Patricia Carragon. author of Urban Haiku and More, returns with more Haiku, this time inspired by her favorite muse, our sphinx-like companion, the CAT. This book is also filled with Ms. Carragon’s photography as well. Attached are a few samples of feline delight.
Excerpts from Meowku:
topaz sunlight
the storefront cat
makes eye contact
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kerouac kitty
poems unravel
like toilet paper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eyes of the cat witch
hypnotize her devotees
cuteness wins more treats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
like cat’s eyes
doors to inner space
open and shut
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the singing bowl
cannot compete
with the purring cat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shavasana
cat whiskers brushing
the human on the mat
Praise for Meowku:
Aaron Fisher, author of Black Stars of Blood: The Weegee Poems (Main Street Rag Press), says,“Patricia Carragon has done something notable, writing and assembling some 30 pages of haiku about cats (hence, meowku) that are neither cute nor cloying. What they are is smart, funny, and satisfyingly complex — quite an accomplishment in seventeen syllables.”
David Dephy, a Georgian/American award-winning poet, novelist, and performer, sums it up: “These poems themselves are warm and mystical like kittens. They crawl from page to page with catlike grace as you caress them with your eyes and breath, as you stare them in the eye you become cautious like them and don’t want your silence to be disturbed by anyone while reading.”
Judy Kamilhor, author of Before the Big Bang and Cat Dreams, notes, “Enjoy a delightful romp of word play through a New York filled with mischievous cats and kittens. Accompanied by lovely photos, Patricia Carragon’s poems capture moments of city life with feline friends and sometimes foes. Who knew that this ancient Japanese forms fit modern New York life with cats so purrfectly?”And lastly, Ayaz Daryl Nielsen, Editor of Bear Creek Haiku, says, “Patricia Carragon is known throughout our creative and feline worlds as “that Brooklyn girl.” The humor, noblesse, and yes, loveliness of her nationwide nurturing presence are aptly, beautifully encapsulated within these thirty-five pages of photos, haiku, and micro (yet mighty) poems. Meowku is nurturing “cattitude” we all need.
About Patricia Carragon:
Patricia Carragon loves cupcakes, chocolate, cats, and haiku. She is an avid writer of short stories, prose, and poetry. She has been widely published online and in print. Her most recent publications include Arriving at a Shoreline Anthology (great weather for MEDIA, 2022), Bear Creek Haiku, Beat Generation Anthology 2022, First Literary Review-East, I Wanna Be Loved by You: Poems on Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Jazz Musician, Moonstone Press, MER VOX Quarterly, Muddy River Poetry Review, Out Loud, an LGBTQA Literary Arts Anthology (Red or Green Books), The Rutherford Red Wheelbarrow anthology, et al. Her fiction piece “What Has to Happen Next” has been nominated for Sundress Publications Annual Best of the Net Anthology. Her poem “Paris the Beautiful” won Poem of the Week from great weather for MEDIA. She was nominated by Bear Creek Haiku for a Pushcart Prize. Her debut novel, Angel Fire, is from Alien Buddha Press. Her books from Poets Wear Prada are Meowku and The Cupcake Chronicles. She hosts Brownstone Poets and is the editor-in-chief of its annual anthology.
Publishing beautifully designed volumes of well-crafted poetry — and now fiction — you want to read, since October 2006 from Hoboken, New Jersey, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and professional baseball.
We regularly write about all things relating to cats on our Blog Katzenworld!
My partner and I are owned by five cheeky cats that get up to all kinds of mischief that of course, you’ll also be able to find out more about on our Blog
If you are interested in joining us by becoming a regular contributor/guest author do drop us a message @ info@katzenworld.co.uk .
