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.

NEW! I am pleased to have another new poem appearing in MasticadoresUSA!

"Based on what? Based on who?
I don't believe in the same god as you.

I sometimes believe in poetry,
even if hardly anyone seems to care or understand
what I'm trying to share or why."

in my poem "Traditional Assumptions", which is newly appearing in MasticadoresUsa today

you can read more here - https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/traditional-assumptions-by-juliet-cook/

NEW! I am delighted to have a new poem appearing in The Rye Whiskey Review!

"My recent online research has involved
how to know if a cat likes you,
but also poisonous jellyfish,
inadvertently leading towards
a trending jellyfish haircut
combined with cancerous wigs."

within my poem "I Might Get the Jellyfish Haircut", which is newly appearing in the Rye Whiskey Review, the first of three new poems of mine chosen to appear there

read more here - https://ryethewhiskeyreview.blogspot.com/2026/05/i-might-get-jellyfish-haircut-by-juliet.html

NEW! The First Thirteen Myna Birds Flock of 2026 is HERE...

It has been a while, but in this month of March 2026, I am finally unveiling a new Thirteen Myna Birds flock, the first of this year!

Starting with thirteen new poems by Jason Ryberg, Donna Pucciani, Mark J. Mitchell, Joshua Walker, SJ Harrold, and Maceo Nightingale.

All HERE - http://13myna.blogspot.com/

***

"Too much reality hurt and cold facts couldn’t be climbed - Her branch has vanished - keys dangled from a skinny wrist - voices bleed downstage - in darkening offices and bedrooms all over America - guilt that moves because it must - a document now shredded - sending what’s left of their leaves to scatter in every direction - clues that get missed, like dull sets that fly to darkness - the goddamn cynics and nihilists - Red eyed rats coughed out tracking devices - Life begins as a wriggly maggot - worms slithered out a bleeding heart - The years rot slow in mason jars - sudden tragedy, or the inexplicable prospect of non-being"

***

I still have a lot more submissions in my inbox to read and consider and respond to in phases and I am hoping to add MORE creative work to this Myna Birds flock at different times in March and April, so stay tuned.

But for now, these are your starting thirteen, which will stay up at least throughout March and April (probably longer) with more poems and art added to the mix from time to time.

NEW! I am delighted to have a new short poem, "Haunted Escape" appearing in Luna Luna Magazine!

"Grim husks drift apart
so the insides can escape
but where do they go?"

from my poem "Haunted Escape", newly appearing in Luna Luna Magazine 

read more here (and read the other poems there too) - https://www.lunalunamagazine.com/blog/poetry-juliet-cook

Thank you very much to Lisa Marie Basile. I am delighted to be included in Luna Luna.

NEW! Excited and delighted to have a new poem running around the darkly delicious Cul-de-sac of Blood!

"Old doll head cracked with
evil fossil stuck inside
like expired cream

filling spilling out."

in my poem "Another Pie in the Face"

Delighted this poem is running around the darkly delicious Cul-de-sac of Blood track, HERE! - https://www.culdesacofblood.com/juliet-cook-5

***

Speaking of Cul-de-sac of Blood and unsettling poetry, you can still acquire my poetry chapbook, "REVOLTING", which was published by Cul-de-sac of Blood last year, directly from the Cul-de-sac HERE - https://www.culdesacofblood.com/books

Or from my own Blood Pudding Press shop HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1851916682/new-revolting-by-juliet-cook-2024-poetry

NEW! I am delighted to have two poems newly appearing in Misfit Magazine Issue No. 40, Summer 2025!

"This flesh ripped inside dreams or is it
part of reality now? This headless body.
This bodiless head like some form of contraband
floating above the broken red
bed frames in the dark space
with shrapnel firing inside the cylinder
of my brain. Let's rock. I can't drive
my way out of this collision course."

the beginning of my poem "Dream State Collision Course Filled With Secrets", one of two of my poems newly appearing in Misfit Magazine Issue No. 40, Summer 2025

read more HERE - http://misfitmagazine.net/archive/No-40/Cook.html ***

Also in the Books Received and Acknowledged section of this issue of Misfit, is a small Review of my poetry chapbook "REVOLTING" (Cul-de-sac of Blood, 2024). Thank you very much to Alan Catlin. "Cook is master of disambiguation, of obsessive images featuring detached body parts, doll’s heads, and the like, sort of like a nightmare of disarticulating dream states. Often the reader feels as if the words, the body parts in the poems are revolting against the poem/the self. It’s uncomfortable but it’s always eye opening and intriguing. Not your standard poetic fare."

