published in The Camel Saloon

published in LSD Giggles

Welcome to ‘Global Connections’ where each week you’ll find the work of 2-3 poets especially chosen by Michelle Vinci from The Global Twitter Community Poetry Project her ambitious social media collective poetry showcasing initiative (90 submissions from 23 countries). See here for more details. ArtiPeeps couldn’t be happier to be collaborating with this project and contributing to the further proliferation of the talent that can be found throughout the world. 

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This weekend we are featuring poems from North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New England by:

Ed Bremson, Francesca De Grandis & Jeremiah Walton

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catfish
his mustache
and mine

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- Copyright, Ed Bremson @EdBremson, Raleigh, North Carolina – USA 2012

rippling the creek
like raindrops –
minnows

>>>

- Copyright, Ed Bremson @EdBremson, Raleigh, North Carolina – USA 2012

on my table –
Buddha
with his back turned

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- Copyright, Ed Bremson @EdBremson, Raleigh, North Carolina – USA 2012

Biography: Ed Bremson is an award winning haiku poet and founder of Mijikai Haiku group on Facebook. He earned his BA in Philosophy from North Carolina State University, and his MFA in Creative Writing from National University. He has been writing and publishing poetry for more than forty years. His poems have appeared in Wisconsin Review, Luna Negra, Chapel Hill News and other journals. Recently he has published several best-selling poetry ebooks. Ed lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

#31, a Five Tweet Poem

by Francesca De Grandis

#31, Pt 1 of 5: All words to a loving purpose cannot fulfill their purpose unless #lyric. There can be naught but #poetry to the mystic. 

#31, Pt 2 of 5: Does marking just some tweets #micropoem deny that daily speech is lyric or illuminate it? Should it stay secret?

#31, Pt 3 of 5: Indecipherable “#poems” can be elitist oxymorons to intimidate others into distrusting innate #lyric. #33

#31, Pt 4 of 5: Trying to make life a #poem, I can’t mark just some tweets #micropoem; all—all, all—my words are sincere attempts at #lyric. 

#31, Pt 5 of 5: I strive hard to make all my speech #poetry. If I mark tweets #micropoem, will someone still notice my other words’ lyric?

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Copyright – Francesca De Grandis @outlawbunny, Pennsylvania, USA – 2013 

>.

Less Talk

by Francesca De Grandis

When poetry is no longer a puzzle made indecipherable by elite, it will belong to all of us again, the gorgeousness of daily speech recognized as invocation, sincere prose known as lyric and spell-casting. There will be less talk of magic. There will simply be magic, so a student will not choose spiritual teachers based on their words, but by the texture of their moments. There will be less talk of freedom. There will simply be freedom. When all talk is recognized as poetry and as spells, there will be less talk.

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Copyright – Francesca De Grandis @outlawbunny, Pennsylvania, USA – 2013 

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Biography: De Grandis is a humorist, shamanic guide, mystic genius, public figure, semi-recluse, bard, painter, middle management for Chaos Gods, Whedon fan, spiritual innovator, busy elf. www.stardrenched.com

33

by Jeremiah Walton

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An assemblage of comely
angels, squirting
muddy come, murky
ethereal orgasms.
masturbating to
Earthling lovers
understanding
they’ll never
understand
the sweet
dalliance
between man
and 
woman
God says,
“You can
be human.
Go.”

>.

- Copyright Jeremiah Walton @NostroviaPoetry New England, USA – 2013

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Formulaic Future

by Jeremiah Walton

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Yellowed lungs
Tilted to the Sun
Open 
Absorbing air purer than
Manchester Transit
Excreting screaming angels
Rejoicing with dried bums
Each convulsing,
sharing Holy Poverty,
Richness in thought
Corner of Brown 
and Goff Falls Ave
Under bloody blue skies
Of H capital
Heavy on
Scenic railway of Man

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- Copyright Jeremiah Walton @NostroviaPoetry New England, USA – 2013

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HomeFull

by Jeremiah Walton

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Does the lonely desperate elderly woman,
with valley tits and witing eyes,
(eyes that have conceived enough and naught experience)
craving sexual attention,
care about gender?

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- Copyright Jeremiah Walton @NostroviaPoetry New England, USA – 2013

Biography: Jeremiah Walton is the author of several publications including To Your Health: Humanity’s Diagnosis (a non-profit e-book), LSD Giggles, Modus Operandi, and Nostrovia!. 

published in LSD Giggles

published in The Blue Hour

published in The Railroad Poetry Project

published in Dead Snakes

published in LSD Giggles

but can’t,

nothing more, nothing less.

