Pond 30 - 2017 |
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Seems like a few days ago I was freezing my arse off, and now I’m sweating it off. Speaking of climate change, I’m pleased to announce that StC support is now on Patreon. I’ve received so much positive feedback that I’m emboldened to try to take StC to the next level. Please give the Patreon page a look see.
This issue focuses on the short stuff, poems and flash, with a side of short story, and a new pic in the Carpwork Gallery for dessert. Dig in! - Ken |
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F L A S H I love vignettes like Eva Silverfine’s ‘The Consequences of Forgetting the Sardines’ that just build and build and then boom! I'm sure many husbands, myself included, will feel a little guilty for sometimes - sometimes mind you! - being a bit like the antagonist.
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P O E M Stream of unconsciousness is the best way I can describe the two poems by Matthew Scott Harris, where not unlike some of EE Cummings’ poems, the meaning comes across only by not paying too much attention, then being forced to re-read until the ah ha moment occurs!
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S H O R T S T O R Y R. Gordon Scott’s ‘Gary Goes to the Mall’ is a modern parable that will pull you along and keep you wondering until the very end.
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SPECIAL PROFILE - Evan Stormo Being a musician at heart, I’m drawn to authors who are also musicians, and Evan Stormo, whose piece appeared in the last issue, is that in spades. Moreover, I was blown away by his band Los Doggies. So I decided to switch things up a bit and feature him for the profile this issue. Enjoy, and please check out his band’s website.
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P O E M ‘Comment te dire adieu’ by Patrick Reardon is my kind of poem. Simple, short, and packed with meaning that isn’t apparent on first reading.
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P O E M Sometimes speculative poetry is all speculation and no poetry, no sound, no truth. Not so Matthew Harrison’s ‘IoT’.
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F L A S H Paul Beckman’s ‘President’s Day (363)’ is a great little stream of consciousness commentary on modern life.
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Friends of the Carp
American Life in Poetry The Art of Elizabeth Darrow National Steinbeck Center Barking Moose Press    |
AUTHOR'S ROW
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William Swarts
Readers praise William Swarts’ latest poetry collection, Harmonies Unheard: for example, ”Bill Swarts rewards us with poetry of an often delightful earthiness and much ironic humor,” says Black Buzzard Press publisher and poet Bradley Straham. “This is a book not to be missed.” And, University of Vermont English Professor Emeritus Richard Sweterlitsch agrees, “His verses resonate with rich images; his themes are universal.”
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Ken Poyner
A collection of fantastical mini-fictions. A man who encounters mammoth rustlers. Houses that begin to move on their own, forcing the inhabitants to finally introduce themselves to their neighbors. Giant chickens that are hunted for processing in the chicken sandwich industry. And much more.
Humor, irony, mythical realism, surrealism, soft science fiction. |
Ken Schweda
If you enjoy thought provoking, unusual science fiction, that might not even make sense the first time you read it, then this book of short stories is for you.
A summary for them might be: first contact, pig, birds and black holes, conspiracy, more birds, lunacy (or not?), lost time. Your reaction to each story might be something like: ? ? ? , , , ? . . . !!! , , ? |
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Peter Dabbene
You've got spam! And so does everyone else. But what happens when you reply to those spam e-mails?
Peter Dabbene poses as his alter ego, Dieter P. Bieny—a man who gives spammers just enough hope to keep them coming back for more abuse. |
Fred McGavran
The Butterfly Collector has more Fred McGavran stories like those in Spank the Carp.
“The humor is understated and often wicked.” William Pratt, Miami University, World Literature Today. |
Jacqueline Jules
“Jules’ gift is in finding the small moments — green paisley pajamas, carrot cake, the giggle of a nine-year-old boy — and gracefully elevating them to tell the story of a life. If half of all marriages end in widowhood, Stronger Than Cleopatra is a manual for how to go on.”
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Jeanne Julian
The changing seasons provide a framework for these poems that explore the loss and rebirth in the natural world and in the spirit. "These poems challenge and resonate; the reader will be haunted by them." - David E. Poston, author of Slow of Study
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Ken Poyner
Forty-two surreal, irreal, subreal fictions of master bird races, nine foot tall women, chickens and their cell phones, the collection and consumption of oxygen, a surrogate lover for a mermaid.
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Brett Stuckel
Guided by Shadows: A Westward Walk on Spain's Camino de Santiago. Discover the absurdity of Europe’s most famous pilgrim path (a Kindle eShort, ~15,000 words, also available for Nook and Kobo).
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Carol Roan
When Last on the Mountain: The View from Writers over 50 offers nonfiction, fiction, and poetry that range from the heart-wrenching to the hilarious. Who better to bear witness to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune than writers over 50?
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Carol Roan
Speak Up: The Public Speaking Primer is an inspirational guide through the thickets of stage fright, in all its forms, to the freedom of speaking up. The journey begins with a breathing exercise and wends its way through practical advice about the use of space and energy.
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William Quincy Belle
Fate can be kind. Fate can be cruel. However, every once in a while, fate can be funny. This is the lust love story of how one man met the most unusual of women in the most unusual of circumstances.
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