been a long, long time

seems i can't ever keep this thing updated.

no apologies, though, as they'd be disingenuous.

updates:

i have a few poems in the new anthology AgressiveBehaviour2, which will be available for purchase from Bottle of Smoke Press soon. this anthology is a collaboration with Owen Roberts of Compulsive Press and BOSPress. lots of great poets and some damn fine poetry between the covers.

i had a poem in the first issue of Buk Scene.

Julie Buffaloe-Yoder was kind enough to mention me in a post on her blog The Buffaloe Pen.

nibble magazine's website will soon feature an 8 question interview with me, too. keep your eyes peeled for that.

that's it for me.

speaking of nibble, my good buddy Jeff Fleming, the editor of nibble, has a new book, The Bones of Saints Under Glass, out with Propaganda Press. this book is phenomenal, with touching poems about being a father of two young boys, being a husband, being a man in today's world. lyrical, gorgeous and right-damn-on! at $5 it's a freaking steal.

a derelict blogger

forgive me readers, for i have been derelict. it has been FOREVER since my last post. i wish i could say it won't happen again, but...

so, what's new, you ask?

well...

i have three poems featured in the first ever Literary Mary print journal. it's a damn fine, perfect-bound, glossy cover journal rife with fabulous poems.

i have a poem in the second issue of Poeisis, published by Propaganda Press. the featured poet is J.J. Campbell. this journal, too, is full of great poems.

reviews of my books from Propaganda Press, [untitled] and Nowhere, Utah, appear here. (scroll down, read the other reviews as well).

i had a poem in the most recent issue of Nerve Cowboy, too.

other than that, nothing much else new.

look, in the future, for some reviews of some fantastic chapbooks. i have been meaning to get to reviewing them for a bit now and it's high time i give the couch a break from having to hold up my fat ass.

UPDATE: as Hosho and Chris were so kind to remind me, i was negligent in my forgetting a most important anthology, Octothorp #1, being released by sunnyoutside. i would like to thing the reason they were so vocal about my error was because they are looking out for my best interest, but the truth of the matter is they both are also featured in said anthology. ;)

thanks, guys.

this collection will be a doozy. check out the lineup.

i'm still humbled by the folks i get the pleasure of consistently sharing the printed page with.

poetry update

i received the newest issues of Nerve Cowboy and nibble, where some of my poetry is featured. i have one poem, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, in Nerve Cowboy #26, and two poems, outside our front window and Coda, in nibble #4. also in nibble is a review by Jeff Fleming of my new chapbook, [untitled], published by Propaganda Press.

i also received word that a poem, What does that say about me?, has been accepted for the March issue of Beatnik Cowboy out of Thailand. i'll update with more info as it becomes available.

i hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful Christmas. here's to 2009 being great year for all.

look here soon for a review of a chapbook i've recently received, and other stuff.

issue 1

this is the most awesome thing ever.

a 3,785-page PDF poetry collection, featuring old and contemporary poets. some familiar names in this thing. some unfamiliar (which is to be expected considering it contains poems by so many poets). oh, what's so great? not a single featured poet wrote the poem that their credited for.

so, who wrote all these poems? a computer, apparently.

it's a farce.

and it's glorious.

the poetry sucks, but the comments from some of the writers at the end of the announcement page are worth their weight in gold. you just got punked, sucka!

lit update

Ten Point Press has announced the release of five gorgeous broadsides in their inaugural release: Hosho McCreesh's broadside THE BEAUTIFUL FIRE.

check the website for future updates and releases, including one from yours truly to be released in the very near future.

i have two pieces featured in the new online journal, Along the Knife's Edge. another, more serious, piece on Barack Obama will be posted soon. I'll update. Along the Knife's Edge is a new non-fiction journal looking for work in the vein of Harper's or The Onion. Serious or humorous. check them out.

lastly, my next chapbook, a part of the Pocket Protector series for Propaganda Press, will soon be released. i've heard it is compiled and ready to print. it'll sell for $3 and there will be special deals and other goodies associated with it. i'll update when i hear more.

