DOPPELGANGRENE: dolls

Showing posts with label dolls. Show all posts

7/25/26

In Progress Poetry Manuscripts - dolls, dreams, nightmares, seizures, bodies, death, robots...

I am in the process of being overwhelmed by my own poems. Well not exactly the poems themselves, but organizing them/assembling them into collections (specifically chapbook manuscripts). I guess I've been writing more than I thought I was in the last few years and I guess I've somewhat drifted out of a sort of routine I had of tending to assemble new poems into chapbook manuscripts fairly quickly on an ongoing basis.

I haven't had a new chapbook published in over a year AND I haven't submitted a chapbook manuscript anywhere yet this year. For a while now, I've been working on and off on a small series of interconnected poems that I was thinking I might assemble into a chapbook manuscript and I finally made some significant progress on that this week. I also have a micro-chapbook manuscript that I assembled and submitted to one press over a year ago (from which it was rejected) and that I had been meaning to re-read/revise/add more poems to and so on. So I guess I have two different chapbook manuscripts in progress to an extent, but I've been focusing more on writing individual poems than organizing/assembling manuscripts.

So this past week, in addition to trying to focus on somewhat organizing those two possible chapbook manuscripts in progress, I've also been trying to re-read and somewhat organize all these other new-ish poems of mine, in order to decide which ones to possibly incorporate into which manuscript in progress and now I'm starting to think I'm going to have to create AT LEAST 3 (quite possibly more) different chapbook manuscripts. Regarding the two chapbook manuscripts in progress, half the stuff I'm reading doesn't really seem to fit into either one. One of those manuscripts is focused on women's bodies and I want it to stay short, interconnected, and pretty specifically thematic. The other one is focused on feeling invisible, unnamable, unimportant and out of place, and that one doesn't have to be quite AS thematically linked, it has SOME flexibility, but overall, I do like my chapbook manuscripts to be short, interconnected, and thematically linked to a significant extent. Not just a bunch of different poems semi-randomly placed in a chapbook length manuscript.

So some of my poems I'm reading might be able to fit into one of the current manuscripts-in-progress, but then I also have all these doll poems - dream/nightmare poems - seizure poems - death poems - and anti-AI poems. Some of these themes somewhat interconnect in certain ways and to certain extents, but not to the extent of fusing them all into two chapbooks. Again, I like my chapbook manuscripts to be short-ish, interconnected, and thematically linked in one way or another, so I'm thinking I need to assemble at least 3 (maybe more). 

Anyway, I am just taking a break from reading/writing notes on my own poems to ramble a bit about my current overwhelmed feelings about assembling the poems into various interconnected entities. Mind you, I've been working on this quite a bit this past week, and some progress has been made, but it feels like it's taking forever. I feel like I should have made more progress by now. But at least I made a little bit of progress and I'll keep working on it.

To reiterate, the shorter version of this is dolls, bodies, brains, dreams, nightmares, seizures, death, invisibility, and being overwhelmed, which is way better than being replaced by robots.

7/26/23

It's Raining Centipedes...

Woke up about an hour before my alarm was set for me to get up today and started unexpectedly writing some poem lines. That hasn't happened in a while, so I ended up feeling excited and energized enough to get up about half an hour before I had planned to so that I could try to finish the poem.

I think I finished it, but it feels even weirder and more WTF than usual and includes centipedes (among other things) and also the last collaborative poem I was working on included centipedes too, not sure where these centipedes are coming from, but at least they're not dolls (or are they?).

While working on the new weird poem, I noticed this other new poem (completed? in-progress? I don't know yet...)...that I must have written a few days ago and then forgotten about. Me and my out-of-whack brain waves, but I'm happy I have two new almost done poems and a few collaborative poems in progress and I'm sorry I'm behind on almost everything else.

Oh and I ended up incorporating a recently acquired word for a certain foot deformity into today's centipede poem, so I'm pretty sure that's something new.

