Poetry Freaks

Proto-punk and passionmad, the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven storms in topless with cookie cutters dangling from her hat! The first American Dada, A deeply sensual poet who, with her unexpected verse and creatively shocking appearance, turned America on its ear in the 1910s and ‘20s. Her poetry lay buried until 84 years after her death—so it’s a marvelous time to be alive and to drink at t...

It’s National Poetry Month 2025! So you’ll need your Personal Universe Deck — à la disembodied poet and playwright Michael McClure—to generate your daily poetry prompts! I outline McClure’s complicated formula and share my own break-the-rules method for generating 100 glitzy words that sound fabulous together AND embody my past, present, future and sensual nature. Poetry is for rebels, after all....

That’s Lord Byron! Passion! Scandal! Peacocks on the stairs! Commemorate the bicentenary of Byron’s death with poetry, stories, and a biography in ten letters. GIVE OH GIVE ME BACK MY HEART. Cover art by Flak Sabbath https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/04/byron-a-life-in-ten-letters-andrew-stauffer-book-review

Of course, we always roll the dice for poetry prompts here on Poetry Freaks! Now let’s take a look at the game that started it all: Poetry Freaks by Seann McAnally. After which, Pete Kelly (Poet in Residence for the Dracula Society) and I read selections from our collaborative volume of poetry, POETRY FREAKS: Poems by the Dice! Grab your d30’s and d100’s! LET’S GET NERDY. Poetry Freaks: Poems by t...

Though NOT the idiot described in “Brief Lives of Idiots” by Ermanno Cavazzoni, Dino Campana became an subject of fascination when I read the segment, “The Poet Dino Campana”—wherein a university student coasts through every oral exam by mentioning that he comes from the same town as the poet—thereby distracting every professor into long discussions of the beloved Campana! And oh, what a cursed po...

Let’s get disembodied in our poetry! Shuck your constraints, poetry freaks, write freeee! In a colossal spurt of vainglory, I read from my new collection, Disembodied! Poems for Wandering Ghosts, available now–a found pile of verse blurted onto paper, nearly all in one night, if I recall. That is what happens in life’s wiggy, liminal moments when you’re not quite certain you belong anywhere. Plus!...

“And who is it rides by night, by night…?” Let’s explore the tingling lyrics of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry! He packed a lot of writing into his 33 years! Plus, we draw from the Dream Whip box to add a line to this summer’s String-of-Pearls opus—and roll the dice for a new Poetry Prompt, Dunbar-style ~~ Mood = I’M SINGING HERE TO YOU, LOVE Poetic Word = LARK Write along! Send to hipnessandoutrag...

Alone on purpose! Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke tells us how to become the poet (if indeed we MUST). Let’s go on a little adventure with “Letters to a Young Poet”—solitude! Love is difficult! Beauty is everywhere! ALL is gestation and birthing! Got poetical doubts? Make those doubt prove it! Ok, I will…right after I whine a little! Rilke! A Poetry Freak of the dearest kind!

Grab your memento mori—we’re going to the Graveyard School! The graveyard poets absolutely PONDERED death and decay, graves and ghosts, reminding us that we, too, must die ~ as they wrote under the foggy shroud of night (possibly in graveyards). Plus: what the heck is mellification? A riveting medicinal history—human mummy confection, anyone? Shudder! Oh, it gets weird, never you worry! Let’s go!...

Poetry Freaks! What do you do when startled awake at 2:30 a.m.? Bounce right out of bed, cook up a decadent poem on the front porch, roll the dice, and explore MADSONG—the verses of madmen! But in a fun way, you know? PROMPT: Mood: Embalmed in Honey Decadent Word: Candle ALERT: Ezra Pound pushes the language envelope: 8:58-9:27 Cover art by Flak Sabbath Transfusion Poetica: Poems & Art Gallery htt...

Hey, poetry freaks! This is your podcast—poetry, dice rolls for poetry prompts, and always something intoxicating! This week, it’s “Three Poems Called ‘Spleen.’” Did you know your spleen is purple? Join the Decadent Poets of the 1890s for a spectacular bout of melancholia! Write along to the poetry prompt: Mood: The Dark Angel. Decadent Word: Glistening podcast graphic by Flak Sabbath send your po...