Beat poetry version of BEHOLDEN.
Read by Dana Jerman ( Dj DMJ )
Backing Vocals: Nataja
Beats: Spencer Cooley 
Words, Concept: C. Renee Kiser 
©RaVenGhost Publishing 2023
(Song version is here):
https://soundcloud.com/76-88-76/beholden-joke-is-by-crk-featuring-dj-dmj-and-nataja
Visit Dana: https://soundcloud.com/jerman-dm

> Words:

(walk the dog, or wear the collar...)

Joke is

on him...

Added me to his collection
crooked cabinet, another shot glass
I vowed to forget his erection
and his clown shoe up my tiny ass
Sold me a smile and a fantasy
Every laugh so calculated
But I went hunting for a story
Served my heart, so he ate it

Now I don't blame a dog
for being a dog,  lessons tethered
But a dog can't beat a wolf
He'll be sorry (th)ey ever endeavored
Took the bait and seemed convinced
that he raped me of my sanity
Joke is- a poet's born unhinged
to report the punchline of society

(walk the dog or wear the collar...)

zig zag reality, how long can we
drown in self-deception, open
the doors of perception... and we
wolves accept and howl, beholden

Cheers to the hungry, lost dogs
I hope you find a home, you know
I hope you get a good bath-
Get shined up one day and glow
I used to be a lost dog in gloom
but I've been a wolf for a while,
returning my hunger to the moon
I don't beg. And I hunt with style


*This was first published here:
https://horrorsleazetrash.com/2023/01/09/c-renee-kiser-6/

Photo credit: Dana Jerman & Friends

I Don't Beg / featuring Dj DMJ

++ Written by C. Renee Kiser 
from the indie chapbook,
NOT YOUR KIND: The Gaslit Files 
published by ©RaVenGhost Press.
> First published on HorrorSleazeTrash.com

After I sat for years and years
in my own brain stew,
I could so easily absorb your energy-
forget myself, and hate you

I only care to thank you.

Your tongue-be-damned-smirks
Sinister hush-hush
Your psycho-circus alluring-quirks
Drama pit rush-rush

Carried on and on, truth be told;
You never made a lick of sense
A lost soul who doesn’t dare decide,
fucking ‘em all on the fence

You branded me DEAD and
vultures sure circled in my sky
But the sun burst me into flames
as my nightmare was clarified...

Just another plastic heart, sent
and fresh off the assembly line
Karma may be a bitch but she cheers
for me as we drink elderberry wine

Bored with the shade of boy toys
I now want the tree with deep roots
After you highlighted my wings,
I could take off my heavy boots

I only want to thank you. Cheers.

(Blows kiss)

I accept your Darkness,
darling, and never my defeat
How could I ever hate ‘The One’
who lifted me up off my feet?

++ Photo credit: 
CRK by JTG for ©RaVenGhost Press 2023

Neo(n) Highlighter // RaVenGhost Press // spoken word

> As published on feversofthemind.com
Written and performed by Casey Renee Kiser 2023
https://feversofthemind.com/2023/08/17/fevers-of-the-mind-poetry-showcase-casey-kiser/
Words:

Burning-buzz (way too cool)

I compare my Hellbound-lullaby-love for him
to the time I had sleep paralysis
With cat whisker-dreams for broken strings, 
out of tune wishes posing as callouses
He transferred his little-Big demon

to my open heart, I'd called for The Fire-
Angels and demons, oh my!  A balanced choir!

For so long after, I faded away; a way to
exist only in deleted scene-debris,
until realizing just how much
I was judging him        for judging me
(deep breath...)
Keeping the cycle open, a burning-buzz
I guess I always knew the way to cool
I compare the aftermath-division of him
to the soul of a poet, a.k.a. The Fool

Always way too cool
to take it
easy
Always willin' 
to 
burn



written by Casey Renee Kiser ©RaVenGh o st  Press 2023

photo credit: ©RaVenGh o st  Press 2023

This material is subject to Copyright Infringement laws.