the Nerve is back....and a killer website

just received notice that has been accepted to appear in the next issue of Nerve Cowboy! hot damn....it's been awhile, and it's great to be back. huzzah, suckas!
not sure if i mentioned it earlier, but i don't think i did, but two poems were taken by leah angstman, one each for the next two issues of poeisis.

also, check this shit out. fucking killer website. if you're at work, i'd wait. no boobies or anything like that, but there is profanity. but, then again, i just said fuck three sentences ago, and shit four ago...plus, i just said both in this sentence, so....fuck shit.

reviews are in

two reviews of my newest chapbook, [untitled], released by Propaganda Press appeared on the interwebs recently.

first, Jeff Fleming, venerable editor of the new (and fantastic) new short poem journal nibble wrote a great review. thanks for the kind words, good sir.

second,  Poet Hound published a rave review as well. and thank you, too, Paula, for your constant support. look for more reviews of other books at both of these fine outlets.

copies of my book are still available for $8 (shipping to the US included, $3 extra overseas) from Propaganda Press. click on the title of book above!

our trip to Albion Basin, a poetry update and an Oscar nominated horror clip

last weekend, the wife and i went up to Albion Basin at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon to have a little picnic and to do some hiking. we were hoping the leaves would be changing, but we were a few weeks too early. and, we were a month too late to see the spectacular wildflower displays Albion Basin is known for.
anyway, here are some photos i took while up there. nothing too spectacular:





i also received word that three of my poems: Adagio for a Scared Little Girl, On Art and War, and Turning in for the Night will be published in the newest issue of Literary Mary to be released soon.

also, my newest chapbook, [untitled] is still available from Propaganda Press for $7 (shipping included within the US, $3 extra outside the US). check it out, won'tcha.


the scariest thing ever? yeah, i think so:

in the mail today

i received the third issue of nibble, in which one of my poems -- interstate accident -- appears. issue three is just as good as the previous two (which is pretty damn good). if you haven't subscribed or submitted to nibble, do so today.

also in the mail today was a copy of Gerald Locklin's newest chapbook, The Plot of Il Travatore and other poems, published by Kamini Press. i was lucky enough to pick up one of the special 25 copies to be signed by Locklin, and to include a special watercolor by Henry Denander tipped in. it's a great book full of the witty and profound poems Locklin is known for. pick up a copy.

books

three books arriving by mail in two days. does it get any better?

yesterday, i receive a copy of In Gambler's Blood by christopher cunningham, a spectacular series of poems playing out a single hand of poker from start to finish. amazing. visit Kendra Steiner Editions for more information. $4.

today, i received a copy of For All These Wretched, Beautiful, & Insightful Things So Uselessly & Carelessly Destroyed... by Hosho McCreesh. this is Hosho's 7th book/chapbook and it's as great as all the others. 20 poems by the master. check out sunnyoutside for more information. $10.

also today, i received my copy of my latest chapbook, [untitled], published by Propaganda Press. orders are currently being shipped and the early prognosis is good. please visit Propaganda Press for more information. $7.

support your small press and order all the above books today!

Kendra Steiner Editions
sunnyoutside
Propaganda Press

[untitled]

i'm very proud to say my newest chapbook, [untitled], published by Propaganda Press, has just been announced for release. here is the publisher's press release:

[untitled]
by justin.barrett
$7.00 [includes shipping to USA]

justin.barrett's newest poetry collection, [untitled], is now available from Propaganda Press. Sixty pages of new material - most of it never before published - [untitled] is a raw and unfiltered look inside justin's life; personal, emotional, loving, questioning. From the metaphoric uses of science to explain loves lost and found to the analytical probing of William Carlos Williams and the red wheelbarrow, this book is a tight collective of simple recollections, moments of details jotted down as they were fleeting, preserved in a cornerstone of justin's mind and a splotch of ink on paper. The poems are at once beautiful and sorrowful, honest and dream-like, sexy and bashful, personal and universal, introspective and outright loud; the apparent paradox of which makes this collection a necessary guide and companion to the contradictions of the everyday.