Join Poets Wear Prada at the 11th NYC Poetry Festival, from Saturday 9/10 to Sunday 9/11, on Governor’s Island. Our featured reading will be in Sunday 9/11 at 4:30pm on the new 4th Stage, The Blackbird. Jack Cooper and I are pleased to announce our lineup for this special event: our authors Talena Lachelle Queen, Cyndi Dawson, and Patricia Carragon, and our special esteemed guest, Ngoma Hill. I will be hosting. Visit www.newyorkcitypoetryfestival.com for more info about the festival. A round trip ferry ticket is price of admission to this otherwise free event, and the ferry ride is free for all before noon, all day for seniors 65+ and children 12-, otherwise $4. Book your tickets online at https://www.govisland.com/plan-your-visit/ferry. #nycpoetryfestival @repoocejjj #poetswearprada #poetrycommunity #poetypublishers #poetryclubs #poetrywotkshops #slamteams #performancepoetry #spokenword #septemberhappenings #literaryevents #foryoucalender @patriciacarragon @baba_ngoma @cyndicynz2 @herbestself4440 #nycpofest @poetrysocietyny @nycpofest
Just letting you know our closing party wIll still be taking place tomorrow at 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Unfortunately our scheduled keynote Patricia Spears Jones tested positive yesterday and has started the requisite 5-day self-quarantine.
Our closing party will start with a Tribute to Richard Wright, followed by a Poetry Workshop and our open mic. Hope to see you all there. And wishing Patricia an easy quarantine and speedy recovery. Thankfully so far she’s asymptomatic today.
Come to the Eastern Wing Lawn of the park. The area is across from the visitor’s center walkway. Some chairs and open Lawn Space but attendees are encouraged to bring picnic blankets for seating.
Just to remind you that Brownstone Poets is still on a hiatus during April because we are supporting the Ft. Greene Park Poetry Festival for National Poetry Month. Your attendance will count toward the anthology. Admission is free. It’s an open mic, so bring your poetry to the festival and enjoy! We’ve already had several friends who support Brownstone Poets attend the readings.
(A suggested donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated. The easiest way is through PayPal at: https://bit.ly/3bkqFmO Your contribution keeps our annual anthology in print and pays our features.)
Our regular program will be back on Saturday, May 28 on Zoom with featured poets Carolyne Lee Wright, Jose Mobili, and Megha Sood. We will start promoting this reading early in May.
I’m so happy to be part of this festival at the beautiful Ft. Greene Park in my borough of Brooklyn and a big Brownstone thank you to those who came to hear me with Robert Gibbons and Kim Brandon and take the workshop with Jordan Franklin. I will be on the program again to share about Richard Wright who once lived in Ft. Greene.
A BIG Shout Out to Monik Walters, Executive Director of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Roxanne Hoffman from Poets Wear Prada, and Poets and Writers for coordinating these April events, and glad that I am able volunteer my services.
Our final installment of the Ft. Greene Poetry Festival for National Poetry Month
is coming up on
Saturday, April 30 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (depending on how long the open mic lasts).
Admission is Free!
Roxanne Hoffman and Monik Walters will be at the helm
Patricia Spears Jones will be our Keynote Speaker
Patricia Carragon will read for the Richard WrightTribute
Plus a Wide Open Mic
Microphone and Speaker to be provided
This will be one event that can’t be missed!
Come to the Eastern Wing Lawn of the park. The area is across from the visitor’s center walkway. Some chairs and open Lawn Space but attendees are encouraged to bring picnic blankets for seating.
Just to remind you that Brownstone Poets is still on a hiatus during April because we are supporting the Ft. Greene Park Poetry Festival for National Poetry Month. Your attendance will count toward the anthology. Admission is free. It’s an open mic, so bring your poetry to the festival and enjoy! We’ve already had several friends who support Brownstone Poets attend the readings.
(A suggested donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated. The easiest way is through PayPal at: https://bit.ly/3bkqFmO Your contribution keeps our annual anthology in print and pays our features.)
Our regular program will be back on Saturday, May 28 on Zoom with featured poets Carolyne Lee Wright, Jose Mobili, and Megha Sood. We will start promoting this reading early in May.
I’m so happy to be part of this festival at the beautiful Ft. Greene Park in my borough of Brooklyn and a big Brownstone thank you to those who came to hear me with Robert Gibbons and Kim Brandon and take the workshop with Jordan Franklin. I will be on the program again to share about Richard Wright who once lived in Ft. Greene.
A BIG Shout Out to Monik Walters, Executive Director of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Roxanne Hoffman from Poets Wear Prada, and Poets and Writers for coordinating these April events, and glad that I am able volunteer my services.
