Two of my new poems were accepted for the next issue of Stoneboat.
They are: “Poseiden Near Burnham’s Island” and “Something About the Stars.”
They will appear in the Spring, 2014 issue of Stoneboat.
See more info about Stoneboat and subscribe or buy issues here.
My new poem Anywhere But Here appears in Issue 73, the Spring 2013 issue of The Louisville Review.
You can see the Table of Contents here, view a .pdf file, or purchase your own copy.
Mead: The Magazine of Literature and Libations has published my new poem Burnham’s Island, Prairie Lake.
Go check it out, and while you are there, have a drink or two with the other wonderful poets to be found there.
Back in August, I did an email interview with a reporter from The Chetek Alert, the small-town newspaper from Chetek, WI., where my parents live. Their online version is a subscription only, so now that I finally have a scan of the front-page article, I can link to it here. They also reprinted one of my poems on the second page that originally appeared in Dunes Review.
I did not tell my parents about the interview so they would be surprised. When they stopped at the IGA to pick up milk and bread and the weekly paper, there I was on the front cover. (I think my dad’s reaction when my mom told him I was on the front page was probably “What did he do now?”)
Three new poems of mine appear in the new issue of South Dakota Review.
Again, Burnham’s Island
Elegy with Great Black Wings
Arriving Home After the Second Opinion
Information about South Dakota Review can be found here.
Three of my new poems can be found in the new issue #2 of Tygerburning Literary Journal.
The 3 poems are: Rocket 88, White Pines, and After Selling your Parent’s House.
This issue contains many amazing poets, listed here on the back cover!
You can order yourself copies from Marrick Press.
My poem June, Post-Surgery appears in the new Summer 2012 Issue #8 of Naugatuck River Review.
Naugatuck River Review publishes narrative poetry from both established and emerging poets from both the modern American and International poetry scenes.
I bet they’d really love it if you bought a copy or subscribed!
You can find out more information about this journal here.
My poem Chetek Psalm appears in the new issue (#16-2) of Dunes Review.
This is a very nice magazine out of Michigan that would really love it if you bought a copy or subscribed.
You can order a copy from Brilliant Books in Traverse City, MI. 231-946-2665
Almost Blue
My car finds it way down to the parking lot
at Bradford Beach. I turn off the engine
and stare out at Lake Michigan as waves break
hard over square white rocks, the spray
landing on my windshield. The local college
station plays the full 7 minutes of Chet Baker
doing a cover version of Elvis Costello,
his trumpet moaning like a dying animal.
I sit and I listen. What else should I do?
I can’t get out of my car and slowly spin you
around the parking lot like I did once before.
I won’t walk down the empty beach anymore
and build ad-hoc sculptures from driftwood,
prehistoric-looking skeletons left to surprise
the morning joggers and dog walkers. Seems
pointless now. So I sit back and I listen, his horn
just killing it, as dark waves break over me
like liquefied sadness splashing onto the glass,
and I’m almost blue, almost there in that deep
place where the music is all that remains,
and the wiper blades clear you away, almost.
Paul Scot August
(Originally Published in Connotation Press: An Online Artifact – Issue V, Vol III, January 2012)
How to Influence Your Dreams
Before bed, take a shower with the same brand
of shampoo she used, the same fruit-smelling
soap. Put on the t-shirt she stole from your drawer
and used to sleep in, then left behind when she moved
away. Go to your closet and find the blue shoebox
on the upper shelf, take it down. Put on the CD
of songs she gave you. Sit on the edge of your bed,
the box on your lap. Wait until the third song ends.
Now, reach down and open the lid. Grab a random
letter, note or card. Read it over several times until
the words begin to sing to you, and you can hear
her voice again. Take out the envelope of photos,
try to recall every detail of every situation pictured
in them. Now, when you are almost back there, stop.
Put the photos and letters back in the box. Replace
the lid carefully and put it back on the shelf. Close
the closet door. Turn off the music. Set the alarm
clock. Turn off the light, and crawl into bed. Pray.
Paul Scot August
(Originally published in Connotation Press: An Online Artifact – Issue V, Vol III, January 2012)
