I’m delighted to announce that another one of my horror movie poems, ‘Carnival of Souls – Release’ has been published in Paper Dragon, Vol. 8. This is the second horror poem I created based on the movie, Carnival of Souls (1962). While both poems are part of a larger collection, I think it’s a bit amazing that CoS is the only movie where I liked two versions of a poem enough to keep both AND that they ended up being published by very different publishers only days apart. ‘Carnival of Souls – Muted’ appears in Simulacra: BarBar Vol. IV (which you can purchase on Amazon).
Both poems are very different from each other and inspired by different themes in the film – which I highly recommend if you’ve never seen it. Carnival of Souls isn’t exactly scary and by modern horror standards, many of the ideas and makeup choices may seem outdated — but the way the filmmaker explores what it feels like navigating the world as a woman (whether alive or dead), feels incredibly timely and relevant. Paper Dragon Vol. 8 is a horror-themed issue and I hope you enjoy reading all the exciting work in this spooky volume. Part of Paper Dragon’s platform is pairing written and visual works, and I was so excited to see my poem set alongside ‘This Limestone Doom’ by Brett Stout. Check out the whole issue and start off the new year with some deliciously creepy work.
Allison Goldstein 