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.
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.
“I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics.”
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
—Hunter S. Thompson
Rest easy, old friend. Happy Birthday, I’ll see you in the aether. Born July 18, 1937, Louisville, KY Died February 20, 2005, Woody Creek, CO
Written by James Dennis Casey IV (JDCIV) On A Mission From God With Eternal Gratitude to Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead Gonzofest Documentary Photography by Michael Duckwall where noted
Thursday, July 13th (Crackshack Blues & The Trip from Hell)
The first day of the trip didn’t go so well. We got there, and the place I booked the room was a hellhole. The photos online looked decent enough for a $69-a-night Motel 6, yet I was deceived. But we weren’t going anywhere. The room was paid for, and I had a barrage of weaponry. Fuck Around And Find Out. THEN . . . I realize that I forgot MY books. I had everything I wanted to bring except that one box. I almost wanted to turn around and go home. I felt the clown makeup being slowly smeared on my face. After that, I called Frogg Corpse, and he made us feel comfortable. Raissa and I hung out with him at his house for a while. Talked about his artwork. Showed me his 1961 Architectural Tapestry of The Hilton at Park Avenue Building. As viewed from Hyde Park in London. Plus, a Michael Alig original (which was beautiful but creepy given his history, but I dig weird shit) titled “Pixelated Hipster.” They were both pretty amazing. We smoked a couple joints, talked about brother Ron’s huge cock—which Rai & I didn’t get to see (inside joke), laughed a lot, and felt better. Got some grub and went back to the crackshack for the night to prepare for the day ahead. Thank you for making us feel at home, brother.
___
—
Nothing like being so excited to have copies of my first book in four years to bring with me, only to forget them at the goddamn house. I was planning on giving them away because I had other Cajun Mutt Press books for the display, and it was the version of the cover I didn’t like with the green text on the back cover. I have 23 of those cocksuckers laughing at me right now on the table behind me in CMP headquarters. Mocking me with their crooked Amazon smile. Other than the copies of Bad Weed Never Dies being left at home and the shithole motel, it all worked out for the better.
“What Are YOU Smiling At, You Bastard!?” The box of Bad Weed Never Dies, still sitting where I left it.
Friday, July 14th (For Educational Purposes Only)
Deep within my soul, I knew that I needed this trip. Severely. I feel like a changed man sitting here writing this. I met so many beautiful people. Friday & Saturday were different types of days, with different types of people. Every single one was a multi-faceted gem. In every way sense and form. I also had to give a good friend some hard truths to make him realize that he was one of those gems, but he was majorly blowing it on Friday. He was an entirely different person Saturday after I gave him a good love slap. In the best of ways. Love you, brother. Hope you dig the Will Mayo books. Cherish Them. It was an honor to work with him for so many years before his passing. We had become good friends. I miss that naked, cat-loving weirdo.
“The calm before the storm.” Merritt Waldon (Friday’s Storm is your new nickname, brother) Standing in front of the Obey Giant at High Horse Bar author of Oracles From a Strange Fire co-authored with Ron Whitehead photo by JDCIV
Friday was all about native son Hunter S. Thompson, and the infamous Kentucky poet and Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead. Both of whom I consider dear friends and mentors, and I’m forever grateful to at least meet one of my three biggest inspirations in my lifetime. I was also able to have Brother Ron sign my copy of Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead!! A beautiful and insightful documentary about his life’s work. Scholars and experts from all around came to tell stories of our beloved Anti-Heroes. It was also interesting to hear about Hunter’s interactions with the Hells Angels MC and The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic.” I also met the notable John Whiting, who restored Hunter S Thompson’s Courage Vincent. Talk about a drop-dead gorgeous bike! Chrome everything. Even the tank. He inspired a poem that I’m currently working on titled “Fuck You, Jay Leno!” (coming soon) Even explained to him where my love for Hunter began, and my deeply personal connection with the 1998 film adaptation of the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. How my parents and I popped in the VHS when it came out. Put some shrooms on a pizza, and had an insane time together. I Miss You, Mom, and Love You Pop.