Our final installment of the Ft. Greene Poetry Festival is coming up on
Saturday, April 30 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (depending on how long the open mic lasts).
Admission is Free!
Roxanne Hoffman and Monik Walters will be at the helm
Patricia Spears Jones will be our Keynote Speaker
Patricia Carragon will read for the Richard WrightTribute
Plus a Wide Open Mic
Microphone and Speaker to be provided
This will be one event that can’t be missed!
Come to the Eastern Wing Lawn of the park. The area is across from the visitor’s center walkway. Some chairs and open Lawn Space but attendees are encouraged to bring picnic blankets for seating.
Just to remind you that Brownstone Poets is still on a hiatus during April because we are supporting the Ft. Greene Park Poetry Festival for National Poetry Month. Your attendance will count toward the anthology. Admission is free. It’s an open mic, so bring your poetry to the festival and enjoy! We’ve already had several friends who support Brownstone Poets attend the readings.
(A suggested donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated. The easiest way is through PayPal at: https://bit.ly/3bkqFmO Your contribution keeps our annual anthology in print and pays our features.)
Our regular program will be back on Saturday, May 28 on Zoom with featured poets Carolyne Lee Wright, Jose Mobili, and Megha Sood. We will start promoting this reading early in May.
I’m so happy to be part of this festival at the beautiful Ft. Greene Park in my borough of Brooklyn and a big Brownstone thank you to those who came to hear me with Robert Gibbons and Kim Brandon and take the workshop with Jordan Franklin. I will be on the program again to share about Richard Wright who once lived in Ft. Greene.
A BIG Shout Out to Monik Walters, Executive Director of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Roxanne Hoffman from Poets Wear Prada, and Poets and Writers for coordinating these April events, and glad that I am able volunteer my services.
Brownstone Poets is taking a hiatus during April because we are supporting the Ft. Greene Park Poetry Festival for National Poetry Month from Saturdays, April 23, and 30 at 3 p.m. Your attendance will count toward the anthology. Admission is free. It’s an open mic, so bring your poetry to the festival and take a workshop class as well.
(A suggested donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated. The easiest way is through PayPal at: https://bit.ly/3bkqFmO Your contribution keeps our annual anthology in print and pays our features.)
Our regular program will be back on Saturday, May 28 on Zoom with featured poets Carolyne Lee Wright, Jose Mobili, and Megha Sood. We will start promoting this reading early in May.
I’m so happy to be part of this festival to be held every Saturday in April at the beautiful Ft. Greene Park in my borough of Brooklyn and a big Brownstone thank you to those who came to hear me with Robert Gibbons and Kim Brandon and take the workshop with Jordan Franklin.
A BIG Shout Out to Monik Walters, Executive Director of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, and Roxanne Hoffman for coordinating this event, and glad that I am able volunteer my services.
Every poetry event starts at 3pm and ends around 6pm (depending on how long the open mic lasts).
Layout: Eastern Wing Lawn and area across from the visitor’s center walkway
Take the A, or F to Jay Street Metro Tech
the Q or R to DeKalb Avenue
the 2, 3, 4, 5, R to Court Street
Head Northwest to the park
Microphone and Speaker
Some chairs and open Lawn Space but non-workshop attendees are encouraged to bring picnic blankets for seating
Angel Fire, Carragon’s Debut Novel from Alien Buddha Press,
art by Su Polo
After years in the making, Angel Fire is now a reality. Thank you Alien Buddha Press and my copy editor, Cindy Hochman of “100 Proof” Copyediting Services, for believing in my debut novel’s value.
Angel Fire is a novel, inspired by personal experiences and nightmares, that delves into the lives of three women protagonists, Sarah Kahn, Kate Robbins, and Dana Chu, living and working in New York City during the ’90s through the post- 9/11 world and the Obama election. The book is comprised of over 57,000 words, broken down into twenty-one chapters and an epilogue. The narrative contains elements of magic realism/ urban fantasy, and beyond the wry humor, there are bizarre twists involving erotic dreams, curses, cats, and paranormal visitations from a precocious ten-year-old girl named Allie, turning this story into a psychological thriller.
