“In this ambitious multi-genre, multi-vocal project, Christine E. Ray and Friends weave together poems, essays and visual artwork that speak of grief, rage, memories, hauntings and dreamscapes. These works, as both singular poems and extended collaborations, tell compelling stories, almost like sharing secrets, all with deftly drawn imagery. Each piece can stand on its own, but the cumulative effect is powerful, weighty and authoritative.”
—Nancy Dunlop, Hospital Poems
“… across the volume, the effect is a kind of Greek chorus in which multiple poets’ work takes on a collective voice, achieving a unique timbre possible only through this impressive collaboration. The harmony rising from the pages expands the words until they become universal, letting the reader hear the notes of their own experiences among the chords.”
—Rachel Kobin, Greater Philadelphia Writers Workshop Studio
“These collaborative works are not cold, abstract experimental pieces. These are vast musical choral pieces, functioning as a powerful Greek chorus, resonating with grief and outrage, piercing us with raw emotion to spark us into action to create a better place for ourselves and our children…”
—Annette Kalandros, The Gift of Mercy
From Darker Objects:
“the iron in
the blood
that travels
twisty veins and
arteries
in an endless
roller coaster loop
sometimes gentle
but often fierce
crashing
roaring
in ear drums
that rupture
bleed
composition of
a woman”
-Christine E. Ray, ‘Composition of a Woman”
“Seventeen blossoms
seventeen blinks of an eye
seventeen bullets in the body of spring
and those left behind”
-Basiliké Pappa, ‘We Cannot Look Away: Not another seventeen, not another One’
“In a room so still
I hear echoes of a former life
I hear the twisting and creaking
of this thread I hang from
Knotted and frayed it
binds my heart
in pieces that have shattered
So many times they no longer
fit together
and their edges are so razor sharp
They cut me to ribbons
to remember what I once was”
-Eric Syrdal, ‘A Room So Still and Silent It Hurts: A Collaboration of Warriors’
“Because #MeToo, Motherfuckers
I’ve been abused
Been paid less cash
Called a Radical Cunt a
Bleeding Heart Liberal and
Put in my place—
Not my place, but theirs”
-Kindra M. Austin, ‘Feminism is my Realism’
“you must be fucking new here
if you mistake
the penning
of my soul
upon the page
as a request
for literary critique.”
Marcia J. Weber, ‘Are You Fucking New Here?’
Christine E. Ray places her original poetry and prose alongside the fierce words and artwork of 44 talented international collaborators in her latest offering, Darker Objects.
Poignant Poetic solos, duets, and provocative political anthems are possessed with evocative titles illustrating their focus, including; ‘American Gothic’, ‘Ghosted’, ‘Nocturnes’, ‘Viral’ ‘Rooms so Still, So Silent’, ‘Tongue-Tied’, ‘Tenterhooks’, ‘Rage Against the Machine’, and ‘Feminist Manifesto’. These lightening threads of passion, rage, love, and grief are the dark, irresistible heart of Darker Objects.
Collaborators include creatives from around the globe with a multitude of talent: Kindra M. Austin, Kim D. Bailey, Elijah R. Carney, Jharna Choudhury, Ward Clever, Susan M. Conway, crystal x, Candice Louisa Daquin, Lynn Devora-McNabb, Sarah Doughty, OldePunk, Michael Erickson, Rachel Finch, Devereaux Frazier, Stephen Fuller, Nicholas Gagnier, Georgiana Grentzenberg, Iulia Halatz, Saide Harb-Ranero, Quatrina Hosain, Rachael Z. Ikins, Sun Hesper Jansen, Rana Kelly, Erin L. King, Mandy Kocsis, Aakriti Kuntal, John W. Leys, Lois Linkens, Nicole Lyons, Jamie Lynn Martin, Devika Mathur, Nathan McCool, S.K. Nicholas, Dom Wynette, Jack Neece, Allister Nelson, Jesica Nodarse, Basiliké Pappa, Zelda Raville, Kristiana Reed, Megha Sood, Eric Syrdal, Marcia J. Weber, Robert Wertzler, and Laurie Wise
How to Purchase Darker Objects
Darker Objects is available for wholesale purchase through the Ingram Group. Darker Objects is also available for retail purchase through:
Amazon.com (United States)
Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
Amazon.ca (Canada):
Amazon.com.au (Australia):
Amazon.de (Germany):
Amazon.it (Italy):
Amazon.fr (France):
Amazon.nl (Netherlands):
Amazon.in (India): Kindle Only
Amazon.co.jp (Japan)
Amazon.es (Spain)
Amazon.com.mx (Mexico)
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-951724-23-8
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-951724-24-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-951724-25-2
Keywords: poetry; original artwork; prose, rage; grief; passion; feminism
CONTACT Christine E. Ray, Editor-in-Chief, indieblucollective@gmail.com
ABOUT INDIE BLU(E) PUBLISHING
Indie Blu(e) Publishing is a progressive, feminist micro-press, committed to producing honest and thought-provoking works. Our anthologies are meant to celebrate diversity, raise awareness, and embolden our sisters and brothers to speak their truths. The editors all passionately advocate for human rights; mental health awareness; chronic illness awareness; sexual abuse survivors; and LGBTQ+ equality. It is our mission, and a great honor, to provide platforms for those voices that are stifled, and stigmatized.
Indie Blu(e) Publishing 