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We are honored to share the publication of Taneesh Kaur's first full length poetry collection, "Thawing".

Check it out...

“Splinters”, by Han Raschka, Release

Purchase Splinters Poetry by Han Raschka

Splinters, the debut poetry collection by poet Han Raschka, is out now from Collapse Press. A virtual launch event with featured poets will be hosted on Friday, November 11, 2022. You can look under events on the Collapse Press facebook page for details. Joining Han for the virtual launch will be poets K.R. Morrison, Kelliane Parker, Norm Mattox, Richard Loranger, and Paul Corman-Roberts. The book is available on Amazon here. The ISBN is 978-1-7352669-4-7. $20.00 US.

Book Launch: “Splinters”

Book release announcement for the poetry book Splinters, by poet Han Raschka from collapse press

Please join us at Collapse Press for a special virtual poetry event to launch the release of “Splinters”, by Han Raschka. We are scheduled to release this title on September 23, 2022. Please check out the Collapse Press Facebook page for the event to RSVP and share. (Thank you!) Han will be reading from their new book of poetry and will be joined by additional featured poets to celebrate. We will be adding more details about the features and their bios soon.

Coming Soon: “Splinters” from Collapse

Cover of the poetry book Splinters, by Han Raschka

We are thrilled to share that we are on track to release our next title- “Splinters” by poet Han Raschka. If you have not encountered them before, please check out the book launch in September 2022 and see what some in our community had to say after some background on Han: Han Raschka (they/them), is a bipolar, bicoastal, non-binary poet currently residing in Boston, MA. Born in the Midwest and forged by both the arts and an unhealthy dose of Catholic fear, Han spends their time drinking coffee at an unacceptable time, begging their mother for pictures of their three dogs, and writing poetry like it hasn’t gone out of fashion. You can find Han on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. Their work has appeared in Anti-Heroin Chic, Eunoia Review, Brooklyn Poets and the Lake County Bloom. Splinters is Han’s first collection of poetry. “writing poetry is a lifesaving, life affirming ‘super power’ that acknowledges trauma, sees the multiple deaths that are in store with the clearest vision, and the voice of love that heals the broken heart and the broken mind.” “in han raschka’s collection of poems, splinters, the voices that have the most volume, in the front of our minds, fill the silence with horrorful words and things that should never be spoken as truth. raschka writes poetry in the voices of their tormentors. they are a captive audience to the replay and echo of trauma in memorized detail.” “describing the inner battles to breathe one more breath, we are granted light and peace when their voice speaks a whisper of a lover’s glance, and the promise of love they will live for.” -norm mattox, author of Black Calculus (Nomadic) and the forthcoming Get Home Safe: poems for crossing the community grid “A poem, a prayer,…

Richard Loranger on “Find Me in the Iris”

Richard Loranger, author of multiple books including “Unit of Agency” available here at Collapse Press, wrote a thoughtful piece on “Find Me in the Iris” (Collapse Press) this month. Please visit www.richardloranger.com when you can and check back often. Richard comments on all kinds of topics over there, from books he is reading, books he has written, art, and more. Check out Non-Norm Part 1 and hear about Richard and others in Maintenant. His posts makes us want to buy even more books! From Richard Loranger, poet: Find Me in the Iris, E. Lynn Alexander (Collapse Press, Alameda, CA), 2022 Bottles. Corked. And Closed.Women. Mothers.SuspendedIn their AgesSelves, the slurry sedimentTheir labels going brown. E. Lynn Alexander’s work performs an interesting dichotomy by pushing you almost clinically away from its topic while stabbing you in the heart. The topic, as parsed above: women, enacted alternately as specimens in jars and as “Honey. Wheat. And Figs.” Alexander takes on the essential and difficult task of examining the lives and strife of women past, including her mother’s and, we gather, her own. In doing so, she and the work strive to understand the past in a way tangible enough to be used as a springboard to a future undetermined and a place not yet seen. We are spurred on by the line repeated throughout, “What will the grief of me teach you?” As the title suggests, Find Me in the Iris is in part a quest—to break through grief, to let the dead rest, to break out of precedent, to let the honey be the honey. There’s a lot going on here in compelling language that wavers between rant and chant, but one of the things that struck me most was the book’s “form”. Posed as a series of poems that are a series of…

