I have seen some who appear lost in a maze, with only a crust of bread in their pockets as they turn from dead end to dead end unable to see over the high thick hedges and only later did I learn they weren’t lost at all. They were making maps.Luvgood Carp, Editor-in-Chief ..read more

London Rules is the fifth installment in Mick Herron’s Slough House series, and once again he asks what does Britain do when James Bond is on holiday? It turns to the Slow Horses, of course – that woeful group of misfits and losers who’ve been relegated to MI5’s dusty top shelf where they will hopefully either retire or die from boredom. These novels have a ripped from the headlines feel, and London Rules is no different. It opens with an armed assault on a defenseless Derbyshire village. Twelve men, women, and children are murdered, and ISIS, much to MI5’s relief, immediately takes credit. It ..read more

A fuzzy pink sweater adorns the cherry treeand all the ladies, half my age, are smiling at me.Or so it seems –maybe they’re just smiling near me.It’s hard to see with such watery eyes,as if I’m looking through melting ice.Each spring beckons me out the door,but I’m moving slower than the year beforeand can’t keep up as the ladies walk past.When did these women get so fast?Luvgood Carp, Editor-in-Chief ..read more

Charles Portis’ True Grit, which was published in 1968, is considered a classic American Western, and that’s a shame because in reality it’s a classic regardless of genre. The story is narrated by the flawless Mattie Ross. Now to be clear, the only thing that’s flawless about Mattie is her storytelling. Mattie is an old woman when the book opens. It’s the 1920s, and the Old West is long gone. Mattie is a smart woman. There are only two things in the world she loves: her church and her bank. But she doesn’t want to talk about them. She wants to talk about her quest to avenge her father’s “blood ..read more

We, here, at Pungent Sound Journal of Pulp Poetry would like to commend the International Press Corps for its incisive undercover reporting on a major international scandal. We, also, freely admit that we dropped the ball. We were duped. It embarrasses us to say so, but the truth is the truth, and the truth is the press’ currency of the realm. We didn’t see it coming, and we’re galled by the brazenness of the deception. Like all intelligent people of good will, we trusted the British monarchy. After all, it earned our trust after hundreds of years of selfless service and beneficial works. So w ..read more

The thing about writing poetry isno one cares that you write poetry.I found that curious at first.Then I joined a writing group.And the thing about a writing group isno one cares that you write.I found that curious at first.Then I read what they wroteand I'm no longer curious.Luvgood Carp, Editor-in-Chief ..read more

Neil Gaiman describes his short novel, Stardust, as a “fairytale for grown-ups.” That’s apt but not helpful. All his novels are adult fairytales, and that’s a good thing. There’s something appealing about a writer who finds the world magical, and it makes Stardust an enjoyable read. The story opens in the village of Wall in England when Queen Victoria was young. That’s vague but helpful because Queen Victoria was old far longer than she was young. As the name suggests, Wall is a solid fixture firmly set in our world, but the walled town borders Faerie, which is each “land that has been forced ..read more

Why does Homer's Muse disdain me?Why won't nymphs touch my flute?When heroes sail the wine-dark seawhy do I stay home and salute?When will I know love from lust?Why do both turn my brain to peat?Why are lies the only words I trust?Why is mud the only pie I eat?My miserable muse is a mouse in a cagewho refuses to obey my commandand when I touch the cold, chaste pageit slaps the dry pen out of my hand.Wicked muse, eat your stale cheesebut blow your foul breath on another fake,allow my feeble tongue to unfreezefor I've forms to fill and calls to makeand I'm nearing the end of my coffee break.Luv ..read more

People always say to me Hey, Luvgood, you’re one cool dude. How can I be as cool as you? So I tell them: create a blog. And they respond Whoa, now. Shouldn’t I learn to walk before I try to run? And they have a valid point. Creating a blog isn’t easy.  It takes hours.  Fortunately, the internet has everything you need.  Several vendors will happily provide you with dozens of templates for a fee.  It’s like the Bible says:  if you have a dream and the money to pay for it, the internet will provide.  Once you’ve selected the best template you can afford, you need to ..read more

Crook Manifesto is the follow up to Colson Whitehead’s splendid Harlem Shuffle, but the 1960s are now in the Wayback Machine. This is New York City in the 1970s. Harlem is still Harlem, but the rest of the city is following its faltering lead. ”You knew the city was going to hell if the Upper East Side was starting to look like crap, too.” As always, the city is in transition. In one neighborhood it’s “Jews and Italians out, blacks in” and in another it’s the Spanish replacing the Germans and Irish. Fortunately, Ray Carney is still around, but he has transitioned too. He’s focused on his Harle ..read more