The Unruly Muse

SONG 1: "Backwagon Man" (composed, sung, and played by John Modaff with mandolin and sundry string by Dan Modaff) POEM 1: “Another Story” by Hilda Raz, a retelling of the myth of  Leda and the Swan. Collected in Letters from a Place I’ve Never Been: Collected and New Poems . University of Nebraska Press, 2021. https://hildaraz.com/ FICTION: excerpt from “Duluth” by Lynn C. Miller, from The Lost Ar...

SONG 1: Keep The Door Open (composed and performed by John V. Modaff, BMI) POEM 1: “A Wild Hope” by Julie Williams (2014), author of Escaping Tornado Season and Drama Queens in the House . A poetry collection is in process. FICTION: excerpt from “Afterthought” by Lynn C. Miller from The Lost Archive by Lynn C. Miller (2023) https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/6155.htm   www.lynncmiller.com FEED THE CAT...

SONG 1: “ Happy Never After” Dr. James T. “T-Bone” Kelly, from his CD Toast,  Registered France ,  2013 POEM 1: “Calendar” by Jack Cooper, author of Silly Lily’s Rhyming Adventures In Nature (2023) and Across My Silence, 2007, World Audience, Inc. https://sillylilysadventures.com/ FICTION: excerpt from the novel in progress, “The Surrogate,” by Lynn C. Miller, author most recently of The Lost Arch...

SONG 1: Roses on the Floor    by JVM with Dan Modaff POEM 1: “The Landing” by Mark Sanders, published in bosque  journal #8.  www.bosquepress.com . Mark is the author of Conditions of Grace . https://sandersme1.wixsite.com/ FICTION: excerpt from “The Surrogate,” a novel in progress by Lynn C. Miller, author most recently of The Lost Archive .  www.lynncmiller.com Feed the Cat Break: “Funky Strolle...

SONG 1: "Boom" (composed and sung by John V Modaff, joined by Dan Modaff) POEM 1: “War” by Hilda Raz. From List & Story . Also collected in Letters from a Place I’ve Never Been: Collected and New Poems . University of Nebraska Press, 2021. https://hildaraz.com/  FICTION: “Trauma,” excerpt from the novel The Day After Death by Lynn C. Miller. Published by the University of New Mexico Press, 2016. ...

SONG 1: Almost Blew My Face Off   (composed and sung by jvm) POEM 1: “If Only” by Jack Cooper. First published in  Spectrum 2. Anthology edited by Don Kingfisher Campbell, 2016 Author of Across My Silence, 2007, World Audience, Inc.  PROSE READING: “Near Misses,” a story by Lynn C. Miller. Her latest book is the collection The Lost Archive (April, 2023, U of Wisconsin Press). https://uwpress.wisc....

Teasers by John Burroughs and Jane Francis Song 1: "The Edge” (composed and sung by JVM) Poem 1: “Why We Bought a Horse” by Mark Sanders. Mark lives in Nacogdoches, TX and teaches at Stephen F. Austin University. https://sandersme1.wixsite.com/mark-sanders/ Short Story: excerpt from “David’s Harvest” by Lynn C. Miller from her collection The Lost Archive (April, 2023, U of Wisconsin Press). https:...

Poem 1: “Ghosts in my Pockets” by Julie Williams, author of Escaping Tornado Season and Drama Queens in the House . Song 1:  Chalk Marks  (poem by Ivria Sackton of Austin TX, 1981, arranged and sung by jvm) Poem 2: “Comfort Inn” by Scott Wiggerman, from his first book Vegetables and Other Relationships . Story excerpt: from “The Last Usher” in The Lost Archive by Lynn C. Miller (2023)  https://uwp...

Song 1: Deaths Elsewhere (John V. Modaff) Poem 1: “Her Brown Horse Must Rise from the Dead” by Marge Saiser. Originally published in bosque #6 literary journal. www.bosquepress.com Short Story excerpt: “Solid Ground” by Lynn C. Miller. From a collection of stories in process about a North Dakota farm family. www.lynncmiller.com Feed the Cat break:  from Hot Summer by Dave Merrill Poem 2: “Enough”...

Song 1: “The Nasty Song” composed and sung by Dave Merrill with instrumental and vocal help from John V. Modaff and Vaughn Deel. (1984) Poem 1: “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home” by Mikki Aronoff. First published in Love’s Executive Order   (background music Hail to the Chief   by James Sanderson) Short story excerpt: “Everyday Monsters” by Lynn C. Miller. Her new collection, The Lost Archive , c...

Teasers: Ernest Hemingway, C.S. Lewis, and Heraclitus Song 1: Grand Prize written and sung by JVM with Dan Modaff on lead guitar Poem 1: “Window Shopping in Guatemala” by Kelly Jon Yenser, whose new book of poems, Walking Uphill at Noon ,  2022 from UNM Press. Story excerpt from “The Last Usher” by Lynn C. Miller. Published in The Lost Archive , 2023, https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/6155.htm Feed t...

Song 1:  Magic Word composed and performed by John V. Modaff. Viola by Dave Merrill. Poem 1: “Abracadabra” by Sarah Kotchian. Published in ABQ inPrint issue #3, 2019. www.bosquepress.com Her new book, Light of Wings, will come out in 2024. Short story, “Simply Magic,” by Lynn C. Miller. Her new collection, The Lost Archive , comes out in April, 2023: https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/6155.htm Feed th...