Collapse Press on Bookshop

Collapse Press Books and More on Bookshop

We have added book shelves on Bookshop, which is a website that provides an online platform for purchasing books while also supporting local, independent book stores who get a portion of sales. We have a shelf set up to help you find Collapse Press books as they come out and can be added, and a growing list of books by writers in our community so it is easy to find books mentioned on our shows, events, etc. If you have ever listened to a poet read at an event and looked for their book, you know that it isn’t always as easy to find titles as it should be. Maybe you forgot the name of the book, but would know it if you saw it. Maybe you didn’t know the writer had a book but might stumble upon it in the list… This might be a helpful place to browse. It is a new platform for us, so we figured it can’t hurt to set up a few lists while supporting independent local stores with the ease of online shopping and shipping. When possible, we always encourage people to support writers, presses, and independent book sellers directly. If you can’t, this might be an alternative. It goes without saying that no matter how you obtain a book, it is hopefully supporting that writer and press in some way. Here is the link to check it out: here ( https://bookshop.org/shop/collapsepress ) We also recommend the Bookshop page of Karen’s Book Row, which has great curated shelves with books connected to particular topics. If you are looking to browse, definitely check out her lists. Karen’s Book Row on Bookshop here.

Book Launch: Find Me in the Iris

Please join us for a virtual launch reading on Friday, July 1, 2022 for Find Me in the Iris, by E. Lynn Alexander. This event will be hosted on zoom and streamed/archived on the Collapse Press Facebook page. This reading will feature poets K.R. Morrison, Taneesh Kaur, Chansonette Buck, Karen Lillis, and E. Lynn Alexander. Please see the Facebook/Instagram posts for more details and links. This is the second book of poetry by E. Lynn Alexander, from Collapse Press. In Find Me in the Iris, she continues to explore the themes of The Shouldspeak Disease on the language of shame and internalized expectations, conditioning, regulating norms and binaries as effacing and modern measurements that are increasingly toxic to both individual and nature. The destructive relationships between reduction and disrespect vs honoring and co-validity have modern consequences. Increasingly disconnected from a silenced but ancient maternal psyche, the modern contrasts of hierarchy and individualism pull us away from our roots and exploring the natural, mystical, and spiritual can be restorative acts of reclaiming. “Mother” in this case is origin, generational and collective, where a consciousness of legacies tapped affirms the past and honors the future. The state of the world is in front of us. Why are we destroying everything at such an alarming rate, turning the corner on so much that is irreversible? Our path is one that rewards extremes: self centered, immediate and empty gratification, consumption, competition, exhibitionism, self interest. To commune and cooperate is to be “weak”, to share knowledge is to lose “advantage”. Where shame is the tool, coerced participation is the result. The desire to diminish and destroy pushes us to channel our energies defensively and we are depleted. We feel hopeless and powerless because we are surrounded by that message. But it was not the message of our mothers. “In…

The Friday Collapse June 2022 Anniversary Edition

Hard to believe that it has been a year of Collapse! We are celebrating our first year of The Friday Collapse with a robust roster of features from our first year. The event will be on the Collapse Press Facebook page, and we will also stream this virtual event on Facebook. Note- no open mic for this show. Below are our guests, you won’t want to miss this. Friday, June 24, 2022- THE FRIDAY COLLAPSE ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Joel Landmine Han Raschka Richard Loranger Cleveland Wall Jack Varnell Darrell Parry Taneesh Kaur Josiahluis Alderate Kelliane Parker Chad Frame Mimi Gonzales Norm Mattox KR Morrison Kim Shuck

Spring 2022 at Collapse

We had a busy but amazing Spring here at Collapse Press with another book release, launch event, and monthly poetry series The Friday Collapse. In February, we hosted features Missy Church and William Taylor Jr. in anticipation of Missy’s book release later in the month. Deathaiku was released, and you can check out the “Purchase Books” tab above for information on ordering. This book explores death from a perspective of dignity and the natural cycle of life. Find out more about Missy Church and her new book by checking out the above tabs. In March, we hosted poetry features Ruth Crossman and Norm Maddox, along with a full list of open mic participants. In April, we hosted K.R. Morrison and Kelliane Parker, who collaborated on a poem for the reading. In May, we had features Han Raschka and Darrell Parry. We will be publishing a manuscript by Han in Fall, 2022.

