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

Quail Bell Magazine, The Real and The Unreal

Quail Bell Magazine just published two of my poems. They took a chance on one, "Alabama Girl," which contains a trigger warning because it deals with the rape of a young girl and the aftermath. Not something you want to read about or hear about or know about in real life or in poetry. But maybe it's something we need to hear about, talk about, and face with courage and action, both the human damage and the legal/political aspects that in some US states are barbaric. It may be a topic that seems strange for a poem by a man, but men should be hurt and angry too. It's a male problem. We need to solve it. The laws must change. Rape-culture must change. Silence is complicity.

My thanks go to the Quail Bell staff and especially editor, Amy Lee, who helped me improve the poem. Thanks Amy for your advocacy. I'm honored to have work included in a publication that describes itself as intersectional feminist and womanist. Read it.

http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-unreal-20/poetry-alabama-girl-by-e-martin-pedersen

http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-unreal-20/poetry-blue-holes-in-rows-by-e-martin-pedersen

Happy Love Day!

 

To celebrate Valentine's Day, good old Flapper Press had a poetry contest. My poem, "Love ids ..." was selected. What a kick! I may not write about love frequently, but when I do the poems come out as confused about it as I am. I mean, since when is spitting on someone a declaration of love?

Thanks a million to Elizabeth Gracen and Annie Newcomer. They're the best. It's not just the poetry, the whole Flapper universe is worth exploring. Go to their website. Get on their mailing list. Follow on Facebook.

Take a love break in this world of violence and destruction. Love the truth, love peace and justice, love Mother Earth.

https://www.flapperpress.com/post/2023-valentine-s-message-in-a-bottle-poetry-contest-winners?fbclid=IwAR0pBpu5592bL9qqWU8VNRCZxfPIorYIP5bzfdJvy70bFSkp1-gAk2Dmxh8

Highly Unlikely, old chap

Highly unlikely that my old chap, Jonathan Penton, would publish three more of my poems in his fine journal, Unlikely Stories Mark V. Yet here they are. Thanks Jonathan!

The poems are "Learning to Suffer," "Forced Intentions," and "Counting." They are recent and pointed. If you're looking for butterflies and moonbeams, look elsewhere. I'm proud of these. Hope they make you uncomfortable.

https://www.unlikelystories.org/content/learning-to-suffer-forced-intentions-and-counting

Bend neologisms till they break

The poem in Neologism Poetry Journal is called, "Bend It," and like my previous poem in this prestigious journal called "It," the riddle of what 'it' is has no correct answer. Weird, huh? A poem that makes no sense? You read it and see what you think. I think it makes sense, but even I am not sure what the sense is.

Christopher Fields is the editor, and a fine one. Thanks Christopher.

I think you'll like Neologism, it's about using words to mean, which is what we do all day.

https://www.neologismpoetry.com/December-2022/ 

Evening Street -- There

"Not There Yet," is my poem featured in the Evening Street Review, no. 35. The good news is that the journal is excellent. The bad news is that it's available only for sale. There's lots of good fiction, non-fiction and poetry inside, so it's worth the $2 on Kindle or you can get the paper version for $16.

Barbara Bergmann runs the show, but has a lot of help. My thanks to her and to everyone connected to Evening Street. I imagine that the name refers--if not to an actual street--to the late afternoon, but it could also be the gerund of the verb 'to even' ie. to make the same, equality, parity, equity. Hmm. Are we there yet?

The poem begins with a song text that I remembered from my time in Zimbabwe when I was 20. I sang it in the shower for decades before I searched and found the source, thanks to Art Garfunkel.

https://eveningstreetpress.com/product/evening-street-review-number-35-autumn-2022/

Creative Flight, up up and away

Creative Flight Journal is an Indian publication featuring academic and creative writings. It's editor is Dipak Giri, who has a very impressive CV. Thanks to him for including my work.

The poems published in Creative Flight Journal are "Pearls Are Tears," "Rub," and "In Jonah's Cavern." All deal with the body in some way. Check them out at the links below.

