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Book

Book Review Dancing Backwards Toward Pluperfect | Carla Sarett | Trampoline Poetry

March 16, 2025 ·

Carla Sarett wrote a beautiful book review of Dancing Backwards and Trampoline Poetry published it. It is a very thorough and generous review—I’m sure you will enjoy it. Note that their reviews seems to be loaded on one page, one after the other, so if you arrive on my page in the far future, you will need to scroll down, or, faster, just type “dancing backwards” after hitting control F on a keyboard for PCs and it should take you to the review. Very grateful to both Carla and Trampoline for this.

woman on a trampoline with two kids watching and a windmill in the distance in black and white
Image courtesy of Diode Editions.

2024 Koss Publications – End-of-Year Report

November 10, 2024 ·

red leaves, maple tree, fire rings with mulch and leaves

(6 minute read)

Thank you for visiting. I’ve decided to post this early because I’m not expecting to have any more publications this year. Some folks do an “eligibility post” because of nominations. To skip to the link list, click here. Republished pieces are clearly marked with a bold “reprint” and many are new. I’m including art publications, interviews, readings, and and other stuff just to be a completest, and you can see the visual pieces on my visual Instagram account.

It has been a mixed-bag year which is ending on a very troublesome note with the election results and its accompanying existential shit. There have also been blessings in the form of people, literary wins, etc. with a big gift being the publication of my debut book (from Diode Editions), a very good thing for which I’m grateful to Patty Paine, Law Alsobrook, and Zoe Shankle Donald for. And there were also many other publications, the joy of seeing some of my friends published, some poetry readings, new writer friends, and a good start to next year’s garden, which is worthy of it’s own blog post. ’24 has included, I’ll admit, some heartbreak and a lot of hard work, but with rewards to accompany it.

It’s also been the year I stopped trying a lot of things, and well, I let go of a lot of STUFF, including some dreams. Some lit journals. I stopped counting publications, stopped tallying rejections, and quit Duotrope, which saved my attention for other things. I muted annoying people also, and I stopped wanting to be published by some journals. I made a big effort to be more intentional and not give my energy to people who don’t value it also. Fortunately there are some who do…

I’m hoping to usher in something good and new in ’25, despite the anticipated political and social upheavals. I’m putting most of my hope for America’s future in millennials and Gen Z as I think they embody the Age of Aquarius spirit… and are not afraid of change… Or at least that’s how my Aquarius brain sees it. The fear of change, I’m afraid, is a very self-sabotaging energy, which I feel certain parties have shown over and over. And there’s my big political statement for the year. That’s all.

I cried my guts out over the 2016 election, but this year, I started planning and preparing the earth for a garden, a glorious, scalable vegetable garden, a resistance garden, a fuck-you inflation, fuck-Trump-humping, white supremacist-hater-crotch-rocket-gun-happy-neighbor-vegetable-haven. I’ll let you know how it goes next year.

My book release nearly coincided with the election (October 30th), but it was a joyful thing despite the election dread as some people in my writing community made it matter, and I’m so very grateful. Seeing people share photos of the book online and share kind words such as, “I couldn’t put it down” and “I laughed and I cried,” really warmed my heart. I don’t think I could ask for a better reaction. Also, some very kind folks volunteered to interview me and review the book. Please see links, my Instagram account (I have two), and for this year, my Unlinktree page for quick links to recent publications.

I published a lot of reprints this year, submitted way less, had a couple of finalist awards, and it’s all great. I’m grateful for the journals/editors who published me−and grateful for the nominations for Best of the Net for art. I received a bursary for a Granta memoir workshop which was an interesting experience (it isn’t quite finished). I didn’t finish the book but will have something significant to pitch.

This year has gone by really quickly, and I’m feeling super-run down as I embark on this last leg of it. Thank you, friends for being in my world this year. I think a lot about support and what it means to “show up,” what a mysterious and sometimes elusive thing it has been throughout my life. My grandparents who mostly raised me were clearly supportive, but many others in my family and circle, not at all, so when I found support accidentally in the lit community, well, y’all showed up at a good time in my life. I appreciate you, your work, your camaraderie. I’m sad to see people dumping Twitter, but they may be back, as this has happened before. And Instagram seems to be changing shape and people communicate more there… We’ll see. Enjoy your holidays, if you holiday, be kind to yourselves, and hang in there. We go on… We keep trying… We persevere.

Thanks for checking out this page. I hope you find/read/hear something that resonates with you here.

