I’m honored to have two poems, “Winter Solstice” and “In the Time of the Automobile” (both from my upcoming collection Birds Nobody Loves–More to come stay tuned) in the inaugural issue of Curio Poetry alongside the work of several other fine poets. Thanks to editors Joseph Harker and Tessa Racht for starting this journal and including some of my work. Now, go check it out.

I’ve been carrying mark Stratton’s Tender Mercies (The Pancake Truck Press, 2011) around in my bag for a few months. Mainly it was so I wouldn’t forget to write something about it, but it’s taken me this long. The old blog has fallen down the priority list somewhat these days, but periodically I get the book out, read a few random poems and then stick it back in my bag. Now it’s started to feel like a friend tagging along from place to place offering snapshots and images from dreams and nightmares. It’s a friend who doesn’t explain himself but the conversation is good and usually interesting.

The Cowboy rides
through lead guitar dynamics
a single stream of time
signature changes

–from “Tender Mercy #28D”

That’s the sense I get from Tender Mercies, a collection that began as a series mark posted to his blog about a year ago or so. Sense is a funny thing too, because it doesn’t always make sense to me. I don’t always get what mark’s getting at, but the ride, the language, is a pleasure, and sometimes a line or two finds a place in my mind, takes root and won’t leave me alone. So the book goes back in the bag and I carry it around some more, sometimes forgetting it’s there only to be happily surprised again.

I misplaced my words

I kept them in the lee
Of a tow sail

They went well with
Collard greens
Or a glass of milk.

–from “Tender Mercy #17b”

Earlier this year, mark asked me for feedback on the manuscript and a blurb. I offered those, but I kind of wish I’d had the year to do it. Maybe the blurb would have been better, at any rate. I say that simply because after nearly a year of hanging out with these poems at hospitals, the dentist’s offices, school, who knows where else one finds a few moments to read, I just like them more and more the better I get to know them. I still see a lot of poems about connection and disconnection, love and loss, though, but they get funnier or sharper or wiser with time and rereading. Sometimes more mysterious too. I think good poetry should be like that.

Toxic rains fall not
from only the heavens.
Domestic gods and
Dusting share the blame.

–from “Tender Mercy #14″

In addition to Tender Mercies, mark has just released a limited edition chapbook called Postmarks. There’s also an interesting interview with mark at Jessie Carty’s blog. mark blogs at AGGASPLETCH.

This is somewhat overdue and includes poems I found in September and October. Follow the links and enjoy the work of these fine blogging poets…

“Coyote Crossing” by Chris Clarke. A moving meditation on the cycle of life and death from a roadkilled coyote pup to the golden eagles that bear him away… “He would have been a god here; he lay broken, compromised, / dissolving in the desert heat, insensible, inert.”

“Un Secret Served on a Porcelain Platter with a Fish Head” by PJS. I love the title and those “Wasted girls with gunslinger hips”

“The moon, the sea and the aspen tree” by Sharon Brogan. Lovely lyrical poetry… I can read just the title over and over again… from one of the first blogging poets I ever found.

“Drought-ridden” by Laurie Kolp. A fellow Texan writes about this unending drought… “my mind’s a dervish fit of fear”

“Haiku Headaches” by Juliet Wilson aka Crafty Green Poet. Great haiku with fascinating process notes.

“One foot in front of the other” by Deb Scott… “Some secrets are like a cavity / filled with precious metals”

“Greater Love” by Dick Jones. Powerful meditation on religion’s darker use.

“What’s right in front of me” by Carolee Sherwood…
“three pumpkins flicker and grin on your window sill,/ heads the children cut from their own necks”

“Chivalry” by Joseph Harker. Violence and the beauty of sure movement. Be sure to check out Joseph’s new chapbook Greeks Bearing Gifts.

“you can’t tell direction here” by Dana Guthrie Martin. The poem has been removed as has another I’d planned to link to. Here’s why. Congrats and good luck, Dana.

Links to some poems by web-based writers whose work I’ve enjoyed lately. I hope you’ll follow the links and enjoy these poems as well.

“Cloudlonely” by Susan S. Keiser. This one just sounds so good. One to reread and savor.

“Morning” at Jumping Into Life (Not sure who the writer is). A perfectly captured moment watching birds and baby (much like my summer has been).

“Time’s Reflection” by Jean Morris. A lovely photo poem. The words and image could stand alone but together… wow.

“In Victimhood” by Horace Jeffery Hodges. A clever parody of “Invictus” and a reminder for me to get that flu shot.

“795 (Concrete)” by Angie Werren. A stunning “phoem” (as she calls them) appearing in her beautifully redesigned feathers micropoetry site. A good reminder to leave the RSS reader once in a while.

“Being” by Neil Reid. This one had me at the first lines: “there is a gate, we call it sky / when visible, we call it cloud”.

“If there were such things as ghosts” by Dave Bonta with a whole comment thread of very cool ghost poems by Dave’s readers.

“Mail Pouch” by Hannah Stephenson. I’m always amazed by the quality of Hannah Stephenson’s work considering she manages to write and post a poem every day. I had several I wanted to pick, but this was a favorite for the opening image of the barn and the faded letters. What is it about faded ads on old buildings anyway?

