alternating current

Please donate to our Kickstarter fundraising campaign!

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:22:00 +0000

Hello, Alternating Current supporters,

This is a passionate plea from the captain of the ship, asking you to reach into your hearts and pockets to help the small press thrive. We’ve launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to raise enough money to fund our new journals, Poiesis #6, the inaugural Footnote #1, and the awesome online Go Read Your Lunch. It’s hard to ask people to care about the things I care about because we all have different passions, but this project is more than just money: It’s the future of the small press, the written word, Alternating Current, our publications, our authors. If you are reading this, then you care about the written word, and we are asking you to care just a little more right now. Please donate whatever amount you can to our fundraising campaign so that we may promote our new journals and watch them thrive in a landscape and economy where the arts are grossly underfunded. The arts are hurting. They need your help to survive. Please donate today.

New Alternating Current release: The Dance Around The Fire by Pete M. Wyer

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 01:49:00 +0000

The Dance Around The Fire

Pete M. Wyer

Poetry

This chapbook of poems reads like a year in the life of a poet, with vignettes and snippets of life, gleaming from balconies of big cities, from picture frames, from deserted railway stations. It's a story of motion, of existentialism, forays into politics and the heads of composition teachers and passengers awaiting departure. It's a story that sings songs of the dead and relishes the living, showcasing nature, the little things, the moments that make us all human.

Poems:

Out Of Luck
Religious Amnesia
New Era
Out On The Plain
Fairy-Tale Ending
Existential Erratum
Fragments
Radio
A Glimpse Of The Afterlife
Neanderthal. A Short Stage Play
Last Night In Paris
Waking At Cousin Kathleen's
Simultaneity
Crass Jingles
Politics, Then War
Imprint
Awaiting Departure
Anniversary
The Sea And The Land
The End Of The Conversation
Chapman Studio
The Truth About The Wildebeest
Under Snow In Chelsea
The Marina Café
Trying On Hats
Downtown Quartets
Rome
Low Tide
A Last Miracle
London Bridge, 4:27 a.m.
Warsaw At The Millennium
Shapes Masquerading As Objects
A New Earth
Mirror
The Composition Lesson
The Chemistry Lesson
Balcony Scene
This Dust
The Dance Around The Fire
Princess Ozoku

Sample:

Low Tide

We were used to the rhythm of tides
We'd sat by calm water,
Been ruffled by restless winds.
We didn't suspect
The rotted wrecks
Caught among the jagging rocks
That steered the course of the river,
Starkly revealed by this day.

He closes his eyes.
We, his friends,
Sit in silence.

~~BUY HERE~~

Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love blurbed in Sheboygan Press

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:47:00 +0000

Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love by Charles P. Ries was blurbed in the Sheboygan Press, first in a mention about the book:

Ries’ poetry book available locally, online

Charles P. Ries, a Milwaukee resident who grew up in Sheboygan, has completed a book of poems, Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love.

The book, published by Alternating Current, is available through the book’s publisher, Amazon.com, and Z-Spot Espresso & Coffee, 1024 Indiana Ave., Sheboygan.

And second, in a mention about Ries reading excerpts from the book at Z-Spot:

Z-Spot announces event lineup

[ ... ]

And Sheboygan native Charles P. Ries will do a short reading and sign copies of his recently published collection of poetry, titled Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Ries, a 1971 graduate of Sheboygan South High School, is on the board of the John Michael Kohler Art Center. He is also a founding member of the Lake Shore Surf Club, the oldest freshwater surfing club on the Great Lakes.

Search tag: Girl Friend and Other Mysteries of Love by Charles P. Ries

Onderdonkey blurbed by Jeff Fleming

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Jeff Fleming — former editor of nibble, Cranial Tempest, and CannedPhlegm, and author of The Bones of Saints Under Glass and Shades of Green — wrote a blurb about the Alternating Current release, Onderdonkey by CEE:

“Onderdonkey is a Texas- (or should we say Tejas-) sized boot up your ass, an unblinking look at the world we live in and the world we humans have lived through. This is not a mirror held up to society to show our flaws, but a big damn magnifying glass held up to the sun in a desperate attempt to burn those imperfections away. This book may be the definition of no holds barred.”

Search tags: Onderdonkey by CEE, Battle of the Alamo, Siege of the Alamo, war poems, Texas Revolution

Onderdonkey blurbed by Zack Kopp

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 05:07:00 +0000

Zack Kopp — editor of Doggerel and author of Sorehead and Fire Diner — wrote a blurb about the Alternating Current release, Onderdonkey by CEE:

“The pieces in Onderdonkey are full of deep-lived societal insight from Mexico City to the digital landscape behind the screen you’re looking at. CEE’s poems love the dead with sidelong humor, just as all the best writers must learn to, in our multiple death-defying time.”

