Selfie 005

 Direct from Rome, Italy, EU

Selfie 004

 Direct from Chicago, Illinois, USA

Selfie 003

 
Direct from Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Selfie 002

 Direct from Louisville, Colorado, USA

Method & Madness selfie contest

 

Oh boy, selfies! Please send me all you got. After you get your copy of Method & Madness--now 9.71€ on Amazon.it--take a photo of the book in your hand or your whole self with the book or the book in an interesting landscape. Get creative, do what you want. Send it to me (martinpedersen1255@gmail.com) and tell me where you took it. I want to get the Method & Madness going all around the world, all continents, all hemispheres, even in outer space, or in your bedroom, wherever. I'll post them with pleasure. Ready? Gooooooooo.

Direct from Villaggio Siena, Furnari, ME, Sicily, Italy, EU, Planet Earth.

CHILL PILLS by E. Martin Pedersen

Coming soon!!!

Dear Friends: Wanna help? Write a review.

 

I''m trying to launch Method & Madness like a rocket, wanna help? All you gotta do is agree to write a review, either a comment on any of the sites that sell or promote the book (there are lots, google e martin pedersen), or a complete detailed review to publish anywhere you want. If you are close to a literary magazine, even better. If you just want to leave a note of your opinion on Amazon, that's fine. Or send me the review, and I'll publish it. 

In exchange, I'll send you a free digital copy of the whole book (not a bottle of whiskey). A free book for a few friendly words, what a deal! If you hate the book, that's really okay too. I get rejections every day, so I have a tough skin. Drop me a line, give me an e-mail address, and I'll send you a link. It's easy, don't put it off. I thank you in advance for the boost.

Martin

(martinpedersen1255@gmail.com)

Imspired, I feel so

Impspired Magazine is impspired by the imp, a little devil that causes big trouble. They recently published three of my trouble-making poems.

I'm very grateful to Steve Cawte, the boss, who went to extraordinary lengths to get the issue out. He was kind and generous, and I wish him the best.

The poems are "The Art of Double-Hooking," "Experimentos," and "I Hate Poetry Too." The first is about fishing (not), the second about educational research (not), and the third is about forests (not). I guess you'll have to click the link to decide for yourself. Check out the whole Impspired universe, lots of good trouble there.

https://impspired.com/2024/04/01/e-martin-pedersen/

Sitting on the Mantelpiece in Iceland

I've pubished here and there, but this one is very very special to me. Because the journal (The Mantlepiece) is from Reykjavik, Iceland. My uncle Nik Gudmonds was an Icelander, by way of Berkeley, and he was the great storyteller of the family. My own origin is part Norwegian, another Nordic nation. I've always wanted to visit Iceland, and I certainly will soon. The population of the entire nation is about the size of the city of Florence, Italy (380,000). And yet there is so much art and culture.

A good example is The Mantlepiece, edited by Lillian Heimisdottir. She's extremely friendly, but also very professional. She chose my poem, "A Political Manifesto," for the June issue. I thank her and all the people involved in this wonderful publication.

The poem begins with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut: “Wake up, you idiots! Whatever made you think that money was so valuable?” The title would lead you to believe that the speaker is an activist, completely convinced of what they are doing. The poem tells otherwise. Read it to find out more, to be "down with the struggle." But also read the entire issue. There is fiction, reviews, essays, travel, food & drink, and so on. What a variety of interesting stuff! Read this beautiful journal from Iceland, every issue.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/bc8a39ac-7604-453b-b0f8-8b7c2ad27da9/TheMantelpiece_June_2024.pdf

Sample 3 for Italian readers

Method & Madness is in English, like my other books, so far. But I have many Italian friends who read enough English to enjoy the poems, hopefully. I am posting three samples to give you an idea of the type of spicy stuff I write, very few upbeat greeting-card types, several intense even disturbing poems. Not the way things should be, but the way they are. Anyway here's the third, I hope it challenges your conceptions.

