Gossip [&] the Devil

Much like twin poems can help you when you’re in a slump, looking at a piece of work in a different light can help you as well. Lately I’ve taken to yet another age old teaching: the art of the cut and paste.

Basically in a cut and paste you do just that: you take your printed poem, cut each line out and tape them on a board or simple sheet of paper. Sometimes you can find sentences that don’t belong, or whole stanzas that need moved. Sometimes you lose a sentence and the poem changes entirely. I’ve found that this method works with visual arts as well. If you aren’t happy with a particular painting and don’t mind cutting it up, then try it. Dissect into a few pieces and re-arrange them. You’ll be surprised at what you find.

Sometimes the cut and paste can be simple, like so:

A cut and copy technique I used on an poem called "Dread."

This is an upcoming poem entitled “Dread” that I had no clue what to do with. The language was boring, the images weren’t coming through and basically it made no sense. But I knew there was something in there. I was sick to death of staring at my computer screen. So I cut the whole thing up, re-arranged it, scrapped the entire last half and still can’t figure out exactly what it means, but now I’m a hell of a lot closer.

Sometimes the cut and paste can be a bit more colorful, like so:

From an upcoming poem entitled "Sleep"

Sometimes stepping away from your chosen medium can work wonders. Can’t find the right word? Paint a picture of what you want. Can’t find just the right angle to photograph that lovely boy who eats lunch in the courtyard every day? Then write a poem about how you want the light to hit his hands, face or legs. It can help and relieve your mind of the pressure to perform under its chosen duty.

Quickly, in other news, I have a new–and I mean brand new–piece up over at Troubadour 21 entitled “The Introduction of Rose – Part V.” Head over there and let me know what you think! The Billy series is one I always wanted to finish but could never produce the drive so, once again, thank you T21.

inside the DIY ARTBOOK project :: drawings by Natascha Peiser

No one gets into this business to make money. If you’ve succumbed to an artists calling you’re admitting you’re willing to spend your life in poverty and constant question from those around you who just don’t get it. DIY labors are born of love, dedication and a drive you can’t quite explain. Sometimes your faith shakes, cries and downright denies its ability to continue. But you do, because you must and because there are others who believe in you.

Natascha Peiser is one of these people. In a recent interview with Silverthorn Press, Natascha said: ” I´m a self-taught artist. I am learning by doing.”

A art-liver in her own right she’s been a fan and friend of G[&]D nearly since the beginning, finding a home among the Modern Orphan mantra and supporting however she could, much to my appriceation. This is how we came together, though an entire ocean separates us (She lives in Hamburg, Germany). This is the power of art and the humanities. Two like minds, suffering and surviving for their art, striving to carve a small place for our own works in the vast expanse of the universe.

When she began work on her DIY ARTBOOK project I admired her and indeed planned on purchasing one when she was through. I was excited she had decided to pursue her art in some fashion for she’s quite a remarkable sketch artist; she’s even been endorsed by the likes of Amanda Palmer. When she asked me to contribute I was honored and some time later sent her some handwritten, typed and burned up works of poetry to be included among its decorated pages. The result is her very first book project, which she’s proudly finished and set for sale today.

inside the DIY ARTBOOK project :: drawings by Natascha, words by yours truly

This is a genuine labor of love–love for art, love for preservation and the unshakable belief that there is something more to these endeavors we pursue than sheer vanity and ego, that these things can forge connections across oceans and modes of thinking. You can purchase the DIY ARTBOOK featuring Natascha and myself here in her webstore for only $10, which includes free international shipping. Don’t forget all of my works featured in the DIY ARTBOOK can also be found in my first chapbook, The Rough Chronicles of Bipolar Romance available through modern.orphan.designs. for $10 as well, including shipping. Independent art is alive and well! Modern Orphans unite!

inside the DIY ARTBOOK :: art and words by yours truly :: soon for sale at modernorphandesigns.com

Troubadour 21 :: The “My Brother Billy” Series and Upcoming Interviews

I touched on this in the last post but I’ll expand just a little further with this one. Troubadour 21 has aptly named  my series”My Brother Billy”–  an out-of-order, sexually charged, angsty series I created over two years ago on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico when I was looking for a new muse to guide me during a particularly dark and troubled time. They are stories of a twenty-something girl, her much older brother and her love interest, Nathaniel. They’ve recieved rave reviews from the editors of T21 and as a result I’ve been contracted to write a story a week for them to continue the series. I hope to publish them all in book form one day and , in all honesty, this excercise is forcing me to write during this writing drought I’m experiencing and so I thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance.

Lead Article featuring my “Billy” series by Editor Paquita Roth

And, in case you missed them, here are parts I through III of the series–take a taste and see for yourself:

Part I :: Living Under Glass
Part II :: The Inquisition
Part III :: The Invention of Hopeless Beach

Part IV will be posted soon and I’ll make sure to keep them updated as best I can on here, including links on the side bar for easy access. If you enjoy them, please share them with your friends and help me achieve a readers choice status!

Also, in the spirit of crossing art borders and in G[&]D breaking news, I have upcoming interviews with the authors of the forthcoming poetry and photography book, Flowers + Filth: Rock photographer Lisa Johnson and William Francis of Aiden! Look for those in the near future, as well as my interview with Kill Hannah’s newest touring guitarist, Maddox, coming as soon as he has a break from tour! Get ready to feast your eyeballs on deliciousness with these. I’m super jazzed about working with such talented and well-spoken individuals.

It has been a bleak month creatively and will likely continue into a bleak November, but on this Devil’s Night it’s forever important to remember that while pressing on is the last thing you want to do, it is essential. For if we do not fight to keep these things alive, if we do not create the art needed to bind human beings to one another, no one else will. Unique is the person willing to take on the burden, and the blessing, of being an artist. Keep being brave, dear Orphans.

P.S. If you’re in Tulsa this coming Tuesday I’ll be reading from The Rough Chronicles of Bipolar Romance at the Gypsy Coffee House [303 N Cincinnati Ave, Tulsa, OK 74103] starting around 8pm – come, grab some great lattes and open your ears. Copies of my book will be available at this time as well!

Its been a long while since I’ve updated on what I’m doing with my writing. Truth be told I’m in the middle of a black writer’s block, but I’ve tried to stay busy. A tiny rundown:

• I’ve submitted a micro-fiction about bipolar disorder called “You, Me and Matthew Makes Three” to a journal called The Vestal Review.
• Reviewed Quick Fiction for Common-Line magazine this month.
• I wrote my first poem in months after an afternoon of Amanda Palmer and coffee.
• I’ve taken on a weekly series Troubadour 21 has named “My Brother Billy,” which is keeping me writing every week.

I’m finding out the harsh realities of being a professional writer, realizing that every piece of work you put out isn’t always going to be french kissed by the muse. As a friend told me this weekend though, sometimes you’ve just got to let it go and let it be what it’s going to be. Sometimes you just don’t have all the variables in place to work like you want to work, you just don’t have the time. You do the best you can and that’s that.

Right now it’s all I can do to write these few sentences, but picking them now is better than letting them rot on the vine.

Orphans, how do you get that cold bitch to put out when you’re needing to create?