Man, I can’t believe it’s August already!! Gonzofest made this year’s July one of the best I’ve had in a long while, but it was over too soon. It Changed My Life. I already miss all the incredible people I met there. Definitely made some friends for life.
Okay, I have a TON of work to do today. So I’ll try to make this short & sweet. Below are the Aug. featured writers. If you’d like to submit some work, send 1-3 poems to cajunmuttpress@gmail.com with a bio and author photo. Submissions for featured writer spots will ALWAYS be FREE.
I also started CMP AD sections. Split into categories. Permanent spots are $50 and come with a copy of my new book. For a limited time, you get 10 free Tue/Thur promos with a permanent spot as well. I know $50 sounds like a lot, but this is a Permanent Spot. Later down the road I’ll edit/add/change anything you want for a small $5 fee. I’ll also work with you if you’re struggling. I understand money problems. That’s why I’m doing this. Plus, the one-day promotions that run on Tuesdays/Thursdays are only $5. Today I’ll be running an ad for Scott Cherry of Barbarian Rage. One of my favorite designer toy makers! He also creates some wild comics! It’ll be up at noon and stay up for 24hrs. Let me know if y’all are interested in promoting yourself, a new book, your website, or ANYTHING else you’d like. I’ll hook you up. You won’t be disappointed.
Our next book release will be Vital Decay by Timothy Dodd on Aug. 16th!! Keep your eyes peeled for more details. Not sure if I’m opening manuscript submissions in 2024 yet. That depends on how the ads go. I need to generate some publishing funds. Book sales just aren’t cutting it. I’m barely breaking even most of the time. Everything I make will go towards publications and/or buying friends’ work.
I also have a new book available, and I’m working on another. My new book is titled Bad Weed Never Dies, and the one I’m working on is I Pledge Allegiance to The Flag. Not sure yet if I’m gonna publish it myself or send it out. I’ll also have some signed copies soon of Bad Weed with the green drop shadow on the back. Huge thanks to everyone that picked up a limited edition! If you can’t find it on your country’s Amazon site, look it up with the ASIN in the “books” section: B0C91TNLMB
Sorry for stumbling on the names and poems. I’ve been running the ship full-speed-ahead for y’all since being home from Gonzofest! I’m getting tired, but I plan on going until the sails fall down. 🏴☠️
Vital Decay by Timothy Dodd will be released on August 16th!! Which also happens to be Charles Bukowski’s birthday! Everything just fell into place that way. I thought that was pretty cool. Keep your eyes peeled for more details! Hope y’all dig the poems I chose from each section. Sorry if I fucked them up, brother Dodd, and Ace’s name.
Vital Decay by Timothy Dodd cover art by Timothy Dodd
“Timothy Dodd writes with the energy and frenzy of a man being chased by assassins, hell hounds, the police. His words race across busy highways. They jump from tall buildings but land on their feet. They vanish into dead-end alleys as though a door opened in one wall then closed behind him. The poems in this book are vivid descriptions of scenes mixed with meditations on life-meanings and interplays between the sacred and profane. Dodd stares into the abyss and doesn’t blink. Vital Decay is a marvelous collection and a wild ride. Strap yourself down for this one.” —Ace Boggess, author of The Prisoners and Escape Envy.
“Timothy Dodd plays with words, to play with readers’ perception and reception, not unlike Gregory Corso, but at times his observations are also acerbic, not unlike Charles Bukowski. His overall concept of the people populating his poetry as full-blown characters — not mere extensions of himself, the poet — is a semi-biographical approach that reminds somewhat of Edgar Lee Masters. To combine elements of such poets as these in one voice, and then to have a unique voice in the midst of such influences is no mean feat.
VITAL DECAY will push you, as much as pull you along. Some poems lean towards prose, while others are highly imagistic, and some concrete, while others near a blend of magic-realism. This explains lines such as “Like a Halloween mask / she arrived at pavement…”
Dodd namechecks Denton Welch, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Ronnie James Dio, and you can see their shadows looming over some poems. There is little distinction between high culture and low culture in the inspiration and the references in many of his poems, and in so doing this poet’s voice is less encumbered by the cultural bias and classism, that makes the street poet and the academic poet most easily recognizable, quantifiable, and readily fitted for a label – anything from Camus to Marvel Comics shows up in Dodd’s poems. These approaches encourage a certain unpredictability, that in turn opens one up to being caught off guard, one’s cynicism challenged, coerced into an openness of possibility: one never knows what the next poem will bring.” —David Alec Knight, author of LEPER MOSH (Cajun Mutt Press, 2022), recipient of The Ted Plantos Memorial Award For Poetry, 2021.
Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Alejandra Pizarnik are sitting together in a cafe called the Afterlife Blues.
Pizarnik and Plath drink black coffee from white diner mugs. Sexton just chain-smokes.
There’s nobody else in the cafe except them and a fat guy in a white apron, who looks like Curly Howard and occasionally appears to offer refills from the steaming pot in his hand.
“I did it,” says Plath, “with the oven in my kitchen.”
“I did it,” says Pizarnik, “with a fistful of pills in my bedroom.”
