Category Archives: Poetry

Poetry

The Breeze & The Black Door: Poems by Mack W. Mani [OUT NOW]

I’m pleased to announce the release of my debut collection of poetry, available now via Amazon. Most of these pieces have been published separately in literary magazines over the last ten years, and it’s my pleasure to present them alongside several previously unpublished poems. Complimentary digital copies are available upon request for the purposes of review (see below). Here’s a little more information on the collection:

A cold breeze on a hot summer day.

Hot breath on Halloween night.

Distant stars beckon and blink out of existence.

From within the dusty halls of an old mansion, the black door is calling, waiting to be opened…

In this debut collection from award-winning poet Mack W. Mani, haunted houses, nuclear reactors, dystopian cityscapes, and unincorporated territories are twisted and reflected into prophetic visions of the past, present, and future. By turns startling and profound, these poems find new connections and meanings in the genres of horror, myth, and science-fiction. Purchase a digital or paperback copy via Amazon, with other retail options forthcoming.

If you would like to read The Breeze & The Black Door for free, with no obligation other than providing an honest review, please reach out to the author via email at MWMani@gmail.com with your name and preferred format of document (epub, pdf, docx, etc). Reviews can then be left on the website of your choice, though Goodreads, Amazon, or your personal website are preferred. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the above address.

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Poetry

The Breeze & The Black Door

Have you ever lost someone to themselves? Watched slowly as they slipped away from you, despite everything you’d been through? My latest poem in Deadlands Issue #41 is about the ones we love and how they can change right before our eyes, day by day, until all that is left of them is a memory. Read the full poem here along with the rest of the issue for FREE. But here’s an excerpt to get you started:

I heard some movement at my front door
but it was just a storm.

Drank my beer over the sink
so I didn’t stain my shirt anymore.

Fixed the leak
and found a place on the floor.

Wife’s been leaving the back door unlocked.

Not every night,
but enough to raise the question.

She bought some paint and a brush home
from Benny’s Department Store.

Had me paint that old back door
as black as a raven.

So I stripped myself to the waist
to feel the Halloween breeze
and did as she pleased.

I heard her unlock it
last night in her sleep.

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Poetry

Champagne Remnants in The Non-Binary Review

I have a new sci-fi poem out now in The Non-Binary Review issue #40. The theme was epiphany and I had a great time writing this one. Read an excerpt below and get your copy here!

Champagne Remnants

Shipwrecked on Blackstone Delta
S.O.S.

Her hometown became a dream,
a glittery story filled with secrets,
caricatures and blue neon hues;
Twin Peaks by way of John Hughes.

Small town gods,
brief and beautiful
finite and divine:
mayors and mayor’s sons
garage bands and single moms
shiny linoleum dulling all summer long,
cigarette smoking schoolgirl dreams
descending every night to rocky shores
of methane swamps where it is said
2001 is a nursery rhyme.

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Poetry

New Poem – Trans Rage 2: The Reckoning

My newest poem, Trans Rage 2: The Reckoning is available now over at Strange Horizons to read for free. Below is a link and an excerpt.

This was an exciting piece to see published because when I wrote it, I thought for sure it would have a hard time finding a home. Luckily the editors at SH liked it as much as I do. It was created in response to transgender depictions in horror media, which almost entirely relegate trans individuals to the role of sexually deviant killers, monsters, or disgusting stereotypes.

Excerpt:

What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie?

Psycho
Sleepaway Cam-
Silence of the L-

Always the slasher
and never the final girl.

Notes from
the severed
studio heads:

If she does survive,
she needs to be
legless or blind,
eyes gouged out
or wheelchair bound.

No trans heroes
can be whole.

…

Read the rest at Strange Horizons:

Trans Rage 2: The Reckoning

…

And while I have you here I’ll give a shout out to two great organizations that are currently fighting for Trans and queer rights:

Mermaids

The Trevor Project

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Poetry

Arcas & Callisto in Polu Texni Magazine

Polu Texni is a fantastic magazine that I was fortunate to be featured in a couple of times. This piece was inspired by the greek legend of Arcas & Callisto as well as the constellations that bare their names. Or should I say…bear?

they always told me,
You should have seen her back when she-
(before she had you)
the beautiful hairless nymphs
of Boucher and Titan
had nothing on her
cut marble eyes
Mariah Carey jeans
endless flowing midnight hair

Your mother was a looker kid,
you know that?

...

[Read the full poem for FREE over at Polu Texni Magazine: http://www.polutexni.com/?p=10850]
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Poetry

Simon/Kirby Romance Special!

Why did my niece have to be BOY CRAZY?!

Will she ever overcome her TRAGIC LOVE??

How will this poor American soldier ever get over his FRAULEIN SWEETHEART?!!

These questions and MUCH more get answered at The Gentleman’s Romantic Book Nook on our Young Romance special, a brief look at the classic comic book series by industry legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. We begin at the start of their work on the project in 1947 and work our way forward, into the age of the Comics Code Authority.

Listen on Spotify right now!

Young Romance Vol. 2, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
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Poetry

Vast Dark Wild in Liminality #24

My new Sci-Fi poem is out in the new issue of Liminality. It’s about long space journeys and the ways we occupy our time. It’s a great issue so stick around and check out the rest of it while you’re on the site!

Vast Dark Wild
by Mack W. Mani

Every hundred years,
you open up the viewing bay
to glimpse the passing stars,
the brief and harmless radiation
lapping your eyes with
benign cosmic fever…

Read the rest of Vast Dark Wild HERE

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Poetry

Two New Sci-Fi Poems in Neon #50

Congratulation to Krishan and the Neon Team on reaching their 50th issue! It’s a steller lit magazine with some of the best curated content out there and definitely my favorite binding of any magazine I’ve been featured in.

I’m happy to see two of my new poems, “Seattle 2110” and “Endless Dream” out in this one, sitting among some great poets and authors.

Read a sample and pick up your digital or print copy here:

NEON Issue 50

 

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