and finally..

i started off day one for epic roadtrip final destination punk hostage press los angeles with 2 goals for the day:  1. drop by Iowa and say hi to Dev 2. find the world’s largest ball of twine. done and done. hey the day’s not over until you go to sleep and there’s many miles yet to go. 3am-ish and I even manage to throw in a promo for This Is Poetry. not too damn bad at all

social media blahblahblah

a couple things that bother me about the social media blahblahblah lately. if you’re garnering support for blocking someone because of their needless drama, aren’t you kind of doing the same thing? last time i had to block someone, i mean, hey- it happens.. i don’t recall the button making any sort of noise, bleeping sound or whatnot. just a very quiet DONE.

here’s another one that giggles me every time i see it.. ‘oh poop on the poets/artists that are in it for the fame and the money.’

lol, right? poet X will be eating waxy noodles all month in order to afford flying out to the cornfield to testify. those other guys will be floating into town on gas fumes and hitting the streets with the good word to keep the dream alive under the uncertainty of how the next mile is paid for. personally, i am surprised every damn month i’m not evicted.

couple things about social media that make it worth ignoring all that other shit..

none of this… (The Literary Underground, the events, the books, the blogtalk yada yada) None of it would be possible without social media. sorry, it’s true. the communication and connections it enables, the shared resources, information, inspiration!  just the fucking ease of coordinating. jesus H christ on a stick. within hours, i was able to track down an art event on a specific date in another town, “friend” the coordinator and arrange for out of town poet people to join them. boom. for every douchebag in the arts community, there are 10 gracious people, committed in their own pursuits but generous with their support of other artists.

social media can be a tool full of tools, sure. but we’re all getting pretty good at that scrolly thing. it’s easy enough to move past the BS and do something positive or fun or creative with it. anyone can make that choice and make a difference. it’s happening. look around. (100 Thousand Poets for Change) global, local, little stuff, big stuff… just try escaping it..you can’t! woohoo!!!!

i live in the middle of nowhere, am the proud holder of a GED certificate and three divorce decrees. it’s all pick a mental disorder up in here, three kids that won’t stop saying “k, bye felisha.” (it all makes sense now, yeah?) it’s worse than the hashtag thing, i’m telling you. i don’t have anything special that anyone else doesn’t have other than maybe an awareness of what i’m meant to do in this life and a sense that i should do my best to honor that.

uh-oh. yes, sorry. cue the monkeys

anyway, SOCIAL MEDIA and its awesome power to connect… the kind that works for even an introvert like me that you have to drag out of her house kicking and screaming. i do this stuff because otherwise i can’t live with myself and i write because otherwise nobody else can stand me either.. and, still it’s no cake walk. somebody wrote to me and said i make this look easy. thank you, but– it’s not. it’s a lot of work and some of it is quite outside my comfort zone. just the same it makes me happy anyone would think so and you’ll never convince me it’s not a worthy cause. not easy never meant not possible. most importantly, i didn’t do it alone. that is kind of a major point about it if you hadn’t noticed.

Q. oh preachy rambling what was the point?…

A. community

This Is Poetry.

you know. voice to the voiceless and shit like that

THIS IS POETRY VOLUME 1 WOMEN OF THE SMALL PRESS
$15

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Citizens for Decent Literature Press (July 31, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 069226695X
ISBN-13: 978-0692266953

PLEASE VISIT THE LITERARY UNDERGROUND TO ORDER

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED THROUGH AMAZON. SORRY. POSTAGE SUCKS

 THIS IS POETRY Volume I: Women of the Small Press CONTRIBUTORS: Stephanie Bryant Anderson, Arlene Ang, C.V. Auchterlonie, Francesca Bell, Iris Berry, Sirenna Blas, Jennifer Blowdryer, Jane Blue, April Michelle Bratten, Bree, Judy L. Brekke, Melanie Browne, MK Chavez, Wanda Marrow Clevenger, Sharon Coleman, Ryder Collins, Cathleen Allyn Conway, Juliet Cook, Cassandra Dallett, Jessica Dawson, Heather Dorn, Lisa Douglass, Alexis Rhone Fancher, Teri Louise Kelly, Ellaraine Lockie, Diane Lockward, Ally Malinenko, Ellyn Maybe, Michele McDannold, Ann Menebroker, Sheila E. Murphy, Alexandra Naughton, s. Nicholas, T.A. Noonan, Puma Perl, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Erin Reardon, Lynne Savitt, Trina Stolec, Susan Yount.

