Tag: literary magazine

Dawn of the Dead

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Dawn of the Dead

and when we’re dead

we’ll all go to the mall

Poem by Allison Goldstein

From the book “In The Night, In The Dark” by Bottlecap Press (2025).

I love this weird little poem. It’s actually one of the first poems I wrote for the collection and probably the shortest poem I’ve ever published. “Dawn of the Dead” originally appeared in Molecule – a tiny lit mag in Fall 2022 and I love that it found a home that appreciated both its humor and brevity.

One of the things I adore about horror as a genre is it’s ability to interject comedy and camp with serious messages about fear, society, and human nature. Romero’s 1978 classic “Dawn of the Dead” is a masterclass in this area, dazzling audiences with the perfect combination of gory practical effects (due to the genius of Tom Savini), campy yet creepy zombies, and a still-relevant message about the dangers of over-consumerism, and its physical, emotional, and psychological effects on society.

Romero has always been a pro at understanding how to create a solid plot that makes sense on its own but leaves a lot of space for wider thematic interpretations. Is it a coincidence all the zombies descend on the mall? Absolutely not. Mall culture in the U.S. was already booming in the late 70s (and would only grow exponentially through the 80s and 90s). This era ushered in a major cultural shift, eschewing the importance of community for rampant greed and consumerism. Society encouraged people to make as much money as possible and spend it all on themselves to help drive corporate profits. As a result, American social culture became inexplicitly intertwined with shopping and consumerism.

It’s also not a coincidence that themes of unrestrained consumerism easily mirror the concept of mindless zombie hoards solely driven by a innate desire to consume. They come to the mall out of habit, but also as a symbol of what unfettered consumerism will ultimately cost – humanity itself. It’s terribly smart and awfully funny and one of the best zombie films of all time. I only hope my small poem does it a hint of justice.

Spooky Summer is Here! I’m Featured in the New Issue of Last Girls Club

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I’m so excited about this one! One of my horror movie poems, ‘Phantom of the Opera’ is featured in the newly released Summer ’25 issue of Last Girls Club. Available in Softcover or PDF, the issue’s theme is ‘For Your Own Good’, so you know you’re in store for some creepy tales and poems sure to send a shiver down your spine. Order your copy today and get your summer spooky on while supporting small indie publishing and feminist horror.

Read ‘The Night Heron’ in Saw Palm Issue 19

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I’m delighted to announce that my poem, ‘The Night Heron’ is featured in issue 19 of Saw Palm: Florida Art & Literature. The theme of the issue is ‘Florida Strange’ and I’m thrilled to be included alongside so many wondrously weird works about my home state.

Update: The new issue is live and you can purchase it from the Saw Palm website.

On May 7th, the magazine held a release launch party at Green Bench Brewing Company in St. Petersburg, so Kaleb and I decided to go on a poetry road trip. The reading itself was really fun and had a great turnout. It’s the first time I’ve performed poetry live in years, so I was a bit anxious about getting back on stage. Once the reading actually began however, that quickly passed. I had almost forgotten how inspiring it is to be in a room with a bunch of artists sharing their work. The energy was uplifting, and by the time I got up to read, I was hardly nervous at all (but definitely still kinda nervous).

Allison Goldstein (it’s me) at the Saw Palm issue 19 release party on May 7th at Green Bench Brewing Co.

I want to congratulate not only the writers and artists featured in the issue, but all the editors and staff at who put the magazine and the release party together. I hope everyone gets the chance to check out issue 19 once it goes live and I’ll update this post with that link as soon as it’s available. Stay strange and keep writing.

Disappearing Ink

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Watch it fade

each             character  dissolving

like a ghost

in a mirror                   a word             and then

the sentence                slips    

each and each              (what is)

            meant, the

word       herself        uncooling

and then         

what secrets left          puddle

lose shape,  the body         she thought

a minor                       evaporation

(it does not)                 stutter

the return                    and then

the word          she knows

it isn’t meant

to last,             unlearning itself

a          blossom           in         reverse

This poem was originally published in Cicatrix: A Journal of Experimentation in 2017. I wanted to play with the concepts common in erasure poems, exploring both form and formatting by creating space between the words that can be a placeholder for a breath as well as to leave room for both anticipation and surprise. The idea of ink disappearing also plays with the idea of memory – one of the most frequent themes in my work. I loved the idea of ink fading over time the same way memories fade over time, adding another layer of complexity when trying to relive a moment, a story, or a feeling.

Sigh

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Beautiful Summer Meadow Below a Blue Sky in Lenox, Massachusetts

a little breath

            a little breath that walks

her breath,

                a waltz

a waltz in green-blue grasses

feathered high into the salted air

            slanted—                    a breath that tilts each

stalk

                        hiding in air, let’s waltz

opal eyes like pastures gone

                                    momentarily blind

This poem originally appeared in Switchback Journal (from the University of San Francisco) back in 2006. It’s part of a small series of poems I started forever ago about expressive gestures. Additional poems from this mini collection include Wink, Smile, and Leer. When I started the series, I was reading ‘The Seventy Prepositions’ by Carol Snow and enamored with the idea of taking a small gesture and diving into it from physical, emotional, and etymological perspective.

‘Carnival of Souls – Release’ Featured in Paper Dragon Vol. 8

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Carnival of Souls 1962 (Pic From ScreenRant)

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.

Check out Paper Dragon, Volume 8