If interested, you can acquire your own copy of "REVOLTING" from the publishers here - https://www.culdesacofblood.com/books

Or within my own Blood Pudding Press shop here - https://www.etsy.com/listing/1851916682/new-revolting-by-juliet-cook-2024-poetry

NEW! I am delighted to have "My Own" new poem appearing In Conversation at The Literary Underground!

I am delighted to have a new poem appearing In Conversation at The Literary Underground! - https://theliteraryunderground.org/blog/2025/06/04/my-own-by-juliet-cook/
"My Own"!
Thank you very much to Michele McDannold!

Sometimes the larger scheme of things can feel a little bit pointless to me, but at least in the larger scheme of whatever the hell, I'm my own pair of socks...

A NEW Thirteen Myna Birds Flock has finally arrived!

 Hello from Thirteen Myna Birds!

"Voice turned screechy, my soft hands, now hard claws - in the stations of silence, the static in between channels - The rain drizzles on - to be content to exist for however long - longer than the moth who burns itself out in light - she wears an officer’s silver jumpsuit, laser gun in her belt - and I explode inside - My face has changed to skull-bone, covered in a hard shell - the moment I put the pen to it the page bursts into flames - Lost in a burned prairieland - sidewalk rubbish floating up at ya like attack-ghosts - a wall that needs to be fed Blood - A tiny white flower blooms Against all the dark noises..."

***

It has been quite a while since a new Thirteen Myna Birds flock has arrived, but better late than never, I hope.

Within this new Thirteen Myna Birds flock, you can Spring into poetry and visual art by MISH - read some poetry by John Andrew Fredrick and listen to some music from his band, the black watch - and read some poetry by Holly Day, Wayne F Burke, Alexandra Dark, Yuan Changming, and James Moran.

Look, listen, and read it all HERE - https://13myna.blogspot.com/

***

(I'm also semi-tentatively thinking that instead of waiting months for the next new Myna Birds update, I might continually add a few new poems to this flock within the Poetry Month of April. This new flock of 21 creative contributions will stay up AT LEAST throughout the whole month of April, but additional poems might join the flock throughout that month.)

Wednesday by MISH

Hello September! I hope my Fall is filled with poetry and a few other personal thoughts...

My full-length poetry book "Malformed Confetti" is now approaching 6 years old (already) and still exists (see the photo links below). I still exist too.

I do tend to assemble poetry chapbook manuscripts more than full-length manuscripts. I've had 8 different chapbook manuscripts published in the last 6 years (with another new one forthcoming soon), but this book is still my most recent full-length. It takes me a long time to assemble full-lengths and overall, I'm more drawn to shorter length books. I have my reasons. BUT with that said, I should really try to focus on assembling my next full-length manuscript soon. It's been in-progress for years.

I've been having trouble sleeping soundly lately, so the other night in bed (while not sleeping), I was thinking about how my first individual full-length poetry book was named "Horrific Confection" and then my second one was named "Malformed Confetti" and then it suddenly and unexpectedly popped into my noggin that maybe my next one should be named "Broken Stethoscope". Not sure exactly where that came from, but it felt like a possible plan.

The last few months have not been my most creatively productive, but this month is off to a pretty good start. I've already sent out five poetry submissions this month and one query (I'm not the greatest at querying). I finished writing three semi-interconnected new poems. I finished revising an older poem (and have two more poem revisions in progress). I also have two other new poems in progress that I hope to revisit more soon. Oh wait, actually, I sent out six poetry submissions so far this month, but one of them resulted in a rejection about three hours after submitting it. So hopefully I'll receive a new acceptance semi-soon.

I have more to say but it will have to wait until later.

One more thing I will mention for now (without getting into much detail as to why) is that I am trying to avoid volatile negativity on social media or behavior that feels toxic to me whatever its intention might be. I would rather place my negativity, anger, and other strong emotions inside my poetry and art (and the few people I trust in terms of expressing myself personally). Of course there are always exceptions.

I wish my friends a genuinely creative September.

A photo of my 6 Year old poetry book, Malformed Confetti (published by Crisis Chronicles in 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 my own Blood Pudding Press shop, HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/641070988/malformed-confetti-by-juliet-cook-2018?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Poetry by Juliet Cook

Gorgeous cover art by Simona Candini.

Photo taken by Crisis Chronicles Press editor, John Burroughs

NEW Blood Pudding Press 2024 Poetry Chapbook! WHITE OCTOPUS by Davide Nixon!

