3/19/24

I am extremely excited to have FOUR NEW POEMS appearing in Cul-de-sac of Blood!

Extremely delighted to have FOUR NEW POEMS appearing within Cul-de-sac of Blood!

Here's the editors description of the poems - The orbitoclast, a tiny hammerhead shark tap tapping us into place. “I was walking through a parking lot” leads us inevitably, somehow, to “I wasn’t sure if I was human anymore.” A standard red horror. In these poems by frequent contributor Juliet Cook, medically-induced terror finds us where we live

Here's a few lines from the poem "Both Similar and Dissimilar" -

I wasn't sure if I was human anymore.
Maybe I was a goose in labor,
giving birth to a subhuman or else   
I was in the middle of aborting my own brain
inside another terrible dream, trapped 
underneath a seeping blue machine
shaped like a giant pill container
with cracked slots that don't keep anything inside.

And here's where you can read all four poems! - https://www.culdesacofblood.com/juliet-cook-2  

Also, underneath the four poems, you can click on a link to learn a little bit more about the poems, such as what inspired them...

3/18/24

NEW! My Non-relaxed "Relax" poem is appearing in the March Issue of Ghost City Review!

Delighted that my non-relaxed "Relax" poem is appearing in the new March Issue of Ghost City Review!

"They will suddenly stab me,
then tell me I'm the one
who is filled with animosity
just because I didn't stay silent."

Here's a link to my poem - https://ghostcitypress.com/poetry0324/2024/3/17/juliet-cook

And here's a link to the whole issue - https://ghostcitypress.com/march-2024-1

2/19/24

NEW! Darkly delighted to share a new poetry chapbook acceptance from Cul-De-Sac OF BLOOD! REVOLTING!

Darkly delighted and creepily thrilled to share that I have a new poetry chapbook, "REVOLTING" accepted by Cul-De-Sac of Blood, forthcoming this fall! 



1/30/24

Another NEW (Mini) Review of my Newest Poetry Chapbook, "Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards"

"This is art of the bizarre and the horrific, and yet it’s strangely beautiful in its vulnerability."

Thank you very much to James Lawson Moore for his mini-review (and photo) of my newest poetry chapbook, "Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards" (published by Ethel Zine & Micro-Press in December 2023).

Read his whole review below and consider getting a copy of this chapbook for yourself (or for a poetry loving friend) from one of the links below.

From the Ethel shop - https://www.ethelzine.com/shop/your-mouth-is-moving-backwards-by-juliet-cook

From the author's own Blood Pudding Press shop - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1653667391/new-your-mouth-is-moving-backwards-a-new

"Juliet’s new chapbook is a limited run, handmade release, out by Ethel Zine & Micro Press. The poems therein are as much influenced by Twin Peaks as they are by the poet’s own inner turmoil. This is art of the bizarre and the horrific, and yet it’s strangely beautiful in its vulnerability. This is a book that cannot be missed.

Juliet Cook is JLM approved, with a bottle of Coke."


1/26/24

A NEW Book Essay Review of my latest poetry chapbook, "Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards" - Violence of Craft: Your Mouth is Moving Backwards by Juliet Cook Reviewed by Mike Bagwell at Philly Poetry Chapbook Review

Thrilled by this phenomenal, intense, in depth, detailed, and wonderful new Book Essay Review by Mike Bagwell at Philly Poetry Chapbook Review of my newest poetry chapbook, "Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards"! (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press)! Thank you very much! I love it!
Here's the beginning of the review. You can read more via the link below that. And then below that are links to where you can acquire the chapbook.

"What form does violence take when it enters us? How does it announce itself? By what mechanisms, what symbols? Are these symbols themselves affected, or are they implicated? These are questions posed by Juliet Cook’s poetry chapbook, Your Mouth is Moving Backwards. Her lines expertly map the terrains of political and personal violence with terrifying and thought-provoking images culled from the realms of horror cinema and haunted dreams. Here demonic dolls, disembodied limbs, and entangled circulatory systems float through lines saturated with even more surreal images, each conjured terror an illumination of the philosophical and psychological import of violence.