“I did it,” says Sexton, “with the car in my garage.”
Plath sips her java. “Didn’t you say that yesterday?”
Pizarnik swirls the dark liquid in her mug. “I can hear you through your wolf mask,” she says. “And you did.”
Sexton puffs on her cigarette and scowls. “Quit showing off,” she says, exhaling. “You don’t even know what the fuck that means.”
Plath drums the sides of her mug with her nails. “Well, you did,” she says.
Sexton ashes on the floor and licks her lips. “Save it for someone who gives a damn.”
Curly waddles in through a swinging door, brandishing his coffee pot. “A little heat, ladies?” he asks, brightly.
“No,” say all three women in tandem.
“For the two-millionth time,” adds Sexton, brushing her brunette hair from her eyes with a long, delicate finger.
“Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!” laughs Curly, as he heads back to the kitchen.
Jack Phillips Lowe is a resident of the Chicago area. His poems have appeared in Clutch 2023, Rye Whiskey Review and Poetry Super Highway. His most recent book, Flashbulb Danger (Middle Island Press, 2018), is available on Amazon. Lowe is currently working on a new poetry chapbook.
A halo-rainbow surrounds my sins, its glow almost motherly callous and concerned as if she stands in our longevous balcony and see us playing soccer in the street without watching us, and hence we can be the truants from good behaviour, moral language.
I blink. I cannot remember a rainbow in my life let alone a halo around the sun. I murmur, “Forgive me for leading a monochrome life.” Cold breeze feels for my pulses, touches my neck. “Am I alive?” I desire to ask and decides not to.
The grass smells of a memory falling from a great height, from the parapet of Eden. The air thronged with the particles reminds me of how the crows circle and scream when one of them falls. Light has fallen. It is sundown soon. I can call you Rob and say, “Slainté Mhaith.” or hear the sobbing water of a lake nearby.
The author of ‘Postmarked Quarantine‘ has eight books to his credit. He is a journalist, father, and the editor of ‘Words Surfacing’. His works have been translated into twelve languages, published across the globe.
CALLING ALL POETS, BOOK SHOPS, SMALL PRESS VENUES, BIG NAME PUBLISHERS, ARTISTS, TATTOOISTS, PIERCERS, JEWELRY MAKERS, BOOTLEG TOY MAKERS, EDC WEAPON FORGERS, COLLEGES, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, SHOP OWNERS, CRYSTAL HEALERS, PERFUME MAKERS, FORTUNE TELLERS, SEX WORKERS, BARS, COMEDIANS, TAXI DRIVERS, MOTELS, HOTELS, CRACKSHACKS, HEAD SHOPS, DISPENSARIES, OR CREATIVE SOULS OF ANY KIND, CAJUN MUTT PRESS NEEDS YOUR HELP!!! (New CMP AD Section)
I’ve been thinking a lot for the past few days since we got home. About all kinds of shit. The Past & Future Me. The horrible state that I’ve let my body and mind and SOUL crumble into over the decades after my accident. The things I’ve done wrong that nobody can forget. The things I’ve done right that they refuse to remember. The things that I can achieve if I play my cards right from here on out. Not only with Cajun Mutt Press but in my personal life. I’m ready to be Mentally, Physically, & Spiritually Healthy again. I’m sick of being so fucking sad. Things need to change. I’m sure a lot of us feel the same way, but I was seriously contemplating an end to a few things. Meeting everyone at Gonzofest, and my mentor Ron Whitehead above all has given me the fuel I needed to continue. But, Cajun Mutt Press needs your help!
My Gonzofest Loot
After I got hurt in 2008, and only because I was LUCKY enough to be working for a man who cared for his employees and had workman’s comp. I did get a small settlement. It was $75,000. Should’ve gotten WAY more for the injuries I sustained, but I didn’t want to go the lawyer route. Just quietly settled out of court. Well, that money is LONG gone. I did a lot of fucking up with it, but I also did a TON of good. A lot of thoroughly illegal activities as well. Illicit Thrills are the Devil’s Candy, and that shit is sweet. Why do y’all think I have diabetes?—I’m Kidding. I also helped friends and family members with money/bills, paid off a couple of my vehicles, put some money down on a house, yada-yada-yada. This isn’t AGT. So I’ll shut up. But Yeah, I was living what I THOUGHT was the American Dream. Until it all came crashing down. By a combination of my own hand, and cruel fate. Now I’m in need of some fundage. I’m trying to Make My Own Way instead of relying on some janky government bullshit that isn’t guaranteed. They also told me that as a stipulation, I couldn’t file for any kind of SSI or disability or even bankruptcy in 10 years’ time. Well, 2018 has come and gone, and I’ve been denied disability twice already. Everyone keeps telling me, “Third time’s a charm.” or “Get a Lawyer.” A nightmarish situation that I do not wish to traverse. So I have a few plans.