The collection contains 10 poems – 11 if you also include the simple message of The Dedication – each of which seeks to portray a variant stance on a facet of human society: from the bitter commentary on our preference for sleaze over journalism in Attention Span to the satire of enforced performance of even the most commendable acts in Pacified America, no facet of our slump toward being unthinking consumers is left unquestioned.

The style of the poems is mixed: some are written without punctuation or clear sentences breaks lending them a stream-of-consciousness fluidity reminiscent of better Beat poetry; others have a more recognisable line structure deceiving the eye into believing they will be simple to read. Apart from the appropriately brutal openness of Attention Span, each poem is layered with metaphor giving each reading a different character.

Some of the language departs significantly from “normal” English, making both reading and comprehension challenging: the first two poems might be among the least immediately accessible to the “average” reader but benefit from perseverance.

This collection is more than another post-modern deconstruction of society, pulling down the trousers of authority to show they have knees of clay then going for coffee; Walton also offers hope:

The light of stars carried on vast distance’s back shine long after death
They knew they would die, but still grace us with sparks of bright
Love weaving Daylight and Evening burns long after Night is in coffin
Day gleams twice as bright for absence of Moon burdens his heart

- And Then There Was Light, Jeremiah Walton

There are suggestions of a third, a fourth, a multitude of ways. An invitation to look beyond the simplicity of right and wrong, right and left, chosen and left, to an additional axis of neither yet both.

I enjoyed this collection immensely. Despite having downloaded the previous edition earlier this year I found the collection to be as fresh and stimulating as the first time I read it. I would recommend reading it to anyone who enjoys looking beyond the simple dualities of mainstream media (and reading the new edition if you have already read the old).

This review is based on the March 2013 edition. I was asked to review this addition by the author. It is currently free to everyone.

He was drunk, bottle of whiskey in his hand singing lullabies, gun in his lap.

Grim as Job, he was crying

a Junkyard-ghostie

I heard the prayers he put on vibrate causing earthquakes in his pocket

He gave me a shot

it was warm.

Dangling from a wire

Toes latched, non-conductable

Talons trimmed

To split prey precisely

Squeals and wriggling embalmed

In struggle of feathers & fur

All birds aligned

With tapered grins

A quire, negro Seraphim

Crowing, dawn squawks

a sunrise, quire coos

Their guts bursting from song

“We are the birds

who wake you in the morn

We are the birds

who sing at your funerals

We are the birds

who hold you awake at night

while your dramatizing

your personal history,

masticating memories,

It’s just you, but your Gaze

is most anticipated.

We are the birds

That sing for you

With bird feed raw throats

we sing to you”

And they’ll sing

And they’ll sing

And they’ll yap and they’ll cackles

And we’ll sing

along out of tune.

“We are the birds,

Orchestrated and rehearsed”

published in To Your Health: Humanity’s Diagnosis

stubbles of black hair

DIY

tailored chins

bristles propping

up, words

sentenced to

death

Pin back layers

of onion eyes

bleeding, but

never crying.

Mantle jaw

churning,

needles piercing

the pulled back flesh

to the dissection table

pouring soul

into the core

where it’s

sentenced to

death.

published in Streetcake, Issue #28

published in Bohemia, May 2013 issue

Nostrovia! Music is a blog dedicated to providing talented aspiring artists with free promotion.  Want to get some spotlight on your band?  Here’s how it works:

1) You submit your band following the band submission guidelines (follow the subject line guidelines or your email will be regarded as spam)

2) The editors of this blog read over your submission

3) If accepted, your band will be featured on the blog with a 250-500 word article discussing your band, our opinions, and links to your music and social media sites.

We’re pretty dedicated towards making sure talented bands get the deserved spotlight that they’re missing.

Meet The Editors:

Jeremiah Walton:

Hi guys.  I’m the one typing this.  I’m 18, and live in New England.  I manage Nostrovia! Poetry, a small publishing press, and The Virus Is Silence, an upcoming blog dedicated to promoting poetry activists.  I live in N.H.  You can follow Jeremiah Walton on his SoundCloud for Spoken Word.

Mike Stanton:

Mike is a friend of mine with a talent for beat making.  He lives in the same town as me, and is dedicated to music.  His beats are put out under the name Skin N’ Bones.  Click that link, and get ready to listen to some intergalactic zen.

Besides Nostrovia! Music, Where Can I Promote My Music?