Many of the poems included in This Is Poetry Volume I are re-prints from the following publications and presses. You should check them out. Support the Small Press! linkage right here at the This Is Poetry tumblr http://thisispoetry.tumblr.com/links

Aterark, Barely South Review, The Beat Museum, Black-Listed Magazine, Bleeding Hearts, The Blind Vigil Revue, Blood Pudding Press, Burlesque Press, burntdistrict, The Camel Saloon, Cinnamon Press, Citizens for Decent Literature, Cliterature, Creekwalker, Criminal Class Review, Crisis Chronicles Press, Cyclamen and Swords, dancing girl press, Eunoia Review, Finishing Line Press, Gesture, Hyacinth Girl Press, Inkception Books, InterBoard Poetry Competition, Jet Fuel Review, Luciferous, Lummox Press, Manic D Press, Meat, The Mas Tequila Review, NYQ Books, Orange Room Review, Outsider Writers, Perihelion, PING PONG, Poems-For-All, The Poetry Superhighway, Presa Press, Punk Hostage Press, Quill and Parchment, Red Fez Publications, The Silt Reader, Song of the San Joaquin Quarterly, Stone Highway Review, Sugared Water, The-Hold, Thrush, Thunder Sandwich, Uno Kudo, Unshod Quills, Waterways: Poetry in the Main Stream, Wind Publications, The Wormwood Review, Ye Olde Font Shoppe, and Zygote in my Coffee.

 

this shindig is sponsored by Citizens for Decent Literature Press, Punk Hostage Press, Red Fez Publications, Zygote in my Coffee, Blotterature Literary Magazine, Nostrovia Poetry, UndergroundBooks, and Books & Shovels. show them some love, eh?

viva la Underground!

loooove,
mm

---

Michele McDannold was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature Press. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. She lives in a place called the Jhole and does various odd jobs at The Literary Underground and Ppigpenn. Michele’s first full-length poetry collection Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days is coming soon from Punk Hostage Press. There’s an “official” website at michelemcdannold.com.

one week?

working on squaring with the fact that in one week… the poets are coming. i’m excited. i’m nervous. i bought a fresh bottle of antacids.

hard to believe it’s been almost a year since i have seen some of these folks. it’s time. ready or not…

and, what better reason would one need to hang out with some of the coolest people in the universe.. to put together a hella cool show… well—TA DA

yes, folks. the books are on the way, the poets will be soon. i go find happy sleepy place now

THIS IS POETRY VOLUME 1 WOMEN OF THE SMALL PRESS
ORDER NOW $15
**SHIPS AUGUST 11**

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Citizens for Decent Literature Press (July 31, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 069226695X
ISBN-13: 978-0692266953

CONTINENTAL USA ONLY

ORDER HERE

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED THROUGH AMAZON. SORRY. POSTAGE SUCKS

CONTRIBUTORS: Stephanie Bryant Anderson, Arlene Ang, C.V. Auchterlonie, Francesca Bell, Iris Berry, Sirenna Blas, Jennifer Blowdryer, Jane Blue, April Michelle Bratten, Bree, Judy L. Brekke, Melanie Browne, MK Chavez, Wanda Marrow Clevenger, Sharon Coleman, Ryder Collins, Cathleen Allyn Conway, Juliet Cook, Cassandra Dallett, Jessica Dawson, Heather Dorn, Lisa Douglass, Alexis Rhone Fancher, Teri Louise Kelly, Ellaraine Lockie, Diane Lockward, Ally Malinenko, Ellyn Maybe, Michele McDannold, Ann Menebroker, Sheila E. Murphy, Alexandra Naughton, s. Nicholas, T.A. Noonan, Puma Perl, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Erin Reardon, Lynne Savitt, Trina Stolec, Susan Yount.

THIS IS POETRY Volume I: Women of the Small Press

Women of the Small Press move through the phases of identity and sexuality–shifting gears–controlling the stick shift with the mouth. –Julie Demoff Larsen, editor at Blotterature Literary Magazine

Let’s face it. In the poetry World that should strive for human rights there has never been a balance between man and woman. Leaving the women often unheard. Someone has needed to anthologize the women of the small press for a long time. Leave it to Michele McDannold and Brian Fugget to do this and do it right. This anthology captures all of the anger, all of the passion, all of the love, all of the hate, everything. This should be an instant classic. — Michael D. Grover, Head Poetry editor at Red Fez Publications

As you read this anthology, keep a notebook and a pen nearby. If you’re like me, you’ll wind up with a long list of essential new poets to seek out further. — Bud Smith, poet/author of Tollbooth

