Karl Koweski

From The Literary Underground Wiki

[[File:Koweski.jpg|frame|right|Karl Koweski]] '''Karl Koweski''' (b. 16 November 1974) is an American poet, author, and editor. He is the author of the column, "Observations of a Dumb Polack", which debuted in Issue #63 (April 2006) of [[Zygote in my Coffee]] and ran there as a regular feature until its final issue in April 2010. Koweski works in an Alabama machine shop and occasionally gets paid to write articles for porn mags. ==Biography== ===Early life and education=== Koweski was born and raised in Hammond, Indiana, a suburb of Chicago. Not much is else known about his early years, but he has said he now lives on a mountain and is thought to have sung lead and played banjo in the now defunct country/punk/disco band "The Screaming Shits". ===Literary career=== Koweski was a resident writer for the now defunct online literary magazine, ''[[Cherry Bleeds]]''.<ref>[http://www.cherrybleeds.com/words/guest/karl-may.html Cherry Bleeds:Author Bio]</ref> In April 2006, Koweski's column "Phantom of the Okra" began appearing on [[AntiMuse]].<ref>[http://www.antimuse.org/cgi-bin/pageserver.cgi?page=06040106 AntiMuse Archives]</ref> In Issue #72 (November 2006) of ''Zygote in my Coffee'', Editor [[Brian Fugett]] announced Koweski would be joining him as co-editor.<ref>http://www.zygoteinmycoffee.com/issue72cover.html Zygote in my Coffee:Issue 72</ref><br /><br />When ''Zygote'' went on hiatus, "Observations of a Dumb Polack" was picked up by ''[[Red Fez Publications]]'', a quarterly-published online magazine; it debuted in its Fall 2010 issue, and Koweski started another column, "The Polish Hammer," when ''Zygote'' resumed in 2011. He also hosts "The Polish Hammer Poetry Hour" on BlogTalk Radio after co-hosting the now-defunct "Zygote in My Radio" show with Fugett.<br /><br />In October 2010, Koweski sold the rights to his first novel, ''Can't Kill a Man Born to Hang'', to Garden City, Mich.-based [[Black Coffee Press]]. It is slated for release in November 2012. A second book, his first full-length collection of short stories entitled ''Blood and Greasepaint'', was released Dec. 31st, 2010.<br /><br />Koweski also was a key member in the ''[[Guild of Outsider Writers]]'', now known as ''[[Outsider Writers Collective and Press]]''.<ref>[http://www.outsiderwriters.org/about Outsider Writers:About]</ref> ==Styles and Themes== "Koweski is a ‘meat-and-potatoes’ poet. No fancy language, no speaking over your head. When he writes about the real life you don’t want to see, like babies of dopeheads, disillusionment with a Wild West show, and the painful loss of a memory-laden car, you take his side.” —[[Cindy Rosmus]], editor, [[Yellow Mama]] "The stories in ''Blood and Greasepaint'' wander somewhere between the macabre, the absurd and the grotesque. These stories are well-crafted, interconnected and work seamlessly to produce a surrealistic atmosphere that threatens at every turn to erupt into madness and mayhem." —[[Wolfgang Carstens]], publisher, [[Epic Rites Press]] ==Select Works== ===Books=== * ''IT'S ALL GOOD: How Do You Like It Here Now?'', edited by [[Jennifer Joseph]] & [[Wendy Shimamura]] (anthology), [[Manic D Press]] ISBN 0916397858 * ''Playthings'', [[Future Tense Books]] (2001) ISBN 1892061147 * ''Internet Killed the Mimeo Starr'', [[Hemispherical Press]] * ''Casualty of the Industrial Revolution'', [[Liquid Paper Press]] (2004) * ''Can't Kill a Man Born to Hang'', [[Bottle of Smoke Press]] (2005) ISBN 0975972367 * ''Demon Country'', [[Showcase Press]] * ''Diminishing Returns'', [[Sunnyoutside]] (2007) ISBN 1934513016 * ''Industrial Strip'', [[Covert Press]] * ''Blood and Greasepaint'', [[Epic Rites Press]] (2010) ===Fiction=== * [http://www.laurahird.com/showcase/karlkoweski.html "Holly Go Darkly"], ''[[Laura Hird's Showcase]]'' * [http://www.cherrybleeds.com/words/guest/karl-may.html "Hillbilly Bowling"], ''[[Cherry Bleeds]]'' (2004) ===Poems=== * [http://www.undergroundvoices.com/UVKoweskiKarl5.htm 2 Poems], ''[[Underground Voices Magazine]]'' ==Further Reading== ===Reviews=== * [http://fullofcrow.com/crowreviews/2010/04/low-life-by-karl-koweski/ "''Low Life'' by Karl Koweski, reviewed by Lynn Alexander"], ''[[Full of Crow]]'' (2010) * [http://dougholder.blogspot.com/search/label/Goodman%20on%20Koweski "''Diminishing Returns'' by Karl Koweski, reviewed by Eleanor Goodman"], ''[[Ibbetson Update]]'' (2007) ===Interviews=== * [http://www.futuretensebooks.com/futuret/interviews/karl.html "Interview with Karl Koweski"], ''[[Future Tense Books]]'' * [http://wearduringorangealert.blogspot.com/2007/09/writers-corner_27.html "Writer's Corner: Karl Koweski"], ''[[What to Wear During an Orange Alert]]'' * [http://www.post-trib.com/lifestyles/2998714,pt_3_Hammond-naative-takes-blood-guts-.article "Hammond native takes 'blood and guts' approach to writing"], [http://post-trib.com ''Post-Tribune''] (Jan. 2, 2011) ==External Links== * [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/karl-koweski The Polish Hammer Poetry Hour] ==Notes and References== <references/> [[Category:People|Koweski]] [[Category:Editors|Koweski]] [[Category:Poets|Koweski]] [[Category:Authors|Koweski]]

Return to Karl Koweski.