Lowell’s Briefcase
On the seat beside him, in the back of the taxicab where his heart finally stopped, was the briefcase he never lost. Unlike lovers, his great troubled mind, waking in the blue of shame, regret, a locked razor in his hand, this birthday present survived the man himself. More poems were inside, living fragments, lines, verses in a day book mixed with cigarettes, a pair of glasses. Red dust, rocks pushed up by an earthquake, an iron church bell, lines, sinkers, bloodstained hooks, the fisherman’s net was still there to cast on the widest water. His broken body, purple face, were taken away on...
Read MoreFeatured Works: Week of Sep 28 (Survival)
In tough times, the resilience of the human spirit helps us to rise against the most difficult circumstances, whether it be war, childhood trauma, crime or natural disaster. This week’s contributors show us the wide range of coping mechanisms that help us to survive. In “Cohen’s Resurrection” by J.D. Chaney, set in post-World War II-era South America, an unlikely relationship forms along a path to redemption. “Black” by Don Stoll takes us on an adventure with a man who still struggles with childhood fears. “Cold” by Bob Blundell depicts the paralyzing...
Read MoreThe Termagant and the Task Force
She stood at six-foot-four, a miracle, a freak. Most any wooden floor she walked upon would creak. No window, porch, or door was safe from her physique. When she stomped into town, petunias would wilt and greenery would brown and pails of milk be spilt, and weaker walls fall down and have to be rebuilt. One by one, in her wake new houses rose, improved to withstand such a shake. And some thought it behooved them all to let her quake; but most were still unmoved. A Task Force was assigned to meet her face to face and ask her if she’d mind staying at her own place, but she was not...
Read MoreFeatured Works: Week of June 29 (Remembering Lyn Lifshin)
In late December, I learned the sad news of the passing away of Lin Lifshin, who had been extremely loyal to Wild Violet over the years, starting in 2005. The first time I received one of those fat envelopes in the mail, packed full of poems, I admit that I was a bit awed. I knew her name, having studied the Poet’s Market in order to send out my own work, and seeing her name mentioned by so many publishers that I wrote an (admittedly bad) poem about her, imagining that she must write the most amazing cover letters. The truth is, I rarely read cover letters until after I’ve read...
Read MoreLyn Lifshin in Wild Violet
Lyn Lifshin was one of the most frequently published poets in Wild Violet, starting in 2005. In case you missed some of her work, this index lists all of her poems that appeared in Wild Violet. Vol. IV Issue 3/4 (Waking World) – Spring/Summer 2005 Extreme Lavender It Was the Blue Distance Vol. VII Issue 2 (World Voyage) – Summer 2008 Rhumba on the Subway On the Afternoon Before the Photographs Vol. VII Issue 3 (Linked Lives) – Winter 2009 Somewhere, The The Ice Maiden Mummy’s 214th S.O.S. In 2010, Wild Violet moved away from a quarterly...
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