jubilat

"Uncut," a poem inspired by one of my earliest interviews, will be published in jubilat. I googled "smegma and poetry" and came across this. I'm not the first to write a poem about smegma.

Castrati

It dawned on me that a poem I recently published has to do with a fetish. Castrati were around for centuries and, despite relative acceptance in public and, in many instances, downright exaltation, they were examples of fetishes gone too far. I'm making a judgment here because this was done to children. They had no say in something that would change their bodies forever.

Someone decided long, long ago, to suspend--in time--a boy's prepubescent voice so a man's throat could grow around it and create an otherworldly sound. I dedicate my poem to Alessandro Moreschi. You can hear him.

Sharing and Sharpening

I read a few feti(sh)ame poems at the final reading in the Jack Straw Writers Series last Friday. It was only the second time I'd shared any of those poems in public. Not one person said anything to me about them. I did receive a FB friend request from an audience member who thanked me, specifically, for writing about fetishes. Other than that, nothing. I'm going to keep presenting these poems at various readings in and outside of the SF bay area to see what's working and what needs work. Tomorrow, if it works out, I'll go over to Mojo Bicycle Cafe and see what they think.