Search tags: Onderdonkey by CEE, Battle of the Alamo, Siege of the Alamo, war poems, Texas Revolution

Onderdonkey blurbed by John Berbrich

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:54:00 +0000

John Berbrich — editor of Dwarf Planet and Barbaric Yawp, publisher at BoneWorld Publishing and MuscleHead Press, and author of The Big Whole Thing and Mullet — wrote a blurb about the Alternating Current release, Onderdonkey by CEE:

“The prose and poetry of CEE is studded with nails, knives, teeth, and claws. In his latest, Onderdonkey, the poetry juxtaposes scenes from the Alamo with scenes from more modern times, while politicians bleat and war machines clank in the background. As always, CEE’s overriding plea is for humans to step forward and to think as individuals in what appears to be an endless struggle against the grinding gears of the faceless, ubiquitous, sociopolitical machine.”

Search tags: Onderdonkey by CEE, Battle of the Alamo, Siege of the Alamo, war poems, Texas Revolution

Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love reviewed in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:17:00 +0000

Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love by Charles P. Ries was reviewed by Jim Higgins in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the Tap books and entertainment section.

Review:
Ries explores complexities, humor of love through poems

In Girl Friend & Other Mysteries of Love: New and Selected Poems (Alternating Current, $11.99), Charles Ries speaks, frequently with humor, as a representative of “the elegantly simpler gender,” also known as “clueless,” or male.

Ries will read from his poems at 2 p.m. March 16, 2013, at Boswell Book Co., 2559 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee.

In “Hearing Perfectly,” the audiologist tells Ries’ poetic persona “You’re missing all the high-pitched, soft-consonant / sounds,” to which he responds, “You mean women’s voices?” and later muses, “Isn’t it odd, how men suffer this deafness?”.

The protagonist of “You Never Left” takes the urn of his beloved’s ashes everywhere, but is far from morbid about it, even talking naughtily to her cremains: “Would you mind if I shake you, baby... .” Love, loss, and death in the same breezy poem: well played, Mr. Ries.

In the delightful “Sex for Liver,” his partner has sought for years the combo of medication that will alleviate her depression but not ruin her desire to make love. She finally settles on a medication that allows the “pleasures of intimacy” and leads to a surprising pregame meal.

Not all of Ries’ “Mysteries of Love” are about paramours.

In “First Blood,” when a 10½-year-old daughter has her first period, Dad scrambles mentally for what to say and do, lamenting the early onset of menstruation for a girl “when she still wants to be a boy, / Runs faster than any boy.”

Poet B. J. Best will join Ries at the March 16 reading. Best’s new But Our Princess Is In Another Castle (Rose Metal Press, $14.95) is a collection of prose poems that use imagery and other elements from classic video games, such as Mario, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders.

Best, who teaches at Carroll University in Waukesha, also wrote the collection Birds of Wisconsin.

Search tag: Girl Friend and Other Mysteries of Love by Charles P. Ries

The Hogbutcher Poems blurbed in Transcendent Visions

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:49:00 +0000

The Hogbutcher Poems by David Stone was blurbed in the twentieth anniversary print issue of Transcendent Visions.

Blurb:

David Stone is one of my favorite poets appearing in this zine. This collection is wonderful. Propaganda Press, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, CA 94302. alternatingcurrentarts.blogspot.com.

[search tags: The Hogbutcher Poems by David Stone, The Hogbutcher Poems, David Stone, Transcendent Visions]

Artsy Fartsy listed on Books on Blog™

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:15:00 +0000

Artsy Fartsy by Chris Butler was listed on the Books on Blog™ website, presented by The Camel Saloon.

[search tags: Artsy Fartsy by Chris Butler, Books on Blog, Book on Blog, The Camel Saloon]

Artsy Fartsy featured on Books on Blog™

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:00:00 +0000

The poems "slow children at play," "cap gun," "nightlight," "regret," "internet," "nine/eleven," "loitering in front of the microwave," "as the teapot steams," "hangover," "oxy," "urinal," "anonymous poem," "immortal poem," "ain't a word," and "everything is written in pencil," from the chapbook Artsy Fartsy by Chris Butler were featured on Books on Blog™, number twenty-one, presented by The Camel Saloon. The Books on Blog™ project is a beautiful piece of work, so while we have the pages archived here for Internet posterity, we urge you to follow the link and read the material there.

