A collection universal in scope, yet deeply personal in execution, Everything All At Once by Laura Rojas traces the connection between all things, like "pieces of red yarn / woven through molecular spaces" linking all times and all places. Her recurring symbolic imagery unfolds into layered significance, building an energetic and heartfelt worldview at once uniquely her own while accessible to everyone. You can find your connection with Everything All At Once online, then get a high quality chapbook of your own from The Blasted Tree Store.
Featured Story - Dialogues with Chatbot by Kyle Flemmer
The Turing test evaluates machines' ability to exhibit behavior equal to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human being. Believe it or not, we have computer programs (i.e. chatbots) advanced enough to fool human users into thinking they are talking with another person. If you've ever used one, you know their reactions are occasionally profound, though usually absurd. This is a simulated account of a simulated account.
READ DIALOGUES WITH CHATBOT
Dialogues with Chatbot is part of Short(er) Fiction Vol. 2, our newest installment in the Short(er) Fiction series, showcasing great Canadian fiction less than 2500 words. Short(er) Fiction Vol. 2 is now available from The Blasted Tree Store.
Featured Story - Foxish by Mitch Findlay
Fox"ish\, a. Foxlike - like a fox. As in clever. But how clever is the fox who's been hit by a car? Perhaps more clever than you would expect! Meet a silver-tongued creature from a realm of magic realism in Mitch Findlay's first Blasted Tree short story, at once funny, endearing, dark, and touching. Findlay's exuberant use of language tugs disarmingly at the veil between here and the hereafter, playing foxlike with your expectations about death and the nature of communication.
READ FOXISH
Foxish is part of our Short(er) Fiction catalog, showcasing great Canadian fiction less than 2500 words. Our first published collection in the series, Short(er) Fiction Vol. 1, is now available from The Blasted Tree Store. Foxish is soon to follow in our forthcoming Volume 2.
Featured Poetry - These Are Fragments by Laura Dyer
The various pieces brought together in this Featured Poetry collection form a vision of love for people, places, and cultures. Laura Dyer breaks romantic content into modern, exploratory forms, playing with ideas of alteration over time as someone or something becomes a memory. What we remember in matters of the heart is often half-honest, yet somewhere in these memories lie fragments of truth. These poems are Dyer's fragments. These Are Fragments is available online and in print from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ THESE ARE FRAGMENTS
Advance Copy Winner!
Congratulation to Natalie Smith, winner of an advance copy of These Are Fragments by Laura Dyer! Thanks for pre-ordering your Blasted Tree t-shirts, they will be available some time next week. Meanwhile, you can read These Are Fragments online, it's one of three new titles available from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ THESE ARE FRAGMENTS
Pre-order T-shirt, Win an Advance Copy of These Are Fragments
Pre-order your Blasted Tree T-shirt by Monday, Jan. 26th, and you could win an advance copy of our forthcoming poetry collection, These Are Fragments by Laura Dyer! To enter, Like our page on Facebook and private message us your size and color preference. Our shirts come in black or white, unisex size S - XL, and cost $20.00 + shipping. A winner will be picked on Tuesday, Jan. 27th, and announced on Facebook.
PRE-ORDER A T-SHIRT
Featured Essay - Entheogens and the Mind of Society by James Jesso
When we asked James Jesso to write for us on the topic closest to his heart, we expected an essay defending the use of psychedelics from a highly-specialized perspective. Soon we received an essay much broader and more powerful in scope, and of interest to more than just the psychonauts among us. Entheogens and the Mind of Society cuts straight to the issues behind prohibition and the structures which prevent us from thinking for ourselves. At its core, this two-part treatise stands for freedom of the mind and the right to explore our inner topographies under the light of non-ordinary experience. Each part of the essay is available to read online, and you can purchase the essay in physical format from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ ENTHEOGENS AND THE MIND OF SOCIETY
Featured Story - Genesis: the Old-Fashioned Way by Soili Smith
After hearing Genesis: the Old-Fashioned Way at a reading a few months back, we fell in love - with Smith, whose vivacious stage-presence had the room in stitches, with this story, and somewhat surprisingly, with God. Turns out He's pretty easy to relate to, and when you hear the effort He put into the universe for us, well, you're sure to fall in love with Him too. The Blasted Tree is proud to feature God's true story of creation, Genesis: the Old-Fashioned Way, as told now by award-winning author Soili Smith. Prepare to meet your maker!
READ GENESIS: THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
Featured Poem - Anachronism by Kaitlyn Perrin
Kaitlyn Perrin may be the newest contributing author at The Blasted Tree, yet her work already possesses the thoughtfulness of a seasoned poet. In anticipation of Kaitlyn's reading for our Launch Party this coming Thursday, we are proud to present "Anachronism" as this week's feature poem, a unique look at those things which don't belong and yet somehow manage to stick around.
READ ANACHRONISM
If you enjoy Kaitlyn's work (we know you will!), catch her performance this Thursday at Burritoville. More information about The Blasted Tree Launch Party can be found HERE.
Featured Poem - Conversation After Dinner... by Gavin Lytton
"Conversation After Dinner While I Do the Dishes (I Never Do the Dishes)" works with the juxtaposition of perspectives to open a window in a tense relationship. Lytton employs short, punctual lines to deliver a scene both claustrophobic and emotionally distant at the same time. Here is a tension many have experienced over a sink full of dishes - Lytton makes us wonder: "What constitutes broken?"