rad poetry #14: for nicki-poo demske

RAD POETRY THANKS NICKI-POO DEMSKE AND FRIENDSHIP COUNTY (FOR DELICIOUS PROMPTING)



EVERYONE'S A LIGHT SWITCH IN A SUNDOWN TOWN
(as read by Carolyn Zaikowski)

for Nicki-Poo Demske

We moved and mom took the pylons.
We reconvene, sinister ventriloquists,
cliquey as a microbrew. Sure I get down
hill, but I don't use skis. Is there anything you
know that you didn't find on the wet underside
of a Snapple lid? Thanks, but no. Thanks, I'm
good. We moved and mom put the pythons in
expensive Tupperware. My dad worked in a salt
mine and then he worked in a lighthouse. My dad
works for nothing and then he'll work for love.
I don't sit, I study. When we move in together,
you're not allowed to bring the setee. Hard candy
and Skoal. Cum and photo chemicals. We sat up
all night writing blurbs for cereal. Sandals and dust.
Prayer cards and piglets. I would care about the world
more, I think, if it would meet me with the things I think.

rad poetry #13: for roxane gay

RAD POETRY THANKS ROXANE GAY!



JUDGE JUDY AT THE GYM
by Carolyn Zaikowski & Mike Young

for Roxane Gay

In walks a robe we all know. It covers
leotards we don't. In walks a known we've all
robbed. We will never know a cape. We will never
cowtow a charred knoll. Is there justice
in a hot mama? There is no fallacy in a can.
If you're on TV, is it ever a real gun?
It's never, ever a toad of steel. The way
I see my problem is this: if it's not my
problem, I'll accept a smaller check.
I don't have a Sam to worry about nor do I
take Deborah well. It's not like I'm paying
for these seats. This shampoo's got a
hole in it. Frig. How many reps does it take
to know yourself? About a quart, we said,
about a thimble knock. If I was a judge,
we said, I'd be mostly in it for the wig.

rad poetry #12: for jono tosch

RAD POETRY THANKS JONO TOSCH, CAROLYN ZAIKOWSKI, AND—OF COURSE!—MAUDE



SONNET? I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!
by Carolyn Zaikowski & Mike Young, starring Maude

for Jono Tosch

Sometimes you cook 'em the big trout.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

Don't you gimme me that looking get.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

Grandpa pair of dice swooned for the pork.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

Don't marry that kale before you know her.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark

Tow your bride to a burn pile.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

Don't pinch an itch on the side of the tweeze.
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

If you don't take your breath, agreed?
Daddy eat my sugar. Daddy clean my bark.

New books from NOÖ Journal contributor Elisa Gabbert and NOÖ Journal friend Chris Tonelli

They're debuting from the awesome new press Birds, LLC. Here's the scoop:


Birds, LLC is a new independent poetry press specializing in close author relationships in order to make the most awesome books in the world.

The first two books published by Birds, LLC are The French Exit by Elisa Gabbert and The Trees Around by Chris Tonelli.

SPECIAL PRE-SALE OFFER: Buy the first two Birds, LLC releases for just $20. Pre-Sale offer lasts until March 31st. Books ship the first week in April.

About The French Exit:
It’s a pleasure to listen to the opinions of the narrator of The French Exit. Clear-eyed imagery and wit control the anxiety: “[A] boy at the counter disappears / or I can see through him.” Likewise, in a fine prose poem: “Do not be afraid of angering the birds. What angers the birds is fear.” The energy throughout Gabbert’s collection has the clip of the French exit itself – allons-y! – self-aware, self-sufficient, in control, in touch.
- Caroline Knox

About The Trees Around:
Full of the will and the weather, that great skeptic Wallace Stevens walked to work and wrote his poems, poems you may well already love and believe. (Good, as they say, for you.) And as for Chris Tonelli, he walks in that integrity: read him, and be merciful unto yourself. His foot standeth in an even place. This book’ll make you bloom.
- Graham Foust

Mary Miller's Less Shiny now re-available!

The second edition of Mary Miller's Less Shiny has been released. Get yours now!

Thanks Mary Miller!

In the March 2010 issue of The Writer, Mary Miller lists NOÖ as one of "7 Hip Literary Magazines You Need to Check Out." Of the seven she says:

I often feel like I don't have much in common with the editors of literary magazines. Many of them publish stories I can't relate to and poems I don't connect with, so it comes as surprise to find that I have little in common with those selecting them. I'm happy to report, however, that I've recently discovered a handful of lit mags that aren't what I would call stuffy or boring, with editors who aren't looking for the standard-issue, traditional content. And the editors at these magazines might even get nonwriters to start reading lit mags, which would be a coup for us all.

The others are Keyhole, Kitty Snacks, The Normal School, Open City, Opium, and PANK, all of which are excellent. Here's what Mary says about NOÖ:

What: A free print and online journal. Its mission "is to encourage mainstream readers to connect with independent literature and diverse critical thinking." Who: Mike Young and Ryan P. Call, excellent writers and nice guys. Looking for: Fiction, poetry and visual art, as well as essays and monologues about political, philosophical and social issues. No word limit, though most work is 2,000 words or less. Accepts e-mail submissions. Reading period: Varies. Why I love it: The magazine is eclectic, the blog fun and informative. The editors also run the super-cool Magic Helicopter Press, which publishes print, online and multimedia books.

Thanks, Mary! In other news, the second edition of Mary's chapbook Less Shiny is getting its coat polished and will soon be available through the Magic Helicopter Press website and more.

Congratulations to Mary Hamilton!

Mary Hamilton's story "You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You, But Me and Theodore Built a Time Machine" from NOÖ [10] will appear in DZANC's Best of the Web 2010. Congrats to Mary and thanks to Matt Bell and Kathy Fish for picking this terrific story.