Fragments of Michael Dickel

I’m taking a short rest from posting the experimental writing series for a promotional post. I have two new projects—one decades under development, the other a few days old. Also, while I’m at it, I have a couple of recent publications to mention as well. Call this self-promotion.

is a rose press

Project one is a new poetry / contemporary press that three colleagues and I are preparing to launch. For now, books will be by invitation only. After we get up and running, iron out any bugs, learn more about what we’re doing, we will probably change that policy.

The first official publication will be gary lundy’s when voices detach themselves. This is an amazing book of short poems that are also a single work, exploring relationship, meaning, connections and (dis)(un(connect)ions). As Donnelle McGee (Shine, Sibling Rivalry Press, 2012) puts it:

The remnants of love and fragmented voices shape the narrative of Gary Lundy’s when voices detach themselves. You will be enthralled with Lundy’s lines. Each line constructed of images that breathe vulnerability onto the pages of a narrative that brings you in close to the voices of longing, and even closer to the voices and bodies trying to find harmony amid discord.

We have the cover designed, the inside laid out, and we’re ready to purchase our ISBNs and assign the book to one. Then we’ll go to press. Schedule will be to send out review copies soon and an official launch later this summer. Check out the press here, on our blog / web page. It’s new, too, so many pages just have the logo, but there is some content and it will be changing daily. Or weekly. Something like that.

gary and I have been talking about working together at publishing contemporary poetry and writing for two decades now. It’s time we actually did it, don’t you think? With Valerie Déua and Rebecca Knots on board to help, we might actually do something here. We all hope something interesting and worthwhile. Stay tuned. Read more about the beginnings.

Po(es)(it)is Un(der)ground(ed)

Po(es)(et)is Un(der)ground(ed) is about as long as I was allowed for the name of a new online “newspaper,” actually a news aggregate service that I have set up to follow certain feeds using filters. I’m trying to capture online activity—from conventional journals and news sources to Facebook, Google+, and Twitter feeds—related to contemporary poetics and poetry.

The first edition is now up here. Right now the filtering is perhaps a little broad, so related topics is wide enough to include non-poetry books, literature, reading links. It’s okay, though, I think. The paper will “regenerate” every week, Tuesday, 9:00 am Eastern U.S. time. I’ll go through the automated edition sometime shortly after and editing out unrelated material. I will tweak the feeds, filters, and priority for inclusion as much as I can in the coming weeks.

I hope that if you’ve been reading my blog and enjoy the full range of the posts, that you will go to this project, share it in your networks, and even “subscribe.” If you subscribe, you’ll be notified once a week, when the new edition is ready.

The title, as represented by the logo, can be read several ways in variation / derivations from Po-aesthetics to Poetics to Poiesis (possibly without the ego i) // Underground or Ungrounded or Ground or Grounded. po (a) (es) (thet) it is (alt. ics) un der ground ed. Have fun kneading your own combinations and versions. And feel free to include Greek, Spanish, French, Russian…Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese…Tamil, Anishinabe, Diné…

Two pieces in the most recent Drash Pit

The most recent issue of Drash Pit, which will remain up online through the summer, includes a poem of mine and a short essay. The poem, Following, responds to the theme announced in the prior issue, “bread crumbs.” The editor derived the theme from a piece I wrote for that issue, so I can’t complain. The short essay, If We Turn Down the Noise, reflects on the relationship between narrative and hope, with a Jewish flavor to the mix. If you read them, I hope that you like them. If you like them, I hope that you will share them on your social networks.

Next post

I expect to be back to the experimental writing for the next post. If you’d like to be included in an upcoming experiment, leave five random or free-associated words, comma separated, in a comment here. Thanks.