Then I semi-randomly looked up centipede socks and found some.

Then it started pouring rain (and thunder and lightning) and maybe that's because my new poem is called "It's Raining Centipedes".

I also found out about Sinéad O'Connor dying (at only age 56), which makes me sad.

She was one of my favorite singers back when I was in high school (and beyond). I loved her first two albums, at the time I felt like I didn't know anyone else who was as into her music as I was, so my Dad went to one of her concerts with me.

In later years, I saw her perform at one of the Lilith Fair concerts, attended with my sisters, and she was wonderful.

Sinéad O'Connor singing Troy (Live) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lV21J75vFE

1/18/21

Recently received copies of The Men Who Made Bonfires (Scurfpea Publishing 2020 Poetry Anthology)!

The Men Who Made Bonfires is the Scurfpea Publishing 2020 Poetry Anthology, edited by Daniel G. Snethen and including a collaborative poem by j/j hastain and me and an individual poem by me, along with many others.

I recently received a contributor copy in the mail with a wonderful letter from Daniel G. Snethen. Some people might not like having their poem(s) described this way, but I love it. 

Here's a photo of the front of the anthology - a scan of the letter - and my individual poem.
.

9/26/19

A NEW Interview with me is up on Cultural Weekly!

Thank you very much to Eileen Murphy for conducting this Cultural Weekly Interview with me about poetry. One of the questions she asked me was why dolls find their way into much of my poetry and here was part of my response:

"I feel like some people view or treat other people like dolls, in certain ways. Or maybe not specifically like dolls, but like un-meaningful, un-individualistic, largely emotionless, relatively heartless bodies that can just be broken into little pieces, thrown away, heaped in the trash, or tossed in a garbage barrel with a bunch of other quickly cut off doll heads."

Read more by clicking this link - https://www.culturalweekly.com/interview-writerpublisher-juliet-cook/

***

Also new in Cultural Weekly, you can read three poems from my poetry chapbook, "From One Ruined Human to Another" (including the title poem), which is mentioned in the Interview above.

Read the poems here - https://www.culturalweekly.com/juliet-cook-three-poems/?fbclid=IwAR3OCyk9E8DFoYsBmM5IaXvXtS5cQ8NdnUkSkuaRyWyc-PNAIHz8LDjjlgE

***

You can acquire your own copy of "From One Ruined Human..."from the press that published it here - https://darkparticlepress.com/bookstore-1/from-one-ruined-human-to-another

Or directly from the author here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/634109226/from-one-ruined-human-to-another-by?ref=shop_home_active_6

8/13/19

Some NEW Notes about my DARK PURPLE INTERSECTIONS (inside my Black Doll Head Irises) (Blood Pudding Press for dusie kollektiv 9, 2019)

rob mclennan's Ongoing notes on dusie kollektiv 9 chapbooks includes Dana Teen Lomax + me today 🖤

"The poems in DARK PURPLE INTERSECTIONS seek to explore and understand gestures, decisions and a sense of balance, including prior relationships, stroke recovery, ageing and depression, and the construction of dolls. “I’m tired of being a last resort,” she writes, in the poem “We haven’t talked in years, but suddenly he wants me again,” continuing: “a suicide hot line inside a middle-aged woman’s body, / stuck on repeat.”"

6/11/19

Poet Spotlight: Juliet Cook on dolls, body, and uncomfortable poetry

"Not too long after I had the manuscript completed, I then started to feel kind of weird about the collection, because I feel like it might be almost TOO confessional in a way that makes me seem really unappealing — not in terms of my poetry itself; but in terms of my negativity, my lifestyle choices, my relationship issues, my body-focused issues and related attributes — but that was what felt the need to come out in this collection, uncomfortable or not."

I have an Interview up today, focused on my poetry chapbook, "DARK PURPLE INTERSECTIONS (inside my Black Doll Head Irises)" and lots of other poetry stuff too.

