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Michael Dickel

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://MichaelDickel.info

Twitter

MYDekel469

Genre

Poetry, Fiction

Influences

Walt Whitman}, [author:Neil Gaiman, Robert Bly, Joy Harjo, Ann Waldman ...more

Member Since

October 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/mydekel

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Michael Dickel , a poet, fiction writer, and photographer, has taught at various colleges and universities in Israel and the U.S. He co-edited Voices Israel Volume 36 (2010). He was managing editor for arc-23 and 24. Is a Rose Press released his most recent book (flash fiction), The Palm Reading after The Toad’s Garden in 2016.

Previous books are: War Surrounds Us , Midwest / Mid-East , and The World Behind It, Chaos… He co-edited with Sandra Tyler The Woven Tale Press Selected Works 2015 & Empty Spaces Project Exhibit/i> , an eclectic selection of literary and art work produced to accompany an exhibit of artists who had been featured in the The Woven Tale Press monthly magazine.

With producer / director David Fisher, he receiv ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Michael Dickel Pretty much doing what I wrote in what inspires me — reading, walking, talking, looking at art, listening to music, playing music and just sitting dow…morePretty much doing what I wrote in what inspires me — reading, walking, talking, looking at art, listening to music, playing music and just sitting down to write. I think that if a writer spends too much time thinking about being blocked, the writing stays away. However, doing other things, letting it be, accepting that these other activities are "pre-writing" activities — this let's the words ferment, bubble, and in time become wine.(less)

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Have you self-published? If so, why and how would you recommend going about that?

Michael Dickel Yes, I have self-published.

Why? To get my poetry out there, after sending my manuscript out.

How? I used Lulu.com for that book, which was my second,…moreYes, I have self-published.

Why? To get my poetry out there, after sending my manuscript out.

How? I used Lulu.com for that book, which was my second, but my first print book. The first was with a publisher of free e-books, now defunct. I don't recommend Lulu for everybody, but if one is willing to work at promotion and get interviews and reviews, it could work for one or two books.

That said, Is a Rose Press is a micro press that three others and I started. Since the four of us started it, two people have moved on because of other commitments related to academic jobs. So far, we have published five books (including two of mine) and are working on our sixth, which, when it comes out, would include four authors.

Is a Rose Press is not exactly self-publishing, although the two of us remaining started with our own books to work out the kinks. We use Lightning Source International (LSI), a print-on-demand service associated with Ingram's wholesalers. In another sense, as we have expanded to include other authors and intend to publish more, we are a micro-press now.

I like LSI for having a press doing a number of books—however, if you are only going to do one or two books of your own, I think that CreateSpace.com (Amazon's service) or Lulu.com are probably better. Neither have upfront set-up costs (unless you choose to have your own ISBN number—which is a whole other topic, but isn't that much, and you have to buy them if you use a service like LSI).

I am currently helping a client prepare a book for publication on CreateSpace. I have used Lulu. They both are satisfactory for someone wanting to publish a single book (or two). I think there are advantages to going through a different sort of printing service, like LSI, if you want to publish more books (say, at a guess, more than four).(less)

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Combine Editions
Michael Dickel’s books

Average rating: 4.58 · 24 ratings · 3 reviews · 8 distinct works

	War Surrounds Us 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nothing Remembers 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Midwest / Mid-East: March 2012 Poetry Tour it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Palm Reading after The Toad's Garden by Michael Dickel (Goodreads Author), Ayelet Cohen (Illustrator) 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Woven Tale Press Selected Works 2015 & Empty Spaces Project Exhibit by Sandra Tyler (Editor), Michael Dickel (Goodreads Author) (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The River Muse (Seasonal Issues Book 3) by River Urke (Editor), Sheila Moore (Editor), Michael Dickel (Goodreads Author) (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voices Israel 2010: Poetry From Israel and Abroad (Volume 36) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The River Muse: Fall/Winter Issue by Twowolvz Press, River Urke (Editor), Sheila Moore (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Michael Dickel's Blog

