New Release: Wolf Carstens (poetry)/ Janne Karlsson (artwork) ONLY THE DEAD. Latvia, Svensk Apache Press, 2015 (36 pages)

This short graphic poetry chapbook aptly sums up Canadian Wolf Carstens' take on existence as represented in his earlier poetry, such as his first major collection crudely mistaken for life.

The chap consists of two sections. The first ironically contrasts the voices of the living with those of the dead. While the living are preoccupied with trivial everyday concerns, the dead show gratitude for every experience & celebrate life “above blades of grass.”

The second section is a direct appeal to the reader to wake up to themselves & to realize we are here only for a short time & to live life to the fullest. It consists of Carstens' essential aphorisms- life is too short to waste, be ruthless in your pursuit of happiness and the like.

(reprinted with permission of the artist)

The Swedish artist Janne Karlsson has been collaborating with Carstens for a few projects now and their words & images excellently complement each other in this collection. Carstens' language is raw & didactic, Karlsson's illustrations are quaint in a transformative, highly symbolist way. Karlsson's best panels of drawings appear in the latter part of the chapbook. As in the 'Life is...' illustration above, he represents & intensifies for the reader a core Carstens' idea (that life should not be wasted) through a variety of ironic cut & pasted perspectives.

Despite its low $7 price tag this is a quality book. The cover has a smooth tactile feel to it and the illustrations & text are sharp and well positioned on the page.

To get your hands on a copy of ONLY THE DEAD follow these links: 
Janne Karlsson’s webpage:  www.svenskapache.se

Janne Karlsson’s email: svenskapache@gmail.com
Wolfgang Carstens: http://boomfiretruckers.weebly.com/only-the-dead.html

Featuring Donal Mahoney

World Cup

The ISIS Brit

tall in the desert

blade by his side

talks to the camera

severs the head 

of the orange infidel

kneeling beside him 

kicks the head

across the sand

while the world 

has a beer

in its coliseum

deaf to Satan

shouting “Goal!”

A Matter of Business 

Every day at noon

when church bells peal

Rufus stops counting his money

gets up from his roll-top desk

lights a Cuban cigar

pours a glass of fine wine

and looks out his garret window

hoping to see Martha 

his neighbor dead in the snow

dropped by a heart attack 

or maybe black ice.

Either will do.

Too old to shovel the walk

she can’t afford to have it done.

Rufus never thought Martha

would live this long.

When she finally dies 

the property reverts to him

the result of a deal he cut

with her dead husband Mort

years ago when the couple 

needed his money and Rufus

figured they’d die in no time.

Mort was quick to cooperate

but Martha has been a turtle.

Twice now Rufus has lost

good buyers for the place 

rehabbers think is worth fixing.

Rufus doesn’t agree 

but he’ll sell the place in seconds

to anyone who offers the money.

For now, when church bells peal

Rufus lights a cigar, drinks wine,

looks out the window and thinks,

Hurry up Martha and die.

A Night in Morocco

Middle of the night he flies out of bed

to the commode only to wonder 

in the dim light minutes later

if that's blood or simply a good-bye

from his wife’s stewed tomatoes,

a Moroccan dish she found on the web.

When he asked for a third serving

he pronounced them delicious.

So too, he said, was her dessert,

the Moroccan plum mousse

with the dark plums he likes.

Even with the ceiling light on 

he doesn’t know now what he sees 

so with his medical history he's 

speeding at midnight to the ER

where the doctor says better safe 

than sorry and orders a fast

colonoscopy to solve the mystery.

When he finally gets home, he tells

his wife when her boss comes over

for that big dinner Saturday night,

why not make Moroccan tomatoes 

and her magnificent plum mousse.

He may never forget either. 

Donal Mahoney

Nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, Donal Mahoney has had work published in various publications in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Born and reared in Chicago, he’d probably be in Ireland if the English hadn’t sent his father abroad after he served time for running guns for the IRA. Some of his earliest work can be found at: http://booksonblog12.blogspot.com

Mark Brandon Read CHOPPER 5: Don’t Go Breaking My Legs. John Blake Publishing, London, 2006 (214 pages).

On Read’s death about a year ago, I provided some links to his work & life on BM: http://georgedanderson.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Chopper%20Read A few days ago underneath Central Station in Sydney, I saw one of Chopper Read’s books in a bargain bin and finally decided to read his shit.  CHOPPER 5, a British publication, is Read’s ninth book and appears to have been written in 1999 after his release from Risdon Prison. He describes briefly his upcoming film loosely based on his life Chopper (2000) and the birth of his first child Charlie- but his main focus usually returns to his recollections & involvement in the Melbourne underworld, particularly in the 1970s.

Read’s first book Chopper: From the Inside (1991) was hugely successful and is reported to have sold more than 100,000 copies. According to Amazon, Read has published fourteen other crime books which are all still in print. I can't imagine there are too many pending PhD theses on the craft of Mark Brandon Read’s writing. I thought I might take this opportunity to toss your way my two cents worth & critically evaluate the writing phenomenon that is CHOPPER, using CHOPPER 5 to spur some analysis on the psycho. Why is Read’s writing so appealing to his fans? Why is it so appalling to others?

REVIEW COMING SOON