The Name of God

"God is an ambiguous word in our language because it appears to refer to something that is known. But the transcendent is unknowable and unknown. God is transcendent, finally, of anything like the name 'God'." Joseph Campbell

Oh, to drop the name
drop the name, drop the name

Oh, to drop the name

Kissing up

Kissing up

to God

to get in good

so God

will remember

your name

when it's time

Fall on your knees

Fall on your knees

on the bathroom rug

before the porcelain altar

Fall on your knees

in a crowded ballroom

That's the "grand geste"

pretend to pray, who's to know?

go on fool

thyself

Brahman

Aten

Mother Earth

Jehovah

Krishna

Allah

Baha

Stand in the corner

Face the walls and rock

like a mourner

recite the name

drop the name

oh the name

the geste

attention

to the real name of God

Vishnu

Waheguru

Ahura Mazda

Satan

The Light

Father

Raven

Feel the power in the name

Feel it in your socks

Feel the sweat, the juice

of something coming

something is about to happen

Lord

Pangu

Shiva

Wakan Tanka

Zeus

Christ

Mami Wata

Bow down

Bow down

Bend thy head

in praise

in shame

in submission

in admission

in contrition

of the power

the power

Hari

Yahweh

Odin

Vajrasattva

Wicca

Arya Tara

Jupiter

the name

the power

in the name

God.

Il nome di Dio

"Dio è una parola ambigua nella nostra lingua perché sembra riferire a qualcosa di conosciuto. Però il trascendentale è inconoscibile e sconosciuto. Dio è trascendentale, alla fine, di qualsiasi cosa come il nome 'Dio'." Joseph Campbell

Oh, di vantarsi del nome

di farsi bello citando il nome

Oh, di vantarsi del nome

Baciare le mani

Baciare i piedi

a Dio

per ingraziarsi

così Dio

si ricorderà

il tuo nome

quando sarà il tempo

Buttati in ginocchio

buttati in ginocchio

sul tappetino del bagno

davanti all'altare di porcellana

Buttati

nella sala da ballo affollata

Ecco il "grand geste"

fai finta di pregare, chi può sapere?

avanti inganna

te stesso

Brahmano

Aton

La madre terra

Geova

Krishna

Allah

Bahà

Stai in piedi nell'angolo

Faccia al muro e dondoli

come uno in lutto

recita il nome

vantarsi del nome

oh, il nome

il geste

attenzione

al vero nome di Dio

Vishnu

Waheguru

Ahura Mazda

Satana

La luce

Padre

il Corvo

Senti il potere nel nome

Sentilo nei tuoi calzini

Senti il sudore, il succo

di qualcosa che arriva

qualcosa che sta per accadere

Signore

Pangu

Shiva

Wakan Tanka

Zeus

Cristo

Mami Wata

Piegati la testa

Piegati la testa

Piegati la tua testa

nel lodare

nella vergogna

nella sottomissione

nella ammissione

nella contrizione

del potere

il potere

Hari

Yahweh

Odino

Vajrasattya

Wicca

Aria Tara

Giove

il nome

il potere

nel nome

Dio.

***

Sample 2 for Italian readers

Method & Madness is in English, like my other books, so far. But I have many Italian friends who read enough English to enjoy the poems, hopefully. I am posting three samples to give you an idea of the type of spicy stuff I write, very few upbeat greeting-card types, several intense even disturbing poems. Not the way things should be, but the way they are. Anyway here's the second, it made someone cry.

Good Friend on a Beach

Was I not a good enough friend?

I just saw you the other day

and we laughed and drank

If I could have helped you

I had the keys to your house here on Maui

but you'd disappeared

After a week the police found you

on a secluded beach

a bullet in your brain

a note from the hospital

folded in your breast pocket

All bad news

You never were the patient sort.

I'm so sorry

You had to dot your 'i's

alone

And thank you

for being

Good friend.

Un buon amico sulla spiaggia

Non ero un amico buono abbastanza?

Ti ho visto soltanto l'altro giorno

e abbiamo riso e bevuto

Se ti avessi potuto aiutare

avevo le chiavi di casa tua qui a Maui

però eri scomparso

Dopo una settimana la polizia ti ha trovato

su una spiaggia appartata

una pallottola nel cervello

una nota dell'ospedale

piagata nel tuo tasschino

Solo notizie brutte

Non sei mai stato un tipo paziente.

