A.S. Coomer's Blog, page 12

Review of Timmy Reynolds’ “Life, Loss, and the Pursuit of Happiness” in the Museum of Americana

I had the pleasure of reviewing Detroit musician Timmy Reynolds‘ record Life, Loss, and the Pursuit of Happiness for The Museum of Americana‘s twenty-third issue. It’s a great record and a great issue. You can read the review here. Be sure to check out the great poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on display in the museum while you’re there. I particularly enjoyed Danielle Jones’ poem Agape.

Thanks to editor Cal Freeman for his thoughtful edits.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

WAKT 106.1FM Appearance

WAKT 106.1FM is based out of Toledo, OH, a city that holds a special place in my heart. I called the city home for four years. The city is full of creativity including the work of WAKT. The station has a program called Homegrown Toledo Creatives hosted by Dr. David Harms and Miriam Wagoner. They asked me to contribute twenty minutes of material so I recorded two stories (The Flock Unseen & DIY Lamp Kit) and seven poems (I’m not sure how I feel about the sound, Flirting with Disaster, Running Sound Interference, Feeble, The Eavesdropper, For the City of Light, & A bit too obvious).

You can stream the episode online right now or if you’re in the Toledo area you can catch it at 106.1FM tonight.

The Flock Unseen was first published in The Merida Review. It was reprinted in my four-story collection The Flock Unseen published by Clare Songbirds Publishing House.

DIY Lamp Kit first appeared in FILTH.

All seven of the poems I read on the program appear in my first full-length collection of poems Flirting with Disaster published by Alien Buddha Press.

I’m not sure how I feel about the sound won The Song Is.’s Thelma Prize as judged by Catfish McDaris.

Flirting with Disaster first appeared in Thirteen Myna Birds. It was reprinted in The Song Is.

Running Sound Interference was published by Can We Have Our Ball Back?

Feeble was published in The Rush.

The Eavesdropper was published in Taxicab Magazine.

For the City of Light was published by Foliate Oak Literary Magazine.

A bit too obvious was published by Red Bird Chapbooks’ Weekly Read.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

This Is Poetry Volume IV: Poet of the South

Happy Wednesday, y’all,

First off Michele McDannold is an amazing poet. She’s also a great editor and activist for literature. Through Citizens for Decent Literature Press/Literary Underground she’s released four volumes of her anthology series This Is Poetry. The first volume was filled with wonderful poems from women of the small press. Volume II centered around poets of the Midwest. Volume III focused on poets of the West. For the fourth volume of the series Michele McDannold has collected poems from poets of the South. I’m lucky to have three poems included in this volume: Maybe the Burning Bush, I Wrote this Sober, and Flirting with Disaster.

Other Southern writers in this volume include Stephanie Bryant Anderson, Melanie Browne, Nadia Bruce-Rawlings, Todd Cirillo, Michael D. Grover, Sandy Olson Hill, Ted Jackins, Susan Mickelberry, Eileen Murphy, T.A. Noonan, Karen Parker, Tim Peeler, Misti Rainwater-Lites, Donna Snyder, Michael Quasimofo Snyder, Belinda Subraman, and Edward Vidaurre.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon (where the book has crept into the top 100 poetry anthologies).

Maybe the Burning Bush was originally published by Foliate Oak, I Wrote This Sober was originally published by Meow Meow Pow Pow as a broadside, and Flirting with Disaster was first published in Thirteen Myna Birds then reprinted by The Song Is.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

THIS IS POETRY VOL IV: POETS OF THE SOUTH

Rust Belt Blues #666

My buddy Dan Denton is an amazing writer. We’ve had some crazy adventures together. We also wrote a poem together and it was published yesterday by The Dope Fiend Daily. It’s call Rust Belt Blues #666. You can read it here.

Thanks to editor Scott Simmons.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

Steve Harvey Just Didn’t See You Like I Saw You in The Rye Whiskey Review

Happy Saturday, y’all,

My poem Steve Harvey Just Didn’t See You Like I Saw You was published in the Rye Whiskey Review yesterday evening.

You can read it here.

Thanks to editors John Patrick Robbins & Scott Simmons.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

Old Fort Sessions Now Streaming

Happy Friday, y’all!

The Old Fort Sessions is up for streaming at all the usual places: Spotify, Apple, Youtube, Amazon, Bandcamp, etc.

All five songs were recorded live in a cabin in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

Bandcamp Friday Sale

Happy Friday, y’all,

Bandcamp is waiving all their fees today. That means all sales go directly to the artists.

You can buy my entire Bandcamp discography for $28.49. That’s 16 releases including the Old Fort Sessions, my studio debut Goddamn It Anyway, both my ambient instrumental records Rural Eminence Volumes I & II, my EP If I Have Let You Down, and several singles.

Thanks for supporting indie music.

https://ascoomer.bandcamp.com/

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

Audiobooks From Hell Podcast

Happy Friday, y’all,

I had the pleasure of chatting with narrator Sean Duregger for his podcast Audiobooks From Hell. He let me ramble on about writing and music and art. You can stream the episode at all the usual places: Spotify, Apple, , etc.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

DIY Lamp Kit

Good morning, y’all,

My flash fiction story, DIY Lamp Kit, was published in FILTH yesterday. It tells the story of one woman’s struggles with addiction and healing.

You can read it here.

Thanks to editor Alexandrine Ogundimu for believing in the story and putting it out.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

Old Fort Sessions on Bandcamp

My wife and I snuck off to the mountains of North Carolina a few weeks back. We stayed in a little cabin in the Pisgah National Forest. I set up two microphones, one for my Martin, and the other for both of our vocals. We recorded five songs and dubbed it our Old Fort Sessions, the name of the little town we were near.

Just down the gravel forest service road from our cabin was this decrepit little amphitheater. Every time we passed it I couldn’t help saying, “It’s not the amphitheater you want, it’s the amphitheater you deserve.” It made for a fitting cover.

I wrote most of these songs for a new book I’m working on now. I plan on including the protagonist’s songbook at the conclusion of the story. Who knows, maybe we’ll record some more of them.

The songs were mixed and mastered by Travis Geiman at Bigfoot Studios in Waterville, OH.

You can buy all five songs from my bandcamp page for $5.99, which includes a PDF booklet with the lyrics of the songs and a few photos.

The record will be released on all the major streaming services 2/5/21.

Thanks for all y’all’s support!

All the best,

A.S. Coomer