I couldn’t be more excited for what 2024 has to offer on the creative front. I spent 2023 recuperating and recharging my creative energies and now, I’m ready for what’s next. Here’s what I’ve been and what I will be working on:
#1: Urgent Fire, an EP of Poetry and Music with brotherwell
I’ve always had a dream to weave my poetry together with music, and brotherwell (a musician [and good friend] from Florida) has allowed me to do that. Having been a musician for a number of years, I never quite found the way to merge these worlds. However, brotherwell’s talented way with words and sound have provided me the perfect alchemic brew. Over the past two years, we’ve collaborated on numerous tracks, especially on his prior collaborative album Re:covery.
In mid-2022, brotherwell approached me to collaborate on an album composed entirely of our own work, and I jumped at that opportunity. This extended play is the first segment of a much larger body of work which listeners find more about later. These four songs touch on mental health, climate change, LGBTQ+ survival, and so much more. You can now stream and/or purchase Urgent Fire across all streaming services!
#2: Work on a COMIC BOOK
In late 2023, I was invited by my dear friend, writer, and comic book artist Matt Frank to collaborate on a story in IDW Publishing’s upcoming Godzilla: 70th Anniversary comic book one-shot. Obviously, I can’t reveal any details about this beyond that. All I can say is that it’s going to be awesome.
I can talk about my feelings though, right? I have to say: this is something I’ve always wanted to do and I never thought I’d get the opportunity. So, big thanks to Matt for believing in my work and inviting me to participate. If I could go back in time and tell my teenage-self that he’d go from writing Godzilla fan fiction to writing in an official Godzilla comic book, he’d be awestruck. These characters, films, and stories are so important to me. I’m grateful to have some small involvement in this 70th anniversary celebration.
#3: Beginning Work on My Third, Full-Length Poetry Collection
After the success of my first two, full-length collections of poems, Carbon Footprint (2020) and Feats of Alchemy (2021), along with my chapbook Casing Seeds (2022), I needed to take a year off from book writing. As an artist, I think downtime is just as important as productive time. (More on that in a future entry) [wait, was 2023 downtime considering I was still working on poetry for other projects?] In entering 2024, I’ve been feeling an energy I haven’t felt in ages, and I’m ready to begin my next writing era.
I can’t reveal a lot about this new collection beyond the fact that I’ve generated about 30 poems thus far. I may not finish it this year; however, some significant progress will be made. Depending on how many poems I generate, workshop, and edit, I may even consider putting out another chapbook if the next full-length takes awhile to complete.
Regardless, I’m in such a good place as an artist. I know there’s a lot of good things on the horizon and I don’t feel bogged down by the pressure to over-produce or rush. Poetry is wine – it betters as it sits in the barrel.
As always, thank you for beliving in my work. There are other small-scale projects I’m working on, but I’ll reveal those in the near future!
Talk soon!
xoxo Donny
Donny Winter 