“This is a book of Merritt’s poems with Ron’s suggested modifications to the side. Although there are a few word changes, most changes are in line breaks and spacing to make the poems breathe and jump off the page. Merritt’s poems are well-written, philosophical and speak through a veil to current events and life in general. The book shows that Merritt needed little help but it is also a book about a mentor and mentee, sharing and friendship and mutual respect. […]”
Coming soon from Cajun Mutt Press, Oracles from a Strange Fire by Merritt Waldon and Ron Whitehead!!
In this collection, you’ll find two versions of each poem, created by two poets sharing one voice in their own distinct way. A collaboration that experiments with editing and style.
“Oracles from a Strange Fire: poems by Merritt Waldon and Ron Whitehead was born out of an exchange between Ron Whitehead and me. Upon receiving a gift package of books and CDs from Ron, and in the spirit of free sharing between poets, I sent Ron a handful of poems. He told me he liked them, and that he had been editing them. His words were more than welcome as I have been scarcely published, and never edited. Then it came to me: what if a book was published of my original poems, along with Ron’s edited version. on opposite pages, or next to one another, similar to bilingual editions of poetry. Ron liked the idea so I selected random poems from the past five years and sent them to him. Ron’s edits grew. Two voices became one then another voice was born. And so the birth of my first published BOOK, an experiment in language in life in living in poetry, a joint collaboration between two poets on the opposite sides of the Ohio. I proudly present Oracles from a Strange Fire.”
—Merritt Waldon
“Not long ago Merritt Waldon sent me four poems and asked me if I would read them and offer feedback. I edited two of them. Often, when I edit I end up losing myself and rewriting the poem(s). Merritt suggested we do a volume of his poems accompanied by my edits/transformations. In the midst of working on some other big projects I said HellYeah! A couple of weeks later, the Oracles from a Strange Fire collaboration was completed. Merritt’s poems are on the left hand page and my edits/transformations are on the right hand page.I’m excited for Merritt on getting his first book accepted for publication. I’m honored to be part of it. Thank you to James Dennis Casey IV and Cajun Mutt Press for publishing this experiment in poetry. Language always has been and forever will be an experiment.”
—Ron Whitehead, Kentucky Outlaw Poet
Front cover photo by Jinn Bug.
Coming soon from Cajun Mutt Press, The Queen & Her Devil: A Sacred Journey Through Love and Contracts by Rani Whitehead!!! We’re aiming for a Halloween release on this one so keep your eyes peeled. You can also find her other book, Fracture Point, on Amazon. Published by C.M.P. January 7th, 2020.
Write On!
J.D.C.IV
Founder/Editor-in-Chief
C.M.P.
🤟💀
“Rani Whitehead is a poet of major proportions, a gifted light who has lived the life she words. Her writing is balanced with an honesty that, for some, is frightening. Her latest offering, A QUEEN AND HER DEVIL, a sacred journey through love and contracts, is an amazing piece of work and will ultimately find its place among the country’s best literature. Rani Whitehead’s poetry, although solidly her own voice, reminds me of the poetic journals of Anais Nin. You will, once you start, have trouble stopping reading Rani until you have devoured her whole book. You will sense you have just received the gift of her deepest secrets written with a beauty that’s not seen often except when flowers bloom. She’s a writer to be reckoned with and I have a strong feeling we are going to see a great deal more of her. That is a good thing. Her work is substantial.”
—Lee Pennington
“Deeply inspirational from the first moment, Rani Whitehead writes, early on, “I will melt for you / I will become molten lava / Destroying all in my path to hold your eyelashes between lips that whisper / Your longings /My longings.” Imagine the sheer boldness, the True Poet’s ability to catch the words, catch the emotion. It’s like this all the way through The Queen & Her Devil. In honor of Mahakala & Mahakali (a manifestation of Shiva and his consort). Rani opens the gates and the words rush out, standing behind the gates, waiting their turn. In The Queen & Her Devil, “a sacred journey through love and contracts,” as in earlier work, she has such a lot to say. It stampedes, it pours, it reaches us, and we are always moved. I think, How can she find such a different way to say a universal truth? But she finds a new angle, her own. Everything about her writing is her own. From the moment I became aware of her poetry, I sat up, straightened my back, and told myself, Now that’s really A Poet (which I don’t often say). That’s someone with the old magic, the old grace, and depth of The Poet. Though of a very different type, her words are as inevitable as those of the true classical poets. She speaks to us as directly as Neruda, straight in the eye. But most of all, she digs so deep—till she cannot dig any further. And it is in digging for us, holding every stone and chunk of dirt, every root and stem and blossom, she reawakens our own passions and desire to Live. That’s it: Be Alive. She writes as if we are not listening—uncensored, except by Art, and Life, and Truth. Her memories and imagination bring us hypnotically a storehouse of living bundles of Life for our savoring. I know that she will be around a long time, and I expect great things, marveling that her body can hold the intensity. Indeed this book shows us it can.”