Or as they say in Hindi: यहाँ देखो (yahaan dekho)

https://www.creativeflight.in/pearls-are-tears-e-martin-pedersen-italy

https://www.creativeflight.in/rub-e-martin-pedersen-italy

https://www.creativeflight.in/in-jonahs-cavern-e-martin-pedersen-italy

Avatar, not the film, not the review of the film

If you search for Avatar Review, a literary magazine that includes three of my poems, you'll find dozens of sites reviewing the Avatar films. Click on the link below to take you to the real Avatar Review Literary Magazine. You'll find my poems, "Wish Granted," "The Woodcutter's Love," and "You On My Tongue." I thought these poems were okay when I sent them in. When I saw them in print, I thought they were better than okay, some of my favorite in fact.

Go to the Avatar Review home page and choose an issue, then go to the table of contents and pick a writer, dive in, don't come up for air until you've had enough. It's another world.

http://www.avatarreview.net/AV24/category/poetry/e-martin-pedersen/

Paradise Lost, California

"Paradise Lost" does not refer to the epic poem by John Milton (okay it does), it refers mainly to the wildfire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California in 2018. I had vacationed there a few months prior. I was seriously shaken when I heard that the whole town had burnt to the ground. The places I'd been, the people I met. My favorite cowboy singer, Sourdough Slim, lived there. About 25000 people lived there before, now less than 5000 have returned. They're still rebuilding. 86 people died in the disaster. Those who escaped lost everything they had. Very sad. Then in 2020 some of the area burned again. Tragedy squared.

My poem about this fire is in a recent issue of The Helix Literary Magazine. The poetry editor is Nicole Moulton. My thanks to her. The Helix is really good, you should check it out.

https://helixmagazine.org/2022/06/03/paradise-lost-e-martin-pederson/

all Slab, no Blab

Slab is the literary magazine (with art and sound too) put together by the students and staff at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. It's really good. A lot of people work very hard to get the issues out. The editors I worked with were Kim Cardello and Aly Nardozzi. They were wonderful. Thanks.

I have a poem on page 88 called "The Thrill of Travel." It's about love, maybe. Or travel, maybe. What you have to do to read it is get a copy of Slab, a slab of the Slab, so to speak. It costs 7 bucks, is that really too much? I don't think so. All the ordering info is on the website. Then you get a beautiful literary magazine with a scary cover and lots of great stuff inside.

 http://www.slablitmag.org/home/issue-16-table-of-contents/

PCC Inscape, is that hardware or software? Nope.

Pasadena City College students and staff started a literary journal in 1943 called Inscape. It's going strong today and recently published my poem, "Post-Rave Welcome," in an issue (no. 10) called "Love Letters to the Forgotten." Thanks to Juliette Sandoval who edited this issue and did a wonderful job. Don't take my word for it, go read the whole thing.

 http://www.pccinscape.com/2022-feb-folio.html

The Wise Owl, or Owls, named Lapis and Pine

The Wise Owl is an outstanding new international literary/arts journal. It's edited by Rachna Singh and her team. In a short time, they've published many issues and they're simply beautiful. The layout and artwork shouldn't matter much for presenting poetry and fiction, but it does. There are also fascinating interviews and non-fiction essays. Look all around the website and look at all the issues, there's so much great stuff there.

My two poems are in the lapis edition and the pine edition. One's called "Smiling Woman," and the other's "The Poet's Obligation," which is also included in the annual anthology. I'm excited to be included in The Wise Owl, even if I'm neither an owl nor wise.

lapis edition:

https://www.archives1thewiseowl.art/poetry-lapis-edition-part2

pine edition:

 https://www.thewiseowl.art/a-smiling-woman-1

Dancers, Dancers, Dancers

Three types and how they affect me. That's what this poem is about, I think. It appears in First Literary Review-East, which is run by Cindy Hochman, who is very nice and helped me refine this poem. Karen Neuberg is her able assistant. They deserve my thanks, Thanks.

 The journal is very easy to read, lots of sweet short poems, like bites of a donut. Eat 'em up.

http://www.rulrul.4mg.com/index_68.html

I found my thrill on October Hill

 

October is past, but you can still read October Hill Magazine.  In a recent issue you'll find my poem, "Pearls are Tears," on page 95 (at the very end). My thanks to the poetry editors: Chase Nenner, Clare Kernie, Tiana Urey. They put together an impressive journal, worth a look. There's even a beautiful flower arrangement illustration.

