Something (rather than nothing)

Check out the newest episode with poet Bunkong Tuon. We delve into (or at least mention) - Bukowski, The State of Nirvana, Cambodian Genocide and Diaspora, War, Censorship, What to do about Morrissey, The State of Poetry, Something, Nothing, Emily Dickinson, Amherst, Family.Bunkong Tuon is a Cambodian-American writer, critic, professor, and, most importantly, father. He is the author of Gruel (NYQ Books, 2015), And So I Was Blessed (NYQ Books, 2017), and Dead Tongue (with Joanna C. Valente, from Yes Poetry), as well as a contributor to Cultural Weekly. Nominated for the Pushcart numerous times, his poetry recently won the 2019 Nasiona Nonfiction Poetry Prize. He has completed a book of poems about raising his daughter in contemporary America. He is an associate professor of English and Asian Studies at Union College in Schenectady, NY.

I have been lucky to have so many wonderful artists join me in these early episodes, including Nicole J. Georges - a deeply funny and wise soul. Here is more about Nicole - Nicole J. Georges is a writer, illustrator, podcaster & professor from Portland, OR.Her Lambda Award winning graphic memoir, Calling Dr. Laura, was called “engrossing, lovable, smart and ultimately poignant” by Rachel Maddow, and “disarming and haunting, hip and sweet, all at once” by Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home. 'Allô, dr Laura?' was an Official Selection at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.Nicole’s latest book, Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home, is the recipient of 2 Oregon Book Awards, and a Lambda nomination for best Graphic Novel. It received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, and was voted a 2018 “Great Graphic Novel for Teens” by ALA. “Nicole Georges makes my favorite art about love and vulnerability”. -Jill SolowayNicole won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Arts Education in 2012. She was the 2013 Fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies, the 2015/16 Donaldson Writer in Residence at the College of William and Mary, and currently teaches at California College for the Art’s MFA in Comics Program.She has been publishing her own zines and comics for 20 years, and has toured the country extensively, including two appearances on Michelle Tea’s Sister Spit tour.Nicole currently splits her time between Portland and Los Angeles with her chomeranian best friend, Ponyo Georges. She is the host of the podcast, Sagittarian Matters.www.nicolejgeorges.com

Aunia Kahn is a figurative artist, photographer, author, curator, web/graphic designer, a creative entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. Her artwork is a hybrid art form combining many disciplines which she invariably designs, builds, and executes characters, non-existent places, dreams, illusions, fears and fables into creations melding elements of classical and contemporary art. With the honor of several awards, having been featured in numerous publications, and represented and collected nationally and internationally, along with being a published author has provided her a platform to guest lecture at colleges and universities.Project driven with community interest prompted Aunia to pursue curating several exhibitions and book projects including the Moon Goddess exhibit, Tarot Under Oath, Lowbrow Tarot Project, etc. which later inspired the launch of Auxilium Haus (Formally: Alexi Era Gallery) a collection of her various projects, publications, and curatorial adventures. It is also the home of the Museum of Rescued Art (MORA) which was established in an effort to rescue discarded and dispossessed art due to a variety of circumstances in which one may never truly know.She has also published many personal projects include the Silver Era Tarot, Inspirations for Survivors, Obvious Remote Chaos, Minding the Sea: Inviting the Muses Over for Tea, Avalanche of White Reason, XIII: The Art of Aunia Kahn, Witch’s Oracle (Illustrator, Author: Marla Brooks). Her forthcoming books and projects include; An Epidemic of Retrospective, Disintegrating Stars and the Ethereal Realms Tarot. She has also been an avid tarot reader/designer for 16 years and web/graphic designer for 20.She loves animals, Prussian blue, tarot, miracles, crystals, nature, hummingbirds, and Jeeps.https://auniakahn.com/

Very excited this month to debut an episode with Hannah Hull - an English artist and musician (check out her TED talk entitled Mad Love!) Two approaches to explain her work - “I make situation-specific art and undertake social research. My practice catalyses dialogue & change for socially-excluded and at-risk groups.My approach is dynamic and responsive: an open mechanism that allows things to be made, reformed & challenged. The outcome of this process might be an action; it might be an object; or it might be words.” Also - about Burning Salt’s music -“Burning Salt is a collaborative music project headed by Hannah Hull, singer-songwriter and artist.Hull is known for her startlingly honest songs and distinctive low-register voice. Fans have described her unusual vocal style as ‘scraped out of an ashtray somewhere in the early 90s,’ and ‘Friday night meets Sunday morning.’ Poetic, raw and alive, Burning Salt’s sound draws on folk, country and blues. A genre-bending approach in the vein of PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Tom Waits.Burning Salt is an independent project releasing on Hull’s own label, Lullaby Records.