Burning-buzz (way too cool) // RaVenGhost Press 2023

ambient karaoke + audiobook concept... close yr eyes, imbibe

Logan Berry

Runoff Sugar Crystal Lake

Alan Catlin has been publishing in the small press, university, and zine world since the 70s; from the Mimeo revolution to the Internet.  He has 80 books of various sizes, shapes, and forms not including three in the works for 2023, How Will the Heart Endure (Kelsay Books- on the life and times of photographer Diane Arbus) Listening to the Moonlight Sonata (Impspired) (UK) and Bar Guide for the Seriously Deranged (Roadside Books).

On November 29, 2017, Alan Catlin read his poem “Hollyweird” at the Troy Poetry Mission series  at O'Brien's Public House in Troy, NY 

In our conversation, we talk about "Hollyweird," noire, and writing about movies.

Talking "Hollyweird," Noire, and Writing About Movies with Alan Catlin

Written by C. Renee Kiser
> from the forthcoming release, NightMARE Crush
©️RaVenGh o st  Press 2023
Words:

Slept on me / Damn, you always sleepin' through it / Always rubbin' your eyes / Always fuckin' goin' through it / Can't believe what you're peepin' / No sleep now / I'm your N i g h tMARE Crush creepin' / No sleep hey, / when your address is Devil May Care / I wake up this raw / Nevermind that you ordered medium rare / No sleep babe / I'm your disco boogeywoman / Thought you'd be gettin' goin' now / But I always got you comin' / back / to reality / Stop all that snorin' / whorin' / with daytime drama / who's your momma?  So, why you borin' the fuck outta me? / I already spent years in a coma / (loving you) / Stop  sleepin' through it / So you can stop goin' through it / Just fucking do it / Start twitchin' / inside / our apocalyptic charm / The witchin' hour / alarm / is perfect pitch / Wake the fuck up / or get lost / in the glitch

Sleepin' Through It / N i g h tMARE Crush  //  RaVenGhost Press 2023

I slug, slugged down
the halls of my captivating self-hate
Fought with my reflection-
Well, you know I always took the bait

Only learned to park- trailer
Never dated smooth sailers-
Sailed away with the haters
How I’d shuffle and cater…

...Back when I was HUMAN.


written by C. Renee Kiser
©️RaVenGh o st  Press 2023
photo credit: ©️RaVenGh o st  Press 2023

When I Was Human

Runs in the family / runs in the family / No, that's an atrocity / you won't hear from me / I don't like the sound of that / Not lyin' in a mouse trap / I'm a mofo' sassy cat / I don't clean no dirty rat / No, not MY reality / Said, not my reality / Don't shine shit in front of me / and call it my reality! / I don't like the sound of that / I don't like the sound of that / I don't like the sound of that / Cruel intentions: tires flat / I say what will shine for me / I say what will bleed for me / I call out the TRASH to me / Bad trash always DIES FOR ME / Clawed out my own reality / The top from the back alley / I don't run in the family / I run far from the alley / Calling all sour soulmates / Recovering alley cats / You all clean up so good now / NO bad, bad trash, just LoVe pats! 


Written & performed by C. Renee Kiser
©️RaVenGh o st  Press 2024

Lyrical version of a poem in the forthcoming collection,
CONFESSIONS of A DEAD PETAL 8/8/2024

✨photo credit: RaVenGh o st  Press

Bad Trash

Gather round, damas y caballeros, children of all ages, have we got a treat for you! It's the first but probably not last crossover episode between The Line Break and Of Poetry! That's right, Han VanderHart joins Bob Sykora and Chris Corlew, and the three of them read not merely other people's poetry, but reach into the depths of their notebooks to holler some of their own art-words your way. Han reads their poem "last night I was sexting and reading June Jordan," and "Bottoms" by Jenny Johnson. Bob reads his poem "Utopians In Love" and "What Kids Don't Know" by Jill McDonough. Chris reads his poem "human pastoral brick" and "Elusive Black Hole Pair" by Alina Pleskova. 

After their declamations, the three dudes discuss how they decided to add podcasting to their practice of poetry. Do good things happen when you commit to discussing poetry with your friends every so often? We think so!

Han VanderHart is a queer writer and arts organizer living in Durham, North Carolina. Han is the author of the poetry collection What Pecan Light (Bull City Press, 2021) and the chapbook Hands Like Birds (Ethel Zine Press, 2019). They have poetry and essays published in The Boston Globe, Kenyon Review, The American Poetry Review, The Rumpus, AGNI and elsewhere. Han hosts Of Poetry Podcast, edits Moist Poetry Journal, and co-edits the poetry press River River Books with Amorak Huey.

