Poem
HULK SMASH
Marc Olmsted
the Hulk is my yidam my chosen anger deity
Marvel comicbook Avenger
blazing in apocalyptic fire
grunting wrathful 4-letter mantras
demolishing years of therapy
concepts of Buddhist attainment
& mastered sobriety
Green...
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Poem
A rhyming rant in the time of Corona
Max Blagg
I want this poem to become as curvy
as the hottentot Venus's posterior
I hope it's worthy of your serious survey
you can see I'm rather nervé, nervous in the service
but tonight I discard my corona fears
so open your e...
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Essay
Russians in Milan
Genna Rivieccio
The Russians have taken over Milan. They of the hearty stock and with their unflappable physical and emotional essence. It didn’t take them long to infiltrate in clusters and then droves. Now that no one else is left to vi...
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Poem
RINGED
Rebecca Weiner Tompkins
I wear the heaviness of my mother’s rings:
the deep shaded carnelian--burgundy
slab--and the veined malachite--oblong green.
I don’t usually favor silver, plus they’re huge
even on my own large long hands.
My si...
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Poem
I Held Her Like a Pencil Drawing
Anton Yakovlev
That was my first mistake.
Whoever expected us to become the best movie of the decade
needs to go home and become a better person.
The rain stayed right where it fell.
Even shadows failed better than we. Perhaps
I coul...
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Readings
Sensitive Skin Beer Virus Reading # 5 – Gerald Nicosia, Emily Carter, Jeffrey Cyphers Wright, Bob Holman
The Editors
Here's the fifth Sensitive Skin Beer Virus Reading live via Zoom! Readings in the time of quarantine, featuring work by:
Gerald Nicosia (MEMORY BABE) - 2:11
Emily Carter (GLORY GOES AND GETS SOME) - 13:57
Jeffrey Cypher...
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Story
Some Thoughts on Party Crashing
Neil Martinson
At this stage of my life, I don’t crash nearly as many parties as I used to. Free time is at a premium, and there’s simply less wandering to do now that I live in Los Angeles. While my two decades in San Francisco proved...
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Poem
Talking Alligator Therapist Puppet™
Sharon Mesmer
I read there’s a talking alligator puppet
that doubles as a therapist.
He is realistically rendered, with velour ruching
and soft plastic teeth.
Sliding pole action enables his mouth
to open up and down, and his head...
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Poem
Wasps
Osip Mandelstam
In an interview from 1976, Nadezhda Mandelstam, the widow of the great Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, was asked if she had any favorite poems. She mentioned two, both written in the winter of 1937: “Verses about an unknown ...
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Readings
Sensitive Skin Beer Virus Reading #4 – April 16, 2020
The Editors
An online Zoom reading presented by Sensitive Skin magazine featuring work by:
Mia Hansford (Chattanooga, TN)
Liza Béar (NYC)
Jose Padua (Washington, DC)
Tony DuShane (Los Angeles)
Online readings every Thursday for...
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Poem
Poem for Gregory Corso’s Ashes in the English Cemetery in Rome
Gerald Nicosia
Dear Gregory, as long as I knew you
They were throwing you out of places
I watched Bob Levy
Normally a kind man
Give you the bum’s rush out of City Lights
Yelling, “We want your books here
But not you!”
(There w...
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Poem
Walking with Steve to the Book Party
Linda Kleinbub
I picked Steve up at his apartment
his was door’s ajar, when I arrived
I don’t remember if I rang or knocked
but he yelled, Come in.
Steve was sitting on his sofa, wearing shades.
He began telling me his stories
h...
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Poem
Lucky, Lulu, and a Cat Named Bo (Cold Turkey)
Phillip Giambri
Thanksgiving, 3:00 PM
Sixth floor walk-up in an old tenement building
next to the Ukie funeral parlor on 7th Street.
Black and white TV on,
rabbit ears up, sound off.
Thanksgiving Day Parade is over.
Santa’s bee...
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Readings
Sensitive Skin Beer Virus Reading #3
The Editors
On April 9, 2020, we had another terrific show via Zoom, featuring readings by:
- Puma Perl (NYC)
- Larissa Shmailo (NYC)
- Marc Olmsted (Portland, OR) and
- Joshua Mohr (San Francisco)
Vinnie Zangrillo (Strong Isla...
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Readings
Sensitive Skin Beer Virus Reading #2
The Editors
A virtual reading presented by Sensitive Skin Magazine, on April 2nd, 2020, featuring:
- John J. Trause (New Jersey)
- Marguerite Van Cook (New York)
- Rich Ferguson (LA)
- Bonny Finberg (New York)
- Erika Schickel (LA)...
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