October is meant to be autumn, though this year, at least here in Sicily, it was summer all month. Let's get serious about seasonal climate change before it bites us in the ass. Please.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eIHX434IneLwRd2WjEyjsn3xSRTn3BGg/view

Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Yessiree Bob!

Holy Wow! I woke up this morning and BLAMMO, five poems accepted and already posted on Lothlorien Poetry Journal. Strider Marcus Jones is the man! Thankye, sir.

And thank you readers for giving a glance at my work and the whole mythical world of Lothlorien. I bet you'll want to stay a while and read lots of the poems therein.

https://lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2022/12/five-poems-by-e-martin-pedersen.html

Steam Ticket for the Steam Train

Hey, is that Jimmie Rodgers, the singing brakeman, or his "descendant," Pokey LaFarge, on the cover of  Steam Ticket Journal, the lit mag of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse? Okay, neither, but it's a great pic.

Inside you'll find my poem, "In Shock," on page 118, if you can stand it. Might want to fortify first.

I'm grateful to all the staff at Steam Ticket, especially poetry editor, Noah Gassman, and wish them well. You will too when you read what great stuff they select for their publication. Take a peek. All Aboard! Full Steam Ahead!

https://www.uwlax.edu/globalassets/academics/departments/english/publications/steam-ticket-volume-25.pdf

Hanging out in the Literary Yard

The Literary Yard is my kind of place.  I've been there before. Onkar Sharma is the yard boss. He's an interesting fellow, cybersecurity and literature. I like the Lit Yard, it feels like a friendly place. I enjoy hanging out there.

My poems published there are: The Toxic Wha (not about the World Cup), When You Go (not about donuts), Worthless (a sci-fi thriller), Kitten in the Motor (cats are our masters), and Carrier's Lament (not about sardine cans).

Thanks to Onkar Sharma for hosting the Yard. Join the fun!

https://literaryyard.com/2022/11/24/the-toxic-wha-and-other-poems/

Oh look, Modern Literature, well well.

Rajesh Subramanian is a nice fellow from Chennai, India. He edits a journal called Modern Literature, and I thank him for including my work again this week. There are five short poems here: "Allium sativum," is about allergy, "How Cruel," about guilt, "I Lost It All," is about not losing it all, "In Jonah's Cavern," you can guess, and "Lines Across the Pacific," is about my childhood in the Parkside district in San Francisco standing on Ocean Beach, too cold to go in the water, and looking out hoping to see land beyond the horizon. I'm glad these poems are finally in the public eye. Hope you like them and hope you will read Modern Literature regularly. India is where English-language poetry is happening these days!

https://www.modernliterature.org/poems-by-e-martin-pedersen-2/

Best of the Net Nomination from Flapper Press

I'm feigning modesty, I'm holding it together. Yet what I really mean is: !!Best!! of the !!!Net!!!Nomination!!!!! And then a Kermit the Frog yell: YAY!!!!!!!!! What about: Composure? Dignity? Impassivity? NAH. I'm too happy. YAY!!!

My thanks to my favorite flappers: Elizabeth Gracen, the gracious boss (look her up) who wrote me a beautiful letter, and Annie Newcomer, poetry guru who chose my poems and interviewed me. What a dynamic duo! Clayton E. Clark wrote the nice notes on the BotN nominations page below. Thanks to her too. So, twice thrilled, once when my work came out in the Flapper Press Poetry Café and now in their BotN nomination for my poem, "Gull Eggs." 

"Gull Eggs" is based on the book, Wilderness, by painter Rockwell Kent but also comes from my family history in the early days of Seward, Alaska. I bought my copy of Wilderness in the bookstore/coffeehouse that used to be the Methodist Church that my great-grandfather built by hand. For members of my family a trip to Seward is a pilgrimage.

Okay, after this honor and the implicit message that someone somewhere thinks I don't stink as a poet, I can retire. Ha! Not likely. I've got lots of new stuff to send out and hope, fingers crossed, I get a response similar to that of the incredible Flapper Press!

Stay tuned.

https://www.flapperpress.com/post/best-of-the-net-nominations-for-poetry