2024 Art Publications

  • Cover art, Gone Lawn (BotN nomination)
  • Cover art, Memezine (BotN nomination)
  • Cover art, Book, Lannie Stabile When the Forest Finds You
  • Cover art and asemic art, Harpy Hybrid Review
  • Photograph suite of five in Anti-Heroin Chic
  • Two photos, two Wuthering Heights erasures, Anvil Tongue
  • Erasure Poems and Sketches in Sage Cigarettes
  • Two Visual Erasures (Wuthering Heights) in Permafrost Issue 44.2
  • Asemic bird art in Mom Egg Review print issue plus online feature
  • I published a number of pieces on social media, and this was kind of cool and empowering, so it deserves to be on this list (see my visual Instagram account)

Publications Poetry

  • Poem, Reprint, Thin Spaces and Sacred Spaces anthology
  • Poem, “Living with Dead Poets (for Paula Harris),” Anti-Heroin Chic
  • Three poems, Reprints in Querencia’s Winter ’24 Anthology
  • Poem, “Molotov Mother,” Reprint in Diode’s Substack newsletter
  • Poem, “Untitled (Earth),” Reprint in Secrets in the Gardens anthology
  • Poem, “The Girl-Shopping Store,” in Action Spectacle
  • Five poems published in Speakeasy Journal and unpublished (the whole journal) same year (will update with editor names in the near future, but it is elsewhere on this site). This is the “flipsnack” file.
  • Poem, “Three for,” San Pedro River Review
  • Five Poems, Reprints, Anvil Tongue
  • Poem, “Airport Meeting,” Reprint, Duets Anthology
  • Poem, “Interrupta: Two” in Hyacinth Review
  • Three poems, Reprints in Diode Poetry
  • Poem, “The Sounds of Night, Instead,” Reprint in Hyacinth Review
  • Two poems, Reprints in Lillith anthology (the publisher is already “unpublishing” this, so I don’t consider it a publication as much as it was just a really weird, disappointing experience).
  • Poem, featured poet, Reprint in Ovation anthology (the publisher is already “unpublishing” this, so I don’t consider it a publication as much as it was just a really weird, disappointing experience).
  • Poem, “Economies,” Reprint in Bulb Culture Collective
  • Poem, “February Pond,” Dead of Winter III Anthology
  • Embellished erasure poem, “A Passing on the Waste Land,” in Prelude
  • Poem, Red Ogre Review Anthology, Reprint from ’23 December Issue
  • Poem, Untitled, (Earth), Fifth Wheel Press ’24 Anthology
  • Poem, An Alternative Thanksgiving, Chiron, Winter ’24
  • Poem, Giving Thanks, Chiron, Winter ’24

Publications Fiction

  • Prose poem or micro about my ass in Ran Off with the Star Bassoon
  • Hybrid, micro-fiction, prose poem, “The Expatriates” in Harpy Hybrid Review
  • Seven or eight flash and micro pieces, Reprints, in Mythic Picnic
  • Flash fiction, “No One Knew,” in Midway Journal (Nominated for Best Small Fictions ’25)
  • Micro fiction or prose poem, “Wings of (Alternate Version),” in Bull.
  • Micro fiction or prose poem, “About the Author,” in Bull.

CNF

  • “Affection,” Reprint, in SugarSugarSalt Magazine
  • “The Craft of Listening” in Reckon Review

Interviews, Reviews, Etc.

  • Thoughts about a zuihitsu piece in Bulb Culture Collective
  • Interview with Katie Jean Shinkle about my book in Write or Die Magazine
  • Interview with James Diaz about book in Anti-Heroin Chic
  • Review of my book in MicroLit by Elaine Fletcher Chapman
  • Wrote blurb for Kristine Esser Slentz’s feminist experimental book, Exhibit
  • Mini-review of Dancing Backwards by Barton Smock

Award Nominations

  • Best of the Net, Cover art, Gone Lawn
  • Best of the Net, Cover art, Slop Issue, Memezine
  • Best of the Net, Erasure collage/poem “Like to a Dream,” Diode Poetry
  • Pushcart Nomination for “The Theft,” Ran Off With the Star Bassoon

Awards Received

  • Best of the Net Finalist for artwork published in Sage Cigarettes
  • Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist

Book

  • Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect, released October 30, ’24 from Diode Editions

Podcasts

  • Eat the Storms Season 9

Readings

  • Midway at the Fine Arts Building, Chicago, October ’24
  • European Writers Salon, October ’24

*Note if you are here considering eligibility, my ’23 year-end publication list is here!

Publishing Day – Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect

November 10, 2024 ·

graphic of aerial view and birds on wire with book cover replicated and publication day for Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect

Today (October 30th) is the birth of my official Scorpio poetry book (I didn’t plan this), Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect, published by Diode Editions. It’s now shipping, and if you pre-ordered, you probably already received yours. Note I am a bit late in posting this as I have been giving myself a post-election breather.

I’m really touched by all the support this book has received. Lots of wonderful photos shared on social. A couple of people said they “couldn’t put it down,” that they “read it right away,” that it “made them laugh and cry.” Not sure what more I could ask for.

