(I’ll be posting here some Notes in anticipation of the 2027 release of one of my most ambitious projects, COLLATERAL DAMAGE BLUES (CDB). The book will be published by Marsh Hawk Press and I share its Author’s Note below to describe the book.)
5/14/2026
Finished my first cut at proofing COLLATERAL DAMAGE BLUES. And I was reminded of several poets and writers who inspired some parts of my 2027 book. They inspired with their novels, poems, essay and even Facebook posts--I was just lucky to read their powerful or wonderful words. Writing can be a community. I feature images below (their names are either in the works or footnotes) and thank, in the order of the images:
Leny Strobel
Michelle Bautista
Murat Nemet-Nejat
Janice Lee
Gina Apostol
Raymond de Borja
Jessica Hagedorn
Sean Dougherty
Titania Buchholdt
Tom Weso
COMMENTS: Thank you Michelle Bautista Leny Strobel Murat Nemet-Nejat (remember when I asked you for favorite Turkish poets?) Janice Lee Raymond de Borja Sean Thomas Dougherty Titania Buchholdt Denise Low-Weso (Tom was so charismatic on Facebook!)
(Since I’ve slowed on using this blog, I plan to revitalize it by posting on here some Notes in anticipation of the 2027 release of one of my most ambitious projects, COLLATERAL DAMAGE BLUES (CDB). The book will be published by Marsh Hawk Press and I share its Author’s Note below to describe the book.)
May 13, 2026
Big workday today for me. And an exercise in joy. One of the greatest happiness an author can experience in the process of creating a book is receiving the first "proof" from the book designer, assuming you have a brilliant and conscientious designer, which I do in Mark Melnick who I recommend. Today I'll be proofing my 2027 book COLLATERAL DAMAGE BLUES which, to my relief, pulls off one of my most ambitious literary structures to date. That is, I first wrote a novel. Then I had one of the novel's characters create a poetry collection. Both are featured in CDB.
It was an arduous process over the past 3-4 years to create CDB. I first wrote another novel that wasn't good enough (yet) to leave my files where it's shelved as a "trunk novel." I wrote a second novel, and from that novel birthed CDB. Literally a poet-novelist I am. From my Author's Note, you'll see that CDB has something for every type of literary reader.
The featured doll by my manuscript is the avatar for my novel's primary protagonist, Kris--an orphan, a spy, a lethal killer, former head of the C I A, a community organizer, and a lover. He's stared at me in my writing studio for the years it took me to create this book. He's been ensconced over my computer to encourage--and pressure--me to finish this project. I look forward to the day I can present the actual book before his nose and hear him say, "I told you so!"
And someday I hope you will read CDB, which critiques Empire by going right to its root source: Sargon of Akkad, known for his conquests of Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC (last image). He's been identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire.
And yet this is also a rom-com. So: something for everyone 
May I and you have a great day!
Recently, I was heartened to have an artist pay attention to my book of drawings DRAWING THE SIX DIRECTIONS. This is one of my most ignored books (no doubt since no one knows me as a maker of drawings; here are some examples:
That my book is not widely known made it all the sweeter to receive this letter from artist Scott MacLeod:
Eileen,
I'd planned on trying to write a cogent response to yr book before I left for Europe, but didn’t manage it. Now I have a little time because I am laid up with fractured ankle (who knew Welsh poetry/translation conferences could be so dangerous?), but my mind is scattered in a million ways (more than “six directions” anyway) fighting depression (it’s my driving foot, so I'm feeling caged) being anxious about physical ability to do all the traveling I want to do this year, trying to finish Brief Amaze, and another book, of drawings, ironically, so I’m afraid this will be a non-cogent response, just random thoughts written off-the-cuff as I return to your book for a quick refresher.
Interesting that you went from sculpting to drawing. Isn’t it usually the other way ‘round?
The gourd certainly is a human shape, yet also not. This is intriguing and, I think, fortuitous. As it is both a recognizable finished form, denoting and symbolizing, but it’s also abstract enough to use it, as you do, as a discrete element, like a point or a line or… a circle.
The drawings themselves remind me of so many things. They are different from Aboriginal Australian drawings/paintings, but I was strangely reminded of them when I looked at the ones on pages 26-27, which made me think of Roeg’s Walkabout, because of the scale, the implied distances, the shape that looks like a mesa and the blue ones that could be a small pond. To me there’s an implied horizon to these two.
Other drawings make me think of some of the battle maps I used to draw as a younger person, this kind of thing:
And others, where I’d draw small circles for individual soldiers.
Also the flattened perspective of Plains Indian paintings:
Others bring to mind some Thangka paintings I saw in Taos once, and some mail-art pieces I’ve received over the years.
As for the poetry,
Dear One and The World Is Yours together felt like strolling around someplace like the trailer parks and deserted motels surrounding the Salton Sea, on a lazy Saturday, with no cares and no agenda.
At Bryant Park is a very sexy poem…
I like them all, actually.
And I’m really astonished at how you keep track of all the places your lines come from or refer to. When I first started strip-mining other texts for ore for my own, I briefly considered keeping those kinds of records, might have even done so once or twice, but I quickly decided that for me is wasn’t worth doing. But I am awed by your deep notes, which of course are works on their own.
In closing:
“Allah does not subtract
from the allotted time of man
the hours spent writing.”
Would that that were entirely true…
All best,
Scott
***
Needless to say, I was delighted by Scott’s response. And I asked if the above (1st image) was one of his childhood drawings. But he said he would “draw a real one, just like I’d have drawn many times over the years.” As it turns out, he drew several to my enchantment, as follows with his comments:
These are slightly embarrassing. Very quickly done. Back in the day I would spend a lot of time on them, drawing in terrain etc. Partly OCD and partly just to decommission my brain when it would get too overloaded. I guess I’ll narrate, but not sure that’s germane.
Typical map, with different fills denoting infantry, cavalry, archers etc. Arrows for troop movements.
Each battle might need 2-4 drawings to show how things progress.
Another style would be this, with circles representing individual soldiers. You can’t see it too well here, but blue is on top, green on the bottom.
Red marks are shots fired:
Soldiers are wounded if it on the line, killed if hit inside the line. A lot of judgement calls are needed:
Denoting troop movements can be very laborious. Shooting goes on until one side retreats.
There’s a lot more I could say about this and the numerous other games I play/played on paper and/or in my head, but I’m not going to. Maybe someday. I have mixed feelings about this, but yes you can post any of this that you want. I’ve always valued truth more than propriety….
Scott
***
I love my exchange with Scott, in part because it touches on art-in-progress. The "in-progress" aspect of art forms (my first book BLACK LIGHTNING was about poems-in-progress) is one of my favorite topics. Thank you, Scott, for your generosity and insight!
I'm grateful to Sandy Press for publishing my newest book, a short story collection:
For the past year or so, I've been writing a poetry column for my local newspapers. I discuss why I did it and what I learned in this essay over at Marsh Hawk Press:
https://marshhawkpress.org/eileen-r-tabios-on-writing-a-newspaper-poetry-column-2/
