“'Well,' said Pooh, 'what I like best,' and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”
-A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Fuck Art, Let's Dance
ISSUE #001 / APRIL 2014
IN THIS ISSUE:
POETRY
- Dreamer
- Alex Grover
- Ezra Letra
- Joe Joyce
- Kate Perkins-Armond
- Michele Seminara
- Beach Sloth
- Bud Smith
ART
- Jessica Valentin (Rat Grrrl)
- Mark S. Kuhar
PHOTOGRAPHY
- N! & Captain Thornton Photoshoot @ No Regrets Tattoos (Edinboro, P.A)
INTERVIEWS
FEATURES
- "Everyone is high but me / I flash wet window glass"
Fuck Art, Let's Dance
ONE POEM - BUD SMITH
Bud Smith works heavy construction in New Jersey, writes next to a wobbly record player, is watching his friend's black cat for a week.
"My Passion is: THE FLAVOR RED."
Doorbell
the ghosts of birds fill the trees
making it creepy for all the regular birds
I’m in my pajamas
using up my florescent markers
highlighting obituaries
red sharpie circling classified ads
for businesses near town
selling luxury viking funeral services
the things you own, end up owning you
but the more you have
the cooler the fire gets
so there
in the caverns beneath this place
ethereal spirits glow hot pink
idyllic with their ice cream memorials
recalling fondly, pretty girls
on green grass in spring
when you go, you go for good
that’s the rumor anyway
the penalty box, that’s where you stay
standing around, bored
watching the living live
well, here I am, very much alive
putting new ice in the old glass
awaiting the doorbell about to ring.
making it creepy for all the regular birds
I’m in my pajamas
using up my florescent markers
highlighting obituaries
red sharpie circling classified ads
for businesses near town
selling luxury viking funeral services
the things you own, end up owning you
but the more you have
the cooler the fire gets
so there
in the caverns beneath this place
ethereal spirits glow hot pink
idyllic with their ice cream memorials
recalling fondly, pretty girls
on green grass in spring
when you go, you go for good
that’s the rumor anyway
the penalty box, that’s where you stay
standing around, bored
watching the living live
well, here I am, very much alive
putting new ice in the old glass
awaiting the doorbell about to ring.
ONE POEM - BEACH SLOTH
My Tiny Insignificant Heart
I wish I could be as beautiful as the world around me but I'm starting to think that's not possible. Every day I wake up and my heart hurts for the world. The things I see wherever I go are incredible. What people have done for me absolutely mystifies me. Sometimes I wonder when I’ll be able to give back to everybody who has been so infinitely kind to me. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to do it, to accurately express the extreme gratitude I feel towards anybody who does the simplest of tasks for me, who opens up a door, who says nice things when they would be just as fine telling me how to get to the room, or the floor, or when the person will be arriving. Tiny kindnesses mean so much to me and I’m pumping my little insignificant heart every day hoping that those miniscule pumps make a difference for at least one person. That is all I want to do with my life, I just hope one day I’ll be able to do it.
ONE POEM - DREAMER
Dreamer remains anonymous.
Icarus the Hummingbird
This is for all the flower less graves.
Icarus, contrary to
soul, contrary to moon,
you oceaned with the Sun.
Icarus, contrary to
soul, contrary to moon,
you oceaned with the Sun.
NO REGRET HUMMINGBIRDS
No Regrets is a tattoo parlor in Edinboro, P.A., managed by soul-pirate Patch. Below is the work of one of the shop's artists, inked on an anonymous writer & artist.
ONE POEM - KATE PERKINS-ARMOND
Kate Perkins-Armond lives in Iowa at the moment, but won't in the autumn, and doesn't know where she's going.
Scripture Class
When I learned that in Hebrew,
Job is snarky and bitching,
and that the person who wrote
the Book modifies poetic lines from stories --
from an entire ancient Hebrew genre --
full of people who thought they could tell you
not just what was wrong with the world, but who,
And that the author uses those lines
to let the character God waltz in
and talk about what I am sure is a hippopotamus,
I looked up to the sky with more Faith
Than a thousand Sunday Schools had ever left me.
Because hippos. Pontificate on that, you bastards.
