John W. Leys

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About John W. Leys
John W. Leys is an indie-poet who been writing poetry since he was 14 years old, inspired by the words of John Lennon and Bob Dylan. His major poetic influences include Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Lord Byron, Erica Jong, Arthur Rimbaud, Sylvia Plath, Taliesin, the Poetic Edda, Catullus, Sappho, Leonard Cohen, George Harrison, John Milton, and Bob Dylan.
John was born on Long Island, New York and raised in Albany, Oregon. He served five years in the U.S. Army as a personnel clerk, received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida in Tampa and studied for his master’s degree in Judaic Studies at the Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He currently lives in Albany, Oregon with his dog, Cosmo.
He has had poetry published in Omnibus, Byronmania, Nicholas Gagnier's All the Lonely People, Avalanches in Poetry: Poetry, Stories, and Art Inspired by Leonard Cohen (Edited by David L. O'Nan), and As the World Burns: Writers and Artists Reflect on a World Gone Mad (edited by Kindra M. Austin, Candice Louisa Daquin, Rachel Finch, and Christine E. Ray).
He has also contributed to a variety of poetry-blogs, including Blood Into Ink, GoDogGo Café, and Free Verse Revolution.
His first collection of poetry, The Darkness of His Dreams, was published in July 2019 by Broken Wing Publishing.
When not writing poetry John is usually playing one of his many ukuleles or reading ancient Hellenistic philosophy for fun.
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Blog postPoetry doesn’t have to be difficult to read.
It also doesn’t have to be easy to read.
Poetry doesn’t have to be inaccessible & esoteric.
It also doesn’t have to be accessible & familiar.
Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme.
It also doesn’t have to not rhyme.
Poetry doesn’t have to be confessional and emotional, though one could argue that it does need to be personal in some way, in that whatever the subject of the poem is it should be close to the poet4 months ago Read more -
Blog postThe Parnassus by Raphael Poets Poets are packrats
and magpies,
scavengers and gravediggers.
They are ghosts
that haunt themselves
with melancholy and murder
—metaphorically—
martyring themselves
for selfish selfless reasons.
Poets are liars
and madmen,
lunatics and
Shakespearean fools.
They are Ezekiel,
describing wheels within wheels
with Cassandra’s voice.
they are noble born6 months ago Read more -
Blog postReview by John W. Leys
By the end of the first page Kindra Austin’s The Killing Holiday will have you hooked, unable to put it down until the whole story unravels itself before your eyes. Like an epic poet of old, Austin plunges in media res straight to the heart of the tale, showing—albeit enticingly vaguely—where we are heading. Her prose is the prose of a skilled poet, painting vivid pictures with her words, while still leaving spaces for the reader to fill in with their own imagin6 months ago Read more -
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Blog postAfter Catullus V
The Sparrow of Lesbia by Guillaume Charles Brun (1860) Let us live and let us love, My Lesbia, My Layla, My dark princess of the nighttime sky, Framed in velvet as black as raven’s wings, Illuminated by a thousand suns Glowing through pinpricks In the fabric of the night. May we live and love Free of the judgmental eyes And gossip tongues Which blow an ill wind, Not worth a wooden nickel. My Irish princess, My Cornish queen, Your king is in the counting house Counting a8 months ago Read more -
Blog postI was recently interviewed by David at Fevers of the Mind. You can read the interview at the link below:
A Fevers of the Mind Quick-9 Interview with John W.Leys
8 months ago Read more -
Blog postI am very proud that Whispers of a One-Eyed Raven: Mythological Poetry recieved a 5 Star Review from Readers’ Favorite!
“If you enjoyed the poems in The Lord of the Rings, you’re going to love Whispers of a One-Eyed Raven. Author John W. Leys writes in a style that feels inspired by classical poetry, blending mythological and fantasy elements to create something that feels not only authentic but also immensely enjoyable to read.”
Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite You can read the10 months ago Read more -
Blog postMad Pollyanna poet
Depressed
In love with the night,
Admirer of the stars,
Constellations, and galaxies,
The milky white way
Against the raven black
Echoes of eternity,
Heart hardwired
To the planet’s pulse.
Feel the continents drift
Under your feet,
Between the clicks of the clock.
Self-martyring madman,
Preparing a sacrifice
At Aphrodite’s altar,
Attended by the nine daughters
Of Zeus10 months ago Read more -
Blog postFreckles and Curls In embryonic Eden Before the rains came: Seeds were planted, Hand in hand, Giving rise to fruit trees Casting shadows Over evermore. In elementary Eden Before the fruit was ripe: A vision of paradise With brown curls and freckles. A déjà-vu unnoticed. You pressed my back against the chain link fence, your lips touched mine; I didn’t know what I had, but gladly I gave it all to you. You held it close to your heart, And away you flew. I found you down on Salem Aven11 months ago Read more
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Blog postI’m very proud to announce the publication of Through The Looking Glass: Reflecting on Madness and Chaos Within by Indie Blu(e) Publishing. As well as being a contributor, I served as a guest editor on this project. More information below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indie Blu(e) Publishing &n11 months ago Read more -
Blog postIn Memory of Patricia Spoon (1940-2021)
I heard the banshee
Wailing in the distance,
Echoing in the valley,
Weeping among the
Rose covered hills of Montrose.
The bagpipes whisper a dirge,
Drifting from Angus
To the Highlands,
Welcoming another soul
Coming home.
I remember
A feisty single mother
Of five children
Of various shapes,
Sizes, and temperaments.
I1 year ago Read more
Titles By John W. Leys
Myths are stories without authors, composed before we wrote things down, when everything was recorded on the poet's tongue and in the bard's breath. They stem from a time when the border between dream and reality was barely drawn, when the wall between this world and the other was but a thin membrane, at best. Myths were our first attempts to make sense of the world around us, using inspiration and imagination, before the philosophers invented epistemology and the scientific method. They are stories that hold truths that linger in the darkened hallways and under the hollow hills, that enchant the imagination and stir the poet's heart.
Whispers of a One-Eyed Raven is a collection of such stirrings. Join John W. Leys on journey in verse through the myths and legends of the Norse and Celts to a time that never existed and will never end.
"We speak with many voices, to the damage wrought in these violent, fevered months. Let us never forget or turn away, from what is just, what is necessary, to keep light alive in this world."
Walls full, pencil broken
Poetry flows on, scratched into the floor,
A spiraling binding protection circle of words
Writ with a broken bloodied fingernail.
The Darkness of His Dreams is fine bourbon. Drink its words and feel pleasantly full.