A new poem today, by Filipino poet Alton Melvar M. Dapanas. Enjoy! Mebu’yan Writes a Letter to an Old Friend You are here with meas a daydream in a languagelong gone, like poetry, a birdsong, or a ritual to appease. Mapping you out in inconstant terrains—a looming mountain range,the still mangroves from a distance,the ninth... Continue Reading →
INSTINCTS #20: ‘No Man is an Island’ by Ismim Putera
Time for more poetry! This is the second piece by Malaysian poet, Ismim Putera. Read his previous poem, 'Si Tenggang the Sailor' and other excellent Asian speculative poems on the INSTINCTS Poetry page. No Man Is An Island Ismim Putera I am an islandI float using the air in my balloon-like bellylegs and arms straighten... Continue Reading →
WiHM & INSTINCTS #19:’The Legend of the Devil Bird’ by Anne Silva
Our last entry for Women in Horror Month is a piece by Sri Lankan poet, Anne Silva! This poem will also be listed as part of our online poetry series, INSTINCTS. 'The Legend of the Devil Bird' is based on a folktale about the Ulama (devil bird) that sounds like a women screaming in terror.... Continue Reading →
Horror Matsuri #9: ‘A Yōkai’s Haiku Halloween Abroad’ John H. Dromey
HORROR MATSURI #9 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #14 It's Week 5 of Horror Matsuri, and sadly today is the last poem, but it's a good one! This is John H. Dromey's second poem for the month. The first, 'Spooky Yuki-onna' can be read here. A Yōkai's Haiku Halloween Abroad John H. Dromey Just one day... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #5: EYE FOR AN EYE’ BY MAGGIE D. BRACE
HORROR MATSURI #5 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #12 Welcome to Week 3 at Horror Matsuri! Only 2 posts this week, but we have a lot of content coming from Oct 23rd to 31st. Today's poem introduces a new Insignia Stories contributor, Maggie D. Brace. Maggie tells me that this poem was inspired by an article from... Continue Reading →
Horror Matsuri #3: ‘Spooky Yuki-onna‘ John H. Dromey
HORROR MATSURI #1 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #11 It's Week 2 of Horror Matsuri, and time for more poetry! John H. Dromey is a regular Insignia Stories contributor, with micro-fiction in both Insignia Drabbles volumes and a great Japanese story in our recent Castles & Kimono anthology. He also has another poem scheduled for Horror Matsuri... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #1: ‘QINGMING; CLARITY’ BY THERESE CHOON
HORROR MATSURI #1 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #10 Kicking of Horror Matsuri, we have a poem by Therese Choon! This poem describes a night on 'Tomb-sweeping Day' which is a Spring Equinox holiday in Asia, but we're happy to share it on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. 🙂 Therese also has a new flash... Continue Reading →
November News: Submissions are closed! Thank you!
NEWS Submission Calls Submissions for 'Japanese Fantasy Drabbles' are officially closed. I want to say a big thank you to all the contributing authors for submitting such a fantastic selection of drabbles. Otsukaresama desu! I'll probably write a post in December about the submission call, for those who are curious about the data and behind-the-scenes... Continue Reading →
OPEN for Poetry Submissions :)
We would like to invite poets to contribute to a new online publication series! Insignia: Instincts We hope to publish 1-4 poems on The Insignia Series blog per month, depending on the volume of submissions. Reading Period: Open now and ongoing. Format: Poetry only Length: No limit, however no epic poems please. Theme: Must have... Continue Reading →