jyocum
-
Pinhole Poetry has published a series of interviews as a complement to their October issue, and I’m pleased as punk rock to have been featured among the subjects. Find a series of craft- and life-related questions from their editorial staff, with my answers, here: https://pinholepoetry.ca/an-interview-with-j-l-yocum/
-
Thanks to all seventy-seven poets and writers who submitted to my half of the HAD guest co-hosted submission call! It was a great pleasure reading all of your works, and I’m really excited to see the accepted pieces up at https://www.havehashad.com/ in the next week. Aaron and Crow have advised that these works should start…
-
On August 19th, during the literary journal HAD’s fifth anniversary submission call, the editors announced: “If anyone guesses the exact number of submissions we’ll get, we’ll let you guest edit a call.” Tanya Žilinskas and I both guessed 537, the closest guess of anyone by a long shot, thereby winning the prize of co-hosting a…
-
I keep finding the corpses of kittensin the last place you’d expect. The hamper,my briefcase, the bulk nuts bin, in the librarytucked behind reference volumes of medievalfolklore, or the poetics of astronomy. They won’t say how they died, but they tell metheir names: Clover, Honeydew, Thorn.Each becomes a tender task:how to dispose of them without…
-
In the immortal words of Cady Heron, “It’s October 3rd.” And that means that Pinhole Poetry published their Issue 4.3 today, featuring works by twenty-five different contributors, including yours truly. My poem “Where the kittens hide” appears on the fifth page, and I couldn’t be more pleased to see it there. This little piece was…
-
If you’re tired of hunting around for my infinitely witty posts on Bluesky and/or Mastodon, then friend have I got great news for you! I’ve created a new spot for News on this very site, and it’s called “News.” Your one-stop shop for all news related to J. L. Yocum. As a teaser for a…
-
Why is a grappling hook like a toothbrush?Why is a chrysanthemum like a handgrenade? Why is my beating heartlike the surprise in your voice? Why is a terracotta soldier like the cat on my lap?Why is a falling knife like the sound of breakingglass? Why is this stab of lightninglike a peal of glad laughter…
-
I’m so sorry to hear youhave wings, a half dozen, you don’t looklike a seraph. I’ve never noticed you’re fullof eyes. Sorry to hear you are really an empty throne, thousand-spokedwheels under your soles,forty teeth in your mouth and too-long arms.You’re so bright! This must be hard, your feathersunfolding, the razors of halogen, the bladesof…
-
When my bones shake off this spirit, bury mein the Valley of the Kings! Let tomb robbersanoint themselves egyptologists, drinkclaret from my skull, eat caviarfrom my kneecaps. To them remains the sun in the sky, its fleet of swift-footed cloudsand itinerant condors. The rainbowand the aurora, the sleet, hail and shower.The star and streak of…
-
O spinning wheel of my mistakes, splashyparade of my charlatan past selves. This splitin my skull might never mend. Stitchesof the prior evening find flame, eruptand take a dark cold hold of my hand. Behind the shock-orange of my shut eyelids,neon words strobe, in a crookedscribble, repeating: What have I donelast night? What have I…