[search tags: slow children at play by Chris Butler, cap gun by Chris Butler, nightlight by Chris Butler, regret by Chris Butler, internet by Chris Butler, nine eleven by Chris Butler, nine/eleven by Chris Butler, loitering in front of the microwave by Chris Butler, as the teapot steams by Chris Butler, hangover by Chris Butler, oxy by Chris Butler, urinal by Chris Butler, anonymous poem by Chris Butler, immortal poem by Chris Butler, ain't a word by Chris Butler, everything is written in pencil by Chris Butler, Artsy Fartsy by Chris Butler, Propaganda Press, Books on Blog, Book on Blog, The Camel Saloon]

Alternating Current books in University at Buffalo Poetry Collection

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:07:00 +0000

All Alternating Current books are now archived in the University at Buffalo Special Collections Library: The Poetry Collection.

CEE books available in Silverman Library

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:02:00 +0000

I'm Better Off Every Four Years, Homemade Custer, Still Life is a Human, Obligatory Abe, Foody's Drinkie Market, and The Cannon-Fixers' Picnic, all by author CEE and published on Propaganda Press, are available in the Oscar A. Silverman Library at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.

[search tags: I'm Better Off Every Four Years by CEE, Homemade Custer by CEE, Still Life is a Human by CEE, Obligatory Abe by CEE, Foody's Drinkie Market by CEE, The Cannon-Fixers' Picnic by CEE, Propaganda Press, Oscar A Silverman Library, Oscar Silverman Library, University at Buffalo Library, Buffalo New York]

CEE books available in Brown University Library

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:49:00 +0000

I'm Better Off Every Four Years, Homemade Custer, Still Life is a Human, Obligatory Abe, Foody's Drinkie Market, and The Cannon-Fixers' Picnic, all by author CEE and published on Propaganda Press, are available in the Mark Sonnenfeld papers archived at the Brown University Library in Providence, Rhode Island.

[search tags: I'm Better Off Every Four Years by CEE, Homemade Custer by CEE, Still Life is a Human by CEE, Obligatory Abe by CEE, Foody's Drinkie Market by CEE, The Cannon-Fixers' Picnic by CEE, Propaganda Press, Brown University Library, Mark Sonnenfeld papers, Providence Rhode Island]

CEE books available at Babbitt's Books

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:40:00 +0000

Gregory Liffick published on Carcinogenic Poetry

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:08:00 +0000

The poems "Thirsty," "Gospel," "Trinkets," "Crier," and "Cycle," from the Propaganda-Press-published chapbook Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, were published on Carcinogenic Poetry, presented by Virgogray Press.

[search tags: Thirsty by Gregory Liffick, Gospel by Gregory Liffick, Trinkets by Gregory Liffick, Crier by Gregory Liffick, Cycle by Gregory Liffick, Propaganda Press, Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, Carcinogenic Poetry, Virgogray Press]

“Idle" published in Gutter Eloquence Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:37:00 +0000

The poem "Idle," from the Propaganda-Press-published chapbook Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, has been published in Gutter Eloquence Magazine, issue number eighteen.

[search tags: Idle by Gregory Liffick, Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, Gutter Eloquence Magazine, Propaganda Press]

Gregory Liffick published on Mouse Tales Press, Inc.

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:15:00 +0000

The poems "Elbow," "Five," and "Quiet," from the Propaganda-Press-published chapbook Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, have been published on Mouse Tales Press, Inc.

[search tags: Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, Elbow by Gregory Liffick, Five by Gregory Liffick, Quiet by Gregory Liffick, Propaganda Press, Mouse Tales Press Inc]

“Heartburn" published on LITSNACK

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:53:00 +0000

The poem "Heartburn," from the Propaganda-Press-published chapbook Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, has been published on LITSNACK.

[search tags: Heartburn by Gregory Liffick, Litsnack, Propaganda Press]

THE WONDER OF IT ALL reviewed by Savvy Verse & Wit

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 01:24:00 +0000

The Wonder of It All by Elizabeth P. Glixman was reviewed by Serena on Savvy Verse & Wit and on Library Thing:

The Wonder of It All by Elizabeth P. Glixman is a very small volume of poetry but has a large sense of humor that will at times have readers giggling to themselves about the absurdity of it all. Many of the poems are very much in the here and now of the moment. The collection can fit in your pocket and can be taken out on the subway ride in between stops.