"Where has my
heart gone?
Down with the
black seaweed
into the trench-
it is gone."

in the poem "White Octopus"

in the NEW Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook,
WHITE OCTOPUS by Davide Nixon!

The first new Blood Pudding Press poetry chapbook of 2024, available in two different cover art options!

Find out more and acquire your copy in the  Blood Pudding Press shop HERE - https://www.etsy.com/shop/BloodPuddingPress

NEW! My poem "Sleep Deprivation Becomes You" is having trouble sleeping in Buffalo 8!

I'm sharing this kind of late at night, because it's just been one of those off-kilter sort of days, BUT I am very excited to have a poem appearing in the new volume 3 of buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.

This poem, "Sleep Deprivation Becomes You" actually seems like a good poetic partial description of my mental/emotional state lately. Sigh.

But I am pleased to have it making an appearance inside buffalo 8!

Read it HERE - https://buffalojournal.tumblr.com/post/749736210759647232/sleep-deprivation-becomes-you

A New Spring Flock of Thirteen Myna Birds is HERE!

Happy end of March, launching into April's Poetry Month with a new flock of Thirteen Myna Birds!

Poetry and art by Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, Wayne F Burke, MISH, Kathryn Burkett, Merritt Waldon, Alex S. Johnson, and E. Martin Pedersen!

All HERE: https://13myna.blogspot.com/

the sun breaks through chunks of obsidian - to look at her drawings of flying penises - poisoned river raging in her quivering heart - metal smile awash in her spurting blood - torn apart and in darkness - In darkness my body feels less exposed - I’m tangled up with my invisible-but-evil twin - Her motionless body on the bed - not lifeless—not yet - We’ve all been poisoned - The culturally relevant now like pink Elephants & clowns - He’s got a secret fishing hole, which he currently can’t get to - She sees stars behind shaded eyes - gatekeeping foam while bodies sleep on beach blankets, tented blue dimensions - In a multidimensional multireality Multiconsciousness dream of the future - steel teeth chewing through - all strange parades of weightless flesh packed in black vinyl - In a language no one speaks - as the long shadows crawl and the tide comes in - Vibrating with muses On the edge of midnight...

L'Inferno by MISH

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

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..."

Age and the speed racing of time (and poetry)...

I try not to go on about age too much (because I don't really care about age too much - except for when it comes to the ridiculously speed-racing passage of time and how fast every year seems to fly by - and how I think for a lot of us, every year goes by so fast that our age is older than we feel FOR YEARS). And then of course, further approaching the progression of impending death.

But since I just turned 51 this week and since I thus stated my age on a few photos I put up online, maybe that's part of the reason why a photo post from a poet friend showed up in my fb Newsfeed and said he was about to turn 31, which then caused me to feel a bit weird about him being so much younger than me (in terms of age, anyway), because I don't tend to think of or view people as being much younger or older, unless they're way younger or older (or act like a kid or a parent in all their interactions).

And so 30 doesn't sound particularly young or old to me; it just sounds like a number. But it's a number that's currently 20 years younger than my number, which escalates the speed-racing passage of time! And also, backtracking in time, I remember having a freak out when I was about to turn 30! And now I've just turned 51! And even though me being 30 feels like quite a while ago now and a whole different part of my life, it doesn't feel like more than 20 years ago! I mean, I still have a lot of significant memories associated with parts of my life in my 20's...and 30's...and 40's... but now I'm in a different decade already.

In a way, it feels a bit weird when a lot of the poets who are getting attention are now 20 years (or more than 20 years) younger than me. But I mean...I was writing and getting published 20 years ago (and more than 20 years ago) too. I was getting published in my twenties, too. But then even more in my thirties and beyond. I thought my poetry really started flourishing (as in, coming out more naturally) at age 33. I think my first full-length poetry book was published when I was 35. Prior to that, I'd had quite a few poetry chapbooks published.

I'm one of those writers who has always loved chapbooks, small presses, indie presses and always will. I think I'll always remain focused on chapbooks. I've had two chapbooks published this year, another one forthcoming soon, and another new chapbook manuscript that I'm currently submitting. I also have a collaborative full-length manuscript I'm submitting and an individual full-length manuscript in-progress, but I seem to have a harder time with full-length manuscripts, both in terms of assembling them (it just takes me a while) and in terms of submitting them (I'm not paying big reading fees or submitting to presses that don't even tell you what happens if they accept your manuscript or that only give you one free copy of your own book).