Mi dispiace tanto

Dovevi mettere i puntini sugli 'i'

da solo

E grazie

per essere

Un buon amico.

***

Sample 1 for Italian readers

Method & Madness is in English, like my other books, so far. But I have many Italian friends who read enough English to enjoy the poems, hopefully. I am posting three samples to give you an idea of the type of spicy stuff I write, very few upbeat greeting-card types, several intense even disturbing poems. Not the way things should be, but the way they are. Anyway here's the first, if you don't know the word "etiolate," look it up. I had to. 

Etiolate Blues

That man sitting in my chair near the window

Reading the same page of Naked Lunch over and over

Wondering, if anything, how much longer his socks will last

How many more pairs of socks he will need

Turns to look out at nothing although the sky is right there

What is he doing sitting in my chair? Spying?

On a brilliant Sunday morning at 11 am

After making tea and drinking it, which he can't remember

Social-Learning theorists say that self-pity is a common method for gaining attention

So that must be the African violet's game

That feeble house plant his mother gave him

That never got enough light, never got enough

It won't thrive, neither will it die in San Francisco

Living alone is no surprise but a point of shy pride

Last April they gave a pride parade and everyone showed

Except the sitter and window cat who jumps into his lap

Not for love, just the warmth of a human body

And what little light streams in on them from above.

Il blues eziolato

Quell'uomo seduto nella poltrona vicino alla finestra

Che legge la stessa pagina di Pasto Nudo tante volte

Si chiede, semmai, quanto possano durare i suoi calzini

Di quante paia di calzini ne avrà bisogno

Si gira a guardare fuori il nulla anche se il cielo è proprio lì davanti

Cosa fa seduto in quella poltrona? Spia?

In una domenica mattina splendente alle ore 11

Dopo che si è fatto il tè e l'ha bevuto, di cui non ha ricordo

I teorici dell'Apprendimento Sociale dicono che l'auto-commisurazione è un metodo comune per ottenere attenzioni

Perciò quello deve essere il gioco della viola Africana

Quella pianta di casa debole che gli ha dato sua madre

Che non ha mai avuto abbastanza luce, non abbastanza

Non fiorisce ma neppure morirà in San Francisco

Vivere da solo non è una sorpresa ma un punto di timido orgoglio

Lo scorso aprile hanno organizzato una parata dell'orgoglio e tutti si sono presentati

Eccetto quel tipo seduto e il gatto nella finestra che gli salta sulle gambe

Non per amore, solo per il calore di un corpo umano

E quel poco di luce che li illumina dal di sopra.

***

Why?

Why oh why can't I order this little gem called, Method & Madness? It's been released, hasn't it? Well, yes. You can get it from Amazon.it, but the price is too high. I understand that will change; it should fluctuate down. Amazon.com is less than half the price. You can get it directly from the publisher, Odyssey Books, in Australia, with perhaps a high shipping cost if you live in Europe. You can order it from bol.com, but the site is in Dutch. Or you can get it from me, and I'll sign it if you like, but I don't have copies yet. So, have an ounce of patience, your method and your madness are on their way.

The infamous two old dogs photo is included for your viewing pleasure.

Ensorcellia by Odyssey

What?

 

What's this new book, Martin? 

Well, let me tell you.

It's a poetry collection that includes work published from 2019 and before. Pre-covid, that is. Pre-everything changed even if we didn't know. So, it's a varied collection of assorted stuff.

There is a theme, however. And that is explained in the blurb. It is also divided into sections entitled: Ego, Id, Superego, Melancholia, Phantasy, obviously taken from basic psychology. These lead the reader on a personal journey. Like a long trail of highs and lows. Take a rest, you'll get there by and by. And, after all the fatigue, you'll remember how easy it was.

Where?