One of the best in the collection is “The Man from TSA — Unrequited Love Did Not Stop Glenn Close,” in which the narrator opts not for the scanning machine, but the gloved hand of a TSA agent and falls in love — or is it obsession? Pop culture references infuse these poems, grounding readers in their own lives to draw parallels, but oftentimes the situations are too surreal for readers to connect with. In a way, this may be the point that Glixman is trying to get to — that life is a series of absurd moments that we categorize to make sense of them and their meaning.

Other poems, like “Avalanche Worry,” have a tongue-in-cheek humor to them, telling readers to always have a cell phone, a year’s supply of groceries on hand, and other supplies so they are prepared. But many of these poems are narrations of moments, offering vignettes, but little else. While these characters and stories are fun and humorous, they lack the poetic nuance many readers are looking for in terms of images and larger connections to the human condition. However, there are gems in this collection that poke fun at pop culture and its pervasiveness, including “The Wonder of It All” in which Minnie Mouse is transformed into a flirtatious girl, like Britney Spears.

The Wonder of It All by Elizabeth P. Glixman is a mixed bag of poems, but entertaining in fits and starts. There are some poems that could have ended sooner and more powerfully, but there are others that are deftly crafted.

Tag: The Wonder of It All by Elizabeth P. Glixman

THE WONDER OF IT ALL blurbed by Dennis Mahagin

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Dennis Mahagin -- poet, author of Fare, and associate editor at Frigg -- had some nice things to say about a new Propaganda Press title, The Wonder of It All, by Elizabeth P. Glixman:

I so enjoyed reading it! Many of the poems are laugh-out-loud funny, but poignant, too. It’s a mark of [Glixman’s] work, that quirky poignancy. I love the title poem, and a few other favorites include “Avalanche Worry,” “Oldies but Goodies,” and “Lessons in Ichthyology--Call Me the Fish Whisperer.” [Her] titles are so rad! Great chapbook, I will definitely read it again.

Tag: The Wonder of It All by Elizabeth P. Glixman

BOB BARKER DIED available at The Three Arts

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Sun, 27 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

BOB BARKER DIED And Other Fast Fictions From Poughkeepsie by Anthony G. Herles is now available at The Three Arts Bookstore near Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

single ply and soaked through reviewed in Heeltap

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:31:00 +0000

single ply and soaked through by Leah Angstman was reviewed by Richard D. Houff for Small Press Review, but did not make it to print before SPR editor Len Fulton's unfortunate passing. The review was instead printed in the Heeltap Book Reviews Supplement #15:

Review:
single ply and soaked through, poems by Leah Angstman
Alternating Current, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, California 94302
alt.current@gmail.com

Here we have another excellent example of fine poems, each one, a panel falling into the next panel: poem for poem they belong to each other. It’s rare when I find a book that flows thematic without changing course.

In this outing, we journey both coasts without forgetting all those little stopovers in between. All the elements are here, and we feel them right up to the end poem—which is the strongest piece in this collection: sometimes gwen stacy just has to die. This book goes to the winner’s circle!

Rock 'n Roll Jizz reviewed in Heeltap

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:21:00 +0000

Rock ‘n Roll Jizz by Doug Draime was reviewed by Richard D. Houff for Small Press Review, but did not make it to print before SPR editor Len Fulton's unfortunate passing. The review was instead printed in the Heeltap Book Reviews Supplement #15:

Review:

Rock ‘n Roll Jizz, poems by Doug Draime

Alternating Current, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, California 94302
alt.current@gmail.com

Doug Draime’s poems hit me like a ton of bricks. The terrain he covers is a familiar ride for me as well. Brilliantly written, the poems go together hand-in-hand like a fine memoir. From the opening “Molly’s Place,” where the juke throbs Muddy Waters and Wolf for the whores and johns. And under a big tree there are two teenage boys soaking it all in—leaning toward life; experiencing death. This one poem sets the pace for what’s to come.

This work lives and breathes through the fifties and sixties. And if you look real close, you will find comparisons to the present. Each and every generation has something to offer. Don’t let this wonderful book slip through your fingers.

