This Made Me Cry Once

The first episode of This Made Me LAUGH Once features the poem "I Have This Fantasy" by Heather Bell. I memorized this poem in a poetry class (even though that was strictly against the rules of the assignment) which means I told an extended dick joke to a bunch of wannabe English majors in an academic setting. I got an A in the class and broke a classmate's heart halfway through the semester. PAR FOR THE COURSE! Heather Bell's chapbook Kill The Dogs can and should be purchased here.

I have no idea when I first read this poem or who wrote it, but I have always remembered it. I like it because I feel somewhere in-between the speaker & the subject and identify with both. The repetition in this poem has always stood out to me as a wonderful example of how to use form to mimic content, which is something I low-key have a giant hard-on for.

This episode of TMMCO features the poem "If You Are a Hunter of Fossils" by Molly Damm. If you'd like to read along or read the poem on its own without vocal accompaniment (no offense taken), you can find it here. Damm has a book published called Ground-truth that can be purchased here.

This episode of TMMCO features the poem "402nd Thing I Found" by Eric Ellingsen. I can't find much about Ellingsen online, but I did find an old Vimeo account that belongs to him. Finding the account felt like finding a chest full of cryptic documents in the attic of a house I just moved into. I wish I had anywhere else to send interested parties for further reading, but, I don't. Special thanks to Steve Lane of the band Ghost Town Remedy for composing the music for this episode.

The inaugural episode of TMMCO features the poem "She Uses Her Pinky Finger When She Types" by Mathias Svalina. The poem can be found in his book The Explosions, which you should buy here. Also, as recommended in the episode, here is the link to his book Destruction Myth. If you have any poems that made you cry once, feel free to get into contact with me and I'll see what I can do to get it on the show! Special thanks to Anthony Cross for scoring this episode, to Marissa Lehnerz for designing the cover art, and also to Salt Magazine for helping distribute this podcast. (I do not claim any ownership nor authorial rights to the works included. I'm merely bored in my home during quarantine, hoping to simply entertain some friends. If you like the poem you hear, please purchase work from the author!)