Cook’s poetics consistently reside in the domain of the macabre and of over-the-top horror. Even the titles of her endeavors evoke this world: she runs Blood Pudding Press, blogs on Bloody Ooze, and has chapbooks with names like CONTORTED DOOM CONVEYOR (Gutter Snob Books) and Another Set of Ripped-Out Bloody Pigtails (The Poet’s Haven). The poems of this new collection pull from a wide gamut of these influences, from Child’s Play to Twin Peaks, but they also dive deeply into questions of morality and the nature of violence. The unnumbered series of “Flesh World” poems, named after a pornographic magazine from the world of Twin Peaks, exemplifies this range and serves as a centerpiece for the collection. “Your memory is a paranormal orb of love and horror.” claims one."

Read more HERE - https://phillychapbookreview.org/violence-of-craft-your-mouth-is-moving-backwards-by-juliet-cook/

You can acquire the chapbook through its publisher here - https://www.ethelzine.com/your-mouth-is-moving-backwards

OR from Cook's Blood Pudding Press shop here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1653667391/new-your-mouth-is-moving-backwards-a-new

1/19/24

Brain Matter, Real Life Horror, Poetry, Personal Thoughts...

I was working on writing this in stages throughout parts of Thursday and now it has tuned into early morning Friday and I am currently feeling better than when I started it, but I figure I might as well finish it for whatever my own reasons are. Despite the time it takes, sometimes writing out my thoughts helps matters (at least some of the matters inside my own brain). I was having one of those days where I felt somewhat upset for no obvious reason and maybe it's partly Winter induced and maybe my mind is exaggerating things and maybe I'll delete this post soon (or make it only visible to myself). Most of this is feeling-based and temporary. I've had a fairly productive week by my own personal standards, read some poetry, wrote my first two new poems of this New Year (after not writing much the last few months and starting to feel rather worried that my creative passion was ebbing and my writing style was shrinking and I was becoming too normal and dull). I also completed a new collaborative poem with j/j hastain and revised an old collaborative poem with j/j, all of which are very good things in my mind, regardless of how other people do or don't feel about them. But my own poems also might have inadvertently contributed to my upset feelings, because I don't dash off happy light hearted words, and sometimes my poems involve "poetry research" on disturbing subject matter. And real life disturbing subject matter is way more horrific than blood-drenched gory horror flicks in my mind. And the poem I finished a few days ago initially derived from a movie I watched last weekend that ended up resulting in me researching some disturbing stuff for days (stuff that I already knew about to an extent but hadn't thought about in recent years or had temporarily sort of forgotten about). The short version is that my research involved mental institutions in the past and lobotomies. I wasn't sure why my research and my poem were bothering me so much (well other than the fact that lobotomies are incredibly disturbing - but they're mostly a thing of the past - and they're not related to me personally), but not long after finishing the poem, I was emailing a poet friend who I hadn't emailed for a few months, telling him about my latest poetry chapbook, telling him about having completed my first new poem of this New Year, and while telling him about that, it got me thinking... I thought that my upset-ness might be partially related to a past health issue of mine that resulted in a stroke/brain damage, mild aphasia, and seizure side effects. I'm relatively fine now and/or used to who I have become. But when I was reading about electroshock therapy (which basically electrically induces seizures) and how its "most common adverse effects are confusion and transient memory loss" (which are part of my side effects following a seizure), that elicited some discomfort as to why anyone would want that induced. But what is MUCH MORE uncomfortable is that in mental institutions in the past, it often wasn't up to the patients. It was decided for them and forced upon them. AND if electroshock therapy didn't work the way they wanted it to (they as in the system, not as in the patients), then what if they decided to give that person a lobotomy, which is basically like choosing to make someone personality-less and brain dead, even though there body remains alive. I