Thank you very much to Andrea Blythe for including me in her Poet Spotlight!

HERE -

https://www.andreablythe.com/2019/06/11/poet-spotlight-juliet-cook/?fbclid=IwAR1aJQeRKvnEdsuOxJ0-FTY0qjRkl-a0hDfC0vl2fMx4sG_sKpaAXC1f-Oc

5/22/19

DARK PURPLE INTERSECTIONS next to a light purple baby skull

"Will she ever understand
that my doll brain works differently
than her doll brain and I want to escape
being handled by somebody else?

I don't want to have a string attached to my back
connected to someone else's hand,
so that someone else can choose what I do or do not
say by pulling that string."

inside Juliet Cook's poetry chapbook, "DARK PURPLE INTERSECTIONS (inside my Black Doll Head Irises)", published by Blood Pudding Press for Dusie Kollektiv 9, newly available in print in the Blood Pudding Press shop HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/689260672/new-dark-purple-intersections-inside-my?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Soon to be published as a free PDF by Dusie.

11/30/18

"Deadly Doll Dead Dissection" inside my Malformed Confetti and me wearing a doll head

"Deadly doll head dissection. A dolly crematorium, an almost life less
doll. A doll scatterbrained, a doll agitating until it barfs up more awful
doll head gobbledygook. A spitting and hacking doll. Spinning, falling
and flailing inside the doll vomitorium. A dark doll somnambulating and
throwing up"

from the introductory poem creature,"Deadly Doll Head Dissection", which starts off my new poetry book, "Malformed Confetti", published by Crisis Chronicles Press, October 2018.

You can acquire your own copy of Malformed Confetti from Crisis Chronicles Press, HERE - https://ccpress.blogspot.com/2018/10/Cook102.html

Or from Amazon, HERE - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640929738/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_myi?m=AXH8DEUFPPU2O

Or directly from the author's own Blood Pudding Press shop, HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/641070988/malformed-confetti-by-juliet-cook-2018?ref=shop_home_feat_1

photo of author with doll head

11/7/18

MALFORMED CONFETTI has found another new home, next to a creepy doll!

Amy Bee received her copy of my new full-length poetry book, Malformed Confetti!

Displayed beside a delightfully creepy doll!

Photo taken by Amy Bee.

You can acquire your own copy of Malformed Confetti HERE (directly from the author) - https://www.etsy.com/listing/641070988/malformed-confetti-by-juliet-cook-2018?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Or HERE (from the publisher, Crisis Chronicles Press) - https://ccpress.blogspot.com/2018/10/Cook102.html

4/19/18

my way

I got my little reading lists figured out for the next two weekend's poetry readings I'm participating in, because I'm an advance planner, or else I tend to freak out (sometimes I freak out a bit anyway). I chose eight poems to read for my ten minute time frame this Saturday - and then I'll read the same eight poems plus another seven for the longer reading I'm supposed to give the Friday after that. Lots of dolls, holes, slightly gruesome girly horror, blood, red eyes, and rotting apples, because that's the way I roll. Some people might hate my stuff; a few people will like it. I do it my way either way. Hopefully, I'm in a good mood and don't dislike myself those days.

9/24/17

Creepy Doll Head

6/14/17

NEW in The Rising Phoenix Review - Doll Blood Spattering

"This modern doll group is better than everyone else.
Even if their doll brains are evil, mean-spirited, laced
with fake frosting and more dirty than rats.

Even if their doll group agenda is to secretly slink
their long doll tails behind the back of their fancy frilled skirts,
load those tails with venom, then use them to lash out,

to slash out the hearts of individual dolls who don’t fit in
to their scene. If one of these modern dolls offers you
a smile and uses the word love in your face, it is fake.

Love love love love love love love has been programmed

into their pretty rotten doll teeth..."

from my Doll Blood Spattering, up at The Rising Phoenix Review.