Making Love To The Rain reviewed in Heeltap

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:05:00 +0000

Making Love To The Rain by Catfish McDaris was reviewed by Richard D. Houff for Small Press Review, but did not make it to print before SPR editor Len Fulton's unfortunate passing. The review was instead printed in the Heeltap Book Reviews Supplement #15:

Review:

Making Love To The Rain, poems and prose by Catfish McDaris
Alternating Current, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, California 94302
alt.current@gmail.com

There are very few poets who can turn a smile into a wicked grin these days. Of course, I’m speaking entirely in defense of yours truly. The last decade has brought on a new world sense of apathy and disillusionment. Musicians play the clubs to the sound of one hand clapping, and the poets read in empty rooms from their unpawnable chapbooks—yes, I’ve painted a pretty grim picture, and at the same time, left out more than you, the reader, can imagine. It would take a book to cover all the negatives.

Catfish McDaris has struggled with all of the above like the rest of us survivors. If it’s a question of who throws in the towel, and who opts to continue, you won’t be disappointed, because McDaris is a true fighter.

And in this new collection, he won’t let you down; an excellent mix of the work we’ve come to know over the years. There are too many highlights, but I’d have to say, the prose piece: The Nineteenth is a killer! Highly recommended.

The Bloodhound Works Serb translation reviewed on Urbana riječ

noreply@blogger.com (open your mind.) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:12:00 +0000

The Serb printed translation of The Bloodhound Works by David Stone (printed and translated by Ivan Glišić) was reviewed on a Serb literary website, Urbana riječ. The review appears below in untranslated form, followed by (probably a rough) translation form.

Review:
DAVID STOUN / KRVOŽEĐE (ODABRANE PESME) / M.O.D. - Šabac / 2011.

Iz recenzije:

David Stoun zvuke i slike surove i opore, metalno gorke, Svakodnevnice, urezane u našu svest i podsvest, pretvara, poput alhemičara, u reč i njome ih prenosi na papir, kao svojevrsno, grafičko, upozorenje na krvožeđe u nama. Samim tim, njegovi zapisi nalik su na kinesko i japansko slikovno pismo, ali i na pisma mnogih drevnih, iščezlih, naroda, i vapaj su za zgaslom poetikom suživota Čoveka i Prirode.
Dejvid Stoun/DAVID STONE, rođen je 1949., godine u Čikagu. Diplomirao je filozofiju, a studirao je na De Pol/De Paul Univerzitetu u Tel Avivu i na Univerzitetu u Ilinoisu. Živi i radi u Baltimoru, kako često kaže – sa cimerom, to jest duhom Edgar Alana Poa. Uređuje i objavljuje jedan od najpoznatijih i najuticajnijih svetskih fanzina za andergraund i eksperimentalnu umetnost Gavran/The Blackbrd. Dejvid Stoun je napisao 17 knjiga poezije, 3 novele, i jedan pozorišni komad.
Ovo je prvi prijevod njegovih pjesama s engleskog jezika.

Nabavljivo na: ivangl@sbb.rs

Iz zbirke:

PRO
CEDURA

Zločini
Uzgajani
I odgajani kroz
Kamen temeljce
Putarina
Odapinju u naplatnim
Rampama

Neki se spašavaju
kroz led
Ledeni
& ako je za
Utehu

Zalogaj mandragole

Nacirkan
Krvlju zemlje

& neuspelo
Izrežirano suđenje
Sa vrhovima igala
U obliku čiodnih sisa
& podvizi
steroidnih mišica

Rough English translation:

DAVID STONE / KRVOŽEĐE (Selected POEMS) / MOD - Sabac / 2011.

From the review:

David Stone's sounds and images are cruel and harsh, metallic bitter, life, engraved in our consciousness and subconscious, turns, like the alchemists, in a word, and it transmits them to the paper as a sort of graphic, warning krvožeđe in us. Therefore, his records are like Chinese and Japanese symbolic language, but also to the letters of many ancient, vanished peoples, and the cry for zgaslom poetics coexistence of man and nature.
David Stone, born in 1949, in Chicago. He graduated in philosophy, and studied at De Paul University, in Tel Aviv, and the University of Illinois. Lives and works in Baltimore, as has often said - with roommates, it is the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe. Edited and published by one of the world's most famous and influential fanzine for underground and experimental art, Raven / The Blackbird. David Stone has written 17 books of poetry, three novels, and a theater piece. This is the first translation of his poems from the English language.

Obtainable at: ivangl@sbb.rs [Only the Serb translation in print; for original English translation, see Propaganda Press]

From the Collection:

THE PROCEDURE

The victims
were herded
through memorial bricks,
collapsed in tolls

some escaped
through the ice
& crawled to solace,

bit mandrake,

drank
the blood
of the earth

& failed
the censorship trial
w/tit
anium pins
& steroid
muscle feats.

Search tag: The Bloodhound Works by David Stone