Mom & Pop, Mardi Gras, circa the early 2000s
While I didn’t make as many personal connections on Friday as I did on Saturday, it was still one hell of a ride. I was honored to witness it in all its glory.
Gonzo Photography by Michael Duckwall (Friday)
Timothy Jack Denevi (Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism), Margaret Ann Harrell (The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic), Peter Richardson (Savage Journey), John F. Brick (Annotated Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas), William McKeen (Outlaw Journalist), Ron Whitehead (co-founder of & Chief of Poetics for GonzoFest, Lifetime US National Beat Poet Laureate)
Timothy Jack Denevi is a professor in the MFA program at George Mason University and the past nonfiction editor of Literary Hub. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, Time, the Paris Review, and New York Magazine, to name a few. And he has been interviewed prolifically, across the spectrum of major news outlets, including the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, following the release of his highly successful Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism. Denevi grew up in Los Gatos, California, and lives near Washington DC. He is a MacDowell Colony fellow and a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Margaret Ann Harrell spent thirty adventurous years abroad in Morocco and Europe, returning to the United States in 2001. She is a three-time MacDowell Colony fellow and has authored eighteen books, including The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic in collaboration with Ron Whitehead (Norfolk Press) and Space Encounters III—Inserting Consciousness into Collisions: A True Fantasy Adventure by the Earth through the Quantum Entangled World. Also, the Keep This Quiet! memoir series and Particle Pinata Poems. She is an editor and an advanced light body meditation teacher as well as a cloud photographer exhibited now and then in Romania, Italy, Bruges (Belgium), and New York City and a mentor to those wanting to go deeper into themselves and their potential.
Dr. John F. Brick teaches English, first-year rhetoric, and creative writing at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His scholarship includes a comprehensive annotated variorum of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which traces the development of Thompson’s 1971 classic across extant texts and archival documents and provides comprehensive historical, cultural, and literary context. The result not only recaptures something of the first blush of Vegas’ satire and profundity but offers unprecedented granularity in examining Thompson’s creative process at the height of his powers. Dr. Brick’s most recent work examines intersections of sports writing and nationalism. In his spare time, he enjoys distance running and cycling, and playing for the Milwaukee Hurling Club.
Peter Richardson teaches Humanities and American Studies at San Francisco State University. His publications include critically acclaimed books about Hunter S. Thompson, the Grateful Dead, Ramparts magazine, and Carey McWilliams, who edited Thompson at The Nation magazine. He is currently writing a book about Rolling Stone magazine for the University of California Press. His newest release is Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and The Weird Road to Gonzo.
William McKeen is a professor and the former Chair of the Department of Journalism at Boston University; he is the author or editor of thirteen successful books, including Outlaw Journalist, Mile Marker Zero, and Everybody Had an Ocean. McKeen teaches journalism history, literary journalism, and rock n’ roll and American culture and previously taught at Western Kentucky University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Florida, where he chaired the department of journalism. Before beginning his teaching career, he was a reporter, then associate editor of The American Spectator and the Saturday Evening Post. Mile Marker Zero is “a tall but telescopic-sight-true tale of Hunter Thompson, Jimmy Buffett, Tom McGuane, and a large cavorting cast running around with sand in their shoes at ‘ground zero for lust and greed and most of the other deadly sins,’ [in] Key West,” wrote Tom Wolfe. McKeen spent his early years in England, Germany, Nebraska, and Texas.
Ron Whitehead, co-founder of & Chief of Poetics for GonzoFest, is a Lifetime US National Beat Poet Laureate. His life is newly documented in the film Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead (2022). “Ron Whitehead is Bodhisattva in Kentucky,” said Lawrence Ferlinghetti. “I have long admired Ron Whitehead. He is crazy as nine loons, and his poetry is a dazzling mix of folk wisdom and pure mathematics,” said Hunter S. Thompson. An award-winning poet and performer, author of 30 books and 40 albums, his words have been translated into twenty languages.