“from seeds here & in my backyard” by Carolee Sherwood. Wisdom gleaned from watching nature’s processes.

“The Bone House” by Wrensong. A moment by the sea: “the salt-scented blossoms of kelp / the song of whales and old wars.”

“Night Predator” by Sherry Chandler in The Cortland Review Issue 52.

“Indiana” by Dale Patterson in Right Hand Pointing Issue 43, Part1. Read the whole thing.

I made this back in March and never got around to uploading it and then forgot all about it until something sparked my memory yesterday. It’s based my poem of the same name, originally posted a little over a year ago. This is the second video I’ve made from my Birds Nobody Loves series (the first was “Chasing Westward”).

The images are photoshopped versions of some of my pictures of black and turkey vultures. I’m planning to use these as illustrations in the Birds Nobody Loves collection I’m slowly (so slowly) putting together.

The real purpose of this video was experimental. I wanted to try to figure out how to make my editing software do the “Ken Burns effect” that was so nicely done in “Beach/Snow” a beautiful video by Peter Stephens. It was complicated but once I had it figured out, it got a lot easier to get the pans and zooms I wanted.

The music is by Oleg Serkov downloaded from Jamendo and licensed under a cc-by-nc-sa license. This is the first time I’ve used Jamendo for music for a video. There’s a lot of good stuff there besides Mr. Serkov’s wonderful work.

As to the poem, it comes from the church I attended when I was in high school. It was built on the edge of a cliff overlooking Lake Travis. They built it lengthwise and placed the altar on the long side which was made entirely of glass so it was easy to let your mind wander out to the open sky above the lake where turkey vultures circled endlessly.

I’ve always found it strange that church is held indoors but that church anyway made it feel like you weren’t completely disconnected from the natural world, which is why I still consider it the most beautiful church I’ve ever seen.

It is also where my fascination with vultures began. Watching them each Sunday, thinking about their place in the scheme of things and watching their effortless flight, I couldn’t help but fall in love with them while witnessing in awe the sheer wonder and beauty of creation.

I’ve spent a lot of hours lately rocking the little dude in the middle of the night. It’s a peaceful, quiet time and since I’m on summer vacation, it’s not like I have to get up and be anywhere for a few weeks, so I rather like sitting in the semi-dark with the baby asleep on my shoulder while I read poems on my iphone. I like to just sit and look at him but at night, I need to make sure I don’t fall asleep while I’m holding him so I read. The computer and books are too cumbersome for one-handed reading, but the old phone has really come into its own. Anyway, here are ten poems I’ve read and liked lately. I hope you’ll follow the links and check them out.

“Summer Nocturne ii: Hudson River Fireworks” by Joseph Harker. What a wonder it is to walk around New York City, the main thing I ever want to do when I’m there.

“Curating the Dead” by Dave Bonta. One I really liked from Dave’s series of Highgate Cemetery poems.

“Like Green Eggs, Summer” by Briarcat. Summer heat has its moments.

“Feels Like 108 Degrees” by Jessica Fox-Wilson. Meditation on heat, surrendering to it just a little.

“Broken” by Angie Werren… “fingers clumsy with a memory”

“Blank Stare Escape” by Mark Stratton. What happens when you call yourself a poet?

“A Stone in a River, 11″ by Deb Scott. The hard necessity of fire.

“A Theology of an Autistic Body” by Nicole Nicholson. Another stellar entry in qarrtsiluni‘s ongoing imprisonment issue.

“There Are Howling Wolves” by Nic Sebastian from her latest collection Dark and Like a Web.

July 2011: A River of Stones. Not a poem, but a repository for all the micro-poems people are writing for the July River of Stones.

I’ve been trying to find a way to share links to blogging poets whose poems I’ve found and liked online, but I’ve struggled to find a way to do it consistently, so I’ll try this. I don’t know if I’ll do it when I find ten poems or if I’ll try posting links like this weekly whether or not there are ten. I guess we shall see.

During April, I only blogged poetry in my weekdays-only NaPoWriMo effort and during May, I took an unintentional vow of blogging silence (here anyway) and posted pictures of the local wildflowers. Now it’s June and there are many things I meant to link to and write about so here’s a dump of sorts since I’m a little short of time right now.

I’ve read a lot of good poems lately. Some have really stuck with me. Check out “Wake” by Angie Werren, “Running Water Ghazal” by Joseph Harker, and “Doors” by Dick Jones.

NaPoWriMo ended and, alas, so did Big Tent Poetry just a year after Read Write Poem closed. Is there something about NaPoWriMo that burns out prompt sites? It’s sad to see the Big Tent fold, but thanks (many many thanks) to Deb, Carolee and Jill for running the site and providing so many wonderful prompts that led me to writing a number of poems that I still like. Now, after giving so much to the poetry community Deb, Carolee and Jill are blogging together at A Fine Kettle of Fish where they’re taking well-deserved time to focus on their own poetry. Go check it out.

