"Don't Worry About the Background. Just Go for the Tonal Values"

Metphrastics a publication based on poems inspired by the art of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  has come out with its Summer 2025 issue

And wouldn't you know it, one of my poems is in it, called The Tonal Values. It's influenced by a painting from Edouard "Who is this Monet whose name sounds just like mine and who is taking advantage of my notoriety?" Manet, pictured here.

Take Two Pills and Holler in the Morning

 

Two poems by an up and coming poet whose work I admire in the Pill. 

Getting Ambrosial

 Ambrosial Literary Garland based in Manipur, India published a poem of mine in their new issue,

Get Culturated for the Holidays

 

Culturate has come out with an issue. It's not themed, but on Page 19, there's my contribution about Manhattan. 

How Many Levels of Nostalgia Are You On?

 

In the Greyhound Journal, two poems of mine have appeared. Both of them deal with historical memory. The first is called 1776 Versus John Adams/Boogie Nights Versus American Hustle, the second rolls out under the title Participation Prizes in Byzantium

And our Little Leaf Is Rounded with a Sleep

 

Good afternoon from the middle of September. Little Leaf Literary Journal published one of my poems, called Ocean District Redevelopment Plan. It is about tourism and sustainability, culture and liminality, or something like that. 

Take a Break from Politics to Read about the Sunrise

 

Sage Cigarettes has published a poem of mine in their latest issue. It is page 28 in the issue, page 33 when you scroll in the reader. The title refers to a genre of writing from Byzantium that focuses on the intricaies and practicalities of siege warfare.

Ben Takes a Gothic Turn

Pictured above is Frederick III, German Emperor. He was Kaiser for only two months in 1888, until he succumbed to throat cancer. This early demise paved the way for his son ,Wilhelm II, to take charge of the German Empire. We all know how well that went.

What does this have to do with me? Thanks to Macy Skov at A Suffer's Digest, a short story of mine based on the Kaiser's malady is now published. It is called Bureau of Barbarians and is up and ready to be read.

Truth, Beauty and Imagination

 

A venue based out of Bangladesh with this name published a poem of mine called Motif Romanesque. It was influence by the painting of a similar name, done by the artist Maurice Denis. Denis was part of a late 19th - early 20th century art movement called Les Nabis. In case the names haven't given it away yet, they were French. The name was derived from a Hebrew word for prophets. They saw themselves as a rejuvenating force in art.

Gather Round, Children for a Story

Pictured: namesake

Maybe not children. This story gets a little blue. Thanks to The Bookends Review for publishing A Morning Hersey. 

LIFE, BLOODY LIFE

 

Maybe my first time in a Substack? Paloma Magazine has two of my poems in the aforementioned named issue. Read "Preselling Out " and "Line Go Down," for personal takes on what the economy makes.

Hey True Crime Fans

 

Hey true crime fans, here's a poem I wrote that Dark Entries Journal liked! It is about the collection of various forms of detritus serial killers leave behind. Read it and consider the costs of celebrity culture and consumerism.

Washington Bridge Planh (Introducing Reuben St. Awesome)

 

Hello all, The Journal of Expressive Writing has published a poem of mine under the title Washington Bridge Plan. However, it is supposed to be Planh, a reference to a lamentable genre of troubadour poetry. Anyway, the poem is told from the perspective of one Reuben St. Awesome, a character I've created. Reuben is a pop star currently on tour when the poem takes place.  

Murderabilia by Ben Nardolilli

 

New poem in Dark Entries called Murderbilia, which deals with the phenomenon of collecting items related to serial killers and other notorious persons. 

Soup Can Production

 New poem about anti-colonialism can be found in the latest issue of Soup Can

From the Pollock Streets to the Mondrian Spaces

 

Two poems in the first issue of Underscore_Magazine. One is about the art of urban planning, the other is about, well, a different kind of urban planning. 

A Trinity of New Poems

 

3 poems in the latest edition of Night Picnic, including one (at the end) inspired by an old article on Bukowski in Rolling Stone and a lazy use of the word "reincarnation."

Read Now Before It Goes Away

Oystering circa 1915

Ripe Literary Journal, which published a poem of mine in its second issue, is going to be shutting down. Such is the ephemeral nature of our reviews. Catch a glimpse of it before it is taken away.
 

Like Lazarus, Come from the Dead: Read My First Published Poem, Again

Read Flyer Guy, first published in Perigee (RIP), among other poems from other Defuncted journals. They are on display again. Hooray! 

Kafka, Asbestos, & Prose

 

Image by Frank Jackdaw

Good news, I won a small writing contest. This one was held to promote the work of Robin Hemley's new novel Oblivion, an "after autobiography" where a recently deceased writer gets to encounter Franz Kafka in the afterlife. Read my entry and enjoy.