 

 

https://www.everand.com/book/752727638/Method-Madness

Method & Madness

 

https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/method-madness/9300000184849255/

The Soul Nebula

 

https://www.odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781922311580/

 

 

Minus 1: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "We Will All Become Vegetarians"

Unless we die first

Then we'll feed the wiggly carnivores

All those Fruit Loops make sweet meat

Unless cremation becomes obligation

And the dust joins smoke and arsenic

From the mines where we bore

To force milk from a dry teat 

 

(see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 2: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "In Court"

the yatzhee dice

roll them now

4 of a kind is not

enough, darling 

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 3: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "Me and the Beast"

Yes, when the beast sat across from me in the waiting room

I hated her

when I realized I was infected too

when we made love and she was inside me

our collusion began

now she scares me precisely

because she shadows me. 

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 4: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "Remission of Cancer"

A fish laying on a slab of concrete

gasping like a warehouse on fire

strapped to a bed, smothered with a pillow

blackness pressing right on the eyeballs 

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

 

Minus 5: Method & Madness

 

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "Miss America"

But then you die

open your fist

don't be surprised

to find

lilies 4.79$ a dozen

and a brochure

on the family plan

at the Happy Valley Cemetery:

kids

fly

free 

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 6: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "Palmyra Remembered"

Alone in the ruins of a city left

walking the streets listening to the ghastly ululation

these stiff columns and walls and pavement here

are why I came so far into the desert 

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 7: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the poem:  "Going to the Edge of the Land"

I will never forget that bath

dipped in gold lifelikenessless

the laughter of gravity towels

finding ourselves as we knew each other seventeen years ago

grown     tingling     holding hands

Back on Sicilian sand. 

 

 (see more made-up words in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 8: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the third poem:  "Avoiding Mirrors"

I need to step out of the bath of my past self and stories

face the mirror

wipe off the clouds

not be afraid.

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 9: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few final lines from the second poem:  "Coming Out of a Coma"

Am I slipping, slipping back in 

Another ticket to ride, back 

Back to the other side of the worm hole

In and out of the coma with a passport and 

Luggage coming out

In, out

 (see more in Method & Madness)

 

Minus 10: Method & Madness

My book, Method & Madness, comes out July 25, worldwide. It is published in Australia by Odyssey Books. The editor, Michelle Lovi, has been wonderful during these difficult years. I'm going to countdown to this personally exciting release by giving a tease of some of the poems.

Here are a few lines from the first poem:  "Etoliate Blues"

That man sitting in my chair near the window

Reading the same page of Naked Lunch over and over

Wondering, if anything, how much longer his socks will last

How many more pairs of socks he will need   (continued in Method & Madness)

On course, off course, of course

OffCourse is a prestigious literary journal, and I'm proud to have three poems in the current issue.  The bosses are Isabel and Ricardo Nirenberg, my thanks to them. The journal is associated with The University at Albany. I'm so pleased that they included my work in their latest issue.

The first poem is "My Deliberate Decline," about an old man living. The second, "Nomination," is about an old man dying. The third, "Rebirth," is, well, you know. I'm impressed by the simple layout and, of course, by the other writing in this journal. You will be too if you take a look.

 https://www.albany.edu/offcourse/issue97/pedersen_martin.html

My Active Muse is a flower garden

 

My poem, "Flower Garden," is up on Active Muse (Vasant poems 2024).  Active Muse is a wonderful literary publication based in Pune, India. It is put together by editors, Shashi Kadapa, Savita Narayan, and Chaitali Gawade. My deepest thanks to them, especially poetry editor Chaitali. I feel like they were being kind and generous to publish this poem because it has a couple qualities that might get it rejected in American journals. Rhyme and meter, mainly. Plus, the topic is something I sometimes find tedious in poems: flower gardens.

It seems like many poets are gardeners and write about the pride they take in their growing. They go on and on about their pretty plants while the world outside is on the brink. I, generally, go for more stickery topics, the weeds let's say. But I did write this poem after I moved out of the apartment and into a house with a yard. And I'm learning to garden. Anyway, I liked it and hoped the team at Active Muse would too. And they did and here it is:

http://www.activemuse.org/2024_Collections/vasant/poems/EMartin_Pedersen.html

Qullied Ink Review, vol. 1, Ode to Love

The first publication by the Quilled Ink Review is an anthology called, Ode to Love. I'm in there, supporting love with two poems, "The Quiet One" and "Reunited." Both indirectly on topic.