The women of the underground howl, growl, sing and grunt truth in words plain and poignant. No timid academics here. These ladies have something to say. — J. Claudius Cloyd, author/poet

we needed 50 ashtrays

i met MK briefly, around the fifth day of a week-long adventure in the bay area. six events in seven days, staying in a house full of poets. there were eight or nine of us.. shoulda filmed that shit and sold it to realityTV. clogged toilets, leaking hoses, recycling wars, white sauce at 3am…

it was supposed to be six events, but that day- i was burnt the fuck out.

i missed the trip to go hang with the punk hostage crew and meet iris and razor. turns out, i was supposed to meet them the next day, said the universe. MK was supposed to be somewhere in Ohio. initially, she was going to perform at our event that week but she was offered a sweet workshop or something like that, anyway–free ride to poetry (and how often does that happen?). her flight was delayed/changed and so with a few hours to spare, she rescued me (& that Fugett guy) to a cool little coffee/tobacco/beer joint.

i needed that more than anything right at that moment. and the air around this woman, she radiates beauty.

as with all good encounters- somebody broke their mug, somebody else slumped over a table and the medics showed up, but no crying over spilled anything and that lady was just dehydrated. laughter like a shoots and ladders game, next time we’ll stay longer.

Michele McDannold & MK Chavez. Berkeley, July 2012.

i have no idea why we needed 50 ashtrays. but anyway, my point was MK is awesome and she has 4 pieces posted at THIS IS POETRY that you should check out. http://thisispoetry.tumblr.com/

 

announcing the announcement

THIS IS POETRY
The Literary Underground is pleased to announce a new project called “This is Poetry”. The project will ultimately result in an eight-volume collection of poetry, each volume representing poets from a specific geographic region as well as several special collections. These perfect-bound books will be published under Citizens for Decent Literature Press, founded as part of The Literary Underground. Co-edited by Michele McDannold and Brian W. Fugett, we are currently working on the first two volumes: Women of the Small Press and the American Midwest.

Poems selected for this project will first be published online via tumblr blog – http://thisispoetry.tumblr.com/ – a bit of a social media experiment with poetry. Wouldn’t it be great if poetry went viral? We think so.

Submissions are taken by invitation only and based on referral from poets participating in the project. This is how the project is taking on an organic life of its own. It’s not just the eds hitting up their favorite poets. It’s the eds hitting up their favorite poets, their favorite poets tossing in their favorite poets and so on etc into awesomeness.

Another important and exciting aspect of this project is that we are encouraging contributors to send in their best, most defining work including and emphasizing on previously published poems. It is our intent to highlight other small press publishers, noting the publication credit with a link to the online presence of the small press publisher with each poem published on the tumblr as well as a links page including the same, gathered for easier reference.

viva la Underground
SUPPORT THE SMALL PRESS!

http://theliteraryunderground.org

Does anyone understand Tumblr?

Why is there a pile of naked barbies with these Bud Smith books on the kitchen table?
I really have no explanation for this.

random page from Everything Neon (beautiful cover, right?)

Youth

When we were little
our mutual dream
was to slam dunk
so hard
we’d shatter
the glass backboard
That was it
Our whole dream
and now
here we are

(c)Bud Smith

http://budsmithwrites.com/

also trying to understand tumblr. I am, maybe, too old. ?? but, I am trying because of this http://thisispoetry.tumblr.com/

top secret stuff happening there. ssshhhhh
it seems the tags are very important.

The 10 most popular tags on Tumblr (June 2012)

 

 

 

 

 

i also came across this which has a nice cheat sheet for facebook photo sizes.. Facebook Photos Size Guide: Dimensions & Types (2014 Edition) which is also the reason my computer is about full up of the same image resized a bazillion times just to post crap on facebook. different for all the other social media whatnots too… if you don’t want to end up with an oddly reshaped or cropped photo… i mean, just look at what happened to this photo of Dr. Timothy Murrae (of the BLot Lit gang)from a recent book signing…

finally, all of this… I don’t really know what’s going on most of the time, but sometimes it works anyway.

The Literary Underground on

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryUnderground

Twitter https://twitter.com/litinc

Youtube http://www.youtube.com/literaryunderground

News/Blog RSS Feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/theliteraryunderground/jamP

Citizens for Decent Literature
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/citizensfordecentliterature
Tumblr http://cfdl.tumblr.com/

Project U Radio Network
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/projecturadio

Nothing to Lose Internet Radio
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Random Acts of Terror
https://www.facebook.com/RandomActsOfTerror

The Literary Underground Wiki
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Literary-Underground-Wiki/143274819024844

ppigpenn.blogspot.com
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Twitter https://twitter.com/Ppigpenn