Saturday, July 15th (Happy Birthday JDC.III)
While the first night was more scholarly in nature, Saturday was a whole different creature. It was time to cut loose a little. The atmosphere was more relaxed. Loved hearing friends both old and new recite their work. I started letting my emotions get the better of me and fucked up a bit when I read, then blamed it on the edibles. Got a good laugh. Thanks to my beautiful muse for that advice. I did eat two 50mg gummies. So I was feeling good, I needed to calm my nerves anyway. Would’ve loved to stay longer both nights, but this was a huge trip for us. We’re home now and exhausted, but it was all worth it.
SETLIST: “Potatoes in a Tube Sock,” “Pour Me,” “In Time with the Beat,” “Dump Poetry” (Watch when I go back on stage. I accidentally swiped Ron’s papers, but it was smooth.) I started letting my emotions get the better of me and fucked up a bit, then blamed it on the edibles, got a good laugh.
Gonzofest made me remember Why I Started Cajun Mutt Press. Where I came from and who I am. I do all this for y’all. Out of pure love. Ron was right, this is important work. But it was also said about Ron himself, what are you willing to give up in pursuit of your dream? Well, in my opinion, this IS the Strange American Dream. In Gonzo Journalism form. We’re living it. Ron is living it. Hunter lived it more than anybody. I only wish I could tell HST that the American Dream was found, and in his honor. We Found The Grain Of Sand. The Holy Grail. I’ll just have to tell him somewhere in the aether. Over the proverbial edge of it all.
Poetry & Music Line Up (The Savage Creatures)
12-7 p.m. — Poets, singers, and musicians. In order of appearance: Brent & Brennan Embry (Rosine), Raymond Smith (Bowling Green), Michael Duckwall (Indiana), Mick Parsons (Louisville), Hilton Airall (Louisville), J.b. Wilson (Washington, D.C.), Jean Kizer (Indiana), Dusty Jaggers (Louisville), Ben Holland (Louisville), James Dennis Casey IV (Illinois), Ian Uriel Girdley (Indiana), Merritt Waldon (Indiana), Joseph Fulkerson (Owensboro), Jonathan Baker (Indiana), Johnny Evans (Louisville), Tom Murphy (Texas), Frogg Corpse (Indiana), Kent Fielding (Alaska), Snow Matthews (Indiana), Lindsay Gargotto (Louisville), Mark Berriman (Indiana), Joan Hawkins (Indiana), Joe Kidd & Sheila Burke (Michigan), Dean McClain (Shelbyville), Tony Brewer (Indiana), Elizabeth Nelson (Louisville), Ron Whitehead & Aviv Naamani (Louisville), Tommy Twilite (Massachusetts), Tommy Bays (Indiana)
7 p.m. – 2 a.m. — Bands and poets. In order of appearance: Blind Feline, John Burroughs (Ohio), Frank Messina (New Jersey) & The Storm Generation Band with special guests, ZU ZU YA YA, Mike Hood & Solar Flannel, Night Parade
Progression of BWND book cover (“The Battle of Amazon”)
I ran into some trouble with the cover of Bad Weed Never Dies while trying to prepare for Gonzofest. If KDP would’ve approved the original version, which is the proof copy, everything would’ve been fine. It looked great! They fought me about the green drop shadow. I tried telling them that it was going to pop the text out. They said it wouldn’t look right in print. I’ve been doing this for long enough to know what’s going to look good, and what isn’t. So I made a compromise and put the text in green, and they approved it. Didn’t really like the way it looked, I knew it would be hard to read without the dropshadow but I needed copies for Gonzofest. And it was either order some or not have any at this point. Got them in the mail just in time, and they looked sub-par. Just like I knew they would. So I changed it—AGAIN! and ordered one from Amazon because I knew I wouldn’t have time to order more author copies. Some battles you win, some battles you lose. We’ll call it a tie this time, Amazon. It still doesn’t look exactly how I want it, but I’m not changing it again. None of it mattered anyway. My dumb ass went and left the box at home after all that bullshit. I let The Fear get to me, and I panicked. I was lucky enough to have that ONE copy of the new version with me. Only because I stuffed it in my backpack to read from. So everything turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
V.1
V.2
V.3
In closing (religious experience)
The whole time I was there, it was akin to being at Church—but in a good way. One that everyone belonged to. For extremely personal reasons that we all lay down on the front lines. At War With Life. Fighting the Good Fight. The Church of Gonzo. I’ve had so much undealt with trauma my entire life. I needed a place to transcend. Sweating the demons out of every pore. A place for my voice to be heard. We all need a place like that. It pains me to say this was the 10th & “final” Gonzofest. Hopefully, someone will pick up the torch. This has also inspired me to try and put something together. A tattoo and poetry extravaganza. I have a plan. (more about that later)
