Poet. Artist. Horror Reviews.
My poem, “Linda Blair Dreams of Bees or The Devil Girl Among the Daffodils” is up at Lunch today! And what’s even better is I’m in the same issue (or on the same menu) as my former professor and dear friend, John A. McDermott and his poem, “Report of the Death of an American Citizen”.
Thank you to D. Gilson for a wonderful issue!
I’m all abuzz.
I am so honored this year to have two poems nominated for the Pushcart Prize!
“When a Father is Dying” – Rust + Moth
“Engine Girl” – Amethyst Arsenic and ELJ Editions
A big thank you to these journals and their editors who have not only given my poetry a home, but continue to support and share my work with others.
I also had a birthday! Thus, Marcel the Shell.
Thrilled to have two of my poems published in the Fall 2016 Issue of Glint!
“Butterfly Girl” – https://glintjournal.wordpress.com/glint-7-poetry-m-brett-gaffney/
“The Pack” – https://glintjournal.wordpress.com/glint-7-hybrid-genre-m-brett-gaffney/
(Art by Kelsey Dean, “Two puppies consider the crumbing of Topkapi palace”)
So happy to have two of my poems up at the So To Speak blog this week!
So happy to have my short essay up at the So To Speak blog just in time for HALLOWEEN! In it I discuss the intersection between feminism, horror, and poetry, as well as a couple of my favorite monster women: “Women who give into their darker impulses when pushed too far. There’s a primal power there, a transformation that seeks to vindicate the mass grave of all those sexually active camp counselors. A woman that is at times grotesque and animal. Neither nerd nor pretty girl. Monster.”
The lovely Gwendolyn Kiste recently interviewed me on my writing, inspiration (featuring Xochimilco, Mexico’s Island of the Dolls), and working on Gingerbread House Literary Magazine.
You can read it here: http://www.gwendolynkiste.com/Blog/sweet-as-gingerbread-interview-with-m-brett-gaffney/
Tomorrow I leave for the Southwest Popular/American Culture Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to present my paper “Bluebeard’s Robot Wives: Reexamining Patriarchy and Privacy in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina” as part of a panel on Bluebeard retellings along with Christine Butterworth-McDermott, James Clark, and Mary Elizabeth Perkins. So that’s very exciting! If you’re in town, stop by! I can promise a goodly sum of fairy tale badassery.
The above art is by the lovely Anna Dittmann: http://annadittmann.com/
ALSO, ALSO! My first poetry chapbook has found a home with Porkbelly Press! I am beyond thrilled over this publication. I deeply admire the work of Porkbelly and their journal, Sugared Water, and cannot wait to see my work in their hands. Thank you Nicci Mechler and Ashley Blake especially for your faith in my dearest monsters.
Check out their amazing press here: https://porkbellypress.wordpress.com/
New Lines and Lamps piece is finished! I started working on this one during a trip to the Smoky Mountains with my partner, Dan, our puppy dog, Ava, my parents and their dog, Tucker. Mom and Dad had rented the most amazing cabin there for a week and it was a much needed, easy going vacay. We ate good food, worked on puzzles, narrowly avoided bears, and one day I traced the outline of the mountains from our lovely balcony. Here was our view:
I’ve named the piece “Smoky Mountain Rain” after the song by Ronnie Milsap, a tune that makes me think of my Papa, who passed away this September. Here’s the song:
My interview with the lovely journal, Permafrost is out on their blog! You can read it here: http://permafrostmag.com/2015/11/04/interview-with-brett-gaffney/
So excited to be one of Sugared Water’s Pushcart Prize nominations! And congratulations to my fellow nominees. Here’s the list: https://sugaredwatermagazine.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/pushcart-nominations-2015/
My poem “Hunters” was published in their Myth + Magic anthology from Porkbelly Press. You can check it out here: https://porkbellypress.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/mythmagic-anthology/
M. Brett Gaffney 