I have a million different ideas right now, but this article is about ONE in specific. We’ll get into the other killer ideas I have at a later date. One of which is a Tattoo & PoetryExtravaganza! For now, I’m creating a CMP AD section. It pains me in hearing “There’s no money in poetry.” Or “Poetry should be free.” Because while that’s partially true, it is indeed NOT entirely true. Particularly from MY standpoint. It’s different when you’re only writing and sending work out, compared to Working On The Work. There is Most Definitely Money involved in running a publishing company. Especially if you’re trying to be legit and build something that lasts. As I’m currently doing—BEEN DOING—for some years now. SO many presses come & go. They pop up and disappear constantly. Seemingly overnight sometimes. I think people jump into it not knowing what they’re getting themselves into and panic when it becomes too much. Not Me. I’m in this for the long haul. You see, in the beginning, I WAS a Small Press. That’s what CMP always identified as. But the tune has changed over the years. It was all fun and games before. Now I have obligations, deadlines, & overhead costs. I’m giving out free author copies every time I publish a book, buying proof copies & ISBNs, and charging people $0 to edit and format their work. My authors also receive a $3 per book royalty from Amazon sales. I do it all out of love, but this has become a full-blown business. So, THERE IS MONEY IN POETRY. Especially when you do what I do. There’s money, but no profit. That’s the real statement people should be making. I barely break even a lot of times with these titles. If I do make a little, it goes Right Back into the press. Either that or supporting my friends by buying their books. Not to mention all the packages I send people. I do a lot. For Free. And I can’t keep doing that unless I get some funds rolling in. Be it book sales or otherwise.
There’s a difference between involvement & commitment. Ever heard the Chicken & Pig analogy? I’ve been publishing books since 2015. Started Cajun Mutt Press in 2018. And I am 100% committed to poetry, art, and helping people get their words out into the world. Here’s how you can help me keep doing so, and get some good exposure in the process. I’m planning on making Tuesdays & Thursdays $5 paid promotion days. In between the featured writers on MON/WED/FRI. If you send me your business info, some photos of yourself and or your work, and $5 via PayPal, I’ll build you an ad post. Just like the featured writer posts, but for your business. It doesn’t even HAVE to be for a business. It can be anything you’d like to promote or say. A book, your art, someone special’s birthday/anniversary/wedding, whatever you want within reason. (RACIST OR HOMOPHOBIC BULLSHIT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN MY HOUSE, AND CMP IS MY FUCKING HOUSE) Think outside the box. The cooler the idea the better. I’ll post it for you for $5 and put it on the schedule for either Tuesday or Thursday, Or, you can have a Permanent Spot on our AD page for a one-time fee of $50!! I’ll be revealing the CMP AD page tomorrow.
Featured Writers will continue with their regular schedule. If you’d like to send some work, shoot 1-3 poems to cajunmuttpress@gmail.com along with a bio and author photo. ALL AD Inquiries should be sent to the same email address with “Advertising” as the subject. Featured Writer subs will always be free! I’ve never charged for poetry submissions and I never will, but I need y’all’s help to keep CMP alive. I’ve given myself a deadline. I’m going to finish working on the books I have scheduled for 2023. If things aren’t looking up by December, I’m not gonna be able to open manuscript subs in Jan. I’ll have to push the plate away. I’m losing my ass over here throwing money that I don’t have at publishing these books. It was a MIRACLE that Rai & I even made it to Gonzofest. We actually had to borrow money to do so, but it was worth it! Just to meet y’all. I LOVE doing this. I do it ALL for Y’ALL. But I need a business model that makes sense if I’m going to continue publishing.
So, here’s what I can offer. $50 for a PERMANENT Spot on our CMP AD page, or $5 for a one-day paid promo on Tuesday or Thursday. Paid for via PayPal. (https://www.paypal.me/JDCIV) Kind of like a Super Bowl commercial. Between the poetry. To make ends meet. That’s more than reasonable if you ask me. You’ll be helping Rai & I keep Cajun Mutt Press alive.
Infinite thanks to our first two permanent partners, Gill’s Flooring & Quaint Cadaver!!! One is a lifelong friend of mine that I grew up with, and the other is a close friend of my beautiful muse! That’s What Friends Are For. Mikey Gill & Jess Salisbury, Raissa & I are Eternally Grateful! I’m building the CMP AD section tonight. I’ll be revealing it tomorrow!
Gonzofest has ignited a flame deep within me. Please help me keep it stocked with firewood. I’ll Keep that fucker ablaze for as long as y’all will have me! If you don’t want to takeout an AD, please buy a book! If you do grab one, please leave a review! If you can’t afford a book or an AD, please share the article!! I’ll be posting more about the Tattoo & Poetry Extravaganza and the all other ideas I have soon!!!!
James Dennis Casey IV is a poet, artist, and founder/editor-in-chief of Cajun Mutt Press. His work has been published in print and online by several small press venues and literary magazines. His new book, Bad Weed Never Dies, is available now on Amazon!
The 2016 La Voce dei Poeti, La Catena della Pace international poetry contest gave his entry “Warriors of the Rainbow” a critic’s choice award, and his poem “That’ll do Pig” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by New Pop Lit in 2019.
James was born in Colorado, grew up in Louisiana/Mississippi, and currently resides in Illinois with his muse and their three cats.
