Magical realism magical realism poetry poetry about the ocean

Considering Magical Realism in Poetry

Magical Realism in Poetry Poetry is more likely to wander into magic realism than fiction by its very nature. Metaphor is bringing two unlike things together for a startling result, a transformation. A magic trick of effect. Because most contemporary poetry lives more in metaphor than narrative (discuss!), the realism quickly shifts into an altered state. To make a point, but tell it slant, you sometimes make an alternate universe that is more real than…

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To obtain a great cover image, try pleading “Poet in Poverty”

It was great fun to correspond with Matisse’s great grandson in order to obtain rights to use this image on the cover of my poetry collection Femme au chapeau. Happy to say it will be available as an eBook in September! Pre-order price for you is $2.99, until 9/26/16. You can go here to pre-order: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/657130. Poet Barbara Crooker did a wonderful review of the book on Smartish Pace, mentioning “exquisite figurative language throughout”. She…

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The Land of Totuaba

I’m excited that my memoir essay of camping in Baja California with my bipolar rocket scientist father and family is now published online at Halfway Down the Stairs. This issue of the journal has a rich selection of poetry and prose, and I’m honored to have had my story selected. “The Land of Totuaba” is an excerpt from my memoir of an unusual childhood with a father who blew up rockets for a living and…

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New video trailer for Gods of Water and Air!

Aldrich Press has created a beautiful new trailer for my book! It’s my reading of “Flight,” the first poem in my book. It’s on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KaXVkL8cac&feature=youtu.be I looked at an interesting array of poetry book trailers, and was most taken with Sandra Beasley’s single poem videos, so I decided on a single poem reading. It was fun to make, finding images and music from royalty-free sources. If I were trying to decide whether to buy…

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poem poetry about the ocean San Pedro

My poem in About Place Journal celebrates my hometown

I’m happy today to have my poem, “On the Rocks, Cliffs, and Tidepools” up in the current issue of About Place, “a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society.” My poem is in the current issue “The Future of Water,” alongside poems from Susan Terris, Alex Cigale, Alan Kleiman, Ann E. Michael, Jeff Gundy, and too many more to name. I’m happily…

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