I had a wonderful time with my good friend and fellow author and artist, Mark Baer, on Mark’s production of Conversations and Collaborations. In this interview I talk about my upcoming novel Ishmael’s Scroll as well as the creative process for various writers, including myself. We also explore the intersections and differences between poetry and story telling, and then integrate this conversation with my own writing style in the voice of poetic prose. Check out the interview:

I’m very happy that Pittsburg State University’s esteemed literary and poetry journal, The Midwest Quarterly, has selected my poem “On the Day of the Fourth Amigo” for publication. This is a poem about overcoming patriarchy and the cultural/religious thinking that supports this flawed institution. It celebrates embracing the wisdom that rises from our subconscious. Thanks tons to the Midwest Quarterly editorial family, and to this journal’s readers.

King and some artist / activists used driftwood on Carmel Beach to spell out “NO OIL DRILLING . . . SOS” during the Saturday round of the AT&T Pro-Am PGA golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links. This beach is located directly beside the 10th fairway at Pebble Beach. The Goodyear blimp was overhead to get those wonderful camera shots of the golf that its crew does so well. One screen shot and our Artivist project would be read by millions of viewers. This was a fun and clever way to get the all important message out for switchthing from fossil fuels to clean energy sources as being imperative with global warming advancing so rapidly that life as we know it on the planet is placed in serious jeopardy. Offshore drilling for oil has recently been opened up for almost all of US waters. Close your eyes for a long moment and think on the destruction this will cause. Please, get involved, don’t stay on the sidelines. The change we need will not come by simply going to the voting booths. In the US both major political parties are bought and paid for by the same bloated financial interests, one being the massive oil and gas industry lobby. It will take acts of civil disobedience and sustained mass mobilization to make the positive changes that need to be made. It is serious work for us, and with some forethought and spiritual centering on what’s important, you can oftentimes have fun with it.

I am so glad this poem calling for people to wake up to the world outside the bubble of middle class lives is appearing now. When life in the US becomes all too close to resembling Orwell’s 1984, it is time for awareness and action for positive change, poetic and otherwise. Check out the poem on this link to the February issue of Drunk Monkeys: http://www.drunkmonkeys.us/2017-posts/2018/2/5/poetry-strange-travelers-once-1984-set-in-hard-king-grossman

These poems “FOR THOSE WHO TRAVEL WITHOUT MAPS”, “SO GINGERLY WE TAKE THE STATUES DOWN”, and “AMID TALK OF PLACING SOLAR PANELS ON THE U.S.’ VERY OWN BERLIN WALL”, represent a mix of lyrical meditations and a fist raised against political corruption and societal injustice, beauty placed alongside resistance, in my experience, a necessary combination. Thanks so much to The Paragon Journal for wanting to publish them collectively in the journal’s upcoming issue. Enjoy the cover art on Paragon’s latest edition: