Posted inWeblog Exclusive

On the Irrelevance of Genre Poetry [Live]

At the fun "Raw Dog Screaming Press Book Party" at the Morgantown Poets group in West Virginia last month, I opened my reading by sharing a piece I'd written for Locus Magazine, a poem about why I write poetry, which I contributed to their running Roundtable series on speculative poetry.  Here's my recitation of "On the Irrelevance of Genre Poetry," recorded during the reading. I don't often write things like this -- an opinion essay told in the form of a poem -- but the audience really seemed to laugh and also get charged up by the poem. Press the…
June 7, 2012Posted inWeblog Exclusive1 Comment
Posted inWeblog Exclusive

The Freaksicord

Many see the Freaksicord as if it were a mirage when they first encounter it. It stands -- astonishingly -- like a walking stomach. Only as an afterthought does one notice the head, which dangles somewhere down below. Its head is so heavy with teeth, the neck can not bear its weight, and the head sometimes swings on its stalk like a pendulum between the beast’s stocky legs. Many presume that they might die between those muscular jaws, but what they don’t realize is that the neck, wings and head together function like a lever, lifting pray up into the…
April 14, 2012Posted inWeblog Exclusive
Posted inWeblog Exclusive

Kurt Newton reads “The 39 Steps” – audio from the Sea of Alone book launch at 2011 Stoker Weekend

[audio:KurtNewton-The39Steps-SeaOfAloneLaunch-NYJune2011.mp3|titles=KurtNewton-The39Steps-SeaOfAloneLaunch-NYJune2011] Kurt Newton reads his poem, "The 39 Steps," at the book launch event for A Sea of Alone: Poems for Alfred Hitchcock (Ed. Christopher Conlon, Dark Scribe Press, June 2011).  Recorded live at the 2011 Stoker Weekend in NY on June 18th.  Watch Dark Scribe for news about ordering this excellent anthology.
June 21, 2011Posted inWeblog Exclusive
Posted inArnzen News Weblog Exclusive

“Scary Things”: An Address to the Class of 2011

[Here's a video of the speech cited below, posted by my friend, photographer/designer Bruce Siskawicz] "Scary Things" Professor of the Year Acceptance Speech by Michael A. Arnzen Seton Hill University Honor's Convocation Friday, May 13, 2011 President Boyle, Provost Gawelek, distinguished members of the stage, cherished faculty colleagues, dear staff, close friends and -- most importantly -- future alumnae of Seton Hill University…I thank you all for this dubious honor. I also want to thank two other major figures in my life, without whom I would not be here today: first, my wife, Renate, who chose to move from Germany…
May 13, 2011Posted inArnzen News, Weblog Exclusive5 Comments