The Friday Collapse: March 2022

Please join us for The Friday Collapse, a monthly virtual reading series with featured poets and open mic. Hosted by Paul Corman Roberts and E. Lynn Alexander, this series brings poets together from all over to transcend the typical barriers of geography, travel, and access. We typically post the event details on the Collapse Press Facebook page and instagram @collapsepress. The vent is hosted on zoom with a livestream on Facebook. Our features for March are Ruth Crossman and Norm Mattox. This will be on Friday, March 25 at 9:30 EST and 6:30 Pacific.

Book Launch: “deathaiku”

deathaiku book launch, poetry by Missy Church

Join Collapse Press and a great line up of featured poets for the virtual launch of “deathaiku” by Missy Church on Saturday, March 12, 2022. This event will be hosted by Collapse Press on zoom and on facebook live, streamed on the Collapse Press facebook page. The featured poets for the evening will be Andrew J. Thomas, Carla Christensen, Youssef Alaoui, Vaughan Barrow, and the author herself- Missy Church. There will be information about purchasing the book during the show. If you miss it, the recording will be available on the facebook page after it streams live.

“Deathaiku” by Missy Church- Out Now!

Collapse Press is pleased to announce the release of “Deathaiku”, by poet Missy Church.
“It takes the spirit of a death doula and the soulfulness of her carefully enlisted imagery to capture the dichotomous dance that is life and death, shadow and light. In DEATHAIKU, Missy Church divulges the seasons of the departed, the “eyes of death’s final cold sigh” while syllables later, she signals a sun that “rises soft,” breath of a baby and an ancestor within the Law of Three – so appropriately held in haiku structure.
In an era where more than ever, death seems to have the last word, Church bears a lantern for every reader wandering the veil, with eloquent yet humble diction that respects grief and loss while making room for new life, for the living who harbor light in the memory. DEATHAIKU is a necessary read for anyone who values a cycle we cannot escape.”
– K.R. Morrison, poet and educator, author of Cauldrons

Events: Richard Loranger

We are pleased to announce the publication of Unit if Agency, by Richard Loranger. (October 2021) You can find information about the book and purchase by using the top tabs- see Purchase page. We have been working on events to celebrate the book launch, and will be adding them below. Friday, October 29, 2021: The Friday Collapse, Special Book Launch Edition Please join us on Friday, October 29, 2021 for a special book launch edition of The Friday Collapse to celebrate the release of Richard Loranger’s new book of poetry- “Unit of Agency”.This will be a virtual event on Zoom, 6:30 PST, 9:30 EST. We will welcome Richard Loranger, who will read from his new book. We will also feature Mimi Gonzalez-Barillas. Per usual, an open mic will follow.The zoom link and bios, and book information will be posted in the event. Unit of Agency is currently available through the Collapse Press website at www.collapsepress.com/purchase and on Amazon at www.amazon.com/Unit-Agency-Richard-Loranger/dp/1735266914. Get one early and read along! The Friday Collapse reading series is hosted by Collapse Press, with Paul Corman Roberts and E. Lynn Alexander. Mosswood Park- Oakland, CA- November 6, 2021 In person reading with Collapse Press and Be About It Press. Richard Loranger will partner with Natasha Dennerstein for a double header book launch event. Event on Facebook, weather permitting. Live at the Mosswood Park Amphitheaterin the SE corner of Mosswood Park. Be About It Press and Collapse Press are collaborating to celebrate two new fantastic books! UNIT OF AGENCY by Richard Loranger BROKEN by Natasha DennersteinOther featured readers include James Cagney, Cassandra Dallett, Juba Kalamka, Dena Rod, Peggy Morrison and Kai Sugioka-Stone! Collapse Around America- Virtual Book Launch November 13, 2021 Please join us on Saturday, November 13, 2021 for “Collapse Around America”, a final Collapse Press launch party for the…

Unit of Agency, by Richard Loranger

We are excited to announce the release of Unit of Agency, by poet Richard Loranger. Please keep on eye on the Collapse Press FB page and Instagram for details on readings. Richard will be a featured reader at the special “book release” edition of The Friday Collapse on October 29, virtual on zoom at 6:30 PST, 9:30 EST. Joining Richard will be Mimi Gonzalez-Barillas. Open mic to follow, event on the Collapse Press Facebook page. There will an in-person reading in Oakland on Saturday November 6 at Mosswood Park in Oakland. On November 13, there will be a virtual launch party with featured poets. Many of the readers have blurbs in the new book or have contributed to the project. We will be adding the details to this website soon on ordering the book and distribution options. You can also reach out to the author or the press. More to come soon. Here is the page on his website to find out more. “Unit of Agency is a gift of the tenderest rage, rage at its most righteous–against injustice, against inequality, against homophobia, against colonization and gentrification, against the dying of the light of humanity and human kindness. Through his poetry, Loranger reminds us that none of us escapes this life innocent or unscathed. We are bruised and broken with blood on our hands, but we are also together. It is not a bleak view. The riches that capitalism and greed have stolen from us, Loranger gives back with poetry that is rich visually, auditorily, and, most of all, emotionally. These works are both ammunition and imperative. This is poetry that matters.” – Hilary Brown Unit of Agency is a full-length collection of poems by Richard Loranger, one of his generation’s premiere cutting edge performance poets, an artist who writes for both…