Adiela Akoo is the editor and cover artist. She also has a whole line of Ode to Love merchandise. Check it out. While you're in a buying mood get the anthology either in electronic or paper version. Many thanks to Adiela and Quilled Ink.

https://quilledinkpress.wixsite.com/publishers/the-quilled-ink-review-literary-journal

confetti in your hair

So annoying, at carnevale, when kids throw confetti in your hair, and they know it. And you deserve it. You need to be annoyed sometimes, by colored paper of joy and play and children. Good for you. Like walking in the rain on purpose. Just because you're alive.

My poem, "Butch Cassidy and Me Jumping," refers to a joyful day with a friend in Sicily digging up an old cesspool in a backyard. It hadn't been used in decades so it was empty, but we joked about the stink as we climbed in to pull out the bricks. I bet it had been there at least a hundred years. Back to the times of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who, in the film, jumped into the river hand in hand.

Over at confetti magazine, Lisa O'Neil Guerci and Nikkilee Kozminsky are the poetry eds. Many thanks to them for choosing this oddball poem about my life in Sicily holding a shovel. Maybe I wound up here by jumping off a cliff. 

Check out my modest contribution here: (then cruise around the whole confetti world)

https://confettimag.org/poetry/butch-cassidy-and-me-jumping/

Two old dogs, no new tricks, lots of hidden pandemonium

I'm very grateful to the Pandemonium Journal for publishing my poem, "Talking to the Dead," yesterday. I got a lot of nice comments, but I think they were more about reconnecting than about the poem. If you're curious, here's the link below. While you're on the site check out the rest of the pandemonium. It gets wild. 

The journal originates from Pakistan, edited by Afshan Shafi, Fatima Ijaz & Talia Mirza. They seem very nice and certainly put together an excellent literary journal. Good luck to them always. And thanks so much for including me.

The poem comes from what I notice is the use of social media to speak to the dead. I mean, we used to say: "I miss her," now we say, "I miss you." As if they could hear or read our notes, maybe they can. And it takes off from there, quickly getting into some real pandemonium. If you want greeting card poetry, I'm not your guy.

The photo is of me and Kiki relaxing, pretending everything is going to be all right. (I'm the dog on the left.)

https://pandemoniumjournal.com/talking-to-the-dead-by-martin-pedersen/

Modern Literature, I'm in.

Many thanks to editor, Rajesh S'Manian, who kindly published five of my poems in the latest issue of Modern Literature. The accompanying painting, here on the right, by Anni Roenkae is fantastic; I wish I had it on my wall.

The first poem, "On First Publication," is about something that probably happened thirty years ago, but continues to inspire. The others are self-explanatory, maybe.

Modern Literature is worth reading and re-reading. Thanks again, Rajesh.

https://www.modernliterature.org/poems-by-e-martin-pedersen-3/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0wISM6993raUNn7m5_U0SoYQpCBUjUc6Y0g1_fTeeUmnwUM1VzRn4xDCE_aem_AS1Fg5zgpaq2xNJixts2hYc_GRNe-vyfAsoG_5POcuxukyED6keZRxSagVBvOYDsHafmE2g11sGOasN8qOCWwfIM

Thirteen Myna Birds, get 'em while they're hot!

I'm excited once again to be one of the Thirteen Myna Birds (number one, in fact). My poem, "Down Now," may be either depressing or realistic, depending on how depressed and realistic you are these days. I'd give the entire flock a read, if I were you. Don't procrastinate though, like my friend Christo's installations, these poems are temporary, soon they'll fly the coop. That makes them somehow more special. Here today, gone tomorrow, like everything, ourselves included.

Many thanks again to Juliet Cook, who is a brilliant poet in her own right. Look for her at Blood Pudding Press. And bless the bloody donuts.

 https://13myna.blogspot.com/

Love & Envy in Sparks of Calliope

The first poem is actually called, "I Love You Honey, But." Now, is that nice? It's about compulsion, I guess. Order in the universe that naturally rejects human order. The second poem is about heroes, I guess.

