Picturebook Horses

And between the shelves, framed pictures covered up the walls. The old colonel’s love of livestock showed in most of them. Here was a painting of a Thoroughbred stallion, unlike any real horse that ever lived. Yonder was a glorified version of a Durham bull pawing sand, his huge head lowered in lusty challenge. Elmer […]

Inaugural Poems

Naming Dogs

Here’s a history of my family’s dogs. A collie named Lassie. My entire memory of her is that she lived long enough to become arthritic and was in a lot of pain. She laid in the shade of our house in a spearmint bed. When she died, my older sister cried. I didn’t see this […]

Poetry Reading Recording

On November 4, I had the honor of performing a few poems at the request of my alma mater, West Texas A&M University. It clocks in at an hour and six minutes, which is a lot. So here are some of the highlights. 5:40 – Introduction and Greetings 7:10 – The Local Imagination 8:40 – […]

Online Poetry Reading November 4

My alma mater West Texas A&M has invited me to give a reading on November 4 at 7 pm. The program will be an hour with a Q&A at the end. I’ll be debuting a new poem called “Ulysses Arrives in Amarillo.” Email Dr. Eric Meljac —emeljac@wtamu.edu— to receive the Zoom Webinar Link.

One Evil That Concerns Literature

There is one evil that concerns literature which should never be passed over in silence but be continually publicly attacked, and that is corruption of the language, for writers cannot invent their own language and are dependent upon the language they inherit so that, if it be corrupt, they must be corrupted. But the critic […]

The Beauty of the Weapons

Occasionally, I come across poems that have similar themes. I like to keep a record of them, or respond to them as if I were part of their conversation. Fleet Visit The sailors come ashoreOut of their hollow ships,Mild-looking middle-class boysWho read the comic strips;One baseball game is moreTo them than fifty Troys. They look […]

Poem Published

The Tejascovido project is keeping a poetic record of life in Texas under quarantine. They recently published my poem “A Corrections Officer Quarantines at the Clements Unit.” Continue reading by clicking through.

In Defense of the Writer In Residence

West Texas A&M University employs a writer in residence. As a WT alum, this is a source of pride when I speak about my education, but admittedly, I’m a little wistful. This position didn’t exist when I was a student there. I wish it had. Despite studying great works of literature by writers from all […]

Newsletter

I’m writing a bi-weekly (once every 2 weeks) newsletter. You can expect: A book recommendation Something I wrote – OR A review of a local-to-the-Texas-Panhandle author or artist I will try to keep them short, or at least focused. Subscribe here: https://buttondown.email/SethWieck