“This addictive little book is aptly titled. Mark Berriman’s words open portals into realms where ghostly barbarian voices sing in an indomitable language of the heart. This is poetic expression at its finest. Courageous. Authentic. Vulnerable. Raw. And more fun than a crackhead wedding. Respek!” —Jonathan Shaw (Author of Narcisa – Our Lady of Ashes, and Scab Vendor – Confessions of a Tattoo Artist)
Holding the Door for Barbarians That Turned Ugly Fast Photo by Heather Himli (Mark Berriman’s Twin Flame)
Acknowledgment (Finding My Tribe)
There is an extensive list of people I’d like to personally thank and mention as well. To Ruth Lenora Johnson, I love you, Grandma Sam. You helped put this trip in motion. I miss you, rest in peace. Maris & Søren, thank you for helping us with funds and figuring out the ride situation. We Love Y’all. Brother Frogg!! I fucking love you, man. Thanks for giving my beautiful muse and I a place to Burn Down and unwind. The trip started rough with forgetting my books and realizing the motel I booked was a shithole. After we left your place we felt a lot better. Your girl Jordan is a magnificent catch as well. Rai likes her a lot. Ma Jestical Amorosa & Elizabeth Nelson, you are two of the sweetest and most powerful souls Rai and I have ever met. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the hospitality, and for being so accommodating. Sister Jes, thank you for hooking us up with a lamp! I saved that copy of Adventures of Brain Man specifically for you. Sorry if there was any confusion about the books. Sister Elizabeth, I got chills when your beautiful child screamed in the name of the spirits. AHO!! To my new friend Michael Duckwall, thank you for doing a fantastic job documenting this historic event and for letting me use your photography. I’m so glad we met. You and Rachel were two of the coolest people we met there. Glad your son is feeling better after surgery. I ordered a copy of The Ramblings of a Recovering Poet. I didn’t feel so bad about not having copies of mine when you told me what happened with your books. To Scott Laudatti, that was some top-shelf reading advice. Thank you. (Happy Birthday, Pop!) Tohm Bakelas, you are an unbelievably cool dude as well. I enjoyed your talk, and you killed your set! Hope we can all hang out again sometime. Thanks for the copy of To Kingdom Come. Great Stuff. Scott, tell Rucci what I said, and no hard feelings. Snow Matthews, you are captivating. I loved your reading. Looking forward to working with you in the future. Mick Parsons, Jonathan Baker, John Burroughs, Tommy Twilite, Dean McClain, Tony Brewer, Chad Horn, and Dean McClain, it was an honor to meet you all. Your sets were some of my favorites. Wish we could’ve talked more. Brother Burroughs, hearing you read taught me a lot. Tom Murphy! Sorry that I was having a hard time remembering your name. I’ve got Bad Brains, brother. Can’t wait to dig into When I Wear Bob Kaufman’s Eyes! Huge thanks for the copy. To the doorman, brother Ralph. You were right about the heat, and huge thanks for buying a couple of books. I truly appreciate everyone else that grabbed copies as well! Hope y’all enjoy the reads. Blind Feline, y’all fucking JAM!! Brother Oliver, wish we had more time to talk. I enjoyed our interview from 2021. Brent Embrey, Brennan Embry, and Tommy Bays, y’all rocked the house as well. Honored to meet y’all. Hi Helens, sorry I didn’t make the show Friday: Ryan, I’ve been checking out your music, I dig it. Very cathartic indeed. Brother Merritt, thank you for behaving the second night. Sorry, not sorry for the tough love. It came from my heart. Leland Locke, looking forward to reading You Can’t Blame Good Sex on A Puppy: Notes from the Night Desk, Volume 3! Sorry that we didn’t get the chance to talk more. Thanks to Grant Goodwin for the killer Gonzofest 2023 poster numbered 13. Frank Messina! You brought a big vibe, my friend! Loved the shoes. I wanted to stay and see your set with The Storm Generation Band & Zu Zu YA YA, but I had to go take care of my beautiful muse. She took care of me earlier that day. Had to return the love. Apologies if I forgot any names or offended anyone in any way or didn’t mention you here. If I did or didn’t, it was unintentional. I have scrambled eggs for brains after my accident. Art and poetry help me keep it focused. I did my best to remember what I could, and Raissa helped me with the rest. I Love Y’all. This was definitely a learning experience. I enjoyed taking away a small piece of knowledge from each of you. About myself and the world around me. I feel like I’m Shining.
