John Wojtowicz Poet

08/28/2026

First deeper experiment with haibun and enjoyed the process as well as learned alot. Roberta Berry & Lew Watts book Haibun: a Writer's Guide is fantastic. Really appreciative of Contemporary Haibun Online for publishing this one: https://contemporaryhaibunonline.com/table-of-contents-22-1-2/haibun-22-2/john-wojtowicz-accepting-the-position/

08/26/2026

Matthew Olzmann is one of my very favorite poets and his interviews are always illuminating and entertaining

Tonight's guest on the Rattlecast is Matthew Olzmann. His "Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem" is one of the most popular we've ever published, going viral and appearing all over the place. His most recent book is Constellation Route. We'll talk about poetry, comedy as a tool of exploration, and more, as he reads poems.

In the second hour, our Invited Prompt Lines will feature hot haibun. Join us live at 8pm ET!

08/26/2026

Here's a haiku from the lastest issue of bottlerockets to celebrate National Dog Day

08/25/2026

salty evening
rockweed stuck
to the lobsterman's boot

08/22/2026

It takes a skilled poet to make the reader deeply relate to Wolverine from the X-Men— BJ Ward achieves it with astonishing tenderness.

Read the full poem:

rattle.com/wolverine-the-x-man-kisses-by-bj-ward

BJ Ward from Rattle 38, Winter 2012

08/22/2026

the Stephen King House is so...Stephen King

08/20/2026

I love when by some synergy the voices and perspectives work almost like a paint by numbers. By the end there's this whole feeling, a mandela of words, that the bartender (rightfully) scatters with the shout of last call. You float into the night so full of electricity and magic and struggle to rest your eyes when the time comes because you were there and something happened. Thanks to Sean Hanrahan and Moonstone Arts Center

08/19/2026

I'll be reading at Fergie's Pub tonight w/ Dan Zehner who has a great new book coming out called On the Outskirts. You can read an interview I did with him here:
https://www.madpoetssociety.com/blog/8/3/26/mad/poets/society/local/lyrics/interview/of/daniel/zehner

08/18/2026

Tomorrow night I will be doing a set at Fergie's Pub. This is a great venue that has been promoting poetry (and the arts in general) for a long time. This will be one of my last stops on my No Lightsabers in the Kitchen Tour besides festival stops (Collingswood Bookfest & Dodge Poetry Festival) in October and a final set in Atlantic City early next year.

08/16/2026