Too This, Too That

Here's a love poem that was a finalist for the Don't Talk to Me About Love contest: Too This, Too That.

The Bad Lands Spoke

Want to take a mental trip to the Bad Lands? Read my poem just out in Turtle Island Quarterly, Issue 12, Spring 2017.

Mahalo, Ocotlllo

My poem "It Is What It Is," published in The Ocotillo Review was nominated for a Pushcart Prize!

Diabolus Ex Machina

Here's a theater poem in Issue 6 of Modern Poetry Quarterly Review. We hear about the literary device of Deus Ex Machina a lot, so I thought, hey, shouldn't there also be a Diabolus Ex Machina?

Moon Flu

Please take moment to read my new poem,Moon Flu, just published in Abyss & Apex.

Godmotherless

My first poem in Strange Horizons! "Godmotherless" is a speculation about what you do in a fairy tale without a fairy godmother character. There's also a podcast of it. And if you still don't get it, read the Quick Sips review.

The Genius

That's the title of a new poem published in issue 3 of the up-and-coming Mithila Review. This poem received a whole paragraph of review from Quick Sip Reviews by Charles Payseur. He understood my poem and intentions perfectly! How cool is that? Read the poem (or hear me read it on the Mithila site) and then read the review.

Alchemy in Bracken

My poem "I Asked the Alchemist" in the inaugural issue of Bracken, a journal about trees, magic, and other green things.

Poem in Silver Blade Magazine

"After the Circus Leaves" opens Issue #29 of the renowned Silver Blade Magazine. (Once in awhile, there are advantages to having a surname that starts with a B.) This one is about a conscientious scarecrow. Click the title of this post to enjoy!

Which Way the Earth?

This is a poem about and for my father, W. R. Backer, published in Marathon Literary Review.

BICYCLE LOTUS chapbook

My award-winning chapbook, BICYCLE LOTUS, is now available from Left Fork on Amazon. The poems and flash essays (in the Japanese haibun tradition) are presented as a chronological narrative that explores the choices we make to embrace and reject the wild world as we struggle to find our place in it. The gorgeous cover was painted by Katherine West.

Turtle Island Quarterly

TIQ has published more of my poems than any other literary journal. The most recent is "Leaving the City Behind." What is your "love city?"

Intima: A Journal of Narrative and Medicine

Here's a poem about needles. Who can relate?

"See Through Girls"

Remember X-ray Specs? My poem takes a different turn with that. Read it in Slink Chunk Press.