But Most Of All, Last But Not Least . . . the biggest credit goes to Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Ron Whitehead. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Not only from Raissa and I but on behalf of everyone else in attendance for spearheading such an outstanding event for so long. That is a cross no mortal man can bear, but you, sir, are a Living Legend. No mere mortal. I love you, brother. We All Do. I regret not making it to this event every year of its existence. Yet I’m profoundly happy that I made the “last” one. Hunter S. Thompson was most definitely a flawed man, but he was human at his core. And he left an impression on literature as well as the entire world that can never be erased. He was one of, if not THE greatest writers in the known universe. May the spirit of Gonzo Journalism and the Good Doctor live on forever. Be it in art, poetry, music, flying down the highway on a motorcycle, or anywhere else a rare free soul is found. Can I get a Hallelujah!!!
The Cajun Mutt Press table (Poetry & Artwork)
JDCIV, Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Cajun Mutt Press
Finally Home (Exhausted & Transcendent)
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.
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.
PS. Raissa would like to thank everyone for the compliments about her bone earrings, and let y’all know they were made by Jess at Quaint Cadaver!!
PPS. Ben HST Holland! Or, is it Bob? I’m joking. Thank you so much for the hand-typed “Robin Williams Was Right” poem. You’ll be hearing from me soon. I have some things to send you. I’m also looking forward to reading your manuscript!
Vital Decay by Timothy Dodd drops in August!! I’ll let y’all know when we have an official release date. I’ll also have a proof copy to post pics of when I get back from Gonzofest. Stay tuned for more details!
“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.
I’m a day late with the monthly rundown, but yesterday got away from me. I’ve been trying to get ready for Gonzofest!! I have a stack of old/new Cajun Mutt Press books to bring, some stickers, and I finally got Bad Weed Never Dies to pass review. So I’ll have some copies of that to bring as well. Amazon didn’t like the way I had the text on the back. I wanted it to match the front. Looked great with the green drop shadow; made it pop. Had to change the cover five times before it was accepted. Been going back and forth with them for about two weeks. I’m kind of upset that it doesn’t look exactly how I wanted it to, but it is what it is. I think some of the text is a little hard to read, but it’s too late to change it again, and that’s the only cover they would pass. I don’t know why they threw such a fit with this one. It looked awesome the way I had it before. Figures it would be my book they hassle me over. On a time-sensitive project no less. I’ll have a copy to post pics of soon.
I have for you below the July featured writers. I’m always open to submissions. If you’d like to submit work, send 1-3 poems to cajunmuttpress@gmail.com with a bio and author photo. Sometimes it takes me a while to respond. Depends on what I have going on. Please be patient.
Written Under Duress by John Tustin came out in June! Don’t forget to leave a review if you grab a copy. Next month Vital Decay by Timothy Dodd will be released! Stay tuned for details. Manuscript submissions will open again in Jan. 2024. Follow this link to see a list of all CMP titles: https://cajunmuttpress.com/2021/06/08/cajun-mutt-press-bibliography/
Happy 4th of July and I hope to see y’all at Gonzofest on the 14th and 15th!! Follow this link for tickets: https://www.gonzofestlouisville.com/