There are plenty of online promotional resources.  Twitter, Facebook pages (and groups), Google+, Tumblr, make a website, and starting your own blog are all great places to start from the ground up.  Co-operate with other bands of a similar genre to cross promote.  Put flyers up all over town, give out home-made T-shirts with your band name, put stickers up all over town.  Be creative.

More specefically, you can promote your music (or anything creative, really) is InkBlot / Nostrovia! Poetry’s creative arts promotion group.  Music, poetry, books, blogs, and all artistic medians are shared here.

protecting

the brooding mantle

bleeding

to core

beatific Mind

leaks champagne

observers hold

cold

glasses upwards

awaiting steady

drip to brim

cup, a lagoon

Drink!

Beautiful knowledge

ripples,

passed.

This here is the first recorded poetry slam in UNH Manchester’s nearly 30-year history!

Matthew Richards, Brian Tassey, Lauren Frament, William James, Eli Koester, and Jeremiah Walton were the participants in this slam.

The video is fragmented into two parts. Part One has first round action, and Part Two has second round and championship round action. Winner ended up winning a copy of every InkBlot edition ever produced and bragging rights!

The collection contains 10 poems seeking to capture the experience and effects of psychedelics; several of them are focused on LSD, with others based around other hallucinogens or a more general description of altered perceptions.

The work is dedicated to, among others, Allen Ginsberg and the influence of both his work and others in the Beat Movement is clear; however, the rhythms and words are fully modern so could equally be compared to the best of rap.

Each of the poems is in free verse. Although some of them have an underlying pattern, Walton is not afraid to leave the reader without structure. This lack of structure is paired with a similar freedom with spelling and grammar. For example:

Good ol LSD?  mushrooM magIc? devil cacti?

volatile vrrmmmmm of a demoN vacuum

sucking the DuSt and dirt of reality

Lets trip INto the ultiMATE reality,

face flat. – Vvvviiiibbbbrrrraaaattttiiiioooonnnnssss, Jeremiah Walton

Initially this linguistic playfulness can seem merely an intellectual exercise but, over the course of each poem, builds into a powerful evocation of the power of drugs to erode normality and replace it with perception of hidden messages below the surface. I have not taken psychedelics, so cannot comment on whether the descriptions are accurate; however, it feels as if it could be real.

Both the subject and disregard for traditional poetics also limit the appeal. Whether taken individually with water or by the handful washed down with liquor, these poems pull the reader along on a challenging journey rather than providing a restful antidote to a tough day.

As with most collections of poetry some works seemed stronger than others. It read more like a talented new poet driven by passion and inspiration than a poet matured in their craft, and would lose its visceral edge to repetition if it were much longer. However some of this can be put down to mental fatigue; had I not been reading it to review I would have picked this up and put it down over the course of several nights.

Overall I enjoyed these poems and will definitely return to the collection again. I would recommend it to those who appreciate the use of language to challenge accepted perceptions.

It is a great honor that my poem  <<behold a son of revolution!>> is featured in Milk and Honey Siren an anthology assembled by Jeremiah Walton at Nostrovia! Poetry. Be sure to download a free copy of the anthology here.

Refreshingly, and perhaps surprisingly, it focuses on quality rather than accessibility: the message here is that poetry is often complex and challenging, but can reap tremendous rewards as a result.

Given the diversity of styles on display in this anthology, it’s unlikely that readers will warm to every poem. That said, the overriding sharpness of skill and insight afforded by this mix of emerging and established poets may well generate great leads for readers seeking new sources of inspiration.

- Review by Owain,The Poem Epoch

My earliest memory is my grandmother’s funeral when I was 4 years old.

What was your first acceptance/publication? 

My first publication was my ebook “To Your Health: Humanities Diagnosis“.  My first accepted publication through magazine was my poem “Don’t Disturb The Dead Bird” in the Railroad Poetry Project.

Print or electronic? 

I prefer print by far over electronic.  I like to be able to hold the book in my hand rather read it online.  It helps me focus. I also like the mobility of a book without a Kindle or any other ebook reader.  Print books just have a better feel.

Do you write while listening to music, and if so, what do you listen to? 

I listen to music off and on when writing.  It depends what mood I’m in.  I usually listen to artists like A Silver Mt Zion, Explosions In The Sky, The Fall Of Troy, and Mewithoutyou.  Post rock bands and instrumental music in general I find much more helpful then band with lyrics though.  I find the lyrics distracting when I’m trying to write.

Jeremiah Walton is a 16 year old poet from New England.  He is author of “Nostorvia!” and “To Your Health: Humanities Diagnosis”.  He manages the website Nostrovia! Poetry where writers can submit in a free weekly contest and have their poetry published through the Guest Blog.