Patricia Carragon. author of Urban Haiku and More, returns with more Haiku, this time inspired by her favorite muse, our sphinx-like companion, the CAT.
Aaron Fisher, author of Black Stars of Blood: The Weegee Poems (Main Street Rag Press), says,“Patricia Carragon has done something notable, writing and assembling some 30 pages of haiku about cats (hence, meowku) that are neither cute nor cloying. What they are is smart, funny, and satisfyingly complex — quite an accomplishment in seventeen syllables.”
David Dephy, a Georgian/American award-winning poet, novelist, and performer, sums it up: “These poems themselves are warm and mystical like kittens. They crawl from page to page with catlike grace as you caress them with your eyes and breath, as you stare them in the eye you become cautious like them and don’t want your silence to be disturbed by anyone while reading.”
Judy Kamilhor, author of Before the Big Bang and Cat Dreams, notes, “Enjoy a delightful romp of word play through a New York filled with mischievous cats and kittens. Accompanied by lovely photos, Patricia Carragon’s poems capture moments of city life with feline friends and sometimes foes. Who knew that this ancient Japanese forms fit modern New York life with cats so purrfectly?”
And lastly, Ayaz Daryl Nielsen, Editor of Bear Creek Haiku, says, “Patricia Carragon is known throughout our creative and feline worlds as “that Brooklyn girl.” The humor, noblesse, and yes, loveliness of her nationwide nurturing presence are aptly, beautifully encapsulated within these thirty-five pages of photos, haiku, and micro (yet mighty) poems. Meowku is nurturing “cattitude” we all need.
About Poets Wear Prada:
Publishing beautifully designed volumes of well-crafted poetry — and now fiction — you want to read, since October 2006 from Hoboken, New Jersey, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and professional baseball.
Some delicious stories about cupcakes that come to life:
cover by Roxanne Hoffman
From Alison Ross, publisher and editor of “Clockwise Cat:”It is a testament to her vivacious spirit that Patricia Carragon would think to personify cupcakes as a device to chronicle quotidian activities and as a mode to assuage the anxieties of her daily jaunts. Tasty diary entries mingle humor and contemplative musings in a way that not only tantalizes the tongue but stimulates all of the sensory receptors, as her imagery erupts from the page to entice one’s very soul.”
Linda Lerner, author of Yes, The Ducks Were Real, says, “What begins as a normal work day changes for Carragon when she sees “cupcakes — the size of hobbits — parading the halls” of her office. From that point on, humanoid confections take over her life — and ours — in this allegorical tale depicting the underlying madness of our ordinary lives. No reader will be able to forget holding a kitchen knife to a devil’s food cupcake topped with “pink buttercream clouds” and hearing a scream, or the sight of a “badly bitten banana nut” asking for spare change on the train.”
Maria Lisella, Queens Poet Laureate 2015-2018, writes, “A funny thing happened on activist/writer Patricia Carragon’s way to her favorite sweet shop: a swirling journey peopled with cupcake commuters who are wise and witty, inside a world that sometimes banishes humans in favor of those savvy cupcakes. Carragon writes with humor, deft language, and an energy that sweeps us into buttercream icing. Both participant and spectator, she’s sometimes pressed against glass looking in; other times, the cupcakes lean in and confide in her. Pay close attention to the wisdom her cupcakes impart: “We are her to look delicious and to please the sweet tooth of the human race.”: “Humans are better off as desserts.”
And Susan H. Maurer, author of Josephine Butler exclaims,”A collection of Poetry.Carragon’s cupcake capers? Read this and weep. It is a delight, and a double delight when you get to hear her read it. The fine playfulness of this book is worth three times the cover cost. Own it and get such sweetness, calorie free. “
About Poets Wear Prada:
Publishing beautifully designed volumes of well-crafted poetry — and now fiction — you want to read, since October 2006 from Hoboken, New Jersey, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and professional baseball.