Job is snarky and bitching,
and that the person who wrote
the Book modifies poetic lines from stories --
from an entire ancient Hebrew genre --
full of people who thought they could tell you
not just what was wrong with the world, but who,
And that the author uses those lines
to let the character God waltz in
and talk about what I am sure is a hippopotamus,
I looked up to the sky with more Faith
Than a thousand Sunday Schools had ever left me.
Because hippos. Pontificate on that, you bastards.
"Everyone is high but me / I flash wet window glass"
TWO POEMS - ALEX GROVER
The Lovelands
A Grand Canyon photo,
snapshot & will-kill, he
jumps & she listens, she
dreams & he glistens
snapshot & will-kill, he
jumps & she listens, she
dreams & he glistens
State Road
And in the gauntlet
it’s 25 miles per hour
And in the gauntlet
the cops wait feet apart
And in the gauntlet
you’re buzzed
And in the gauntlet
you can’t say a word
And in the gauntlet
you’re getting a blowjob
And in the gauntlet
you use one hand
And in the gauntlet
you don’t know what
And in the gauntlet
you care
And in the gauntlet
you obey the cops
And in the gauntlet
you’re a widget
And in the gauntlet
you’re dry semen
And in the gauntlet
you obey the gauntlet
And the gauntlet obeys you
it’s 25 miles per hour
And in the gauntlet
the cops wait feet apart
And in the gauntlet
you’re buzzed
And in the gauntlet
you can’t say a word
And in the gauntlet
you’re getting a blowjob
And in the gauntlet
you use one hand
And in the gauntlet
you don’t know what
And in the gauntlet
you care
And in the gauntlet
you obey the cops
And in the gauntlet
you’re a widget
And in the gauntlet
you’re dry semen
And in the gauntlet
you obey the gauntlet
And the gauntlet obeys you
RrratGrrrl
Comfortable with using graffiti / collage / & hybrid techniques in her art, Jessica Valentin (aka Ratgrrl) digs into dark subject matters in a colorful, almost playful way. Influenced by loved ones here & gone, she honors them with vibrancy & sadness; smelting torn pieces together, creating something whole & new again. Ratgrrl was established by Jessica in 2003.
She recently launched Ratgrrrl Royalty, an innovative public art project pushing the message "We are a Royal Family" in Riverhead, NY.
She writes, "Royalty is a concept that is not just for the privileged few. Not just for those with more money, influence, special talents or lucky birth family. We are all Kings and Queens. We should treat each other as such. Fairy tales are stories that make us wish we were special enough to be royal. It's a lie. We are all royalty."
Through throwing up stencils of crowns & other symbols of royalty, Jessica wants to make accessible a level playing field in our perceptions of each other.
"This whole concept is a treasure hunt for the public. As people explore Riverhead, they'll find sweet treasures (referencing this “Royal” theme) that others may not have noticed (people will be also discovering Riverhead's treasures). Maybe a scepter in a store window, or in the bathroom of their favorite restaurant there will be a crown on the mirror, so when they look at themselves the crown will appear to them in the reflection."
Find Ratgrrl on Facebook + contact her thru jessie [ at ] ratgrrl.com
ONE POEM - EZRA LETRA
Ezra Letra is a man with many muses: rapper, photographer, writer, director, graphic designer, producer, proud father. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in University of Arizona Press, Red River Review, Out of the Gutter, Sugar Mule Press, and Gutter Books LLC. Born in Queens, NY and residing in Phoenix, AZ, Ezra holds a B.A in English and Creative Writing from The University of Arizona. His debut poetry chapbook "When La Migra Stopped Coming" will be published by Nostrovia! in early 2014. He is currently touring the U.S. Southwest to promote his latest musical venture: The Nobody EP.
Inmate Number Disconnected
Shackle with a tracking function
churning backtalk to tears.
Curfew starts when they ask
if we know where the kids are.
Liberty as an exhibit.
churning backtalk to tears.
Curfew starts when they ask
if we know where the kids are.
Liberty as an exhibit.
ONE POEM - JOSEPH JAMES CAWEIN
"i'm passionate cuz they've yet to incarcerate me and it's best to live while the livin' is good."
new peopolism
fear of the sun.
masturbatory free (market) radicals.
compunction for anomaly.
scrupled scruples.
masturbatory free (market) radicals.
compunction for anomaly.
scrupled scruples.
"alright, you've made it. now what?"
-accomplishment
w/ love