From
Kellscraft Studio Publishing:
Books Edited and Written by William Mailler
Catch up with Bill for
upcoming readings, current videos, etc.
New Book!
Trauma, Truth & Outrage
Skowhegan, ME: Kellscraft Studio
2024
These
poems, gathered from more than a half century of work, are organized
into seven separate collections. Each collection is different in
subject, voice, style, and tone. The first collection, Trauma, Truth,
& Outrage, is foreshadowed by the dysphoric cover image and differs
significantly from all the others. The thirteen poems in this
collection are my attempt to speak up for those whose voices have been
silenced and unheard, especially, for those victimized by social
injustice, war, and genocide. They come first in this book,
symbolically, because I believe that the suffering of others — the
devastation of so many lives and hearts, millennia after millennia —
takes precedence over my own. The reader, of course, is free to read
them in whatever order she, he, or they choose, as they all strive to
bear witness to human experience.
... what you are doing, as a writer, or any kind of artist, what your
role is... is to BEAR WITNESS: to what life is, does, and to speak for
people who cannot speak.1 |
— James Baldwin |
--Forward, by William Mailler
Poems included in this book:
Gaza, 2024
An elderly woman, probably a grandmother
is looking down at her feet, carefully
picking her way through the rubble
of a bombed-out street. Her grandson, 5 years old
is holding one of her hands and vigorously waving a white flag
In the other. it's hard to tell who is leading who. The two of them
are the courageous van of a small group of refugees
maybe 8 or 9, driven out of hiding by hunger, thirst
and a desperate need for medical attention.
Then the sniper's bullet hits grandma, spins her around
& drops her dead in the street. The little boy turns
fear-stricken panicked frantic crying running
back the way they came. The street is empty.
He is all alone
with terror, with grief.
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Author Information:
William Mailler, reading his poetry to a live audience,
May 25, 2024
Mailler, a poet
for nearly six decades, earned his MFA from UMASS in 1974. Initially fascinated
by indigenous, Chinese, and Japanese poetry, as well as classic modern poets
like Williams, Olson, Creeley, and Levertov, he continues to explore the bounds
of poetic form while allowing diverse influences to help shape his work.
Of his creative
process he says, “For me, poems always begin in the heart, not the head. If I had to write a poem on demand or look for
something to write about, I wouldn’t bother. I prefer to let the poems find me. They each arc
out of the subconscious already in possession of their own unique DNA. My job is to craft an inhabitable form out of
which they are able to speak.”
In the current domestic and geopolitical
environment, Mailler takes James Baldwin’s advice especially to heart: “… what
you are doing, as a writer, or any kind of artist, what your role is...
is to bear witness: to what life is, does, and to speak for people who cannot
speak.”
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Upcoming readings and media events:
View the author on Youtube:
Open Mic'd: Poetry Open Mic Featuring Bill Mailler
(starts @ 25:04)
May 25, 2024
Holyoke Media
Mailler: Poetry Reading
Parlor Performances, Shelburne Falls, MA.
September 18, 2022
Kellscraft Studio Publishing
Skowhegan, ME
Jeff Kelley, Editor and Publisher
JeffKelley@kellscraft.com
"...We all have a book inside of us waiting to get out,
and we're here to help make it a reality..."
Return to
www.kellscraft.com
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