An earlier version of this poem appeared in Bluepepper back in 2020. Wolves Promises slip through sharp teeth like killers through clipped fences. Wolves adjust their dripping neckties and paint red stripes on their fur. This is a truth— everyone is either a wolf or a wolf dressed like your neighbor. Men wrapped in flags … Continue reading Poem: Wolves
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TINY TALKS WITH SAMUEL T. FRANKLIN
The good folks over at Tiny Spoon have a great blog series called Tiny Talks, in which they interview recent contributors and ask thoughtful questions. My own Tiny Talk is up this week. Check it out to learn about the terrifying oak tree in my back yard and other good stuff.
Tiny Talks is an interview series with Tiny Spoon’s talented contributors. This week we spoke with Samuel T. Franklin from Issue 8, Cut/Copy/Paste: The Original! Read his poems, “Questions, Answers” and “Mid-Breath, a Question” in our eighth issue!
Tiny Spoon: What kindles your creativity?
Samuel: When I was very young—say four or five—I repeated the word “bird” over and over until it lost any real meaning for me. It ceased to correlate to a physical animal and became just a weird sound I was making. That disassociation didn’t last more than probably a minute, but I think that was a kind of formative experience—language is a symbolic construction, and breaking the association between word and object can let you see something in a completely new way.
I think that’s become at least one of the main catalysts for my writing—to break down normal associations and introduce a new perspective.
Tiny Spoon:
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Poem: “Mid-breath, a Question” in Tiny Spoon
My poem "Mid-breath, a Question," is in Issue 8 of Tiny Spoon. Mid-breath, a Question Like that time we went driving past moonrise along black backroads and the cornflats sprawled like silver oceans while summer’s skirling nightbug chorus howled around in our truck and deer appeared like eldritch totems roadside in our blazing trucklights and … Continue reading Poem: “Mid-breath, a Question” in Tiny Spoon
Poem: “Questions, Answers” in Tiny Spoon
My poem "Questions, Answers" is included in Issue 8 of Tiny Spoon. Questions, Answers O restless midnight, what happens when the moon bends her wrists and braids silver mist through the trees? When the moon bends her wrists and braids silver mist through the trees, I grow like switchgrassand stretch out my hands to feel … Continue reading Poem: “Questions, Answers” in Tiny Spoon
Haiku in Modern Haiku
The following was included in the print-only issue of Modern Haiku, Volume 52.2, Summer 2021. Snowy branchold skinon my bones
Q&A With Collin Cooper
Collin Cooper recently interviewed me for his blog, Philosophical Rambler. Head over to his blog to read a little about my reaction to my first book being published, how I first became interested in poetry, and the recipe for the perfect sandwich (not joking--it's a great recipe). https://philosophicalrambler.com/an-interview-with-samuel-t-franklin/
Bright Soil, Dark Sun: Listed on Third Wednesday
My 2019 book of poetry, Bright Soil, Dark Sun, has kindly been listed on Third Wednesday's list of contributor publications. Third Wednesday, based out of Michigan, has been a great asset to emerging and established poets for over a decade. If you haven't checked them out, please do. My listing can be found here, and … Continue reading Bright Soil, Dark Sun: Listed on Third Wednesday
Poems: We Return to the Forest. In the Dark Field.
These two poems were recently published here in Willawaw Journal, Issue 11. We Return to the Forest Plagues of minivans descend like locustsupon the blighted forests. Barefoot folk,wearing thistles in their tangled hairand chewing dandelion weeds, tuck geodesinto their flannel for luck. In dark thickets,deer nuzzle pine needles, nervously worryingabout mass shooters at the farmer’s … Continue reading Poems: We Return to the Forest. In the Dark Field.
Driving the Wine-Dark Roads: Robert Wynne’s “Self-Portrait As Odysseus”
You are lost, adrift in the vast, blue immensity of the sea. Greenblack thunderheads are gathering on the horizon, and already gargantuan waves are ramming the sides of your creaking wooden ship. There are faint crags in the distance, unknown mountains of a strange land where monsters might wait with unknown horrors. All you want … Continue reading Driving the Wine-Dark Roads: Robert Wynne’s “Self-Portrait As Odysseus”
The (Im)possibility of Paradise: Marjory Heath Wentworth’s “Noticing Eden”
In Noticing Eden, Marjory Heath Wentworth walks you out to a far spit of dark South Carolina beach, where the red morning sun will set the whole ocean ablaze when it rises. But the sun hasn't risen yet. It's still dark, and she wants you to listen to the sweet hymn of ocean wind that … Continue reading The (Im)possibility of Paradise: Marjory Heath Wentworth’s “Noticing Eden”
Samuel T Franklin 