Monday, March 18, 2024

Middle Age Spread by Peter M. Gordon

Frequent contributor Peter M. Gordon sends word he's published a new poetry collection on Amazon.com:

In Middle Age Spread award-winning poet Peter M. Gordon delves into the mysteries and shared moments between friends and family, along with his thoughts about 30 years living in Central Florida. The collection includes the "Best of the Net" nominated poem, "Florida Man," the Thomas Burnett Swann Poetry award winning trio of "Home of the Brave," "Amateur Night, and "B & K Bungalow Colony," and many other contest and award winners from the last few years of Peter's poetry career.

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Pitching for the Apostates by Paul Hostovsky

Frequent contributor Paul Hostovsky sends word of his new release from Kelsay Books, published December 4:

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read more poetry, or to write more poetry, or to stop writing those difficult and obscure organic-intuitive poems that no one understands and to start writing those accessible and reader-friendly humorous and poignant poems that everybody loves, and if you want to see how it’s done, well, you’re in luck, because my new book of poems Pitching for the Apostates is just out from Kelsay Books, and you can order a copy here, which I hope you will do:

Monday, November 6, 2023

Guest Post: Thoughts on a Poem and a Past Relationship by Jess Chua

I’m grateful that my poem, “I Should’ve Known,” was published here on The Five-Two back in 2021!

It was my one and only crime poem then.

The span of time between 2018 to 2022 was somewhat like wilderness years for me, where I didn’t have a strong direction of what I wanted to do writing-wise.

In the late summer of 2023, my debut poetry chapbook on heartbreak, let it rip, was published by Bottlecap Press. The chapbook includes a lightly edited version of “I Should’ve Known.”

I changed one line as the original sentence may have been a bit too long on the print page. Breaking it up into two lines would have affected the text’s flow and form.

I thought I’d share some thoughts on what inspired this poem.

The main idea came about from a Valentine’s bouquet my boyfriend had brought back. While the flowers were gorgeous, they were unceremoniously tossed out into the backyard when they started dying.

It was a dramatic visual, seeing those flowers “wilt so tragically” under the heat of the Florida sun. I also thought it made a great metaphor for a romance that had run its course.

Writing a crime poem seemed like a natural thing to do as I’ve always had a keen interest in crime shows and documentaries. Some of my favorites include Midsomer Murders, Forensic Files, and Sex, Lies & Murder. Traversing through the dark depths of human psychology keeps me returning to crime and horror content.

Astrologically speaking, I have a Venus in Scorpio conjunct Pluto. It has flavored my love life with dark aspects like obsession, trauma, a heavy intensity, and a touch of what I’d describe as madness.

Some of the poems in my chapbook were written in my late teens, involving one of my first loves, whom I had a tumultuously and ill-defined relationship that spanned a lengthy number of years.

Things never seemed to go right in that relationship, but it was one of the most intense connections I’d ever made with anyone. While a lot of things didn’t transpire tangibly, there was a lot of mental and emotional turbulence.

There were times when my levels of anger and rage would be through the roof. I’d feel my blood boiling and I couldn’t see straight amid tension headaches and other physical signs of distress.

Many times, I believed that the emotional rollercoaster would have escalated into some type of physical violence if I’d actually embarked on a committed, long-term relationship with that person.

The memory of what he—or we—used to be still sometimes lingers in my mind as dark inspiration for creative writing.

A couple of lines from my poem—“the charade finally ended / with petals dipped in blood”—signify how I envisioned this first intense connection would have evolved and ended. We both brought out toxic qualities in each other for some strange, arcane reason, which I’m glad to have left behind.

I’ve always been fascinated by tales and documentaries about crimes of passion. Absolute craziness can be unleased in a fit of rage when themes like betrayal or disrespect run deep.

As for myself, I sometimes wonder how far I may have gone if I stayed long enough in my situation to be pushed over the edge.

Perhaps “I should’ve known” better than to fall for someone who I felt was dangerous.


Jess Chua is a writer / poet / escapist with a bit of a book hoarding problem. Her debut chapbook let it rip is available via Bottlecap Press. Learn more about her at jesschua.com.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

See What I Mean? by Charles Rammelkamp

Frequent contributor Charles Rammelkamp's latest Kelsay Books release, See What I Mean?, includes his 2013 Five-Two poem "The Day Sadat Died" and is blurbed by Bob Cooperman and Eric D. Goodman.