This book is available from Propaganda Press for $7, which includes shipping to the US. All authors receive and set their own royalties on our press, so the purchase of this book goes to support justin directly. You can purchase this book by sending well-concealed cash, check, or money order made out to Alternating Current, PO Box 398058, Cambridge MA 02139 USA; or you can send us a direct Paypal payment using the email address alt.current@gmail.com. The book will also be available on our website once that is up and running; we apologize for the purchasing inconvenience while the new site is being built.

Please do not ask for comped or traded copies of the book, as this is an unaffordable request that hurts both the author and our press. If you are willing to review this book or get the material in local stores, libraries, or zine collections, please contact us.

here's a photo of the cover, photograph taken by yours truly:

i'm very proud of this book and i think it will go over quite well. lots of poems, some older, some brand-spanking-new. please contact Propaganda Press and purchase a copy. those of you who normally receive one of my author's copies...i'm sorry but i don't receive any this time; you'll have to purchase one. i hope you do!

***as a little extra incentive, leah from Propaganda Press informs me that for a limited time, as long as supplies last, you'll receive an extra chapbook of poetry from the back catalog when you order one of my books. bonus!***

UPDATE: please note that shipping to the US is included in the $7 purchase price. orders shipping outside the US will need to add $3 extra. sorry.

football, poetry and politics

god damn, it's great college football season is back. GO GATORS!

i've received, and returned, the proof of my latest chapbook, [untitled], to be released by Propaganda Press very shortly. i'm very proud of this book and excited for it's release. i'll post the pertinent information here when it's released.

apparently, and this is brand new information, John McCain was a prisoner of war. did anyone else know this?
man, it might be smart for him to start using that in his campaign; like whenever he can: as excuses for his many mistakes and gaffes, as rebuttals to any questions on his ineffectual and outdated policies, as filler during speeches, as proof he's able to lead this country into war.

new books

the last post mentioned a potential chapbook to come out very soon. well, it has been confirmed. 34 poems, titled [untitled] and will be released by Alternating Current anon. price to be determined.
the Pocket Protector mini-chapbook with them will be out later, December, and will be titled Nowhere, Utah. it'll sell for $3 and is available for pre-order at the above website.
i'll update when they get released.

also, leah angstman, the publisher behind Alternating Currents, has posted a poem titled on poet justin.barrett on her blog. it's flattering having another poet write a poem inspired by reading your work. thanks, leah. :)

NOTE: see the comments section of the August 10th post (Poetry Stuff) below for more information regarding ordering, the Pocket Protector mini-chapbook series, and other stuff by leah and Alternating Current!

real quick

have two new poems up for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure) at His Cock Is Money. there are a variety of styles present in this newly released blog/journal.

there is also some news i will be reporting soon about some new chapbooks to be released by yours truly, probably next month or so. definitely one, but possibly more in the future.

also, don't forget to order your copies of the fantastic broadsides from Ten Point Press. they will be releasing VERY SOON and you WILL be stunned by their beauty. STUNNED!

and, i've not mentioned it in a long while, but the Guerilla Poetics Project is still going strong and we're over 400 logged and registered finds. check it out! all the hip kids are members. don't be the last person on your block to join...

poetry stuff

the second issue of nibble arrived yesterday, and it's every bit as good as the first. great poetry by christopher cunningham, Father Luke, Richard Krech, Christopher Robin, yours truly and many more. great stuff.

i also was recently invited to submit work for a chapbook in Alternating Current' chapbook series title Pocket Protectors. It's a very small chapbook of poems. i've submitted my stuff and will update here when i find out when it'll be published, and how to obtain a copy.

a shameless plug

in the last post i mentioned 10pt Press and their first 5 broadsides, of which i am proud and honored to be one.
the broadside of my poem (Marriage, as Still Life) is designed and ready to be printed (and it's shit hot!) for an August/September release. Sean Lynch of 10pt Press is taking pre-shipment orders already, and for $5 a broadside (one that is beautiful enough to be framed and hung on your wall, even in your living room where it will look totally awesome), it's a steal. so, please, if you're into my stuff, and you want to own a geniune art object, head over to the website, check out the teaser previews (which show a small part of just how amazing these fuckers are going to look), and send Mr. Lynch an email reserving a copy for yourself. There are only 50 being printed, so they won't be around for too long.

and, while you're at it, reserve a copy of the other 4 (by Tony O'Neill, Christopher Cunningham, Hosho McCreesh, and Brian McGettrick), they promise to be just as scintillating and just as gorgeous. my order for one of each is already in.