Picasso Bull and Matador

"…matador with bull a broken love affair in Picasso blue tone rings fire pan destined to cook shakshuka for breakfast so hungry the mouths unfed…"

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Published on February 27, 2025 08:36

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Michael is Currently Reading

Michael is currently reading

Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry

by Alan Dugan

bookshelves: currently-reading, poetry

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Mar 22, 2017 04:56AM

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Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael Dickel wrote a new blog post Picasso Bull and Matador "…matador with bull a broken love affair in Picasso blue tone rings fire pan destined to cook shakshuka for breakfast so hungry the mouths unfed…"
Feb 28, 2025 04:37AM · like
Michael shared a quote “The world has gone mad. Again. … …The fires burn in the streets at night. The checkpoints flow with blood and tears. And most of us just want to go to work, have coffee with friends, teach our children something other than this craziness in a world gone mad. Again…” Michael Dickel
Apr 10, 2024 09:03AM · like · more quotes by Michael Dickel
Michael made a comment on War Surrounds Us — War Surrounds Us… again " I wrote the poems in this book (War Surrounds Us, Is a Rose Press, 2015). As we have seen, war has erupted again in Gaza-Israel and been going full-on ...more "
Apr 10, 2024 08:53AM
Michael is now following Csimplot Simplot's reviews
Apr 10, 2024 08:28AM · like
Michael liked Csimplot Simplot's review of Nothing Remembers: "Excellent book!!!"
Apr 10, 2024 08:27AM · see review
Michael liked a quote “Who makes things up? Who tells the real story? We all turn our lives into stories. It is a defining characteristic of our species. We retell our experiences. We quickly learn what parts are interesting to our listeners and what parts lag, and we shape our narratives accordingly. It doesn't mean we aren't telling the truth; we've simply learned which parts to leave out. Every time we tell the story again, we don't go back to the original event and start from scratch, we go back to the last time we told the story. It's the story we shape and improve on, we don't change what happened. This is also a way we have of protecting ourselves. It would be too painful to relive a childhood illness or the death of your best friend every time you had to speak of it. By telling the story from the story, instead of from the actual events, we are able to distance ourselves from our suffering. It also gives us the chance to make the story something people can hear.” ...more Ann Patchett
Dec 21, 2023 06:49AM · like · more quotes by Ann Patchett

More of Michael's books…

Quotes by Michael Dickel (?)

“The world has gone mad. Again. …
…The fires burn
in the streets at night. The checkpoints flow
with blood and tears. And most of us just want
to go to work, have coffee with friends, teach
our children something other than this craziness
in a world gone mad. Again…”
― Michael Dickel, War Surrounds Us

tags: gaza-war, israel, peace, peace-poetry, poetry, poetry-quotes, war

0 likes

Michael’s Quotes

tags: gaza-war, israel, peace, peace-poetry, poetry, poetry-quotes, war

0 likes

“What can be explained is not poetry.”
― W.B. Yeats

tags: poetry, yeats

567 likes

“The rose's rarest essence lives in the thorns.”
― Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

tags: rumi

344 likes

“Who makes things up? Who tells the real story? We all turn our lives into stories. It is a defining characteristic of our species. We retell our experiences. We quickly learn what parts are interesting to our listeners and what parts lag, and we shape our narratives accordingly. It doesn't mean we aren't telling the truth; we've simply learned which parts to leave out. Every time we tell the story again, we don't go back to the original event and start from scratch, we go back to the last time we told the story. It's the story we shape and improve on, we don't change what happened. This is also a way we have of protecting ourselves. It would be too painful to relive a childhood illness or the death of your best friend every time you had to speak of it. By telling the story from the story, instead of from the actual events, we are able to distance ourselves from our suffering. It also gives us the chance to make the story something people can hear.”
― Ann Patchett

tags: biography, fiction-vs-reality, storytelling

3 likes