But now I'm rambling in a different direction when I was supposed to be talking about the speed racing of time. For example, my last individual full-length poetry book was published 5 years ago now and that does not feel like 5 years ago!

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 

CONTORTED DOOM CONVEYOR, a NEW poetry chapbook by Juliet Cook is coming soon from Gutter Snob Books and is now available for preorder!

My Gutter Snob Books poetry chapbook, "CONTORTED DOOM CONVEYOR" is now available for you to RESERVE YOUR COPY (limited edition) and will exist in July!

Thank you very much to Gutter Snob and poet/editor Michele McDannold! Here's what Michele McDannold posted (including a photo) which also includes the preorder link! ***

LAST but certainly not least, the FINAL title from Gutter Snob Books --Contorted Doom Conveyor by Juliet Cook-- can be reserved now. Cover Art by Juliet! signed, limited edition...book releases 7/23

https://www.magicaljeep.com/product/doom/140

Juliet Cook's poetry has appeared in a small multitude of print and online publications. She is the author of numerous poetry chapbooks, recently including "Another Set of Ripped-Out Bloody Pigtails" (The Poet's Haven, 2019), "The Rabbits with Red Eyes" (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2020), "Histrionics Inside my Interior City" (part of Ghost City Press's Summer Micro-Chapbook Series, 2020), and "red flames burning out" (Grey Book Press, April 2023). She also has another new chapbook, "Your Mouth is Moving Backwards" forthcoming from Ethel Zine & Micro Press (tentatively in October 2023).

Cook's first full-length poetry book, “Horrific Confection", was published by BlazeVOX. Her most recent full-length poetry book, "Malformed Confetti" was published by Crisis Chronicles Press in 2018.

Cook's own tiny independent press, Blood Pudding Press, sometimes publishes hand-designed poetry chapbooks.

Cook also sometimes creates abstract painting collage art hybrid creatures.

A new flock of Thirteen Myna Birds is here! Happy Poetry Month!

It's been a little while since a new Thirteen Myna Birds flock has arrived, but now it is finally HERE - https://13myna.blogspot.com/

The second of this year!

Happy Poetry Month! https://13myna.blogspot.com/

New poetry by Gale Acuff, F.J. Bergmann, Terry Trowbridge, E. Martin Pedersen, Beret LaBrecque, Michael Grover, Daniel Snethen, David Henson, Mike Hackney, and John Grey!

"they'll all go to Heaven when they croak but I'll go to Hell, at least I'll be special in some way - the black wings of the newborns are torn so they cannot fly - in the flower garden of goodbyes - Lurking toxins accumulating, molecule by molecule, invisible doom seeping up - grisly, no pretty words just drops of blood - as she stands before me in her bloodied apron - Fingernails cut scars across our innocence - A statue shows us frozen in agony - Straining to escape our fate - Now we're all still alive but already I'm alone and it doesn't matter where - drive me toward the pit of flaming oil - the signals of risk, like a nocturnal animal seen fearless and staggering at noon - See the battles going on around them - I mean, so much blood students smear it on themselves - the poor cat who got mauled trying to sneak her way past - Would you think you knew me better if you could see my past and future? - I have not been terrified of dying in a long time - But I am terrified of how numb I am to the idea of dying - Solipsism incarnated in balloons - sleeping with rats on the Commons - I find myself astride Envy and change horses in midstream..."

Read the new flock HERE - https://13myna.blogspot.com/

Me holding a copy of the new poetry anthology "Writing the Self-Elegy - The Past Is Not Disappearing Ink"!

Me holding a copy of "Writing the Self-Elegy - The Past Is Not Disappearing Ink", edited by Kara Dorris (published by Southern Illinois University Press).

This is a poetry anthology, featuring more than 25 different poets, offering poems, short essays, and writing prompts.

I am delighted to be included, with three poems ("Deadly Doll Head Dissection" - "Self Portrait as a Slab on a Slab" - "Un-sided Self Portrait"), my essay ("Broken Doll Hands that had to Grow New Fingers") and my writing prompt ("Try It Yourself(ie): Word Control").

I am delighted to be in the company of many other wonderful and amazing and unique poets (and their poems, essays, writing prompts).

You can find out more and/or purchase a copy for yourself (or possibly for your classroom if you're a writing or English teacher) here - http://siupress.siu.edu/books/978-0-8093-3906-8

Here is a snippet from a back cover blurb by Petra Kuppers - "They also invite you into their fold: each poet offers prompts to the reader, as well as essayistic thoughts, de-mystifying and re-mystifying these acts of (inter)corporeal magic."