/end plug

blinkers and motorcycles and bicycles, oh my (oh, and a poetry update)

i can't believe i didn't discuss this in my previous driving rants, but what the fuck is up with people not knowing how to use a blinker? or even what their purpose is? blinkers (or directionals, for you Europeans among us) are not an afterthought clicked on as you're making your turn, or a compulsory movement you make while you're already in your turning lane.
blinkers are to warn other people what you are about to do, so they don't suddenly ram you with their car. far too many people use blinkers as if they facilitate the turn or something. if you're already in the fucking turning lane, what's the point? put it on before you brake and get into the turning lane.
seriously, people who misuse blinkers piss me off more than those who don't use them at all. if you're willing to use the damn thing, use it properly for christ's sake!

motorcycles. have you suddenly noticed more motorcycles out on the road recently. well, apparently these things get better mileage, which means this sudden increase is a direct result of the rising gas prices. that wouldn't be so bad except controlling a motorcycle isn't easy, and isn't for everyone. with all these morons trading in their Hummers and F-150s for Harleys, without really knowing how to drive the fucking thing, we know have an interstate full of halfwit motorcycle riders (most without helmets, as that's only an optional accessory here in Utah). they're making it even more dangerous to drive on the highways, which is pretty fucking amazing.

well, what can i possibly have against bicycles? nothing, really, except there're more of those, too. and there's a small segment of bicycle riders (i.e. the director of HR for my company...ahem) who REFUSE to use the goddamn bike lane made specifically for them and ride on the edge of the car lane. what the fuck? one of these days: oops, the sun was in my eyes and my side view mirror just caught him. what, i was doing 80 in a 20? and witnesses say i swerved towards him? i don't know about all that, officer, but he was in my lane...
get over into your little, fucking lane, okay guy? christ! i'm bigger than you and the goofy fucking helmet isn't going to save your ass. (seriously, i have nothing against bikes and i'd ride to work if i didn't live so far from work, it's just some people ruin all the fun for everyone else).

poetry updates:
received good news from Jeff Fleming of nibble that two poems have been accepted for future issues. one for issue #2 and one for issue #3. hot damn. glad as hell to be in future issues of this promising new journal.

i also have been selected as one of 5 poets to be included amongst the inaugural releases of the new 10pt Press, out of Ireland. they will be broadsides designed by the ultra-talented Sean Lynch. the other 4 poets are Brian McGettrick, Hosho McCreesh, Christopher Cunningham and Tony O'Neill. a small glimpse of the O'Neill and McCreesh broadsides are available on the website, and i've seen the first draft of mine. all are AMAZING. words cannot describe the beauty these broadside will display. i'm proud as fuck to be included in this project, and with such amazing poets as Chris, Brian, Hosho and Tony!

UPDATE: Sean has posted a teaser pic of the broadside on the 10pt Press website. check it out. the thing just purrs, my friend. sexy as hell. is Lynch a madman genius? the verdict is still out, but i wouldn't bet against it! i know he's half of that, at least. ;)
i've already reserved a copy of all the other broadsides, and i recommend you do the same as these things aren't going to be available for too long. with an Aug/Sept release for them, and only 50 copies printed, most might be sold before they even ship!

some litrachure stuff

it's been a long while since i've updated this thing with anything literary.
well, here goes.

the inaugural issue of nibble arrive in my mailbox today, and it's a fabulous little journal. nibble, published by Jeff Fleming (of CannedPhlegm and Cranial Tempest of yore) out of Oakland, is a journal of short poems. i'm a huge fan and big proponent of the short poem, so this journal was right up my alley. many great poems lie between the pages of this magazine, including one by yours truly. :) pick up an issue or, better yet, support them with a subscription.

and that's it.
oh wait, i have a submission out to Nerve Cowboy, but that's about all. it goes slow here.

i picked up a new typewriter as my other two were shot and repairing them ain't cheap. so, i bought a new one (and by "new" i mean i bought in on eBay and it's new to me). it works great and hopefully will for a long while. maybe this will spark a new era in my writing: one in which i actually write. i'll call it my productive period.