Bob Sykora is the author of the chapbook I Was Talking About Love–You Are Talking About Geography (Nostrovia! 2016) and the forthcoming collection Utopians in Love (Game Over Books 2025). A graduate of the UMass Boston MFA program, he teaches at community college, edits with Garden Party Collective, co-hosts The Line Break podcast, and curates the KC Poetry Calendar.

Chris Corlew is a writer and musician living in Chicago. His work has appeared in Cotton Xenomorph, Whisk(e)y Tit, Kicking Your Ass, Cracked.com, and elsewhere. With Bob Sykora, he co-hosts The Line Break, a podcast about poetry and basketball. With Brendan Johnson, he is ½ of Lazy & Entitled, the band that writes novels. You can find more Chris on Bluesky @thecorlew, at storiesfromvine.com, or at shipwreckedsailor.substack.com.

the line break 

The Line Break / Of Poetry Crossover Event

'Pinky Bipolar Blues' by Casey Renee Kiser

I used to be the kinda girl
who’d fight with another girl
over a bag of trash;
over a bag of trash, man
over a trashman
Ha!

I used to be the kinda girl
who’d strip with another girl
to get under a fan
to win over a fan, 
to get over on the man
Ha!

I used to know Pinky- 
a basic whore-cheesing mouse
who lived in a glass house, 
ran with a lost soul, strapped;
ran into her own trap,
ran spitting the hunger rap
Yo!

Pinky turned pale as a ghost
when forced to face the host
broken window; sharp-dull heart,
broken bottle-false start
broken personna(s) empty cart
Go! Pinky, Go!

Haunt me now with bad bitch wisdom
Shame is a dollar store thief in The Kingdom
I remember pieces of Pinky

and 
The 
Blues.


+ as first published on HorrorSleazeTrash.com
++ this poem also appears in the chapbook,
N i gh tMARE Crush ©️RaVenGh o st Press 2024


Written & performed by Casey Renee Kiser
+ photo credit: CRK by JTG

Pinky Bipolar Blues - from the book N igh tMARE Crush- RaVenGh o st Press 2024

A chat with Mary Virginia Swanson and Rick Smolan, two leading voices in photo book publishing about strategies for creating, publishing, and marketing a photography book

A Master Class in Photo Book Publishing, with Mary Virginia Swanson & Rick Smolan

Hudson Mohawk Magazine is a local volunteer-produced news hour that provides sanctuary for the discussion of a wide range of topics, scaling from the global to the hyper-local. The show is broadcasted from The Sanctuary for Independent Media on WOOC 105.3 FM.

Thanks to listeners like you, the Sanctuary is able to use art and participatory action to promote social and environmental justice and freedom of creative expression.

The B&H Photography Podcast: Join us every other week for a conversation with insightful and entertaining guests. From gear and technique to history, science and art, we discuss the issues most important to the contemporary photographer.

PUNK POET*CONFESSIONAL QUEEN👑
✨🐌SNAIL WHISPERER🐌LYRICIST✨
FEARLESS INDIE:  I  AM  snail viXen.

(sometimes lyrical) PUNK POETRY
           xxx  DIY till' I DIE   xxx

🖤RaVenGh o s+  Press:
https://gutterkissesforyou.etsy.com
ESCAPE from NARC ISLAND avail now✨
Casey Renee Kiser's work (a.k.a. snail viXen) closely examines mainstream’s distorted ideas of beauty.
Always quirky and armed with bold confessional dynamite, her humor is uncompromising, often abrupt and unsettling. Her poems explore identity, emotional abuse, and healing from complicated relationships. She resides in a magical place called The Crystal Garden. Come on over, we have cookies ;) and healing, through dark poetry.
🖤At RaVenGhost Press, 
we work w/ the Darkness <
> to better understand the journey.
We say, Tell your story. 
Get it all out then,  let it go!
Don't take it with you. 
It's too heavy to carry up the mountain.

( or the mushroom, if you're a snail ;)

Disclaimer: 
I don't perfect my songs. They are art the way they come out. They are about the lyrics, not perfection.
✨Lyricist for Hire

New tracks tagged #Small Press