Do Androids Dream of Being Published in DASH Literary Journal?

Received my contributor copy for the latest issue of DASH Literary Journal and it's one of the more enjoyable publications that I've been published in. It seems to have been put together as a tribute to my fleeting attention span. In fact, the BIO section limits each contributor to SIX WORDS. As stated in issue five's introduction, the editors "prize succinct articulation."

In most journals, you might find one or two short short poems, which is just enough to stick out like some kind of deformed oddity. But DASH has adopted enough of these little orphans to create a sense of belonging. You end up not questioning the appearance of two or three line poems and just accepting them unconditionally, for who they are.

My poem in this issue is a sprawling thirteen line epic with an even more gargantuan title, "Do Androids Dream of Electronically-Deposited Unemployment Checks?"

My title is a mutation of Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" which was the source material for the 1982 classic Sci-Fi film, Blade Runner. There was a deleted scene that was restored for the Director's Cut, in which Harrison Ford's character has a brief unicorn dream and I found it haunting enough to stay with me, over the years. Fortunately, it proved useful when I was in need of a title for that poem.

Now that I think about it, that entire movie is wonderfully poetic. If you need anymore proof, here is the classic Rutger Hauer rooftop monologue, recreated with Legos:

Some of my highlights on the first read-through, include a couple of wonderful poems by Howie Good and an interview feature with Brendan Constantine ("Surrealism is just part of the super-associative nature of societal thought. It begins in the para-consciousness of infancy and if you're lucky enough to be poorly supervised, it becomes instinct."). I also love the art feature/interview for Tara McPherson.

Tanzaku and Improv Poetry Out & About This Week

I'll be reading a few poems at some intriguing events this week.

Thursday, I will be reading a few poems at the closing reception for this Tree Of Life public art project, made from recycled old neckties, jeans, Hawaiian shirts, bathing suits, etc.

It's bigger than I thought. For scale, here's artist Mary Lucking putting it together:

Then on Saturday night, I will be reading a few poems that will be immediately interpreted and acted out by an improv theater troupe at The Torch Theater's "improvised book club."  This one centers around Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, but I'm not sure if I am expected to stick to that topic, or if I should just choose a few poems that seem like good springboards for reenactments. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out. I love not being able to expect what to expect.


Speaking of unexpected, someone just stumbled onto an old youtube clip of me reading a poem that I wrote during the last Presidential election, or maybe it just took them three or four years to compose this comment that they finally figured out how to post:

"Congratulations, you've made people who already "agree" with your hatred, laugh a little. You've given people who don't "agree with you", confirmation of all their stereotypes (long haired grungy hippie, etc). And you've given "undecideds" a real clear glimpse of your immaturity. Well done. "

more Bi-Winning than Charlie Sheen can shake a restraining order at

It makes me a little jealous when I get a poem published in some faraway publication and get the invite to the issue's launch party that will be taking place on the other side of the country. So I've appreciated having work in the past three issues of ASU West's newish literary journal, Canyon Voices. Since their campus is somewhat in the neighborhood, I get to attend their big launch parties to celebrate the new issues. There's always a great crowd and contributing writers get to read their pieces. There are also display prints of work from the Art section and they get raffled off throughout the night. My Son was thrilled to win this Jessie Jordan image (thanks to my friend Rob Fix, for taking this pic).

I read both of my pieces from the latest issue (you can find them by clicking right HERE).

One is called "Encountered During Midnight Walks" and it was inspired by the only time of day I can leave my house during the Arizona Summer without bursting into flames.

The other is a series of "iKu"
Short three line seventeen syllable outbursts that have nothing to do with seasons and everything to do with anything else. You can read the other thirteen at that above link, but here is an example:

failed intervention
mom addicted to Botox
raises no eyebrows

Speaking of winning: thanks to everyone who entered my Poetry Giveaway drawing.
Another thanks to everyone who participated on their own. It brought a lot of interesting blogs to my attention. I'll have to check in on several of them throughout the rest of the year.

I used one of those nifty online random number generators to select my two winners, so Laura E. Davis gets Matt Mason's Mistranslating Neruda and Sandy Longhorn gets the copy of the Merge anthology. I will get in touch with both of you for postal addresses, soon.

On a related note, Mason just posted today that he will have a poem in the next Pushcart anthology. I see so many poets that were "nominated for a pushcart prize, but I think this is the first time I've ever noticed anyone get in. So apparently it's not just an elaborate hoax.

Hope everyone else won something on other drawings or at least found some good new blogs to follow.

Until next year...