new book coming out!

Foreword by Dan Denton, Edited by Ezhno Martín

“Michele McDannold is a literary rebel and this irreverent, delicious book, her best yet, is proof. McDannold has a way of stripping everything down to its essentials, leaving the reader sated, and yet with a strange sense of longing. “i guess/that’ll have to/be enough” the poet says in the last line of the final poem of this fine collection. Indeed.” – Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of Erotic, New & Selected, poetry editor, Cultural Daily

“Michele McDannold’s By Plane, Train, or Coincidence is a book that takes you to L.A. and lets you get lost in the gritty, quiet moments of a big city. She dials in on what happens to the mind in the desert, how all that space is damaging to the heart and mind if you are from somewhere in the Midwest. It’s a book about what happens when a heart sets itself free, gets knocked around, and goes home to the memories of what love used to look like. There is a lot of emotion and raw views about being in love in McDannold’s collection, but you’ll have to pick through the shadows and candor to find it. When you do, it will hit you squarely in the jaw.” –@Aleathia Drehmer, author of Running Red Lights (Gutter Snob Books)

“McDannold’s mastery of language thrives raw and unsparing in By Plane, Train or Coincidence …lines living in “a city that gnaws on itself”. With pathos, humor, and her driving fearlessness she transforms any landscape into languid rhythms of fertile hauntings. She is a phenomenon, a fierce visionary. Get a copy of anything she writes!” –Meg Tuite, author of White Van

“If you’re looking to explore your deepest dreams, Michele McDannold can walk you through the jungle they hide in. She unwinds the truth of the day’s ragged edge, while allowing the magic of the good night to breathe deep – one last time. McDannold truly leads the life of a seasoned writer. She knows things, she shares them here. Her latest book – By Plane, Train or Coincidence. I like it. Lots.” –@Bill Gainer, A True Story

By Plane, Train or Coincidence is now available for pre-order through MAGICAL JEEP DISTRIBUTING. Reserve your SIGNED copy today! https://www.magicaljeep.com/product/coincidence/95

steel reserve 211

steel reserve 211
(high gravity)

trading a brown bag beer
from the rite-aid
for a cold
one
in my sweater..
i told you these are
important decisions.
gliding down sunset blvd
when the gradients are just right
the differently-abled humps her walker
at the bus stop
blowing devotions
at the moon sky
& all the while
that twinkle in her eye
a judgment on the navigational
misfortune
of too many things in a day
we are what we wish for hard enough

only in LA, baby
only in LA

from the forthcoming collection By Plane, Train or Coincidence (Roadside Press)

Michele McDannold is the author of SpaceTime Continuum for Dummies (Gutter Snob Books), Point of Departure (COCKLEBUR PRESS) and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days (PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS). She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

west coast notebook entry #2

west coast notebook entry #2
(if your process needs a mountain, go)

it’s very complicated.

possible i might
not come down
from this
highway crest
in the clouds
here comes the rain, just
a sprinkle

one could feel cold
save for the sun-direct
patches of light

you know what it
reminds me of?
as does everything
right now…

when i leave this
mountain
will i leave the memory
of you
here too?

tell me how

from the forthcoming collection By Plane, Train or Coincidence (Roadside Press)

Michele McDannold is the author of SpaceTime Continuum for Dummies (Gutter Snob Books), Point of Departure (COCKLEBUR PRESS) and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days (PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS). She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

at the tee gee club #1

at the tee gee club #1

bob wants to hear metal

we fumble the
quarter
and change the language
to Spanish but
eventually he
gets it
three songs later
Planet Claire
Elvis Costello
and that one prince song
all the while his fifth wife
and a trip to the phillipines

he gets his quarter
time for a smoke
because today the news

and knowing it’s coming all along
doesn’t grease the wheels for
Soundgarden
doesn’t temper the pain for
Metallica even, old school

iris will watch my drink for me
top it off so i can
say i’m happy
so i can slip and say
i might not be ok

but you know i’ll be fine

from the forthcoming collection By Plane, Train or Coincidence (Roadside Press)

Michele McDannold is the author of SpaceTime Continuum for Dummies (Gutter Snob Books), Point of Departure (COCKLEBUR PRESS) and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days (PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS). She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

west coast notebook entry #1

west coast notebook entry #1

today we go again.
birds chirping good morning
smoking a bowl on the sidewalk in oakland.
can i turn the hardest criminal to a smile?
i feel sort of naked about it
though it’s difficult to imagine
anyone
much pays attention
outside of themselves.

it took a good three months
to figure out
the city.
please just keep on
please just keep keeping
for the various entities
how things get done

for me,
the break
and all the way down
is of no consequence

from the forthcoming collection By Plane, Train or Coincidence (Roadside Press)

Michele McDannold is the author of SpaceTime Continuum for Dummies (Gutter Snob Books), Point of Departure (COCKLEBUR PRESS) and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days (PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS). She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.