wondered if some people who had lobotomies felt trapped inside themselves yet unable to personally express their feelings at all. Part of the reason I say that is because some people who had lobotomies ended up committing suicide and there must be a reason for that, feeling-oriented, brain damage-oriented, or otherwise. Even though lobotomies aren't done anymore (at least not legally) and have nothing to do with me personally, it is also possible that part of my research and related thoughts somewhat reminded me of research I'd done in the past related to aphasia (of which I have a very mild version, but my past research indicated that some people with extreme versions, caused by strokes or other brain damages, can't even talk normally at all, regardless of what's going on inside their brain, which nobody else would know because they can't express it - which to me, seems like a form of extreme horror). Not being able to express oneself at all, no matter what's going on inside your head, even though you used to be able to in the past. Thus the idea of surgically causing purposeful brain damage (via lobotomy) is an extreme horror story to me, far more disgusting than a fake horror story, because it was real. Not long after completing my email to my friend, I then started working on another poem, using bits from a poem-in-progress that had been sort of random and that ended up turning into an unobvious, indirect, but more personal connection to the previous poem. I'm very happy I completed two new poems, but whether or not this is fair... sometimes putting emotional energy and time into my poetry (which is of course my own choice and what I passionately choose to do) causes me to feel more annoyed, angry, and even pissed off at how many people don't seem to express themselves on an individual level at all and just post memes and clichés and other people's words (which is of course their choice). Other people don't have to care about my personal thoughts/feelings/ideas or poetry, but I can be bothered by their impersonal clichés. Granted nobody has to express themselves personally on online social media sources, but sometimes I wonder if some people barely express themselves personally anywhere at all. I have significantly toned down expressing myself personally online as much as I used to (other than via my poetry) and that is my personal choice for various reasons, but one small reason is it seems like there's nowhere good to do so anymore. I used to do so on blogs (and still do to an extent, such as HERE), but I don't think blog forums get anywhere near as much attention as they used to in the past. I used to do so more on facebook, but facebook's lay out has become increasingly geared towards Smartphones (and continually scrolling up and down to quickly glance at memes and photos and short text-length phrases and respond quickly or with emojis). A post this long probably either won't show up via Smartphone scrolling or will look like some damned novella on a phone. So anymore when I do write one of my long posts, I figure I'm mostly just writing it for myself, which is fine, because it's sort of like an online journal (and I can re-read it/re-examine it later, if I so choose). But it still bothers me on a variety of levels that online communication (and perhaps even real life communication) in recent years has become increasingly toned down (mentally watered down?) into rather quick and impersonal. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what it seems like to me. Even in regards to sharing poetry on facebook (or blogs), maybe I'm wrong about this too, but it seems to me that in order for it show up and possibly get much attention (even from other poets), it needs to involve a photo, so you need to take a photo of or scan your own (or someone else's) poem in order to increase the likelihood of other people even seeing it, let alone reading it. But to me, poetry is about WORDS, WRITTEN EXPRESSION, and READING. I usually share a few lines from the poems (mine or other people's) and a link to where one can read more and even most of my poet friends don't seem to see most of those posts. I don't want to feel like I have to include a photo with everything I post if I want it to get any attention. I like some photos, but I also like LOTS OF WORDS.

1/10/24

The first Thirteen Myna Birds flock of 2024 is HERE!

The first Thirteen Myna Birds flock of 2024 is HERE! https://13myna.blogspot.com/

Offering a twisted mass of poetry by A.M. Potter, D.E. Shupe, Joshua St. Claire, Diane Funston, Taylor Nuñez, Wayne F Burke, and Ken Poyner!

