HOW ARE YOU THIS MORNING and other poems
I came across Mercurius through other poets. I am happy to discover the very fine work in the magazine and its open-minded editorial approach. The ideas of transformation and vitality are keen, something we poets hope to achieve. These four recent poems reflect my take on the world at this moment in time.
The Land of Mild Light
The legendary Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas has been admired and acclaimed by Latin American audiences for over half a century while remaining virtually unknown to US and Europe. In The Land of Mild Light, Mercurius editor Nidia Hernandez has assembled Cadenas’ most important poems in vivid translations by some fine English-language poets associated with the US-based Arrowsmith Press.
Shanty Town
A Selection of Asemic Writings.
The Linguistic Eye Scans of Robert Sheppard
This week we delve into the linguistically innovative strand of the surreal-absurd with a poem from Robert Sheppard. It is full immersion.
The Mountain Where Nothing Happens
Poetry of Life - Project Jupiter
The Mountain Where Nothing Happens (Alien Buddha Press) is a conceptual documentary poem sequence with elements of minimalism, surrealism, absurdism, linguistic topography and elemental psychogeography. Join Thomas Helm, step-by-step, as he embarks on a journey to unravel the riddles of consciousness, first in the wilds of the mountain, and then later in the hyperreal city.
On Bladee’s Mallwhore Freestyle
Alex Mazey uses an analysis of the Swedish rapper Bladee as a launchpad for concerns about consumerism, with references to Mark Fisher, Jean Baudrillard, George Ritzer and Jean-Francois Lyotard
NO TOP DOGS
Four Poems by Tim Suermondt
Some Thoughts on the Avant-garde
Why care about avant-garde? I found John Ashbery and unearthed more than a poem but a type of meditation and mental space in words.
Selected Visual Poems of Michelle Moloney King
My work is informed by play, the relationships of form / shape / colours within the page, of identity and what it means to be unique. And a longing to find the ultimate truth or get "closure" in a world of no logic and absurdity.
Surreal-Absurd Sampler Chrissy Williams
This week we have some LA surrealism from the poet Chrissy Williams. “Even cheerfulness is absurd, if you ask me. But I always want to look for some kind of route to laughter, because think of the alternative. “
Broken Sidewalks
The series is entitled Broken Sidewalks. I used written text (from a poem I wrote) and manipulated images as the basis for creating these digital artworks.
National Poetry Month Celebration from Red Hen Press
Poetry of Life - Project Jupiter
Happy National Poetry Month from Red Hen Press! Our next collaboration with Mercurius Magazine features poems from Kim Stafford, Khalisa Rae, Nikki Moustaki and Allison Joseph. Their collections were published by Red Hen this April.
Aliens: Poems on Films
Poetry of Life - Project Jupiter
SJ Fowler renders the alien films into a set of avantgarde poems. In this tantalising glimpse of work from his new new book Come and See the Songs of Strange Days (Broken Sleep Books), cinema overlaps with language, combining lyricism with abstract visual commentary.
Sorry Gets Hooved
Poetry of Life - Project Jupiter
“Sorry Gets Hooved” is from Hannah Regel’s latest poetry collection, Oliver Reed (Montez Press). The poem looks at the relationship between film, horses, and the depiction of women.
Practising a Sustainable Life: An Interview with Sara Rodrigues
After many years of urban living, the Portuguese artist Sara Rodrigues, and her partner, Rodrigo B. Camacho, moved from London to the rural area of Cabeceiras de Basto in Portugal, to start a new life. The pair are realising a dream from the ground up with their bare hands: a zero waste, self-sustainable home. The name of this project is Landra.
Surreal-Absurd Sampler Vik Shirley
Welcome to the second instalment of Surreal-Absurd. This week we have the fab Vik Shirley. We hope you enjoy. These poems are selected from her chapbook Corpses (Sublunary Editions) and her collection, The Continued Closure of the Blue Door (HVTN).
Some Thoughts on Surrealism/Absurdism
Why contemporary surrealism-absurdism is an aesthetic for our times
I Like Skulls
I like skulls,
I think skulls are darling,
I think we all could learn a lot from skulls…
Summer of the Cicadas
As the road rises in elevation, the air grows cooler. I keep going until the river narrows with boulders. Sweat sticks to my skin as I slow and pull over on the side of the road. I stash the bike amongst some bushes and climb down the encampment to the water bed.
Surreal-Absurd Sampler Marcus Slease
Here is a selection of surrealist/absurdist poems from my collection The Green Monk (Boiler House Press). This selection includes two poems in conversation with the surrealist paintings of Dali, two collage poems using found material, and two absurdist narrative poems.
The never-ending quest…
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