Teasers by Albert Einstein, Sylvia Plath, and Mackenzie Finklea Song 1:  Froney’s Museum  (composed and performed by John Modaff with Dan Modaff on mandolin and solo guitar) Poem 1: “The Invisible Woman” by Julie Williams (2013), from her collection in progress. Author of Escaping Tornado Season (a novel in poems) and Drama Queens in the House. Short Story: excerpt from “Archival Footage” by Lynn...

Teaser: Quotes from Ernestine Ulmer, Julia Child, and Maya Angelou Song 1: Shaving Cream Eyes  (Robert Hopper; played by JVM and Dan Modaff)   Poem 1: “One Toe Crooked” by Hilda Raz. Published in Letters from a Place I’ve Never Been: Collected and New Poems. University of Nebraska Press, 2021.  https://hildaraz.com/ Short Story: “Old Vines” by Lynn C. Miller. Forthcoming in the collection The Lost...

Teaser: Quotes from Oscar Wilde, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ernest Hemingway Song 1: Generic Protest Song  (by jvm, performed by John Modaff & Dan Modaff) Poem 1: “Eleanor Can’t Sleep” by Susan Aizenberg, published in ABQ inPrint #6, Fall, 2022. Susan lives in Iowa City, IA. She has a new collection, A Walk With Frank O’Hara and Other Poems , in press from the University of New Mexico Press.  susanaize...

Teaser: Quotes from Louise Glück and Milan Kundera Song 1: “Two Trains” by written and performed by John V. Modaff and Good Enough from the CD More Than A Line (2018) Poem 1: “All That Is Made” by Sarah Kotchian, published in ABQ inPrint #6, fall, 2022. www.bosquepress.com . Her new book, Light of Wings , will come out in 2024. Short story, “Remember?” by Lynn C. Miller. Her new collection of stor...

Teaser: Quotes from J.M. Barrie, Edgar Allen Poe, and the Buddha on faith and doubt. Song 1: “To JC and the Boys” John V. Modaff (w/ Dan Modaff on banjo and mandolin.) Poem 1: “Doubting Thomas” by Scott Wiggerman, Albuquerque poet and co-founder of Los Gatos Press. Fiction: excerpt from story, “How Did You Know It Was Time to Go?” published in Articulated Short Story Anthology , 2016 and forthcomi...

Teaser: Quotes by George Bernard Shaw, Henry Van Dyke, Jeremiah Brent, and Roald Dahl on closets and secrets. Song 1: “Ballad of Mollie Bean” written and performed by John V. Modaff, with Dan Modaff on mandolin Poem 1: “The Last Detail” by Jack Cooper. Published by Bosque Press in ABQ inPrint #5 , Fall, 2021.  www.bosquepress.com Fiction: excerpt from “The Surrogate,” a novel-in-progress by Lynn C...

Teaser: Oscar Wilde and Agatha Christie on in/sanity Song 1:  “Kind of Crazy” written and performed by JVM with Dan Modaff on mandolin Poem 1: “Meditation“ by Hilda Raz. Published in Letters from a Place I’ve Never Been: Collected and New  Poems . University of Nebraska Press, 2021.  https://hildaraz.com/ Short Story: “Flight,” by Lynn C. Miller. Forthcoming in The Lost Archive: Stories , Universi...

Teaser: Opposite takes on the country by Emily Bronte in Wuthering Heights (1847) and from Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (stories written 1887-1927). Song 1: “Saturday” (JVM with Dave Merrill and Dan Modaff) Poem 1: “Memorial Day” by Julie Williams, Minneapolis-based poet, novelist and visual artist. Escaping Tornado Season , HarperCollins 2004, Drama Queens in the House , Roaring Brook/Ma...

Teaser:  Guy de Maupassant (1850-1853), master of the short story, on conversation.   Song 1: “Talking to Headstones” (John Modaff)   Poem 1: “Quickening” by Elise McHugh, Albuquerque poet and editor, published in bosque journal , issue #5.  http://bosquepress.com/book-series/bosque-journal/   Short Story excerpt “How Much Is Enough?” forthcoming in the collection THE LOST ARCHIVE from the Univers...

Teaser: Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), abolitionist and suffragist on Dreams. Song 1:  Just A Few of the Notes  (Paul J. Nickels & jvm) Poem 1: “Earth’s Shadow” by Claudia Putnam from THE LAND OF STONE AND RIVER in press 2022 from Moon City Press.  https://claudiaputnam.com/ Story: “Pueblo Luna” by Lynn C. Miller, forthcoming in the collection THE LOST ARCHIVE from the University of Wisconsin Press,...

Thoughts on superstition from Hypatia, first documented female mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Born 350-370––died 415 AD. Song 1:  Step On a Crack,  written and performed by John V. Modaff (harmonica Dave Merrill, piano/synth Jonathan Modaff) Poem 1: “After Reading the News this Morning, I Turn to the Curses of My Ancestors: A Found Poem” by Susan Aizenberg from her chapbook First Ligh...

Teaser: Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), American novelist, author of Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy , on New York City. Song 1: “Old Joe,” written and performed by John V. Modaff. Poem 1: “Halifax, 1917, Then and Never Again,” by Sandra Yanonne from Boats for Women , 2019, Salmon Poetry. Short Story: excerpt from “Words Shimmer” by Lynn C. Miller, Chautauqua Journal, 2016. www.lynncmiller.com...

Teaser*: excerpts from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925. Song 1: History, Mystery, Love by John V. Modaff Poem 1: “Girl with Red Scarf” by Barbara Rockman, published in bosque journal, issue #7, 2017. www.bosquepress.com Story: “The Dead Know” by Lynn C. Miller, part of “Inside the Archive” story collection, publication TBA. www.lynncmiller.com Feed the Cat break music by John V. Moda...