A.S. Coomer's Blog, page 2

Bard & Busker 2025

Saturday 4/19/25 was the second Bard & Busker Festival. Just like last year a whole slew of poets, artists, & musicians descended on Owensboro, Kentucky at the behest of the immensely talented writer/publisher/good dude Joseph Fulkerson. I got to see so many old friends. I made some new ones. I bought some books. Even sold a few. Some cds (those old things!) were even distributed.

Joseph was kind enough to give me the space to do a mixed set of poetry & music. I slung five songs—ain’t it hard?; song for eli coppola; ain’t got long; mary ann (another notch in yer bible belt); & worker bee— & five poems—black coffee blues; elegy for j & j; birch bark does path; knots; &, lastly, muck & moss.

Big thanks to Joseph for all his hard work making this festival a lot of fun. It’s beautiful to see so many talented & creative people coming together to share what they love. Thank you, Joseph! Thanks to Dale Worrall for running sound. And thank you to Brew Bridge for giving the arts a place in the community (& for their wonderful food, drinks, & service). 

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“black coffee blues” was originally published by Live Nude Poems. 

“elegy for j & j” was originally published in the now out-of-print chapbook SONGS FOR LEAVING (Gutter Snob Books).

#BardAndBusker #OwensboroKY #Poetry #Music #Art #ASCoomer #JosephFulkerson #BrewBridge #KentuckyPoet #KentuckyPoetry #SmallPress 

all that the flies have left — New Poem in The Heartland Review

I’m lucky to be included in the latest edition of The Heartland Review, which is full of amazing art & literature. THR was founded two and a half decades ago by Mick Kennedy, an amazing poet & educator. Amy Fox-Angerer is now editor in chief. Big thanks to poetry editors Ted Higgs, Yvonne Morris, & Clay Matthews (all mighty poets with work out there you should seek). I started college at ECTC, where THR is based, so it feels like a homecoming. 

Here’s a little sunrise vidyuh of me stumbling my way through “all that the flies have left”, which is on page 30 of the Spring 2025 issue of The Heartland Review. 

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#TheHeartlandReview #KentuckyLiterature #KentuckyPoet #ASCoomer #LivePoetry #LiveReading #Poetry #SmallPress 

black coffee blues — New Poem in Live Nude Poems

Happy Friday, y’all. I’ve got a new poem out today called “black coffee blues” in Live Nude Poems. Read it here. Thanks to editors Rusty Barnes & Heather Sullivan & thanks to you for looking!

http://www.livenudepoems.com/2025/03/as-coomer.html

Live Poetry Reading from Indiana

Poet Michael Duckwall hosts a poetry reading and acoustic open mic at Java Station 56 in Scottsburg, Indiana. He kindly invited me to perform. I did a set of river and flood related poems, most of which are new and unpublished.

Watch on FB here: https://fb.watch/xYoQFBtmZ_/

A.S. Coomer tote bags

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Get Yer A.S. Coomer Apparel at Bonfire

Get yer A.S. Coomer apparel at Bonfire today. Choose from several options for t-shirts, sweatshirts, & crewnecks. Check back in for more products in the near future.

https://www.bonfire.com/store/ascoomer/

i sit / & write — Live Reading from Freeman Lake Park

International Beat Poet Laureate Fin Hall of Scotland put together a beat poetry anthology called AIN’T NO DEAD BEATS AROUND HERE. He was kind enough to include my poem: i sit / & write. You can order the book here or here.

To celebrate the book’s publication, I took a little trip down to Freeman Lake Park in Elizabethtown, KY & read the poem to the muddy path & fallen leaves.

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5 Poems on The Present Poetry Podcast

I’ve got a handful of poems in this week’s episode of The Present Poetry Podcast. You can listen to Eyrnn Crittenden’s reading wherever you get your podcasts. You can also stream/download the episode from The Present Poetry Podcast’s website. Be sure to hit that subscribe button for more poems every week.

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river montage (Nolin River Aubade #33) — New Poem in Marrow Magazine

I’m watching the old oak drop leaves into the Nolin River. One at a time. Two. Three at a time. Four.

I have a new poem out in Marrow Magazine. It’s called “river montage (Nolin River Aubade #33)”. You can read it online here.

Big thanks to Caitlin & the rest of the staff at Marrow Magazine. Be sure to follow them on all the socials & read all the wonderful work they put out.

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Lastly, here’s a little vidyuh of me reading the poem to one of my dearest friends: the Nolin River.

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Short Stay at the Motel Eight

Slinging songs from the library. Here’s one called “Short Stay at the Motel Eight”. It was included in a split EP I did with my good buddy (& one of my favorite picker/singers out there) Todd Elson called Late Nights in Philpot. You can stream that version wherever you normally do that sort of thing.

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