The journal has the best name ever: Sparks of Calliope. Randal A Burd, Jr. is the boss, thanks Randal. Let's see, I know Calliope is the Muse of poetry. And a musical instrument sort of like a little organ played at circuses. And the sparks, well maybe they come out of the poems in the journal.  

https://sparksofcalliope.com/2023/01/28/two-poems-by-e-martin-pedersen/

Stick Figure of an Old Man doing something naughty

Stick Figure Poetry Quarterly is journal that creeps up on you. Check it out to see what I mean. I love the background color. Thanks to the editor who liked my poem enough to put it first in last summer's issue.

The poem is called, "Old man stealing battered shrimp," which is pretty self-explanatory. I am not the old man in this case. Stealing is a bad thing, right? Should I have called the authorities on the old man? I did not.

https://c530.home.blog/issue-10/#old-pedersen

Old Man, New Year

Cacti Fur, Jim Thompson, New Mexico - what more is there to say? I've had poems here before and I love it. Simple, elegant, and very cool.

"Old Man, New Year," was published on New Year's Day, how cool is that? (Okay, last year, but I'm a bit behind.) The poem is about an American phenomenon that is striking and frightening to those outside the US: people living in their cars. Maybe it's just an excess of the car culture. When I go out in Messina, I ask myself, "Should I take the car or just walk?" Walking to work or shopping or to friends is almost never possible in the US. Tourists ask me why the streets of the villages here are so narrow -- they were made for donkey-carts. Oh.

So, I was morning walking with my brother in Tracy on New Year's 2 years ago, and we met and chatted with a fellow making breakfast for himself beside his car. He seemed to be enjoying life. We offered him donuts but he declined. Bacon and eggs good enough. That's another lesson.

Check out the poem and all of Cacti Fur. Worth it.

https://cactifur.com/2023/01/01/martin-pedersen-old-man-new-year/

A Princess in the Corvus

In the Corvus Review, my poem, "Princess on Parade", pg. 15. My thanks to editor, Janine Mercer. I am very pleased to be included in such excellent company. Read the whole issue 19 and explore the whole archive. It's worth it.

You might not like the poem, which could seem sacriligious or an inappropriate look behind the facade, but give it a read. Then again, you might like it. Especially if you no longer believe in magic. Or an alternate kind of magic.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/611fabd3-8220-45e3-bf9d-d2a394260000/downloads/Issue%2019%20Corvus%20Winter%2022.pdf?ver=1672546732293

Streetcake Magazine, experimentally yours

I don't write a lot of poems that could be called experimental or visual, but sometimes I do, and I like Streetcake Magazine, so I sent one to them, and they published it. Look at page 24.

"The Business of Mindfulness," is not a critique of meditation, maybe an implied critique of business that should be concerned with the well-being of the person and not profit margin. Many small businesses already do that. When we're all more enlightened, hopefully they all will.

The brains behind Streetcake are Nikki Dudley and Trini Decombe. They seem really nice. I'd like to meet them someday.

Otherwise, I recommend Streetcake Magazine if you want to twist your mind into a new shape.

https://www.streetcakemagazine.com/uploads/2/4/7/1/24713274/issue_82_final__amended_.pdf

W-Poesis, what why where when how who which and how much.

W-Poesis is a literary journal that answers the W questions.  My poems included there are: Wasted Love, Whale Storm, What is Missing Now? You Know Over Before. What are they about, why should you read them, etc., are for you to decide. They are here for your consideration starting on page 48.

The gracious editors of W-Poesis are Adrian Flett & Silviu Craciunas. My gratitude to them.

Dig in!

http://w-poesis.ihostfull.com/issues/poesis21.pdf

Peaceful Poetry Pacific

Some computer glitch or evil spirits prevent one from accessing my poems "A Question" and "The Sword" in the online magazine Poetry Pacific, edited by Yuan Changming and Allen Yuan in Vancouver, British Columbia. Here they are in all their naked availability:

A Question

Seafoam circles the rock on the beach from both sides

and meets again like estranged lovers

clasping hands yet

who is the wave?

who gives enough push so that they meet?

what is the rock that separates them?