what else?
i just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. my wife read it years ago and said i would like it. i put in on my pile and finally got to it. good book. i understand he made up some shit, some of which were important plot points, but fuck it. yeah, so what, it's an alleged "memoir" but fuck it. we all make shit up, and we have since writing began. do we truly believe Herodotus's history of the ancient land? so, he embellished. fuck it. whatever. it's an entertaining read. the thing that got to me more than the fabrications were the odd stylistic choices in his writing: the strange, misplaced "whoms"...the random capitalizations...the run-on sentences, the need to detail every part of the action (he opened the car door and took out his keys and sat down on the seat and inserted the key and started the car and depressed the accelerator and drove off), and the lack of quotations for speech. all that shit pissed me off more than the outright lies. you had to know reading it that this shit was false, right?

anyhow. whatever. good book. next up: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. another book my wife recommended. hmmm...

what i've been up to

some of you might be wondering what exactly i've been up to during my hiatus. instead of regaling you with my tales of winning multiple Olympic medals and two Nobel prizes, not to mention the numerous humanitarian awards and the Congressional Medal of Honor; instead of all of that, i will just humbly say: nothing. No, instead of tooting my own horn (which you know, from the last post, i'm quite good at) by telling you about the six Pulitzer Prize-winning novels i wrote, or the countless women and children i saved from sure death with bravery and cunning, or about the time i invented a fighter plane, test flew it, armed it, flew a one-man sortee culminating in 65 confirmed air-to-air kills; instead of all of that, suffice it to say that i didn't do very much of anything.

i relaxed. got to know myself a little better (again, see the previous post) and arrived at a point on my journey where i can finally do what i've always loved doing: eating endless bowls of Cap'n Crunch...oh, and writing poetry.

one day, perhaps, i'll spin my grandiose tales for all of your amusement. maybe one day.

is there anybody out there?

doubtful.
there were very few out there when i wrote this damned thing full time. but, maybe...just maybe...there are some scragglers who check this thing in the hopes that i'll come back. today is your lucky day, you sick puppies (just as today is a shitty day for all editors...you thought you were rid of me. well, think again douchebags!) -- seems i'm back.

of course, my mother is probably the only one who checks this thing anymore. so, HI MOM! love you.

so, what brought about this ignominious return?
well, my good friend Hosho McCreesh informed me, a week ago, that it had been a full year since i hung up my spurs for the soft days of margaritas and 'smores. i hadn't realized. seems like it's been both longer and shorter than that. either way, a year is a long time and i've used it to recharge, to think, to learn, to read all the shit being published out there by all those poemwhore hacks and i realized i needed to rejoin the fray. a sort of attempt to clean up this mess.
just kidding. sorta. but not really.

anyway, lots of shit has happened in the intervening year. maybe i'll get to it in future posts. maybe not. i'm sure i'll hit some of it (like my many trips to Luxembourg and Tangiers and Laos, all the bands i hung out with while they were on tour, all the novels i wrote and won Pulitzers and Nobels for, all the concept cars i helped design and got to drive...maybe i'll get to all that if i have time and run out of interesting stuff to talk about).

what's that? i've dodged the question long enough, you say?
well, the answer is yes. i'm writing again, though haltingly and sparingly, but that's okay. i've become the Stuart Smalley of the small press world. (you remember him, right? i'm good enough, i'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.) only my mantra is: i'm sick, i'm tired and doggone it, shut the fuck up because i just don't have the time for your incessant whining you fucking, little pansy! oh, and you smell.
i've also decided to give myself a break, and vowed to not put so much pressure on myself to create. i'd lost the enjoyment of writing poetry and when that happened it was only a matter of time before i quit. i'm looking to rediscover that enjoyment again. so far, so good.

work sucks. thought i'd throw that in there. hate it. wish it didn't exist. hate most of the fools there. Utah is a spectacular place, but it sure does breed it's fair (or more than fair) share of weird, foolish, socially-inept people. happens to be that a majority of them work at my company. lucky me.

what else? not much. just glad to be back. and hope to slowly get back into the scene. hope you saved a spot for me.