Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Won't Have to Do This For a Little Bit

I'll be on vacation next week. Before that happens, join me tonight for Richard Spisak's Stone Soup feature later tonight. Let's get two Wednesdays of fun in.

One Slippery Slope Leads to Another

The Chad Parenteau's Lost Causes newsletter for February 11 is up now at Substack.

Beatdowns and Body Counts

Now we end the day with relevant poetry by Lukas Flippo with artwork by Edward S. Gault. Thanks for reading Oddball Magazine. Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you come back soon.

Disgust

"Daddy's Coming" is my latest essay for Substack. 

 

Little Men

It's a darker mix in the waters today. We start with poet Salvatore Difalco and artist Mark Blickley this Wednesday at Oddball Magazine. Welcome and thanks for reading. 


An Abundance of Poetry

The February issue of North of Oxford is chock full of poetry, which includes the anthology And So This is Winter... Check it out now and thanks to g emil reutter and Diane Sahms for the extra work.


Other Saint’s Day

 

Michael Todd Steffen is this week's Lyrical Somerville poet picked by Doug Holder. Read Steffen's poem now at The Somerville Times.


At Long Last

Richard Spisak features tonight at Stone Soup Poetry.

The Spisak is Back at Stone Soup Poetry - Poetic mastermind Richard Spisak returns from illness for his promised Stone Soup feature. - Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 7:00-9:00 P.M. ET - Open mic included! Donations appreciated! - Visit https://stonesouppoetry.blogspot.com/ for the Zoom link

Something Good to Report

Checked to see how this graffiti was doing on Friday and yesterday. Still there. 

Graffiti: No ICE

A Moment of Comics

For Valentine's Day week, I want to feature something from a love comic. What else could it be but one of my favorite pages from Saga #1. Written by Brian K. Vaughan with artwork by Fiona Staples. 


American Haiku: Kid Rock's Lips Move

When I started my Sarcastic Haiku series, I wrote my first American Haiku. An American Haiku doesn't care about tradition, formality or history. it takes as long as it wants to make its point because America. You can read others I've written since by clicking here and scrolling down. 
 

American Haiku: Kid Rock's Lips Move

I did not lip synch
while Trump sang "Bawitdaba"
on a mic behind the curtain!


Happy Birthday, Archy LaSalle

 


Happy Birthday, Linda Conte

 


Happy Birthday, Stevie Subrizi

 


Scene Interrupted

The view last storm was a little nicer. 


Your Wednesday Morning Poetry

 
Aside from the poem I featured last week, I couldn't find any poems online about Jeffrey Epstein written by women. That's really messed up. So I decided to feature a poet who has always written about women.  
Read "black curses as songs" by Jamailla VanDyke-Bailey over at Open: Journal of Arts and Letters. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

This Thursday: Sandra Simmonds at the Virtual Dire Literary Series

Hosted by Timothy Gager. Click here to join the group and get information on how to join the call.

One for You

Jason Wright's Jagged Thought poem column is up now at Oddball Magazine. 

 

Perfect Tuesday Poem


Shipshape in a Sh-tstorm, Part Five: Ghosting. Read it on my Patreon.


Dripping Venom

Poet John Street III and artist Edward Michael Supranowicz give us something raw for this Tuesday at Oddball Magazine. 

This Week's Most Distinguished Network Name

It's amazing what people will name their online networks. I'm always trying to hijack Wi-Fi when I'm commuting, so I often come across a number of interesting names. Every Tuesday, I post the most impressive and/or cringe-inducing names.

Network Name: No Eres Bebecita
How many MAGA people did this name piss off?

Thoughts While Walking, 2-10-26

 I'll be writing more about this later. 

 


Happy Birthday, Gemma Cooper-Novack

 


Happy Birthday, Carrie Rudzinski

 


Happy Birthday, Philip J. Curtis

 


Fun Stuff

Posting early.


City Haiku

The very last walk
you'll ever take in your life
will not be announced. 


Monday, February 09, 2026

Comics Spotlight: Samuel Edme

Thank you for reading Oddball Magazine this Monday. 

It's About Time


It's Later Now, Part Twenty-Three: Also. Read it on my Patreon.

AIeeeeeeeee!

John Roche's latest poem shows us that not only is the future horrific, it will talk back to you. Read it now at Oddball Magazine. 

Tonight: The Contro-Verse Open Mic at Urban Media Arts in Malden with Finn Flood

From 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM. At Urban Media Arts on 145 Pleasant Street in Malden, MA. Hosted by Anna Geoffroy and Ethan Mackler. Click here for more information.

 

Prepare Yourself

Anne Skove gives us a very appropriate Valentine's Day comic for the year. Read "She Who Laughs Lasts" at Oddball Magazine. 


Blink and You'll Miss It!



"Hit My Cue" is my first hundred-word micromemoir published in the journal Five Minutes. Thanks to the editorial staff for accepting my work.

 

This One's for the Birds

This week our resident acrostic poet tells tail of smart birds. Welcome to a brand new Monday at Oddball Magazine. 

It's Back On

Richard Spisak's delayed feature finally happens on February 11.

The Spisak is Back at Stone Soup Poetry - Poetic mastermind Richard Spisak returns from illness for his promised Stone Soup feature. - Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 7:00-9:00 P.M. ET - Open mic included! Donations appreciated! - Visit https://stonesouppoetry.blogspot.com/ for the Zoom link

So That Happened Last Night

Drake Maye was made out to be the next Tom Brady. Instead he got Drew Bledsoed.

Happy Birthday, Rick Panizza

 

 


All Kinds

There's a group for everyone.

Sticker: Queers Against Censorship

This Week's Friendly Reminder

Haven't posted anything about this topic for a while. Visit this website for more.