—Margaret A. Harrell (Author of The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic)
“Have you ever had an all-consuming love? Have you ever felt a connection so deep that you were sure that their breath was your breath? That their heartbeat was your heartbeat? That every ache and pain they felt was felt tenfold in your bones? Have you ever felt the conviction, the undeterred devotion, to another soul so intensely that you are sure that the Universe birthed you both from the same womb at the beginning of time?
Rani Whitehead’s latest book of poetry, “THE QUEEN AND HER DEVIL, a Sacred Journey Through Love and Contracts” is the story of one such love. With a mastery of pictorial words, carefully chosen and placed, she paints fantastic images of the magic and the chaos of finding a soul mate who has not yet found himself. Grounded and ethereal, tethered, and righteously free, Rani explores the duality between navigating contracts with another soul and nurturing a newfound devotion to her truth.
The road Rani travels in this collection of poetry is bittersweet. We are given an intimate view of every sunrise and sunset. We ride with her to the mountaintop, high with victory, and to the shadowlands, where we nurse our travel-worn and blistered feet. And as the contract with her love bends and twists and ultimately dissolves into mist, a glorious and steady warrior is birthed, soft and strong, and true.
It was an honor to walk with Rani on her journey, both in this lifetime and in this collection of poems. Her raw vulnerability IS one of her greatest strengths, and she does not hold back. Rani gives her written words, and ultimately us, the greatest gift… the naked truth of growth and resurrection through love lost and love found. Bravo, friend.”
—Peyton Turner (Author of Rise Up From Ash: Follow Your Intuition, Save Your Life)
Coming soon from Cajun Mutt Press, Life, by R. Keith! Keep your eyes peeled for it to be released before the end of the month…
“Life, is a collection of short stories dealing with love, loss and grief set against a backdrop of vivid locations and bold situations.R. Keith’s unique style imbues each story with a rare profundity that makes each tale enjoyably memorable both in its own right and as part of this accomplished anthology.” —Adrian Hall, Visual Artist
This will be our fourth time working with Mr. Keith, the links to his other three titles are as follows:
Wild Rose Country: – pueblo chico, infierno grande – Published December 26, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578439816
Around the bend – Published September 27, 2019 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1696088925
9999 – Published July 4, 2019 https://www.amazon.com/dp/107797843X
Dropping this weekend, the first new book release from Cajun Mutt Press since taking a publishing break because of the virus, Written in Darkness by Anthony Watkins!!! This is a beautifully executed collection of poems, but don’t take our word for it…
“Reading this collection is like finding an album of old photographs. Each one tells a story, often without context, yet they are clearly part of a bigger picture, whole lives well lived. This is poetry utterly without pretense, filled with soul, and veined with wry humour. I believe that poems should be worn and dusty, have miles on them, maybe a little barbed wire. I believe that poems should be real. Like these.”
— Steve Denehan, author of Miles of Sky Above Us, Miles of Earth Below, Cajun Mutt Press, 2019
“This remarkable group of poems reveals a nation, a world, and a life where everything teeters on edge and every object and thought swerves between lanes careening toward the end of the Great Highway. Watkins stares poverty, doom, and death in the face, sometimes in fear, sometimes with courage, but he rarely flinches. This is American poetry in the best possible sense, gritty, real, and almost impossibly tragic.”
— John Sevigny, photographer, author, El Muerto Pare el Santo 2010 (high-contrast images of prostitutes, portraits of Salvadoran gang members and life in San Salvador and Guatemala City)
