[williamjamespoetry]

...not a song of broken ribs & martyrdom, not even a cry of war.

Poem #12 is now up. www.williamjamespoetry.com/napowrimo2016/ PW: "3030deconstruct"

[williamjamespoetry]

...a gift of bitterness & scarlet for the fallen. Someone has come to grieve the separation of spirit & machine.

Poem #11 is now up. http://www.williamjamespoetry.com/napowrimo2016/ Password: "3030deconstruct"

[williamjamespoetry]

So what if my blood / is not shiny copper, but rusted iron? If pale lace / & wild flowers come crashing from my throat / in place of a song?

Today's poem is up. http://www.williamjamespoetry.com/napowrimo2016/ Password: "3030deconstruct"

[halfmysticjournal]

songbirds - an excerpt from Dalton Day’s piece in issue i: ALLEGRO, which is now available for preorder!

and if you’d like, we’d love it if you followed our Twitter and Instagram, as well as take a look at our lovely new website xx

[williamjamespoetry]

You ask how many friends I have? Water and stone, bamboo and pine. The moon rising over the eastern hill is a joyful comrade. Besides these five companions, what other pleasure should I ask?

Yon Son-do (1587-1671)

[williamjamespoetry]

I'll keep writing anxious love letters to trees, wake up each day of my life in a polished metal room, covered in black...

Today's poem is up! Read it here: www.williamjamespoetry.com/napowrimo2016 Password: "3030deconstruct"

[williamjamespoetry]

there is a soft fluorescent gold in the sky. a dying sun risks everything...

National Poetry Month | 30 Poems // 30 Days www.williamjamespoetry.com/napowrimo2016 Password: "3030deconstruct"

[williamjamespoetry]

At first, such calm: the river drifting sleepily along its banks, sunlight glinting off water – no sound but the hush of the current, splashing over sun-bleached bones...

from "Self Portrait As Doomed Amphibian," published in Alien Mouth (March 2016) http://alienmouth.com/march2016/8.html

[williamjamespoetry]

But my tongue is always a monarch             of grief. A ghost in white leather gloves, fingers pressed in frozen yellow             fire. Mouth full of sharp teeth and blood.

from "Deconstruction XIII," published in Issue 10 of Sundog Lit. Full poem here: https://sundoglit.com/james/

[williamjamespoetry]

From the Archives: SOFTBLOW

http://www.softblow.org/williamjames.htmlexcerpt from “Swallower,” originally published in SOFTBLOW, 2015

Swallower # You and your mother are attempting to swallow a pond of significant size. Algae turns your teeth a slimy green, slides along your tongue like jellied fur. A small perch with three hooks in his lip swims to the back of your throat, sets out a fine china set for two. A minnow who fancies himself a whale pours tea into small cups. READ THE REST OF THE POEM HERE: http://www.softblow.org/williamjames.html

[williamjamespoetry]

Old Man Ken from next door pounds his fist on the glass & he’s full of fear, out of breath, fire truck red in the face from the blood rush. He runs from one house to the next, tells us all there’s a wave big as the sky come for to sweep us off our feet. Warns that the flood wants to feast on us, to sate its rage with our blood & bones...

from “Trailer Court Crier,” published in Vol. 2 Issue 5 of Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Read the full poem at http://www.tinderboxpoetry.com

[williamjamespoetry]

[williamjamespoetry]

First batch of books finally packed and ready to mail! If you preordered this waaaay back in October, thank you so much for your patience. These ship out tomorrow!

[williamjamespoetry]

Good news, y'all! When I checked my mailbox today, I was greeted by two giant boxes stuffed full of copies of "rebel hearts & restless ghosts" - they're finally here! If you preordered a copy, those will be shipping out starting early next week. If you HAVEN'T ordered a copy, you can do so now if you'd like. Here's the link: http://williamjames.storenvy.com

[williamjamespoetry]

Hey y'all. So, it's been a while since I last actually had a poem appear in DMC, but I'm really excited to share these ones today. Three tiny fragments of memory from my old homestead. A poem about pretending I'm not afraid...a run on sentence about an old bully getting his teeth knocked out (but not by me)...a story guilt and sadness. Read them all at drunkinamidnightchoir.com

[williamjamespoetry]

Issue 9 of Really System dropped today, and with it comes my 6th Deconstruction, which deconstructs the lyrics from the album When People Grow, People Go by Blacklisted. This was my favorite hardcore record that came out last year, and I’m really thrilled that the folks at RS found a home for it.

[williamjamespoetry]

Here's the completely badass Drunk in a Midnight Choir anthology gathered around a gorgeous print by Zeb Love - hands down my favorite artist working today. This print in particular just happens to be the original art that was eventually tweaked and repurposed as the cover to my book.