Sticker: Sexual Liberation for All - https://www.sexweekbos.com/

My Monday Morning Music

More new music this week. First we start with the first new Def Leppard single in many a year.

 

 


Sunday, February 08, 2026

The Wait is Over: Richard Spisak at Stone Soup on February 11


It's happening. After weeks of escaping from the jaws of illness, Richard Spisak returns to feature at Stone Soup Poetry on February 11. 

Get ready for new work, dark humor and more than a few words about how the world is working today.

Join us on Wednesday February 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM ET by clicking this link.

The meeting ID is 851 3035 3958

Password: stonesoup 


The Little-Known Goba Related Chapbook

Songs of Innocence and Sam Adams was a  collaborative chapbook between Friends of Poetry comrades Ron Goba and Prabakar T. Rajan. This was given out as part of a special Stone Soup Poetry benefit held at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain on May 20, 2012. 
 
Sadly, Prabakar wasn't able to make it back from India to the states for the event. Fortunately, Tom Daley tagged in and recited Prabakar's poems alongside Ron. It was a fun event, and I regret not being able to organize more readings like this when Ron was still alive.
 
My girlfriend designed the cover for the collection, which was especially generous of her given that I planned the event to take place the same weekend as her birthday. I've learned since. 
 
She always like this cover and how the placement of the photos made it look like that Ron's arm was comically extra long. 

They are planning a tribute for Ron Goba for National Poetry Month. I plan to make more copies of this collection (and possibly more!) for this event. For those who can't make it, I will gladly pass on a PDF file.


Your Weekly Dose of God

I love when so-called ministers berate others for not knowing about our military when they haven't been military for years. Also, I love the idea that a former flunky can read the mind of a madman and his cronies 

 Text from Marcus Rogers YouTube post: The government knows something we don't know and they don't want the people to panic. Biden let millions of military age men cross the borders and they were not LATINO. He even put them in buses and just released them into cities. These men were from Syria, Iran, China and so many other places.   I guarantee you the White House has some Intel they aren't releasing to the public. That's why ICE is doing what they are doing. But keep believing the dummies at the Grammys and the false prophet media. 


Friday, February 06, 2026

Stone Soup Croutons, 1-28-26: What Old Men Do Now


Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions selected from Stone Soup Poetry's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title (and sometimes the rest of the poem) later. You can read the other ones I've done since 2015 here.
 
I also have a book collecting the best of my first year of poems. Click here to purchase it.

Brian Mosher featured two weeks ago. Our first feature of 2026. It led to an interesting poem borne of poems of senseless loss and mourning. 
 
Catching up, so I'm posting this quick and thanking Brian for his reading. You should go back and listen. 
 
Thanks for reading.  
 
 
What Old Men Do Now
 
Start screaming to find 
a place on the map
before they wake. 
 
Too old for Hot 
Tamales, old enough to 
remember Cool Kids.

My Friday Evening Music

It starts out promising, but the phrase "Let There Be Shred" sounds like something out of a Spinal Tap album. Hopefully their fans will go for it.



Catching Up

Really!

I'm serious this time!

Tonight: First Fridays Youth Open Mic with Jasper Crystal Wizard

Held at the First Baptist Church on 633 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. Doors open at 7:00. Click here for more info. 


Monday: The Contro-Verse Open Mic at Urban Media Arts in Malden with Finn Flood

From 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM. At Urban Media Arts on 145 Pleasant Street in Malden, MA. Hosted by Anna Geoffroy and Ethan Mackler. Click here for more information.

 

Optional Wisdom

Bruce Wise and Wise Words closes out Oddball Magazine. 

See you next week. 

Thanks for reading.

Troubleshooting

Of course...

Keep It Safe

Janet Cormier wishes for a warmer Friday with this week's Bamboozled No More! is up at Oddball Magazine. 

Okay

I'll upload one TikTok video today, but that's it. I swear.


Searching

Looking for more inspiration. 

More words. More poems.

I feel like I wrote more when I was tired. 

It's Happening

Friday again.

Let's see what I can get done today.

Happy Birthday, Jeff Savlon

 


Happy Birthday, Amanda Shea

 


My Friday Morning Music

For times like this, I thought Megadeth's music would have more bite.  

 

 


Leopards Eating Faces Update!

 

This week it's the rest of the people turning against Trump who are getting nothing out of their last minute face turns because it's too little too late. 


Thursday, February 05, 2026

Fifteen for February

 

Valerie Coulton's poem arrives for this Thursday at The Arts Fuse. 


Happy Birthday, Steven T. Licardi

 


Happy Birthday, J. Barrett Wolf

 


Happy Birthday, Victor D. Infante

 


Women in Windows

 

Kevin Gallagher was last week's featured poet at The Arts Fuse. I'm posting it today while waiting for this week's entry to go up.


Until You Are Ready

James Van Looy with mementos for the present in this week's poem column. Read It's All One Thing over at Oddball Magazine. 


Stone Soup Poetry All Open Mic, 2-4-26

From this week's online gathering. A perfect mental balm to this week's cold. New faces, new poems. Let's keep this trend going.

 

 


Hello Deep, Dark Cold

Thanks to everyone who came out to Stone Soup's all-open mic. There were a lot of new faces and amazing work. I hope this is a sign of things to come as Stone Soup approaches its fifty-fifth anniversary. Stay tuned for more Stone Soup news on the way.  

 

Added to the Chain

My poem "Unchased" was accepted into Chainmail Poetry as a response to the poem by last week's contributor,  Donalyn White. Thanks to Editor Caridad Cole and consider contributing to this ongoing experimental publication.