new (finally, slowly) from above/ground press

Drowned

When Cassandra awakes the sun
is already in the room, so too
the salted riverbank smell,
dampness infecting the sheets.

This wave of blood has flowed
from her body, the white cotton
nightdress dyed red makes her
a target, the mattress beneath
drenched. Called for, Hecuba
takes the stairs in twos, places
her hands on Cassandra's warm
cheeks, raves about the moon.
Now who's crazy, thinks Cassandra
and pulls away, Hecuba sitting
on the drowned bed, both their hands
stained red. (Rhonda Douglas)

Anyone paying attention to any of these things will know that I'm infamously late with some of these above/ground press subscription mailings, & that I've barely made anything since last summer; I've been working to correct that for months (& once I'm in Alberta, not only will mailing be better & more regular, but the backlog of publications & previous mailings will be completely caught up; watch too for a secret (still) above/ground project that starts when I arrive!), including perpetually-forthcoming chapbooks by Karen Clavelle (Winnipeg), Cath Morris (Vancouver) & Barry McKinnon (Prince George), as well as a corrected publication by Phil Hall (Toronto) & Margaret Christakos' (Toronto) STANZAS… (oh, why can't photocopying just be free or something…); for a reading as part of The Factory Reading Series a few days ago [see Amanda Earl's report on the reading here], there were two new little publications that came out, including:

RUSHES
by Kate Greenstreet (New Jersey)
$4

&

Time, If It Exists, The Cassandra Poems
by Rhonda Douglas (Ottawa)
$4

For more information on American poet Kate Greenstreet, see my review of her first poetry collection case sensitive here; for more information on Ottawa poet Rhonda Douglas, check out my note on her poetry here. To order either of these little books, add $1 for postage, & in Canadian currency; if sending from outside Canada, send in American, payable to rob mclennan, c/o 858 Somerset Street West, main floor, Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1R 6R7; above/ground press subscribers receive (honest!) a complimentary copy; calendar year subscriptions available for $40, & include chapbooks, broadsides, STANZAS magazine & The Peter F. Yacht Club.