Distinguished by subtle story-telling and a deft use of words and metaphor, the poems in PatriciaCarragon’s new collection, Innocence, speak to the heart and soul. Vivid backdrops include a Parisian café, the circus, a windswept city day, Coney Island, and a bar full of bird-like characters. Color and nature star in many of the poignant poems that draw on elusive love and the setback of time. The poems’ heroine rarely frets, but accepts conflict and missed connections with grace. Readers will delight in Patricia Carragon’s poems brimming with irony, imagination, and ordinary life gone amok.
–Amy Barone, Author and poet of “Kamikaze Dance”(Finishing Line Press)
With a palette full of confessional colors, and the urgency of Lady Macbeth wailing ‘Out, damned spot,’ Patricia Carragon speaks truth to childhood in a voice that is at once shocking and resonant. While the title of her book is Innocence, these lines are anything but benign. There is, however, a vital remnant of a happy fairytale that survives in Carragon’s poems: the M-A-G-I-C she sprinkles into each and every one of them, reminding us to hold fast to those treasures that give us permission to live happily ever after.
–Cindy Hochman, Editor-in-chief, First Literary Review-East
Patricia Carragon writes with acute sensibility, grace, and pith. She juggles scenes from her life and makes visible what the ‘wind has erased’. Made to feel unworthy and outcast as a child, her self-expression was admonished, and she was forced to keep within the lines. This is a beautiful book of poems about the power of imagination and a resilient spirit that has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of innocence to gift us all with her creative magic.
–Karen Neuberg, Author, “Myself Taking Stage“ (Finishing Line Press) and “Detailed Still” (Poets Wear Prada)
Angel Fire, Carragon’s Debut Novel from Alien Buddha Press,
After years in the making, Angel Fire is now a reality. Thank you Alien Buddha Press and my copy editor, Cindy Hochman of “100 Proof” Copyediting Services, for believing in my debut novel’s value.
Angel Fire is a novel, inspired by personal experiences and nightmares, that delves into the lives of three women protagonists, Sarah Kahn, Kate Robbins, and Dana Chu, living and working in New York City during the ’90s through the post- 9/11 world and the Obama election. The book is comprised of over 57,000 words, broken down into twenty-one chapters and an epilogue. The narrative contains elements of magic realism/ urban fantasy, and beyond the wry humor, there are bizarre twists involving erotic dreams, curses, cats, and paranormal visitations from a precocious ten-year-old girl named Allie, turning this story into a psychological thriller.
Patricia Carragon. author of Urban Haiku and More, returns with more Haiku, this time inspired by her favorite muse, our sphinx-like companion, the CAT.
Aaron Fisher, author of Black Stars of Blood: The Weegee Poems (Main Street Rag Press), says,“Patricia Carragon has done something notable, writing and assembling some 30 pages of haiku about cats (hence, meowku) that are neither cute nor cloying. What they are is smart, funny, and satisfyingly complex — quite an accomplishment in seventeen syllables.”
David Dephy, a Georgian/American award-winning poet, novelist, and performer, sums it up: “These poems themselves are warm and mystical like kittens. They crawl from page to page with catlike grace as you caress them with your eyes and breath, as you stare them in the eye you become cautious like them and don’t want your silence to be disturbed by anyone while reading.”
Judy Kamilhor, author of Before the Big Bang and Cat Dreams, notes, “Enjoy a delightful romp of word play through a New York filled with mischievous cats and kittens. Accompanied by lovely photos, Patricia Carragon’s poems capture moments of city life with feline friends and sometimes foes. Who knew that this ancient Japanese forms fit modern New York life with cats so purrfectly?”
And lastly, Ayaz Daryl Nielsen, Editor of Bear Creek Haiku, says, “Patricia Carragon is known throughout our creative and feline worlds as “that Brooklyn girl.” The humor, noblesse, and yes, loveliness of her nationwide nurturing presence are aptly, beautifully encapsulated within these thirty-five pages of photos, haiku, and micro (yet mighty) poems. Meowku is nurturing “cattitude” we all need.
About Poets Wear Prada:
Publishing beautifully designed volumes of well-crafted poetry — and now fiction — you want to read, since October 2006 from Hoboken, New Jersey, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and professional baseball.