[cliché check]

the water is the collective spirit

the force is love, we say

the rock is self

water never relents (why should it?)

continents constantly drift

I'm not sure about any of this.

You'd think the water will always pass

still if the rock is a wall and it's thick enough,

high and large enough

the sea may never break through

in your lifetime

in the lifetimes

of rocks

of waves

of love.

A question:

What then?

The Sword

The sword

The mighty sword

The ritual

The inscription

The fabrication

The edge

Sharp

Take a life

A woman, a child

The noble sword

Don't leave home

Into your silver scabbard

And out as needed

To take a life

To protect a life

To give

To live

To die

By

A clean sword

Requires blood

Baptism

You must give it

And yourself

away

To acquire a new

Swordless you.

You can, however, read on the Poetry Pacific website a third poem entited "Growth & Theft", published there last May 5th. Here's the link:

https://poetrypacific.blogspot.com/2023/05/1-poem-by-e-martin-pedersen.html

My thanks to the editors.

Kavya Kishor International, Thank You

Thank you Michael Hislop and Parvej Husen Talukder for publishing my poems "Jigsaws", "Micro-managing the Unpredictable", "Nothing Would Work", "Pain", and "Writing on a Train". I am proud to be published in Bangladesh! I want my work spread around the world, so any journal with International in the name is good with me.

I spent much of my childhood working jigsaw puzzles, usually with my mother. I think that influences how you think, but I don't know how. So, there's a poem about jigsaw puzzles, or maybe not. The other poems are top secret; click on the link and read them yourself. Then cruise around the whole journal. South Asia is where lots of great English-language publishing is happening these days.

https://en.kavyakishor.com/2024/01/09/poems-by-e-martin-pedersen/ 

Trip Danse the Light Macabre Fantastic

Danse Macabre is one of my favorite literary magazines. It's clever and funny and full of gems. In the latest issue (148) you can read five of my recent poems. The titles are "Morning News," "One Eyed Monster 2020," "The Purpose of Nothing," "Smokey's Friends," and "Stormcoming." I hold back nothing. These were written in the 2020-2022 and reflect my anger, fear, frustration and disappointment with my fellow humans. I wasn't feeling hopeful for a better future for the world. I'm still not.

Adam Henry Carrière is the editor, I call him 'boss', he calls himself 'Verleger und Herausgeber', which sounds a lot classier. He's a prince. Thanks again, Adam.

So, you know, check it out.

https://dansemacabreonline.wixsite.com/neudm/e-martin-pedersen-148 

WHAM-O SBLAAM-O!

SBLAAM is the acronym for the Smokey Blue Literary and Arts Magazine. One of my poems, "Like a Mystic," appears on page 49 of the latest issue. It's spoken by a centenarian. As people live longer, including myself, I am fascinated by advanced age. My first week in Sicily, I went to a 100th birthday party, and the birthday girl whispered to me, "Don't live as long as me, it's terrible. Everyone you know dies." And then we sang for her as she blew out the candles and cut the cake.

John Himmelheber is the boss at Smoky Blue and was very gracious to me. Thanks John.

That's not his picture, that's Norman Lear, age 100.

https://sblaam.com/issues/#flipbook-df_1116/1/

San Antonio Review. Nice town. No, I mean the review!

The San Antonio Review is a nice literary review. That's my review of the review from my point of view. Home to my favorite poet, Barbara Ras, the city looks nice too, though I've never been there. It's on my list. So, the S.A.R. just published two of my poems, "Party Animal," and "Opposites Attract." The first is about a grump, nothing like me, however. The second is about science and contains rare explanations of difficult concepts discovered by spending about ten minutes on Wikipedia (shhh).

The poetry editor is Arvilla Fee, what a great name and what a nice person. Thank you. Arvilla made my poems better with excellent edits. When you go on the San Antonio Review website there's a button called Explore. Press it.

https://www.sareview.org/pub/zplckdpk/release/1

https://www.sareview.org/pub/z5wrbpdv/release/1

or try these other links

https://doi.org/10.21428/9b43cd98.4eb71817

https://doi.org/10.21428/9b43cd98.85a6d988