Tinderbox, Tabloids, and L'Etage

My two newest Silence of the Lambs poems have been published in volume 2, issue 3 of Tinderbox Poetry Journal: "Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling?" and "Look at him, Starling. Tell me what you see." I'm very excited to have these poems out in the reading world! The latter poem will also be included in the new anthology forthcoming from the Literary House Press, Still Life with Poem: 100 Natures Mortes in Verse. For my "still life," I used a movie still of the Buffalo Bill case board in Jack Crawford's office, a frozen composition of crime scene photos and newspaper clippings: 


  
This week I was lucky enough to meet the amazing Matthea Harvey, goddess of mermaid poems, at the Rose O'Neill Literary House. We talked about the intersection of poetry and visual art and the obsessions that both feed into this collaboration with (different parts of) the self and feed on it. Miniatures. Wildflower names. Mermaids. Silence of the Lambs. Tabloid headlines. Fairy tales. We collect all of these things and recombine them in our work, verbally and visually. And then Matthea read from her newest book, If the Tabloids Are True What Are You? It was amazing. What a magical creature. She really is as lovely as you imagine her to be. I'm still fangirling over here.

James Allen Hall, me, Matthea Harvey, and happy students. Photo by the dearest Julie Armstrong.


Now coming up in two weeks, I'll be headed to Philly for a reading celebrating The Book of Scented Things! On Friday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. at L'Etage night club & cabaret, I will be reading alongside poets and friends James Allen Hall, Jason Schneiderman, and dawn lonsinger. What a fun night that will be. And we would absolutely love for you to join us! Party like a poet, y'all.

  

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