am grateful and thankful to herocious for this kind posting. Be sure to check out the rest of their website and buy some of their handmade books.

published in The dVerse Anthology

okay, so this happened a while ago, in late July (and yes, I'm only just now getting to it...), but I had 3 poems published in a physical book: "The dVerse Anthology: Voices of Contemporary World Poetry". This was very exciting for me, as it was my first publication in a book that was not in some way connected to school/stuff. It is edited by Frank Watson and contains poetry from poets located throughout the entire world.

So anyway, here's the link to buying the book. I doubt there's an online copy to read for free. So if you are rich enough to actually buy it, do so and read my poems. There are other good poets/poetry in there, too; so, you know, 'justification'.

Bravehost Poetry Review & SWAY PRESS, both recently released

hello, hi

sorry to have been a way, and i will begin regularly updating posts again soon,
but until then, here are two online things that i have recently been published in:

1. Bravehost Poetry Review is over, but the 2 issues that were created have been collected by then-anonymous editor Matt Margo and presented in this nice ebook; i have a poem in it, my friend Ashley Kay Petersen has a poem in it, and there are many, many other talented young poets included as well, many poets who i admire reading online (Austin Islam, Jordan Castro, Calvero, etc.). Check us all out here:

http://issuu.com/matt_margo/docs/bpr_anthology

2. SWAY PRESS has released their 2nd Issue, and i have three poems in it. my poems appear alongside other talented writers (Chuck Young, Chris L. Terry, No Glykon, Lauren Snowden, etc.) and i am honored to be included. Check out this issue here:

http://sw002.tumblr.com

that's it. stay tuned, and i'll be back soon.

dom.

review of some good poetry

a review of a poetry ebook by Idiom Bomberz: http://iamaltlit.tumblr.com/post/52402195077/53-8-gaijin-by-idiom-bomberz

Tiny TOE Press/The Open End published 6 of my poems

Tiny TOE Press/The Open End generously published 6 of my poems on their website. Check it out here:

http://theopenend.com/2013/03/31/six-hitherto-unpublished-micropoemspoems/