Collapse at the Beast – Beast Crawl 2021

Darrell Parry Darrell Parry is a writer, artist and event organizer from Easton, Pennsylvania. He founded the online publication Stick Figure Poetry Quarterly and the monthly Stick Figure Poetry open mic. He also co-hosts Lehigh Valley Poetry’s Virtual Salon, which meets on Zoom the first Monday of every month. His alter ego works in higher education, not a professor, but as one of those reviled peddlers of unaffordable course materials. Believe it or not, he even sometimes sells poetry books. https://www.stickfigurepoetry.com Steve Goldberg Steve Goldberg has been part of the Cleveland poetry scene for longer than anyone expected. Steve has been published in many of Cleveland’s small press zines and is included in the book Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama & Anthology (Bottom Dog Press) and the coffee table book, Hotel Poem, Poets of Cleveland (Language Foundry). As a poetry event organizer, Steve led the legendary Literary Café Reading Series for four years, the bombastic Metrical Singularity Supernova festival, and Broken Pulpit poetry weekend and crawl in Cleveland. He has read all across the country and participated in poetry festivals such as Kansas City’s Unregulated Word, Oakland’s Beast Crawl, the Tremont Art and Cultural Festival, and has been the MC for Rainy Day in Seattle poetry festival. He has written chapbooks, Corner Café Drugstore and other Poems (Inkstained Dagger Press) and sold out in its 3rd printing Tremont Crawl (WhatsInTheBag Press). His full length book, History is An Afterthought (Spartan Press), is due out in October. Youssef Alaoui Youssef Alaoui is a Latino Arab. His family and heritage are an endless source of inspiration for his varied, dark, spiritual and carnal writings. He has an MFA in Poetics from New College of California. He is a quiet individual experiencing the swirling cosmos as it taps against his window in a house not far from the sea. www.youssefalaoui.info Photo by…

The Friday Collapse: July 2021

The Friday Collapse virtual monthly reading for July will feature poets Cord Moreski, Chad Frame, and Cleveland Wall on July 30, 6:30 PST and 9:30 EST. We have an event page on Facebook, Collapse Press. This is a virtual event hosted on the zoom platform with a livestream on Facebook. Hosted by E. Lynn Alexander and Paul Corman Roberts, Collapse Press. Cord Moreski is a poet from the Jersey Shore. Moreski is the author of The News Around Town (Maverick Duck Press, 2020), Shaking Hands with Time (Indigent Press, 2018 ), and Stay Afloat Inside (Indigent Press, 2016). His work has been featured in As It Ought To Be Magazine, Eunoia Magazine, In Between Hangovers, Indigent A La Carte, Philosophical Idiot, Rusty Truck Press, Rye Whiskey Review, The Piker Press, and Silver Birch Press. When he is not writing, Cord waits tables and teaches middle school children that poetry is awesome. Cleveland Wall is a poet, performer, and teaching artist in Bethlehem, PA. She was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cleveland performs with interactive poetry group No River Twice and with poetry/guitar duo The Starry Eyes. Current obsessions include dream life, embodied poetics, ephemeral art, and the power of persistent, incremental change. For more info on The Starry Eyes’ album “The Garden of Terrors and Delights” or on Cleveland’s book, Let X=X, drop by clevelandwall.com. Chad Frame’s work appears in Rattle, Pedestal, Rust+Moth, Barrelhouse, and elsewhere, as well as on iTunes from the Library of Congress. He is Director of the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program and Poet Laureate Emeritus of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Poetry Editor of Ovunque Siamo, a founding member of the No River Twice poetry improv/performance troupe, and founder/director of the Caesura Poetry Festival and Retreat. His collection, Little Black Book, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.

The Friday Collapse

Join us online for The Friday Collapse, a monthly virtual poetry event with features and open mic.