Some delicious stories about cupcakes that come to life:
From Alison Ross, publisher and editor of “Clockwise Cat:”It is a testament to her vivacious spirit that Patricia Carragon would think to personify cupcakes as a device to chronicle quotidian activities and as a mode to assuage the anxieties of her daily jaunts. Tasty diary entries mingle humor and contemplative musings in a way that not only tantalizes the tongue but stimulates all of the sensory receptors, as her imagery erupts from the page to entice one’s very soul.”
Linda Lerner, author of Yes, The Ducks Were Real, says, “What begins as a normal work day changes for Carragon when she sees “cupcakes — the size of hobbits — parading the halls” of her office. From that point on, humanoid confections take over her life — and ours — in this allegorical tale depicting the underlying madness of our ordinary lives. No reader will be able to forget holding a kitchen knife to a devil’s food cupcake topped with “pink buttercream clouds” and hearing a scream, or the sight of a “badly bitten banana nut” asking for spare change on the train.”
Maria Lisella, Queens Poet Laureate 2015-2018, writes, “A funny thing happened on activist/writer Patricia Carragon’s way to her favorite sweet shop: a swirling journey peopled with cupcake commuters who are wise and witty, inside a world that sometimes banishes humans in favor of those savvy cupcakes. Carragon writes with humor, deft language, and an energy that sweeps us into buttercream icing. Both participant and spectator, she’s sometimes pressed against glass looking in; other times, the cupcakes lean in and confide in her. Pay close attention to the wisdom her cupcakes impart: “We are her to look delicious and to please the sweet tooth of the human race.”: “Humans are better off as desserts.”
And Susan H. Maurer, author of Josephine Butler exclaims,”A collection of Poetry.Carragon’s cupcake capers? Read this and weep. It is a delight, and a double delight when you get to hear her read it. The fine playfulness of this book is worth three times the cover cost. Own it and get such sweetness, calorie free. “
About Poets Wear Prada:
Publishing beautifully designed volumes of well-crafted poetry — and now fiction — you want to read, since October 2006 from Hoboken, New Jersey, birthplace of Frank Sinatra and professional baseball.
Spoken Word Sundays Zoom: Patricia Carragon and Robert Anthony Gibbons
Sunday, January 16, 2022
4:00 PM 5:30 PM
on Zoom
Happy to be reading with my Poets Wear Prada brother, Robert Anthony Gibbons. I will be reading an excerpt from my novel, Angel Fire, and from Meowku, plus new poems.
FROM GREAT WEATHER FOR MEDIA:
As COVID transmission rates in NYC are currently high, we have decided to temporarily move our Parkside Lounge show to Zoom.
Please keep checking our website and Facebook page for updates on future readings. If we can’t be at the Parkside at any time, we will be on Zoom.
Featuring Patricia Carragon and Robert Anthony Gibbons
Plus poetry open mic
Hosted by Jerry T. Johnson
Patricia Carragon has been widely published online and in print. Her most recent publications include Acoustic Levitation, Buddha Press, Bear Creek Haiku, Danse Macabre, First Literary Review-East, Jerry Jazz Musician,Muddy River Poetry Review, The Rutherford Red Wheelbarrow, Nirla Press, et al. Her debut novel, Angel Fire, is from Alien Buddha Press. Her latest book from Poets Wear Prada is Meowku. She hosts Brownstone Poets and is the editor-in-chief of its annual anthology. She is an executive editor for Home Planet News Online. Patricia lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Robert Anthony Gibbons, a native Floridian, came to New York City in 2007 in search of his muse Langston Hughes and found a vibrant contemporary poetry community at the Cornelia Street Cafe, the Green Pavilion, Nomad’s Choir, Brownstone Poets, Hydrogen JukeBox, Saturn Series, and Phoenix among other venues.
Robert has been published in over thirty literary magazines and in several notable anthologies. Recent publication credits include Year of the Poet, Killens Review, Tribes, Involuntary Magazine, Peregrine, Expound, Promethean, Turtle Island Quarterly, Killer Whale,Suisun Valley Review, and the Bronx Memoir Project: Vol. 2 published by the Bronx Council of the Arts.
He has received funding from the Puffin Foundation (2021), United States Artists (2020), and most recently the New York Foundation for the Arts.(2021).
Patricia Carragon's Blog: Words Give Me the Will to Write 