ADVENT DAY FIVE: ERICA LEWIS

 

erica lewis lives in San Francisco where she is a fine arts publicist and curates the john oates house reading series. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in various anthologies and journals. Books include the precipice of jupiter, camera obscura (both collaborations with artist Mark Stephen Finein) and murmur in the inventory. daryl hall is my boyfriend, book one in the box set trilogy, is just out from Barrelhouse; mary wants to be a superwoman, book two, is forthcoming from Third Man Books in 2017. Recent chapbooks include publications from Ypolita Press and Lame House Press; chapbooks are forthcoming in 2016 from Belladonna, Lark Books, and After Hours/The Song Cave. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

ADVENT DAY FOUR: Elisabeth Workman

S W O O N C L I F F

a body bristles

full of any

one for more

to the point

is noise is

energy & no

one’s not in

vited to freak

out or part

icle & smash to

wah full frontal

apoplectic

bloodspurts

in a bout

of base joy

stuck on the

deck till it

’s time to

dock to press

their lips in

to the amp

litude of all

-at-once orbits

sounding out the

double signals

of a dead con

sensus—it means

us—rushing into

the lash the

throatslit swine

like a swoonboss

an original

bite like a

jubilant pop

-up book of

phobias full

of songs in

an as of yet in

decipherable m

other tongue

ELISABETH WORKMAN is the author of eight chapbooks, the full-length Ultramegaprairieland (Bloof Books 2014), and, forthcoming very soon from Dusie Press (!!!!), You Always Live Again (of which the poem above is part). She lives in Minneapolis.

ADVENT DAY THREE: Jane Joritz-Nakagawa

from {{terrain grammar}}

gilded ether feminine shadow

hygiene of fabric

scientific chemise

chokepoint anew 

scanty chemistry

torque scheme

ethnic frill / icy 

balloon / unforgiving

intimate shocks

without a scalp

crossroads of dying

sing the domestic

inanimate velvet

holler their niche

glory now tongue

paradise body

exotic misfit veil

bleeds telltale pillow

partial fingerprint

animal trophy

adverse event

distinguished academic

my measurements

a form of adultery

states of beco ming

when i am thru w/u

incompletely demolished

the same empty

diaspora routine

blood bath

leaves in my bed

leaves unconscious

head wounds

flame color reaction

escorts superficial

flamboyance

movement of branches

wants to chain 

the landscape

Jane Joritz-Nakagawa is working on her 9th book of poetry titled {{terrain grammar}}.  Email is welcome at janejoritznakagawa at gmail dot com.

ADVENT DAY TWO: Caolan Madden

VAST NECROHOL: LOADING SCREEN 

The nethicite has corrupted the life of this place. It is nothing but a Vast Necrohol.

- Captain Basch fon Ronsenberg, FINAL FANTASY XII, 2007

All you had to do was / Stay

 Taylor Swift, 2014

ITTE COULLDE BAENE (B minor) EASEYE
ALLE YE HADDE TO DO WAST (G) STAYE

 =  singke                                                         = endURE

deare father deare cpatian my worke is to staye it is USHC EYESEY WORKE

it is the easietst acte

the simpleste

it is my arte to satye

for as longe as my boans allowe

in the artehth

untille he diggath me UP

(G) ALL YE HADDE TO DOE

I staye

I putteth my Palme on the controaler and holde it        so I yronne in circles

I staye in the dongeone leveling and leveing

I do notte turne off the consoal

I am eternale consoaler

o wondrefulle consoaler         keepe yourselfe aloaft             the clocke runninge

(D) ALLE YE HADDE TO DO WASSE (A)

the clocke resettes itselfe i am stille heare

the zombeyes killinge themselvess againste my boddye

my boddyye turrning to loote               I kepte clyckging not knwoeing

if loot wase a noune or a verbe           if I was loote or if I dydde it

my boddye a meathshielde                  sheathe            boane breakking boane

#notyouremeatshieled                          #hark               

(A) ALLE YE HADDE TO DO WASSE  (B minor)

HARKE the stkeetolons are SOAR AFRYAD sedde my mothere

but thare bodyees made moar loote and my bodye

stayhed                        its raiment of goald coines

(B minor) ALLE YE HADDE TO DO WASSE 

(A)

(A)

(A)

(A)

(A)

(A)

CAOLAN MADDEN just put up a glittery cardboard Advent calendar in her apartment in Brooklyn. Follow her on Twitter @caolanm

ADVENT DAY ONE: Jacqueline Kari

Losing it/ I am always the Virgin

I always  virgin

even when we switch roles, fuck you

w/ infinite vectors        I still the virgin

Isn’t sexy  ?

I do my whores           I virgin

Virgin chafes mommy suit;

whore and virgin resist mommy

I must eventually don Mommy, don Crone:

This has been decided for me

(Acts like a shed

Actually, amasses)

I am going crazy! I duplicitous when I supposed to

be one flesh with specific use +/or exchange value,

clearly daddy issued

Have you peaked in my box? Beware:

I am both alive and dead: in me I contain

multitudes of virginities           They teem up

They pop each other on the head

I schoolmarm them.

I box their candy ankles

I lipstick their bruises

I powder their no’s

sez we glimpse out the sublimate        

tears

We a muse      me swallow them        

anew hole

Jacqueline Kari is the author of The Book of Tell {dancing girl press} and Litel Myn Tragedye (forthcoming in 2016 on Birds of Lace). Other poems, visual art and translations have appeared in Tarpaulin Sky, Action Yes, Lana Turner, RealPoetik and elsewhere. She lives, studies and works in Athens, GA.