Nic Sebastian published her collection Forever Will on Thursday. It’s a fine read, deserving of a longer review here at some future time. I’ve read it online and intend to order the book because I’m a paper kind of guy. One thing that’s unique about her publishing process is her philosophy of delivering poetry in multiple formats, several of them free, which means you can read Forever Will End on Thursday as an e-book, pdf, paper book, website or listen to her read it online as a download or on a CD. I really admire this approach and may emulate it when I get around to publishing my short collection.

Speaking of fine reads deserving of their own posts (perhaps later when I have time), Mark Stratton’s collection Tender Mercies is out now. Mark asked me to give some feedback on the manuscript, and then he kindly sent me a copy of the finished book, which I enjoyed even more in final form. Many of the poems first appeared on his blog, Aggaspletch, and they combine nicely into this debut collection. I’m especially fond of “Tender Mercy 12F,” which you can read on Mark’s blog.

Yesterday, I got my copy of The Book of Ystwyth: Six Poets on the Work of Clive Hicks-Jenkins. I haven’t read it yet, but good lord, it’s one of the most beautiful books I own. It’s full of excellent reproductions of Hicks-Jenkins’s paintings alongside the poems they inspired. I’d read Dave Bonta’s “The Temptations of Solitude” series on his blog, and it’s great to see his work alongside the images that inspired it. Also, a joy to discover five other poets whose work is new to me. Actually, I have read one poem in the book, “Pegasus” by Catriona Urquhart. I flipped it open and that’s the one I came to. It floored me and I wanted let it settle before diving in. Hell, I might read the whole book just by flipping through. That’s how I often do my first read of a poetry collection.

The blogosphere is changing as more and more links are shared through Twitter and Facebook, and it seems that the venerated blog carnival I and the Bird has run its course. I contributed off-and-on since 2006 and even had the privilege of hosting it once (in ghazal form). The final installment was over at Twin Cities Naturalist. It’s sad to see it go, but there’s still loads of great bird blogging to be found.

My video of Howie Good’s “Fable” took 3rd place in the Moving Poems video contest. Do check out the various entries. It’s interesting to see how different videomakers interpret the same poem. Thanks, Howie & Dave!

Qarrtsiluni‘s latest issue, “Imprisonment,” is off to a powerful start. Make sure you check out “My Cellies.” I’m honored to say that I’ve got a poem that will be appearing later in this issue. Also, while we’re on qarrtsiluni, the chapbook contest deadline is June 15.

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This is the videopoem I made for the Moving Poems contest. The poem is by Howie Good. The video, reading and uke strummin’ are me.

Perhaps I should be the poet laureate of my dog since Joey appears in two poems of mine that are recently published. The first, “Greyhound Joey vs. the Grackle” appears along with “North through Fog” in the February 2011 issue of the Houston Literary Review. The first of those is from my “Birds Nobody Loves” series which will someday be a chapbook and the other is from the “Highway Sky” series which is starting to sneak beyond chapbook length. Thanks to the editors of the Houston Literary Review for publishing those.

Joey’s literary adventures don’t end there, though. He also appears in a micro-haibun in the new pay attention: a river of stones anthology published by Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita who edited a massive amount of submissions from January’s river of stones challenge to produce a beautiful book that is worth every moment spent slowing down to savor it. There were a number of stones that I read in January as well as many that I missed along with some wonderful prose pieces. It was a treat to read again some of my favorites by Beth Adams, Angie Werren, Mark Stratton, and Kris Lindbeck. Along with some prose reflections on small stone writing by Beth Adams, Jean Morris, Laurie Kolp and Margo Roby. You can read the 2 stones I contributed at my mirco-poetry blog here and here (the second is another “Birds Nobody Loves” piece) or you can buy the book, which is really good.

And, now, Joey needs a walk. We’ll talk literature, and he’ll remind me that greyhounds are the only breed of dog mentioned in the Bible and then, who knows what inspiration the four-legged muse will next provide.

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Want to make a fast friend by saving a greyhound in Central Texas? Check these pups out. Or go here to find a greyhound near you. You can also go here to find out why greyhounds are running for their lives.

If you have dogs who need proven leadership, go here to find a cat.

What you see above is the electronic version of last year’s a gnarled oak chapbook. I made one as a holiday gift in 2009 for family, friends and lucky blog readers. It went over so well, I did it again last year. I was surprised to see how many people actually liked getting a handmade book of poetry and when I offered it to blog readers, I was again surprised by the response. Who’d have thunk something this simple could would go over so well.

The experience of making and then giving these things away has been so rewarding, I wish I had more to give, but 50 is the number and when they’re gone, they’re gone. I have just 3 left. If you want one, let me know. They’re free and I’ll send them anywhere.

Two blogging poets whose work I greatly admire were kind enough to write nice things about it on their blogs. First, Fiona Robyn wrote about it on her Writing Our Way Home blog (and gave the post a title that would make any longtime Austinite smile). Be sure to check out Fiona’s new (and free) e-book How to Write Your Way Home. Also, Sherry Chandler wrote a very nice post about it as well. Make sure you check out Sherry’s wonderful e-chapbook at Dead Mule School of Southern Literature: Firing on Six Cylinders.

Update: …and they’re gone.