"My guts are bleeding and I'm lonely - Winter is a dragon not long slain - The clay is cracking, flaking, peeling - melody died in my throat - love is an abandoned ship - God's love is abuse - carries dissonance in fifths - cutting it up in slivers makes everyone spill their hearts out - the bleached phalanges of a trembling, titanic hand - only those ghastly phalanges know - enigmas dance behind forever closed eyelids - move through deep space in a planetary system - My hands are bound by a sky that has been dark for days - Soon, the metal, plastic And foam might appear - The radiator cries, but all else is still - the hourglass stops crying - The sky has been dark for days - as I pray for light to break the grey..."


1/9/24

My newest poetry chapbook, "Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards" is now available in the Blood Pudding Press shop too!

"Your Mouth Is Moving Backwards" (my newest poetry chapbook, published by Ethel Zine & Micro Press in December 2023) has now been added to my Blood Pudding Press shop too, in case anyone would like to purchase one in conjunction with another chapbook there... 

Here is a link to that listing - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1653667391/new-your-mouth-is-moving-backwards-a-new

Of course it can also still be purchased directly from Ethel Zine & Micro Press too, here - https://www.ethelzine.com/your-mouth-is-moving-backwards

***

"Damned ecosystem inside
a malformed crayfish crawling out of
this doll's mouth.

The doll's insecticidal eyes.
The doll's hysterical orifices.
The doll's tiny doom portal opening."

in one of the "FLESH WORLD" poems inside this collection

1/4/24

A NEW Review of my poetry chapbook, CONTORTED DOOM CONVEYOR!

Also appearing in the Winter 2024 Issue of Misfit Magazine is a review of my poetry chapbook, Contorted Doom Conveyor (Gutter Snob Books, 2023)!

Thank you very much to Alan Catlin for this uniquely wonderful review!

"So how do you know you are in the crazy world of Juliet Cook? Just step onto the doom conveyor belt and you enter a world of dolls, pieces of them, whole ones, effigies, doll graveyards, of a sort, and well just about anything you can think of short of Anne’s porcelain doll collection (Anne as in Anne Rice who famously collected some pretty scary ones). Basically, Juliet’s world is one of hallucinatory conjunctions, Bob Dylan surreality from his early Rimbaud infused years, sick bags, like Nick Cave, free floating dread like being in a David Cronenberg movie, watching a “Naked Lunch” while lying on Freud’s couch ( Sigmund or Lucien’s, take your pick), under the influence of a peyote dream, high flying whiles suffering new pill side effects. Juliet’s voice is decidedly and uniquely her own. I love it."

Read more reviews in the latest Misfit HERE - http://misfitmagazine.net/archive/No-37/received.html

Get a copy of my Contorted Doom Conveyor HERE - https://www.magicaljeep.com/product/doom/140

Or get a copy directly from me (via my Blood Pudding Press shop) HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1527609127/new-contorted-doom-conveyor-a-poetry


***

And also appearing within this Winter issue of Misfit (as noted in the blog post below this one) is a new poem by me and two new collaborative poems by Daniel G. Snethen and me HERE - http://misfitmagazine.net/archive/No-37/cook&snethen.html


1/3/24

NEW! One individual poem by me AND two collaborative poems by Daniel G. Snethen and me appear in Misfit!

Happy New Year! I am delighted to have poems appearing within the wonderful Misfit Magazine again, surrounded by all sorts of other wonderful poets!

Issue No. 37, Winter 2024 includes my poem, "Hagfish Slime" AND two collaborative poems by Daniel Snethen and me, "Broken Balloons Seep Out of Our Mouths" and "Cosmic Conundrum of Camel, Cherub and Leech"! Thank you very much to Misfit and Alan Catlin!

http://misfitmagazine.net/archive/No-37/cook&snethen.html

***

"The closest I'll get
to becoming stuck
in a sort of container
is a fish being carried
through a thundering fair.
A slimy hagfish
on top a hot funnel cake.

Screaming instead of
quietly swimming
as they try to swallow me
or throw me away
or place me inside
where they think I belong today."

in my poem "Hagfish Slime"

Read more via the link above.