The book is about queerness, abandonment, loss, and grief, all the kinds. I have intended to sell it here in bundles with prints, but I am behind in everything, and still finishing up a Granta workshop. In the new year, I’ll hopefully get it together. But I do have copies if you’d like a signed one (DM me on social), and for unsigned copies, find them on Diode’s site. It’s 12 dollars, plus reasonable shipping for U.S. If you are interested in using the book for say, a queer poetics course, you can write Diode for discount information–same for international shipping. I know they have one other option. I hope to release this in digital form, but we’ll see… Thanks for all your support. And hang in there. I think community is one of the things essential to navigating these times. Thanks to those of you who have been part of my community.

Koss 2024 Publications Third Quarter Update

September 30, 2024 ·

white gull on brown leaves with rocks
Gull, Cheshire, England, Ⓒ Koss 2018

September is here, and I thought I’d share a few thoughts as eclipse season approaches.

artwork watercolor digital red maple leaf

Along with some publications the past few months, I received some finalist news, a couple personal and professional blows, and some Best of the Net nominations for art! As is always the case, success comes in small packets and with plenty of rejection. I feel very grateful for all of it, even the non-wins as they give me perspective, and also for the small and wonderful community I’ve been invited into online−folks who help sustain me and make writing worthwhile. Having a community, plus lit and art things to look forward to has kept me going through losses, through COVID, and through some of the most difficult times of my life. I’m so very grateful for this.

Feeling bad for those impacted by the hurricane. I hope you and yours are safe.

I have been in a Granta memoir workshop which lasts ’til mid-November, so I haven’t been very active on social. With the election coming, this is a good time to not be on it, to be honest. I’ve lived through too much as a queer at election time to be open to any ‘splaining by ANYONE. I don’t have the emotional energy for it this time around. For me, this feels like the most existential of elections in my lifetime. That’s all I have to say.

‘Nuff of my discursions, I promised some updates, so here they are in a digestible list with links where appropriate. Happy fall to you and sending you love and wishes for joy, peace, painless and purposeful eclipses, safety, and good health. Thank you, as always, for stopping by.

2024 3rd Quarter Koss Stuff

  • Kristine Esser Selentz’s important Exhibit book release (I was fortunate to contribute a blurb).
  • Diode’s Substack publishing of my poem “Molotov Mother.”
  • Anti-Heroin Chic published my poem, “Living With Dead Poets,” a tribute to Paula Harris.
  • Hyacinth Review published my poem, “Interrupta: Two.”
  • Two poems published in Fallen, edited by Jimmy Broccoli, then changed to Lilith.
  • Received Best of the Net nomination for cover art from Gone Lawn.
  • Prose poem about my ass in Ran Off With the Star Bassoon.
  • List poem appeared in Red Ogre Review anthology.
  • Cover art nominated for Best of the Net by The Memezine.
  • Best of the Net 2024 finalist for art published in Sage Cigarettes.
  • Best of the Net nomination for erasure/collage/drawing in Diode last year.
  • Upcoming reading with Midway Journal in Chicago at the Art Center (Oct. 24).
  • Upcoming reading with The European Salon (Oct. 7).
  • Thin Places and Sacred Spaces anthology released (I have work in it).
  • A bunch of rejections (on sub hiatus now−am satiated).
  • My book, Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect is in. I will be selling signed copies here (very soon), but it is also available to purchase on Diode’s site. Note I will also be selling some prints of my visual poetry and other works in bundles (soon).
  • I will be on an upcoming Eat the Storms podcast (out of Ireland). More details soon! Check out my previous one from a couple years ago here.
  • I did an interview with Katie Jean Shinkle for Write or Die that will be published in October. If you haven’t checked out Write or Die, they are happening!

Ⓒ Koss, 2024. All rights reserved.

Molotov Mother | Poem | Koss | Diode Editions

July 13, 2024 ·

I’m honored to have another preview of poems from my forthcoming chapbook, “Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect” in Diode’s Substack newsletter, “All Things Diode.” Also find a cover reveal (cover by Law Alsobrook), and other Diode news, including contest information. You can sign up for their newsletter here also! Also, you can preorder the book now. It will be out in October (or sooner)!

vintage yellow volkswagon beetle bug with weathered building, brick road, and promo text for molotov mother, a poem
“Molotov Mother” poem promo from book, Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect

Diode Substack Newsletter | Koss Book Update

February 3, 2024 ·

Pink cartoon nerdy person with glasses and striped t-shirt with book title also in pink.

I haven’t really talked online about what my forthcoming chapbook, Dancing Backwards Towards Pluperfect, is about, but you can read the book description on Diode Editions’ Substack which also showcases my “Therapist Sez” poem, first published in diode poetry and winner of the 2021 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry contest. Know you can also sign up for “All Things Diode,” Diode’s Substack newsletter here!

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Book Review Dancing Backwards Toward Pluperfect | Carla Sarett | Trampoline Poetry

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