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Tele-Collaborating


Three guys are writing a textbook
give and take across the parsecs
should we include this, trim that
one author accelerating
ramscoop style
his contributions and edits
fewer and farther between
harder and harder to pull
out of the random noise
the two earthbound authors thinking
they're doing more
dealing with editors, publishers, reviewers
universities and bookstores
who's going to use it in their classes
this is all on them
plus, they kinda need the money.

And if their jaunting colleague
ever does come back and sue
who's he gonna call?
they'll be long dead by then

031918c

Just got author copies of my new chapbook. A collaboration with Kendall Evans. SF and fantasy poetry. Mostly poems written between 2007 & 2016. Ask me for a review copy.

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I have a new chapbook out, a collection of collaborative speculative poems, written with Kendall Evans. We have been collaborating for decades, and this is our 4th chapbook. Print copy price: $8.99 + $2 Shipping. Also, I have pdfs free to potential reviewers. Just let me know if you want one of those.

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My latest publication, a science fiction poem in Devilfish Review, co-authored with Ann K. Schwader

https://devilfishreview.com/issue-twenty/it-took-some-time-by-david-c-kopaska-merkel-and-ann-k-schwader/

A month of me

I'm the featured poet at Polu Texni this month. PT is a weekly webzine that publishes lots of great SFF poetry. Each poem is accompanied by an illustration. These usually seem to be very apt, and they are nice illustrations in their own right.

http://www.polutexni.com/

May 8, interview with me. Such things are almost always conducted by email. Nowadays, which pretty much eliminates the back-and-forth part of an interview. On the plus side, if you don't travel to where folks are, this is almost your only choice.

May 15, The Trajectory of Culture (w Kendall Evans) — A science fiction poem. Kendall and I have been collaborating for so long, I literally have no idea how long, except it is at least two decades. We more or less take turns starting poems, and if you start to do your name goes first.

May 22, If She Knew She Was a Ghost — A dark fantasy poem. Maybe a bit darker than that. My take on the old idea that maybe ghosts don't realize they are dead.

May 29, The Mind Eater -- another dark fantasy poem. Or is it SF? Many stories have tackled this idea.

June 5. Last Chance Saloon, Gliese III -- not for the squeamish 

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By DCKM, Valerie Bodell, Morgan Kopaska-Merkel

Actually bright candles dazzle
Earth-bound folks gazing happily
into jeweled knights.
Lowering moon now owl-like passing
Quietly, releasing stars to
unimpeded vivacity while
expiring, yearning, zooming.

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Currently working on poetry collaborations with four different people. If any of you are interested in trying that out with me, give me a shout. Not literally. I'm a bit hard of hearing.

Working on scientific collaborations with five people. A different set.

Update on life, the universe, and everything

An almost complete falsehood. My caregiver tonight got sick and had to go home. Finding a replacement at the last minute is rarely successful, but we shall see. I hope it isn't anything really serious.

Sold three poems and a flash story to Lupine Lunes today. The poems were all reprints and were all collaborations with three different people.

Speaking of collaborations. If anybody reading this is interested in collaborating with me on a poem, and has never done so, let me know. I am willing to give it a shot.